Month: June 2007

A nicotine addict resorts to an unlikely authority in defense of his habit.

A reader writes:

Actually, Taguba’s performance shows he is part of the problem, although in a mild way. He was given what appears to be an illegal order and either did not recognize it or do anything about it. That said, I can empathize with him because here is a poor guy from a disadvantaged minority who worked his way to a high level in bureaucratic system. He was rewarded by that system, while also overcoming some persecution, and he must have been very loyal to it, because he owed everything to it. The system gave him his status and identity as a successful human being – and an appreciation of this may be the reason why he was picked to do the investigation. Guys like him rarely go astray by telling inconvenient truths. (Powell’s presentation of the "justification" for attacking Iraq to Security Council of UN is a parallel case in point, I think.) Now after the fact, he is worried about the stain on his reputation. The lights eventually went on and Taguba, to his credit, did the right thing, with the exception of making an issue about confining to the investigation to make the MPs the fall guys and girls while he was still on active duty.

It looks to me like he was afraid to question "authority" until he understood he was about to be hung out to dry, and even so, the first time he only went public was AFTER he retired.

One final point, Taguba had a second chance … he could still should have come completely and forcefully clean when he testified to Congress, especially after  Rummy clearly lied under oath to Congress, which is clearly a felony, under the US Criminal Code, punishable with time in the slammer as well as a fine. (Actually, Rummy did not even have to be under oath for it to be a felony to lie to Congress.) But Taguba didn’t.

There aren’t many men of the caliber of Ian Fishback, are there?

(Photo: Stephen Jaffe/Getty.)

He’s now claiming he isn’t part of the executive branch. Yes, you read that right. Money quote:

Vice President Dick Cheney has asserted his office is not a part of the executive branch of the U.S. government, and therefore not bound by a presidential order governing the protection of classified information by government agencies, according to a new letter from Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif., to Cheney.

Bill Leonard, head of the government’s Information Security Oversight Office (ISOO), told Waxman’s staff that Cheney’s office has refused to provide his staff with details regarding classified documents or submit to a routine inspection as required by presidential order, according to Waxman.

In pointed letters released today by Waxman, ISOO’s Leonard twice questioned Cheney’s office on its assertion it was exempt from the rules. He received no reply, but the vice president later tried to get rid of Leonard’s office entirely, according to Waxman.

The idea of impeaching him really doesn’t seem so outrageous as the months go by, does it?

The president’s approval ratings just scored a staggering 26 percent in the Newsweek poll. 23 percent approve of the handling of Iraq. A broader look at a range of polls is no more comforting. Pollster.com’s average is now below 30 percent for the first time. The man can’t go much lower among independents and Democrats, so now it’s simply a question of whether the base can send him past Carter levels to Nixon territory. Nixon only performed worse than Bush in the worst of the Watergate impeachment crisis. How to explain the recent collapse? Some will say immigration. It may well have an impact. But the data suggest otherwise:

The sharpness of the decline is striking. The change-point for approval is April 23, corresponding to the week of the Congressional vote for deadlines and a fund cutoff in Iraq and the President’s subsequent veto. It precedes the immigration debate, though that debate may have sustained the decline. (On the other hand there is little evidence that immigration accelerated the decline which was already underway.)

It’s relatively simple, I think. The president’s basic rationale for the war in Iraq was debunked within a few weeks of the invasion. His second rationale, democracy, is much further away now than it was three years ago. He has, in effect, no rationale now, except preventing an even worse catastrophe, which simply reminds Americans of what a colossal misjudgment he has made. 26 percent is far too generous., I’d say. Bush asked to have his presidency judged on how he waged the war in Iraq. He has got his wish.

If only Americans had this level of sang-froid when dealing with al Qaeda. The WWII poster has an interesting history. (They even have t-shirts.)

An infant boy dies after a botched circumcision:

According to the Paediatric Child Health article, the boy was "bottlefed and was reported to be doing well when he was circumsized." Five hours later, the parents returned to their family doctor with the infant, who had become "irritable and had blue discoloration" below the belly button.

Doctors noticed the discoloration and slight swelling of the penis, but sent the child home. Fourteen hours after the circumcision, according to Cairns, the child was brought to another hospital where doctors noted he was extremely irritable with marked swelling of the penis and bruising to the scrotum.

The child was then transferred to a paediatric centre, where his bladder was diagnosed, Cairns said, to "seven or eight times its normal size." The PlastiBell ring, which is used to hold back the foreskin after circumcision, was removed and drained and the child went into shock.

This happens. Whenever you subject an infant to unnecessary surgery, complications can ensue. John Colapinto’s extraordinary book, "As Nature Made Him" recounts the tragic story of an infant boy whose penis was entirely destroyed by another botched genital mutilation. He was then gender-reassigned and given a vagina.

In response to this news story, libertarian blogger Kip vents:

If rent regulation is going to exist, then let’s at least be accurate about what it represents: counterproductive warm-fuzzy-feeling politics that violate every principle of elementary economics and do more harm than good. Race has nothing to do with it. That’s about the only nice thing one can say about it – it’s an equal opportunity disaster.

Amen.

A Glastonbury festival goer sleeps as he arrives at Worthy Farm, Pilton near Glastonbury, on June 21 2007 in Somerset, England. The festival, that was started by diary farmer Michael Eavis in 1970, has grown into the largest music festival in Europe. This year’s festival is the biggest yet and will have headline acts including The Who, The Artic Monkeys, Killers and Muse. (Photo by Matt Cardy/Getty Images)

It’s vile and it’s more of a factor in the GOP race than some might want to think. I’m not surprised, though. The Rove GOP has encouraged explicitly religious criteria for policies and candidates. Why would this strategy not backfire against a non-evangelical Christian? Money quote:

The most recent example came to light earlier this week when the Washington Post reported that Emma Nemecek, an Iowa field operative for Senator Sam Brownback of Kansas, had recently forwarded an e-mail to Iowa Republicans containing a number of criticisms of Mormonism, including a charge that it is not a Christian faith. The e-mail closed with a quote from a Founding Father, John Jay: "Providence has given to our people the choice of their rulers, and it is the duty as well as the privilege and interest of our Christian nation to select and prefer Christians for their rulers."

Brownback has condemned it. But he can’t stop it.

The gay, burly kind, Mr Colbert. The gay, burly kind. From Canada!