The courage of Louise Slaughter

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Wednesday November 09, 2005 · 5:57 PM PST

2005/11/09 · 17:57

I have asked hard questions of the politicians who choose to post here. To me, it matters not if they are democrats or republicans or members of Heaven's Gate, but only that they are participants in the most shameful government in U.S. history. I am spent from all the shouting, spin, whining, and lying from both sides. I -- none of us -- should be forced to sift through the palaver of media consultants to glean the intentions of our elected officials.

And yet today, I will take a step back to praise Rep. Louise Slaughter, a woman who I still admire greatly, despite her inability to derail this oppressive administration. Though Rep. Slaughter and her colleagues have lost this battle, she has never stopped fighting.

And today, I'll accept that that should be honored. Read More

Who will lead?

Todd Johnston

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Monday October 31, 2005 · 12:03 PM PST

2005/10/31 · 12:03

Am I overly optimistic today?

Probably, but our faithless and cowed mainstream media smells money in the water and the frenzy is beginning. Even the obsessively non-confrontational CNN is suggesting that by selecting Samuel Alito for the SCOTUS, "the president felt he had to pick a nominee likely to divide America" in the lede (quoting Sen. Charles Schumer, Dem., NY). And yet, read and listen to enough commentary by former and current politicans, pundits, and academics and you will hear them speak about what's in the best interest of the country, what's in your best interest.

I've had enough of political 'superiors' telling me what's in my best interest. I believe the president and most of his advisors, and the vice-president, his staff, and industry collaborators have committed crimes. And I think it is in the "best interests" of our country to clean out the lot of them. All at once.

But I'm pretty clearly an idealist. Perhaps, in practice ousting an entire administration would overturn the apple cart. So this raises a serious question:

Who will lead this country until 2008? Read More

Sen. Kennedy: a reply and a question

Todd Johnston

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Saturday October 29, 2005 · 2:42 PM PDT

2005/10/29 · 14:42

Sen. Kennedy,
I find your dKos diary -- "This Indictment Is Not the End" -- truly disheartening. Your unwillingness to honestly name that which has ripped apart our country since 2001, reads more like the reflexive equivocation of a career politician, than the call from a champion of the people.

You sir, more than anyone here and perhaps the majority of your colleagues, know well that the premise of "failed intelligence" is a disception. And by promoting the image that this administration was incompetent, and not willful, you are doing your country a grave disservice.

In truth, the Bush adminstration's "intelligence" was a ringing success, accomplishing exactly that which they sought, before crumbling into dust: Saddam Hussein has been removed and we have an occupying force in the heart of the Middle East. Read More

Niger/Uranium: FACTS everyone NEEDS to know

Todd Johnston

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Monday October 24, 2005 · 3:27 PM PDT

2005/10/24 · 15:27

PLEASE, PLEASE RECOMMEND THIS DIARY
I have never started a diary this way, but what follows is too important to get lost over decorum.

The issue of whether Iraq sought to buy yellowcake from Niger is and has always been irrelevant. The White House -- Bush, Cheney, Rice, Hadley; the intelligence community -- Tenet and CIA, DOE, and the State Department; Valerie Plame, and Joe Wilson, have all understood this from day one. Plame herself called the idea "crazy."

What has been utterly misunderstood, misrepresented, and lost amid the babble of speculation and intrigue, is that Iraq didn't need yellowcake. They'd had a million pounds of it sitting around "in country" for over a decade, but with no viable means whatsoever of making it into nuclear weapons.

It is all about the cover-up. Read More

"I would not go there at all"

Todd Johnston

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Saturday October 22, 2005 · 4:47 PM PDT

2005/10/22 · 16:47

"I never submitted the whole system of my opinions to the creed of any party of men whatever, in religion, in philosophy, in politics or in anything else, where I was capable of thinking for myself. Such an addiction is the last degradation of a free and moral agent.

If I could not go to Heaven but with a party, I would not go there at all.

--Thomas Jefferson Read More

Bloomberg: on the gossip bandwagon

Todd Johnston

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Monday October 17, 2005 · 10:36 AM PDT

2005/10/17 · 10:36

Manipulating the MSM was easy once they'd become addicted to sources. Why bother walking around town or looking through dusty records or thinking when sitting on your ass with a phone cradled between ear and shoulder, pecking away at a keyboard is so much easier.

News, right up to the highest level is now mostly gossip, a tale repeated by two 'independent' people as confirmation. Rove's "confirming source" defense illustrates how many reporters have become automatons: mindlessly, they turned to the leakers to confirm the leak. Exposed, deposed, and jailed, our journalists have learned nothing.

Today, Bloomberg is running gossip as "News and Commentary: Top Worldwide." The story does not contain a single new fact.

It is an analysis of speculation. Read More

CNN sucks: irresponsible journalism deconstrusted

Todd Johnston

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Saturday October 08, 2005 · 1:24 PM PDT

2005/10/08 · 13:24

Here's what CNN's web site says:

"Subway threat originated in Iraq"
"NEW YORK (CNN) -- The threat to New York's subway system originated in Iraq and involved the use of explosives hidden in bags or baby strollers, officials familiar with the investigation told CNN."

If freedom of speech doesn't protect someone who shouts "fire" in a crowded theater, should freedom of the press protect CNN when they distort the news to profit from our fear? Read More

Iran: Blair begins to fix the intelligence

Todd Johnston

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Thursday October 06, 2005 · 1:34 PM PDT

2005/10/06 · 13:34

As with Iraq, UK Prime Minister Tony Blair has begun an "information campaign" with shabby intelligence, only this time the target is Iran.

It's deja vu all over again.

The Christian Science Monitor reports that Blair held a news conference to announce that despite no "definite proof," there is "evidence" tying Iran to bombings in Iraq.

Who needs proof? Fear is far more effective... Read More

Obama again?! Wake the f-up, dKos.

Todd Johnston

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Wednesday October 05, 2005 · 3:05 PM PDT

2005/10/05 · 15:05

I can't believe another diary about Barack Obama is taking up space on the recommended list. Kudos and no offense intended to TocqueDeville for the diary -- it was well written, personal, and compassionate. And I'm glad there's a place like this for people to express themselves.

But what the hell is wrong with the rest of you? This on-going debate about whether Barack Obama is a good person or a bad person can be summed up in four words:

Who the hell knows?

And we sure as hell won't figure it out here.

Meanwhile, an important diary showing that Harriet Miers probably plagiarized someone's work for the White House web site dropped quietly down the recent diary list. Read More

Rita by the Numbers

Todd Johnston

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Thursday September 22, 2005 · 8:29 PM PDT

2005/09/22 · 20:29

Rita without a doubt will be catastrophic to some. Post-Katrina, her damage will no doubt be mitigated by better preparation, but how much better?

The questions after Katrina devastated NOLA have not really been answered, but you need not wait for someone else to answer them for you, then decide if you believe them.

The science behind tropical meteorology is complicated, but determing when a hurricane becomes a threat and exactly how big a threat is not. The science is done for you by the National Weather Service. All you have to know is what to look for. Read More

Rita: Cat 3, Cat 4 later today; UPDATED 02:00 a.m. EDT

Todd Johnston

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Tuesday September 20, 2005 · 4:06 PM PDT

2005/09/20 · 16:06

UPDATE, 02:00 a.m.: Rita is steadily getting worse. The NHC is now predicting she will be Cat 4 later today.

---------
Hurricane Rita is entering the Gulf of Mexico as I write this. She navigated the Straits of Florida, without weakening, and has instead intensified.

Over the next few hours, she is likely to tip her hand, giving us some insight into the next few days. Rita is on the edge -- though small, she has strengthened steadily and rapidly since 8:00 a.m. EDT this morning.

As do we all, I hope to God she falls apart. Below the fold, I'll give you some clues about what to watch for, so you can ignore over-hyped and irresponsible television forecasts. Read More

The Isle of Florida: A Climate Policy of Deception

Todd Johnston

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Friday September 16, 2005 · 3:52 PM PDT

2005/09/16 · 15:52

DarkSyde's brilliant diary Shattered Skies, Dark Future, as comprehensive as it is, barely scratches the surface of what's in store for future generations.

I will not try to match his thoroughness, but instead show you a single example of how President Bush, his advisors, and sophomoric policies of cronyism are gouging wounds that will take generations to heal. And perhaps cost many lives.

We should we give Florida to Fidel Castro. Because in a century it'll likely be an island chain, no closer to the US mainland than Cuba is right now. And I've assumed we'll throw in Jeb Bush as part of the deal. Read More

Newer
Older

RSS