Thieves in the Temple.

four fists of fury!

On July 25, CNN anchor Campbell Brown called a House Judiciary Meeting on impeaching Mr. Bush "stagecraft," "Kabuki theater," and "a real waste of taxpayer money and Congress' time." You'd think Tha Bush Mobb had never wiretapped without warrants, tortured prisoners, fired U.S. Attorneys without cause and then lied about it, refused hiring qualified Justice applicants solely because of their politics, or lied the American people into war. You'd think polls had never shown, at various times over the last few years, a majority of Americans in favor of impeaching either Mr. Bush or Mr. Cheney, or both. But since the vast majority of out-of-touch no-work-doing elites like things just the way they are, thank you very much, I guess CNN panders to them. FAIR helps you hand out the beatdowns to CNN.

Stunningly, Congress looks like it's going to pass actual product and toy safety legislation this week -- a bill that actually bans lead and phthalates in children's products and toys, and increases funding and staff for safety inspections. But Mr. Bush says he might veto it. Let that sink in for a second: apparently his real constituency -- comprising American corporations and their fat-cat CEOs -- is now more beloved by the people than ever! This man has obviously never learned shame -- you've heard him say how well he sleeps at night, have you not? -- and that means we must pick up where his mother failed him.

Meanwhile, the Senate is about to renew an FDA program which reviews applications for new animal drugs, and the Union of Concerned Scientists calls on the Senate to attach legislation limiting antibiotic use in confined animal feeding operations, or CAFOs. You all know the reasons why by now: animals raised on antibiotics in CAFOs may produce more meat but also produce less hardy offspring who'll need even more antibiotics, and the more antibiotics we use in animals the more resistant bacteria becomes. But it never hurts to be reminded. You may assist the UCS in their endeavors with this handy contact tool.

Meanwhile, Public Citizen reminds me of their contact tool with which you may call for the firing of EPA Administrator Stephen Johnson. As we've discussed here often, Mr. Johnson has put Tha Bush Mobb's wishes before the people's needs, and even before his own EPA scientists' research. And, apparently, even before his own wishes -- according to EPA memos and employee testimony, Mr. Johnson actually supported the California Clean Air Act waiver (the one that would have permitted California to enact stronger emissions standards than the feds) in whole or in part, but bowed to Bush Mobb pressure. A man who won't stand up to Tha Bush Mobb is the smallest kind of man.

remember, kids: the prevent defense only prevents winning.

On Monday, Tha Bush Mobb's Attorney General -- whose name, I believe, is not-Alberto Gonzales -- demanded that Congress issue a new declaration of "armed conflict" on al-Qaeda, making the entire planet a battlefield and empowering the President to hold anyone as an "enemy combatant" any time he or she likes. See, Democrats? This is what happens when you cave to bullies -- they keep bullying you. No bipartisan spirit is possible when one of the partisans does nothing but aim a bat at your kneecaps. But the people, united, will not be cowed and bullied. (Sorry it doesn't scan as well as the version you know.)

I have two still-hot alerts from Consumers Union. One is quite time-intensive -- you'll tell Congress to stop playing a prevent defense on the toy safety bill. The other you may have used already -- you'd write federal regulators about credit card company traps -- but they're still taking comments for two more weeks. Them durn pesky citizens, they're no doubt saying, they make us look bad. But, hey, it's our job.

penny rants for the day of July 25, 2008.

Mr. Bush provides a trenchant analysis of the economic situation -- Wall Street not only acts like it has a "hangover," but uses too many hifalutin "financial instruments." Hmm. Sounds like something I'd say. Well, if you live long enough, you'll see almost anything. Still, when I get drunk, the worst that happens is I puke everything I try to eat the next day. When Wall Street gets "drunk," good folks lose their homes and jobs and an entire country loses its manufacturing base, and that's not the worst that happens. Maybe, just maybe, destruction on that scale requires government intervention.

In France, it begins (again): new legislation repeals the mandatory 35-hour week, permitting employers to negotiate the actual length of their workers' week, whether they'll get overtime pay, et cetera. Unions ain't no joke in France, so union workers may get to keep their 35-hour week, unless Sarko pulls an air-traffic-controller trick like President Reagan did. But I can't recall a time over the last seventy-five years when the work week actually got longer somewhere on the planet. As usual, businesses argue that this will strengthen the economy. But economies don't get stronger when workers get unhappier; only CEOs get stronger. Some folks got to learn they ain't the center of the universe.

Finally, here's a big surprise: James Dobson, who previously said he could never endorse a guy like John McCain, now says he likes Mr. McCain better than Senator Obama. "I never thought I would hear myself saying this" my ass -- just like the rest of them, Mr. Dobson has, from the beginning, planned to "hold his nose" in the voting booth and then spend the next four or eight years reaping the rewards of another pro-corporate, pro-religious bigotry President. But the real surprise is he's making this move so early -- in 2004, James Dobson acted like he really had no idea who he'd vote for well into the fall. Given that approximately zero sentient life forms fell for that trick, could the relatively early deployment of this trial balloon be evidence of...shame? Nah.

faster, leaner, frightening-er than previous!

New Jersey Citizen Action will organize a rally in Cherry Hill today to promote American energy independence -- and also to promote the repeal of $13 billion in tax breaks for big oil and the enactment of a windfall profit tax for big oil, both of which Senate Republicans have filibustered in recent months. The rally will take place at the Exxon gas station at the Ellisburg Circle Shopping Center, where Routes 70 and 41 intersect, and will start around 5.30 pm, when all the commuters will be looking. For more info, and to RSVP, contact Ladonna Blount at ladonna at njcitizenaction dot org. (Hat tip to True Majority for rally info.)

Meanwhile, UCS helps you call your Senator to support better whistleblowing protections for executive branch scientists. You know, like the ones who get silenced whenever their findings disagree with Bush Mobb dogma. Both House and Senate have passed different whistleblower protection bills, but UCS reports that the Senate is (and I'm sure this will come as a trememdous surprise to you) dragging its heels on conferencing the two bills. That's why we're here, gang.

readings for the day of July 23, 2008: surprise, pimps! It's another post!

Hot on the heels of yesterday's Viagra slam -- sure it's not scientific to say what I said, but you try getting a male to admit his relationship is in the crapper with anything short of a six-pack intervention -- I discovered the provocatively-titled "Protecting Bones from Drugs that Protect Bones" at the counterpunch site, and what a racket it describes. It begins: "Like gastro-esophageal reflux and bipolar disease, osteopenia began to inflict millions when a drug to treat it came on patent." Then it tells a tale of bad science in the service of greed, and notes that the FDA -- that's right, Tha Bush Mobb FDA -- has finally alerted physicians that the side effects of purportedly osteopenia-treating drugs are really, really terrible, just as said drugs' original patents are running out. As Steve Martin used to say, it's all about timing.

Meanwhile, Rock Port, Montana goes wind-power! Four turbines providing electricity for 1,300 residents! Possibly it works better in parts of the country with lots of wind, but storage problems are far from insurmountable. Plus, wind turbines could bring in property tax revenue unheard of in rural areas -- unless some idiot politician decides to waive said property taxes as an "incentive" to build wind power in his district. Such incentives, according to Paul O'Neill, never enter into a corporation's decision to move to a new town. Maybe the idiot politician sees a kickback from the tax savings. Yes, that would still make him an idiot.

penny rants for the day of July 22, 2008.

I've just learned that, a month and a half ago, John McCain supported nonbinding (but politically powerful) shareholder resolutions that could restrict CEO pay. Mr. McCain even said, "(f)or too long, government has been the voice of Big Business, not small business," which is exactly right. But it's odd that Mr. McCain's "base," i.e. the "liberal" media which so badly wants him elected, hardly picked up on this -- that fact alone might make you think the real bias in the media is corporate. Also, note that the author of the Business Week article above is an intern -- I guess their "real" writers don't do economic populism.

Meanwhile, a Minnesota TV station performs a "reality check" on an ad slamming Democratic Senatorial candidate Al Franken for supporting the Employee Fair Choice Act. (And, not incidentally, the station slams said ad for exploiting stereotypes about unions and Italian-Americans.) "The bill that Franken supports does not eliminate the secret ballot election," the report says. "Workers still have the right to hold one, but labor unions say this new option (the card check) gives employers less control." Well, hallelujah! I've been hammering this point for months if not years. But why has it taken this long for anyone else with an audience to do the same?

Finally, Bill O'Reilly, despite his vaunted independence, somehow agrees with far right-wingers, yet again: "Viagra is used to help a medical condition -- that's why it's covered. Birth control is not a medical condition, it is a choice." I wonder what Mr. O'Reilly's verbal SAT scores were, since he's botched the above analogy so thoroughly ("pregnancy," not "birth control," is the "condition"!). Listen up: does a pregnancy require intensive, expensive, long-term medical care? Does controlling pregnancy make healthier babies and healthier mommies? Then it's a condition, and health insurance companies should cover birth control. And maybe I wasn't clear enough last time: Viagra gets prescribed to too many men who've forgotten how to love their partners and don't have the guts to fix what's really wrong with their relationships. Next up on the Factor: the liberal bias of the American Medical Association!

how many times must I tell these pimps that religious bigots do not get to make all the laws for all the rest of us?

Last week a reporter challenged Sen. McCain on his stand on insurance companies covering Viagra for men, but not birth control for women -- and, well, let's just say he lost his way with the camera. Sheesh. Watch the video, and then tell John McCain what you think of his stand, such as it is. I get tired of folks telling me "erectile dysfunction is a real disease." I'm sure it is, but I'm also sure Viagra gets way overprescribed. I'm also sure birth control pills help, not just with not getting pregnant, but also with irregular periods and cramps. Ever had a menstrual cramp? I suspect it hurts much worse than not having a boner.

Also, in case you've forgotten what a real hero is like -- and with the turds we have in Congress, who can blame you? -- Nelson Mandela turns 90 today.

I'm back...with chuks!

Over 40 million children's products got recalled last year, and now who wants to kill a provision in the toy safety bill that would ban toxic phthalates in plastic toys? ExxonMobil, that's who. Banking on the popularity of four-dollar-a-gallon gas, obviously. USPIRG helps you push back. Congress recesses soon, which would normally be cause for celebration, but this also means toy safety issues might get shelved until September, so act now. And later on, act again with a phone call.

Mr. Bush's plan to cement a permanent U.S. presence in Iraq without getting Senate approval hit a snag earlier this month, when Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki suddenly insisted on a troop timetable withdrawal as part of any "partnership." U.N. backing for the American occupation expires on the last day of 2008, so all of this puts Mr. Bush in a pickle. CREDO helps you express your will for a withdrawal timetable. Frankly the timetable I'd use is "get them the F out as quickly as possible without causing a boatload of mayhem and death." Right-wing trolls who invoke the memory of the helicopter rescues of 1975 might do well to remember, though it was a Democrat war, a Republican was in the Executive branch at that time.

And yet and yet and yet it's not just the Republicans who seem to like killing dark-skinned foreigners -- Democrats want a naval blockade of Iran, which would pretty much start a war. Maybe they think it'll soon be their turn to push their testicles in the faces of their opponents; if so, they're well and truly cowards. True Majority assists you in opposing a resolution that would demand a blockade of Iran. (In a side note, National Geographic's cover story this month is a thoughtful piece about how ancient Persian culture still influences everyday Iranian life. You should subscribe so you can read it.)

Free Press's petition demanding that your House Reps oppose media consolidation (as the Senate did a few months back, in a unanimous vote) still awaits your signature, if you haven't given it yet. If you want the media to report on anything but flag pins ever again, you need to help stop corporate consolidation. The bigger a corporation is, the less it needs to respond to its consumers. It's almost like that's the idea. And please understand that by "almost" I mean "obviously."

Karl Rove defied a House Judiciary Committee subpoena this past week, claiming executive privilege or suck-on-this or something; now it's time to demand that he show up. Will Karl Rove claim executive privilege at the gates of St. Peter? More likely he'll say suck-on-this.

Finally (cue cheers from the convention floor), America's last conservative, Paul Craig Roberts, provides yet another ROTFLOL moment in his latest withering jeremiad, this time against Mr. Bush's no-fly list. Noting that the no-fly list might contain as many as one million denizens (by the ACLU's count), Mr. Roberts asks: "Do you really believe there are one million terrorists and nothing has blown up in the US since September 11, 2001?" Brings to mind that Deep Space Nine episode where the Federation nearly guts itself to defend against a total of four Dominion shapeshifting terrorists. Brought it to your mind, too, I'm sure.

technical difficulties.

My computer's hard drive appears to have crashed, so posting will be light for a while.  The miracle of "having occasional access to a computer at work" won't help much.

In the meantime, go spill a 40 for your dead homey, the 4th Amendment.

they're no good.

Tomorrow the Senate votes on the FISA Amendments Act; in this, be like Amy Winehouse and say no, no, no. Yikes, if anyone needs rehab, it's the Senate. Tools for finding your Senator's phone number are, as always, in the upper left-hand corner of this page. It's not like any thinking person really agrees with the "consensus" that the grave threats we face, etc. According to Glenn Greenwald, Mr. Bush will even veto the FISA Amendments Act if it includes a Jeff Bingaman (D-NM) amendment that would freeze telecom immunity for 90 days, until an Inspector General audit of the warrantless wiretapping program becomes available to Congress. The amendment (also sponsored by both Pennsylvania Senators, the Republican Specter and the Democrat Casey) just might pass, and Mr. Bush would look bad vetoing it -- unless, of course, the "liberal" media then came out and trashed Congress for not acting enough in the spirit of "bipartisanship" against the grave threats we face. Which of course the "liberal" media never do, except for all the times they do it.

Consumers Union provides a toll-free number with which you may continue to push for a product safety bill that sets strong testing standards for all toys, gives the public information about product complaints, and preserves states' rights to pass stronger standards. The big corporations have been lobbying for a weaker product safety bill. Corporations wouldn't be so brazen about it if they didn't think they controlled everything already. They don't control everything already, do they?

Finally, the Federal Trade Commission created "Green Guides" in 1992 (under Bush the Greater!) to protect consumers from untruthful environmental advertising, but the guides don't currently cover fuel advertising, and unfortunately there's some of that untruthfulness going around these days about ethanol, around which big corporations rally. Trouble is, ethanol might burn clean when it's in your car, but the process of making ethanol might actually produce more greenhouse gases than regular old gasoline. They could make it from sugar, like they do in Brazil, but the U.S. sugar barons aren't nearly as powerful as the corn barons. UCS helps you urge the FTC to consider this matter in their rule-making.

surveying the damage.

We're on vacation from Congress until early next week, so there'll be few, if any, posts until then.

In the meantime, please enjoy this Onion report. (H/t Further Research -- who, incidentally, turns 40 today.)