The Buftonian

Senate sticks it to Bush.. JUST KIDDING!

2008-07-11T01:10:00.000-07:00

In a classic display of doublethink the AP reports on the Senate's passage of the spying bill, including an "aye" from appears-to-be President Obama:

Bowing to President Bush's demands, the Senate sent the White House a bill Wednesday overhauling bitterly disputed rules on secret government eavesdropping and shielding telecommunications companies from lawsuits complaining they helped the U.S. spy on Americans.

The relatively one-sided vote, 69-28, came only after a lengthy and heated debate that pitted privacy and civil liberties concerns against the desire to prevent terrorist attacks. It ended almost a year of wrangling over surveillance rules and the president's warrantless wiretapping program that was initiated after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

The President's warrantless wiretapping program began before September 11. A fact that makes this immunity for telecommunications companies a special "F-U" to Americans.

Iran, here we come

2008-07-01T13:46:00.000-07:00

Bush and the Democratic Congress are Preparing the Battlefield:

Late last year, Congress agreed to a request from President Bush to fund a major escalation of covert operations against Iran, according to current and former military, intelligence, and congressional sources. These operations, for which the President sought up to four hundred million dollars, were described in a Presidential Finding signed by Bush, and are designed to destabilize the country’s religious leadership. The covert activities involve support of the minority Ahwazi Arab and Baluchi groups and other dissident organizations. They also include gathering intelligence about Iran’s suspected nuclear-weapons program.

For those of you who don't know what a Presidential Finding is, Hersh explains:

Under federal law, a Presidential Finding, which is highly classified, must be issued when a covert intelligence operation gets under way and, at a minimum, must be made known to Democratic and Republican leaders in the House and the Senate and to the ranking members of their respective intelligence committees—the so-called Gang of Eight. Money for the operation can then be reprogrammed from previous appropriations, as needed, by the relevant congressional committees, which also can be briefed.

No more illusions, folks. This Congress and President are dead-set on setting their next sights on Iran. So far I haven't heard a comment from Presidential hopeful Barack Obama. Anyone ready for the War on Terror Round Three?

And you thought it was just police brutality

2008-06-27T21:49:00.000-07:00

As if a 19-year old University of Oregon student activist being tasered repeatedly by the police at a rally in support of Lane County ending the practice of roadside pesticide spraying wasn't fucked up enough, it has now been discovered that it wasn't just the Eugene Police that were harassing peaceful demonstrators. In fact, it seems that police presence was demanded by the Department of Homeland Security. No joke.

Last month’s Tasering of a UO student was more than just the Eugene Police Department (EPD) overreacting to a peaceful protest. It was the result of the monitoring of an anti-pesticide group based in Lane County by the Department of Homeland Security, according to recent documents concerning the incident.
[snippity]
According to the police reports, Federal Protective Services (FPS), a division of the Department of Homeland Security, was made aware of the rally in support of Lane County’s no-roadside spray policy by the EPD on May 22. That is the day EW published an article on the planned rally, featuring a photo of Ian Van Ornum, one of the leaders of “Crazy People for Wild Places,” the student group that organized the rally. Van Ornum was Tasered twice and arrested with Owen and UO student (and Eagle Scout) Tony Farley.

The reports show that Homeland Security thought the rally was organized by the Pitchfork Rebellion, a group of rural Lane County residents who want to put a stop to pesticide spraying by large corporations (see EW cover stories 3/16/06 and 2/28/08). “That’s either a blatant lie or poor police work,” says Owen, who spoke at the event but did not organize it. The Pitchfork Rebellion, he says, has never been involved in “property damage or anything like that."

COINTELPRO returns! Every time a citizen is tasered for exercising their right to free speech, a radical is born. It's like they're begging for a social movement.

Quote of the Week

2008-03-11T00:01:00.001-07:00

From an AP article on the Oregon Education Association's endorsement of Steve Novick:

"Novick fills a room the minute he walks into it," said Webb Thomas, a teacher from Beaverton. "That's what you need. Merkley is so out of central casting. If you took all the white, male, Democratic candidates and blended them together, then you'd have Jeff Merkley."

Kitzhaber backs Novick in Senate primary

2008-03-04T15:33:00.001-08:00

Former Oregon Governor and health care reformer John Kitzhaber has endorsed Democratic candidate Steve Novick.

Kitzhaber, who once considered running for the Senate himself, said he's siding with Novick in the Democratic primary because of the Portland lawyer's willingness to "face the facts" about what's wrong with the country.
[snip]

Kitzhaber, who has been working on a national effort to radically change the way health care and insurance is organized, said Novick's plans for improving access to health care come closest to his own.

Steve Novick endorses Barack Obama

2008-02-25T21:06:00.000-08:00

A reforming Edwards guy, Steve Novick has come out in support of Barack Obama over Hillary Clinton today.

As you may know, I’m running for the United States Senate in Oregon because I’m really worried about the direction of the country. We face an awe-inspiring quintuple challenge of ending the war, stopping global warming, combating runaway economic inequality, reforming the health care system, and preventing the national debt from soaring out of control. We need to get moving on all of those issues – and we needed to do so yesterday. To meet those challenges, we need political leaders who will be willing to take risks, willing to call for sacrifice, and be able to persuade the American people that their sacrifices will not be in vain.

That’s why I’m voting for Barack Obama.

Before any Clintonistas out there get rabbit, I suggest you read the full statement as Steve has very carefully thought out his choice and in fact has a lot of good stuff to say about Hillary Clinton and some of her policies. Sounds like Steve, like everyone else, has been highly conflicted with the seemingly generous crop of Democratic candidates this election and had a genuine challenge in figuring out who to endorse since Edwards dropped out of the race.

Still no justice in Exxon Valdez oil spill

2008-02-24T12:05:00.000-08:00

Some five years after an alcohol-impaired captain ran the Exxon Valdez into the Bligh Reef, "officially" spilling more than 11 million gallons of crude oil into Prince William Sound, a federal jury awarded $5 billion in punitive damages be paid by Exxon to thousands of claimants from the still devastated Alaskan area. At the time, that $5 billion amounted to 1 years profits for Exxon. In the fourteen years since that jury's decision, Exxon has appealed the decision repeatedly and in 2006 and jury decreased the $5 billion to $2.5 billion. The case is now heading to the U.S. Supreme Court. It's been almost two decades after the oil spill and that $5 billion represents less than two months worth of profits for Exxon now and a study published last year found that over 26,000 gallons of oil still contaminates the shorelines of Prince William Sound and it's not leaving any time soon.

Happy Birthday, George... I guess

2008-02-22T19:40:00.001-08:00

In honor of the 276th Birthday of the 1st President of the United Snakes, er, States, I would like to share some George Washington history we didn't learn about in school, you know, instead of making the same wooden teeth and cherry tree jokes that are 200-years tired. And so, some George Washington tidbits:

George Washington was the richest man in America.
George Washington grew hemp for fiber productions (among other things) on his Mt. Vernon slave plantation.
George Washington did in fact own 317 slaves that resided at Mt. Vernon at the time of his death.
George Washington brought nine slaves with him to the Executive Mansion as President. Under Pennsylvania law (the Executive Mansion resided in Philadelphia) slaves became legally free after six months. In order to keep his slaves from earning their freedom, he would rotate them between Mt. Vernon and the Mansion, a scheme he hid from the public and which was in fact against the law (looks like Presidents didn't have much regard for the law back then either!).
When Congress passed the the first tax on domestically produced goods at the urging of Washington's Secretary of the Treasury, known as the Whiskey Act, protest began almost immediately. The tax on distilled spirits favored large distilleries (who could take advantage of a flat fee) over smaller ones as well as Western farmers who would often use whiskey as a barter good. In response to protests throughout the country, Washington ordered protesters to appear in U.S. District Court. Protests turned into full-scale riots and Washington invoked Martial Law in several states as well as the Militia Act of 1792 to silence "Whiskey Insurrection" in western Pennsylvania. This would be the first time the federal government would use military forces to exert authority over citizens as well as states.
Interestingly, after he retired to Mt. Vernon from the Office of the President, he opened a 2,250 sq. ft. distillery, one of the largest in the nation.

OMG ANOTHER RACE IN OREGON

2008-02-07T12:08:00.000-08:00

It appears as that there will be a competitive race in Oregon's 5th Congressional District. Democrat Darlene Hooley is retiring. Not that a Democratic majority really seems to be making any difference, but this is one of the best opportunities for Republicans to keep Democrats from gaining a bigger majority in the House.

A birthday present for Steve

2008-02-06T11:06:00.002-08:00

Steve Novick's birthday is on Friday! Happy early birthday, Steve!

Send Steve a gift of $45 for his 45th, it will help make November feel like it's a birthday for us all.

A Beer With Steve Novick

2008-01-30T19:58:00.000-08:00

Steve Novick has come out with another awesome ad, this one exclusively on YouTube at present. It's been online for two days and it's already hit over 40,000 views on YouTube! Check it:

Even the crazy conservatives find it hard not to love.

The incumbent is Gordon Smith, who’s been siding with the left against the war for months. Worst case scenario? The Democrats end up with 58 seats instead of 57, Oregon’s seat keeps voting the same way on Iraq, and we get a senator with a wicked awesome hook for a hand. Who needs filibusters anyway, right?

Stop being ridiculous

2008-01-16T17:01:00.000-08:00

There comes a time when you need to leave the clicking keyboard behind and hit the street to bring about the change you advocate. For me, that time has begun, which is why my blog has been so desolate these last two months or so. After Oregon's primary is over (May 15) the frequency of my blogs will increase.

I tried as hard as I could to stay away from the keyboard, but try as I might there are always things that bring you to the level of irkdom in which you have no choice but to spill your frustrations onto the glowing screen. Such an instance has presented itself.

It's curious to me that as Steve Novick's amazing ad goes up, so goes up a number of ridiculous blog posts into the Oregon sphere.

"Could Steve Novick's height cost him the election?" Come on! Are you serious? I guess if you can't win on the issues... you can win on height? BlueOregon has reached a new low.

And while Senate Guru 2008 is accusing Steve of plagiarism, he seems to have gotten who is plagiarizing who backwards, as Steve's comments predate Obama's by nine months.

And of course, these blogs maintain their "neutrality" in the race. [insert ridiculous laughter]

Finally, someone who will fight for the little guy

2008-01-15T02:54:00.000-08:00

Steve Novick hits the airwaves.

I miss the Fourth Amendment

2007-11-23T19:12:00.000-08:00

Another day, a little less privacy.

Federal officials are routinely asking courts to order cellphone companies to furnish real-time tracking data so they can pinpoint the whereabouts of drug traffickers, fugitives and other criminal suspects, according to judges and industry lawyers.

In some cases, judges have granted the requests without requiring the government to demonstrate that there is probable cause to believe that a crime is taking place or that the inquiry will yield evidence of a crime. Privacy advocates fear such a practice may expose average Americans to a new level of government scrutiny of their daily lives.

The good 'ol Fourth Amendment. I miss it. There was a day when probable cause was required to invade citizens' privacy. Nowadays it seems to be reduced to an "internal recommendation."

Such requests run counter to the Justice Department's internal recommendation that federal prosecutors seek warrants based on probable cause to obtain precise location data in private areas. The requests and orders are sealed at the government's request, so it is difficult to know how often the orders are issued or denied.

Another practice that seems to be "in" lately. But oh wait, it gets better. See, the Federal Government actually mandates that cellular companies invest in the technology that allows law enforcement to perform such practices. The cell phone companies are even going so far as to offer such technologies as part of their "service" so that they can recover their "investment."

The issue is taking on greater relevance as wireless carriers are racing to offer sleek services that allow cellphone users to know with the touch of a button where their friends or families are. The companies are hoping to recoup investments they have made to meet a federal mandate to provide enhanced 911 (E911) location tracking. Sprint Nextel, for instance, boasts that its "loopt" service even sends an alert when a friend is near, "putting an end to missed connections in the mall, at the movies or around town."

With Verizon's Chaperone service, parents can set up a "geofence" around, say, a few city blocks and receive an automatic text message if their child, holding the cellphone, travels outside that area.

Losing patience

2007-11-21T19:38:00.000-08:00

Some things have been known to make me lose patience.

McClellan stirring up the dust?

2007-11-21T01:20:00.000-08:00

Earlier today, the publishing company of former Bush White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan's yet to be released book on his time in the White House teased the public with 121 words from said book. It's hard to tell whether Scott McClellan's assertions that he was lead to unintentionally lie to the White House press corps. about Karl Rove and Scooter Libby's involvement in the C.I.A. leak scandal is indeed genuine or if these 121 words are merely a cheap ploy to increase book sales come April. If true, it would certainly confirm one of the most damning suspicions that people have had regarding this President since 2003, that he knowingly aided in the outing and/or cover up of the outing of a C.I.A. non-official cover operative, one that was working on nuclear non-proliferation no less. I give you the incriminating words:

The most powerful leader in the world had called upon me to speak on his behalf and help restore credibility he lost amid the failure to find weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. So I stood at the White house briefing room podium in front of the glare of the klieg lights for the better part of two weeks and publicly exonerated two of the senior-most aides in the White House: Karl Rove and Scooter Libby.
There was one problem. It was not true.
I had unknowingly passed along false information. And five of the highest ranking officials in the administration were involved in my doing so: Rove, Libby, the vice President, the President's chief of staff, and the President himself.

I'm just sayin'

2007-11-20T14:39:00.000-08:00

Okay, so I'm not saying it, somebody from the Oregon Center for Public Policy is. As somebody should be.

Kicker checks are going to be mailed out soon, and with an excess of $1.1 billion, there's plenty to go around. So what does $1.1 billion in could have been tax dollars amount to?

A billion dollars is a lot of money -- and a lot of lost opportunity. This year's kicker, for example, would cover four years of tuition and fees for about 45,000 Oregonians at one of Oregon's public universities. About 8,000 Oregon high school graduates enter Oregon colleges each year. A billion dollars could have funded full college rides for all Oregon high school graduates entering the next five freshman classes.

OLCC considers rule change, groups weigh in

2007-11-20T03:05:00.000-08:00

In case you haven't heard, the Oregon Liquor Control Commission is considering changing their rules to allow some music venues that serve alcohol to allow older teenagers into the venue. In the meantime, one group has already weighed in with a big "no."

I remember coming to PSU in 2004 and going to the Bus Project's Candidates Gone Wild with some fellow PSU Dems. Once we got to the event, all the new (and obviously younger) members were immediately separated and quarantined into a little area off to the side underneath a balcony. I felt bad for the leadership at the time, who had to decide who was going to stay with the scared Freshman and who was going to have fun with the "adults."

Hillary Clinton: The Politician

2007-11-15T02:37:00.000-08:00

She is definitely not my "first choice" for President. I still do not have a "first choice. " What I will say is that Hillary Clinton is a damn good politician.

I am tired, so here is Context

Someone said it for me again

2007-11-14T22:25:00.000-08:00

Once again, someone has said it for me. This time about the Portland Business Alliance's private police force, compliments of Matilda from our local Indymedia.

I highly recommend a full reading of Matilda's account, and I will supplement it with this article from MSN Money brought to my attention by a fellow classmate.

I'm not sure what the scariest part of this article is. The fact that nearly 25% of our labor force are classified as "security workers," or that this guy is advising people on how to make money off of this unfortunate statistic. You decide!

Similar calculations of guard labor for 18 other countries suggest that the United States is pretty much the leader in this category, slightly trailing Greece, a former military dictatorship, but well ahead of Western democracies such as Switzerland, which has just a 10th of its labor force devoted to guard labor.

Major groan-age.

My dad cut down that tree

2007-11-14T20:38:00.000-08:00

I was walking to class last Friday when I saw a semi-truck parked outside of the School of Business Administration building with a giant tree on the back of it. There were lots of people gathered around it, which I thought was curious, since it was a tree on the back of a truck which didn't look to be moving any time soon. It didn't immediately click with me that this was the tree, you know, the giant one that goes in Pioneer Courthouse Square every year.

In fact, I didn't realize it was the tree for a couple of days. I was talking to my mother on the phone and she mentioned that my father had once again, for the nth year in a row, cut down the tree. You see, my father works for Stimson Lumber Company, the company that donates the tree every year. When two and two finally made four in my head, it seemed cosmically strange that my father cut down the tree in rural Oregon on Friday and within hours it ended up outside the classroom I was sitting in. I've long enjoyed the fact that the tree is a product of my father's labor, but I've rarely enjoyed the tree as the tree, in all its holiday glory in the square. I think this year I will make a point to do so.

ORblogs and condoms

2007-11-14T20:14:00.000-08:00

If you're not yet familiar with ORblogs yet, I will give you a reason why that mistake, whether or not the fault lies with you, should be rectified immediately.

You see if it weren't for ORblogs, I never would have noticed Institute of Jurassic Technology's post on a condom fashion show in China. Now, that show was four months ago, but just because it's old news doesn't mean a Google image search won't yield amazing results now.

PETA: Super-duper-undercover-special investigation edition

2007-11-14T19:52:00.000-08:00

Make that two times that PETA has gone super-duper undercover and infiltrated the Oregon National Primate Research Center.

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, a national animal-rights group, planted one of its undercover investigators at the Hillsboro center from April 9 to July 25, officials at the nonprofit told The Oregonian.

The investigator, whom neither PETA nor the primate center would identify, took a job as an animal husbandry technician and secretly took notes and shot video to document her complaints. PETA will formalize her accusations today in a complaint to federal regulators.

Many people find great joy in marginalizing and even criticizing PETA. More often than not, at least in conversations I've had with folks, their tactics are cited. To me, in regard to this tactic at least, that argument carries no water.

How many people out there working for some cause or another actually have the wherewithal to
go undercover and infiltrate an organization for their cause? You're not going to see many hands raised. That is some serious gumption.

If only we could see such gumption, dedication, and effort in regard to our cause. The cause of the American citizen. We could use some undercover-special-investigations.

For Democracy.

Gordon Smith: All things to all people

2007-11-14T18:52:00.000-08:00

Gordon Smith has carved out a reputation is a "moderate" Republican who is willing to do whatever it takes to get the job done, even if that means "crossing the aisle." The Oregonian has always gone out of their way to perpetuate this mythical idea of the maverick Republican Senator from Oregon. They've gone so far out of their way in fact, that even articles pointing out Smith's "partisan attack dog" moments look like long, sweet kisses.

WASHINGTON -- Sen. Gordon Smith, R-Ore., works hard to cultivate an image as a lawmaker who will work with the enemy to get things done. His affiliation with liberal Sen. Ted Kennedy recently on several issues only reinforced the image.

On Wednesday, however, Smith assumed another role -- partisan attack dog.

In a mid-afternoon news conference designed to shred Democrats, Smith took the stage with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, Trent Lott, Charles Grassley, and John Kyl -- all Republicans -- to condemn Democrats for not yet renewing legislation that would shield 25 million middle class taxpayers from an unintended tax. [...]
"That's a wrong we ought to right and it isn't being righted because of the intransigence of this Congress,'' Smith said. "We believe in a low tax society. We believe in a high opportunity society.''

In fact, you have to read all the way till the second-to-last paragraph to shed any sort of light on the Republican antics at play here.

Yet even Republicans admit that the AMT will pass eventually. And they often fail to admit that one reason it's being delayed is that Republicans have linked other tax cuts to the bill.

Ah ha. So there we have it, folks. Attach tax cuts for the rich and famous whilst decrying Democrats for not protecting the middle class. It would be cute really, if the Oregonian's first priority was to slice through the bullshit, but it's not. Their first priority is to let you know how willing our Junior Senator is to cross the aisle, never mind that it's merely in the interest of the haves.

Also snuck into the latter end of this article is Gordon Smith's cozy friendship with Trent Lott.

Smith found a friend in Lott, the Republican from Mississippi.

``If you want a better example of how this Congress has become dysfunctional, take a look at this,'' he said.

Yes, that Trent Lott.

Krugman said it (Or why I love blogs)

2007-11-11T22:07:00.000-08:00

Last week I saw the comments that Barack Obama made about Social Security and it's "coming crisis" and such. I couldn't believe I was hearing this crisis fear-mongering again. And from a Democrat, no less. Didn't we win this debate already? I got quite angry and began blogging in my head about it but I never really had time to sit down and spill it into the intertubes. That's why I was quite pleased when Krugman said everything that I was thinking for me.

This is why I love teh blogosphere. If you're too busy to put down the words, odds are somebody is thinking what you're thinking.

2008 Initiatives

2007-11-09T18:32:00.000-08:00

The Oregonian has a sneak peak of a couple ballot measures that are now approved for circulation for the 2008 election.

One petition calls for amending the Oregon Constitution to prohibit "the use of public or private funds to facilitate the killing of any human being from the moment of conception, wholly or partially within the womb or after delivery, and the acceptance of funds for performing such a procedure." Violations would be punishable as murder or accessory to murder.
The initiative would allow ending an ectopic pregnancy or executing someone convicted of a capital offense by a jury.

Last year's Measure 43, Parental Notification, failed. In fact, the two abortion measures failed to pass in 1990 as well. Year after year these same right-wing initiatives make it onto the ballot and voted down by Oregonians. One of the main reasons I think is because people often don't know what their signing. The best way to find out what you're signing I've found is to ask who the sponsor is.

Chief petitioners are Jack Brown and Barbara Gonzalez of Grants Pass and Richard Hake of Rogue River, and they will need 110,358 valid signatures to put it to a statewide vote next year.

You see, in the signature-gathering world, over time you'll begin to see a pattern.

Two landmark gay-rights laws, signed less than a week ago by Gov. Ted Kulongoski, were officially targeted Monday for referral to voters.

Jack Brown of Grants Pass, chairman of the Constitution Party of Oregon, and two other southern Oregonians filed papers with the Oregon secretary of state so they can begin collecting the 55,179 signatures they will need to put the two laws on the ballot in fall 2008.

Then of course, there's the infamous Bill Sizemore.

So next time someone asks you to sign an initiative or referendum petition, just ask who is the sponsor. There are two names from a list of many to avoid.

Smith votes for torture

2007-11-08T20:30:00.000-08:00

The vote to confirm the nomination of Michael B. Mukasey as Attorney General just passed and Oregon's own Junior Senator Gordon Smith cast an AYE vote.

Thanks to Nation of Laws for providing Gordon's next bumper sticker.

Gordon Smith has effectively given George Bush a giant thumbs up to continue torturing people, in spite of both U.S. and international law. Americans are depressingly fed up with George Bush's blatant disregard for the law and Gordon Smith is nothing more than an enabler of the King's giant finger to the Constitution.

Steve Novick could not have put it more simply:

"If the Senate again confirms an attorney general who refuses to denounce torture, it will be giving a green light to President Bush to continue to use torture around the world," said Novick. "It will disgrace the United States across the globe. And it will not make us safer. As Senator John McCain has said: 'We should not torture or treat inhumanely terrorists we have captured. The abuse of prisoners harms, not helps, our war effort.'"

It's that simple. The law is the law, and the Attorney General prosecutes our law. If he refuses to recognize the law, that is a problem. If our elected representatives in government are okay with this, that is a far graver problem.

Mukasey vote going down now

2007-11-08T19:11:00.000-08:00

It looks like the Mukasey confirmation is going down right now. C-SPAN2 for those interested.

Update 7:20 PM:

Tom Harkin (D-IA) is calling George Bush "the king." Nice.

Update 8:28 PM:

Torture man confirmed. 53-40. Voting was cut off and Senators did not appear happy about it.

DeFazio comes out against Peru Free Trade Agreement

2007-11-07T21:17:00.000-08:00

Rep. Peter DeFazio speaks the truth.

"The dollar is dropping like a rock. We're borrowing $2 billion a day from overseas to buy things that we don't make in America anymore. We've lost 4 million manufacturing jobs nationally, and 40,000 jobs here in Oregon due to so-called free trade policies. Millions of middle class Americans are seeing their pay go stagnate or decline. Our current trade policy is a dismal failure. It's a failed engine for America's economy."

I'm especially interested to see where Portland's own Rep. Earl Blumenauer is going to come down on this issue. The nicest way of describing his record on trade that I can think of is "mixed," which breaks my heart seeing as he's such an advocate for, well, pretty much everything else that Progressives stand for. I was very pleased to see him vote against CAFTA and I hope he will do the same with this lousy trade agreement.

How badly did Measure 50 fail?

2007-11-07T21:02:00.000-08:00

Bad.

Oregon's largest county is the only county where voters liked Measure 50's proposed cigarette tax increase, according to election results with 1.13 million ballots counted Wednesday morning.

According to the latest results, NO votes reached as high as 80% in Oregon counties.

That's what 12$ million in advertising from the people who invented advertising will get you. Sorry, children. I hope you get well soon.

The Office is closed

2007-11-07T20:50:00.000-08:00

I wrote previously about the rhyme and reason of the Writers Guild of America strike.

What has really been great to see is the writers taking their message to the Internet these last few days, much like Progressives have done when attempting to bring about change. The Writers Guild of America has even set up a YouTube channel so you can see the progress of the strike from the ground. And from that YouTube channel, a message from the writers of the Office.

FEMA still doing a heckuva job

2007-11-07T19:59:00.000-08:00

They did a heckuva job in the summer of 2005 and they did a heckuva job during the fall of 2007.

In all the media surrounding the California wildfires the last few weeks, you might have missed the fact that some of it was staged by FEMA officials .

FEMA officials hurriedly called a press conference on October 23, giving media outlets only a few minutes notice. When no reporters were present for the conference, FEMA staffers asked questions of the agency's No. 2 official, Harvey Johnson. Reporters were allowed to call in for the conference, but they were kept in listen-only mode and not allowed to ask questions.

And what did many of those questions sound like?

"Are you happy with FEMA's response so far?" a reporter asked. Another asked about "lessons learned from Katrina."

"I'm very happy with FEMA's response so far," Johnson said, hailing "a very smoothly, very efficiently performing team." [...]
Very smooth, very professional. But something didn't seem right. The reporters were lobbing too many softballs. No one asked about trailers with formaldehyde for those made homeless by the fires. And the media seemed to be giving Johnson all day to wax on and on about FEMA's greatness.
Of course, that could be because the questions were asked by FEMA staffers playing reporters. We're told the questions were asked by Cindy Taylor, FEMA's deputy director of external affairs, and by "Mike" Widomski, the deputy director of public affairs. Director of External Affairs John "Pat" Philbin asked a question, and another came, we understand, from someone who sounds like press aide Ali Kirin.

Within days of the fake press conference coming to light, one official involved announced they were leaving the agency. After which he was promptly offered a new post as the head of public affairs for the Office of the Director of National Intelligence. No joke. Today, another official resigned.

But don't worry, folks. The White House is aware of the situation.

"It is not a practice that we would employ here at the White House."

Except that you have employed it at the White House.

Paging Jeff Gannon.