The FBI went fishing in Memphis and caught a big fish. The bait? A $10,000 bribe. The catch? State senator John Ford. Ford was arrested Thursday as part of a sting operation in which undercover agents created a sham company named E-Cycle Management and posed as executives who asked lawmakers to introduce bills to help their business. According to the indictments, the lawmakers and two other men took $92,000 to usher bills for E-Cycle through the Legislature. Ford is accused of taking $55,000 between August and April. ... Over three decades in the Tennessee Senate, Ford has lost paternity lawsuits, given a political job to a girlfriend, used campaign money for his daughter's wedding and been successfully sued for sexual harassment. The Senate Ethics Committee and a federal grand jury are also investigating $429,000 Ford received from a consulting company with financial ties to the state's Medicaid program. It's important to remember that Ford has yet to be convicted, but he is the model of what a politician shouldn't be. I suspect larger political forces are at work here (Ford's nephew will be challenging Republican leader Bill Frist for senate in 2006), but let's hope the people of Tennessee don't...
I almost let this one slip past: In a decision that seemed to twist logic unmercifully to arrive at a prescribed conclusion, the U.S. Supreme Court Monday declared that those ads promoting "Beef: It's what's for dinner" are not the work of an industry council promoting their product, but are in fact "government speech." Therefore it's acceptable to use the coercive power of government to force beef producers who don't agree with or like the ad campaign to pay for it. Most Americans who see those agricultural industry promotion ads -- think also "Got Milk?" or "the other white meat" -- probably believe they're supported by dues or voluntary assessments on members of industry associations. In fact, almost all those campaigns are backed up by the federal government, which makes it illegal for beef producers (to take the current example) not to pay $1 per head of cattle raised each year to support the campaigns. A sensible Supreme Court would wonder what clause in the Constitution gives the government power to promote a special interest through taxation and would conclude that the government had no constitutional authority to do such a thing. This is something tax-chawing Red Staters and college...
Democrats and moderate Republicans have delayed the vote over John Bolton's confirmation as ambassador to the U.N. Some have hammered Bolton over his erratic and vindictive management (moving a CIA analyst who disagreed with his assessment of Cuba). Others have pointed out his dismissive and adversarial comments about the U.N ("If the U.N. secretary building in New York lost 10 stories, it wouldn't make a bit of difference"). But far more substantive are Bolton's failures in his job in the State Department to prevent the proliferation of WMD (link requires New Republic subscription). In his current position at State, Bolton's job is to lead the effort to stop WMD proliferation. Yet less weapons-grade nuclear material was secured in the two years after September 11 than in the two years before it. North Korea has gone from having two nuclear bombs to having as many as eight. (As former 9/11 Commission staffer Warren Bass put it, "two bombs is a deterrent; eight is a commodity.") Iran's mullahs have stepped up their efforts to go nuclear, and the United States appears impotent to stop them. And Bolton has been credited with killing the Biological Weapons Convention. Not only have Bush and Bolton...
The latest issue of the New Yorker features a remarkably clear dissection of evolution's (and science's) greatest foe of the moment: Intelligent Design. The movement’s main positive claim is that there are things in the world, most notably life, that cannot be accounted for by known natural causes and show features that, in any other context, we would attribute to intelligence. Living organisms are too complex to be explained by any natural—or, more precisely, by any mindless—process. Instead, the design inherent in organisms can be accounted for only by invoking a designer, and one who is very, very smart. ... Advocates of intelligent design point to two developments that in their view undermine Darwinism. The first is the molecular revolution in biology. Beginning in the nineteen-fifties, molecular biologists revealed a staggering and unsuspected degree of complexity within the cells that make up all life. This complexity, I.D.’s defenders argue, lies beyond the abilities of Darwinism to explain. Second, they claim that new mathematical findings cast doubt on the power of natural selection. Selection may play a role in evolution, but it cannot accomplish what biologists suppose it can. H. Allen Orr goes on to describe the work of ID's two...
Well, the Republicans didn't have to go nuclear to get what they wanted. In a dramatic reach across party lines, Senate centrists sealed a compromise Monday night that cleared the way for confirmation of many of President Bush's stalled judicial nominees, left others in limbo and preserved venerable filibuster rules. Basically, there will be up or down votes for all of Bush's nominees but two (for now), and Democrats can only use the filibuster in 'extreme circumstances.' This is a phrase any lawyer worth his salt could drive a Mack truck through. Kos has the actual signed deal here. What is an extreme circumstance? In a statement after releasing the agreement, John McCain said "we will try to do everything in our power to prevent filibusters in the future." If Republicans consider a candidate not 'extreme' enough for a filibuster, what prevents them from going nuclear then? And if Priscilla Owens, who is the lowest-rated judge on the Texas Supreme Court (according to the Houston Bar Association), isn't filibuster-worthy, then who is? This is a woman who even White House counsel Alberto Gonzales accused of "judicial activism" and who some accuse of being responsible for the death of a 22-year-old...
Remember high school lunches? I remember the choice: soggy gray food from steam trays, or yummy sweet goodies from the snack bar. One could spend $2 on limp pizza and mashed potatoes made from flakes (that tasted and felt more like grits), or for the same price get a bottle of Coca-Cola, three butterscotch krimpets, and a bag of Cheetos. Really wasn't a hard choice for me. The snack bar gives kids what they want, but also treats parents and schools. Schools get money for textbooks and scoreboards, and parents get lower taxes. Meanwhile, their kids blow up and feel entitled to eat junk food all the time. Now, as I go to the gym every morning to burn off those krumpets, I wonder why I was even given the choice. As a 16-year-old, I just wanted what tasted good all the time. As a 30-year-old, I know healthier food is better for me and (usually) make the choice for better nutrition and lower calories over savory, sweet snack food. And as an adult taxpayer, I've learned a lesson: unhealthy youngsters grow into unhealthy adults. The small tax savings come back as a burden to kids when they grow up...
What does a Democratic governor of a red state look like? Check out this profile of Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer here. Certain frothy left-wing bloggers see a big future, or at least a model in winning the west, in Schweitzer, who was a farmer before becoming the first Democrat in 16 years to sit in the big seat in Helena....
I was born in Baltimore, and much of my family still lives in Maryland. So it was with great disappointment that I read: Maryland Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. vetoed a bill yesterday that would have granted rights to gay partners who register with the state, concluding after weeks of intense deliberations that the legislation threatened "the sanctity of traditional marriage." The emotionally charged bill was among 24 that Ehrlich (R) rejected yesterday afternoon, including legislation to raise the state's minimum wage by $1, allow early voting in elections and heighten oversight of the state's troubled juvenile justice system. Another measure sought by gay rights activists that would have extended a property transfer tax exemption to domestic partners was also scuttled. We're not talking about gay marriage here, people. We're talking about basic human rights: "the right to be treated as an immediate family member during hospital visits, to make health care decisions for incapacitated partners and to have private visits in nursing homes." Ehrlich is up for reelection in 2006. I hope my friends and family in Maryland show him the way out....
The House has approved a bill to protect wild horses out west from being slaughtered. Wild horses had been protected for over 30 years, but ranchers don't like them. Wild horses use up land resources. And when ranchers don't like something, there's always a contribution-hungry politician ready to protect them. Which leads me to the question: Why is the slaughter of wild horses an issue again? Because Montana Senator Conrad Burns inserted a provision in last year's spending bill that lifted the ban on sales of wild horses in 10 western states. Is Conrad Burns feeling a bit Frenchy, and getting a taste for horse meat? Or is it just a taste for something else...?...
Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum has clarified his accusation that Democrats are acting like Hitler when they protect the 200-plus-years-old democratic tradition of the filibuster. "My point was that it is preposterous for someone to trample a well-established principle, and then accuse his opponents of acting unlawfully when they try to reestablish that principle," Santorum said. "Nevertheless, it was a mistake and I meant no offense." Santorum says he just wanted to "dramatize" the argument. He didn't mean to provoke offense by comparing Democrats to Hitler? This man's now not only appalling to Americans, Democrats, and his own party -- but also Nazis, who are probably yearning for the days when Hitler had power to offend....
The filibuster has been an American institution for over 100 years. It was Jimmy Stewart's tool in "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington," the classic tale of the little guy fighting against big corruption, made while America braced for the Nazi menace's onslaught. Now Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum has disgraced his country and his party by comparing Democrats to Hitler: THE AUDACITY OF SOME MEMBERS TO STAND UP AND SAY, HOW DARE YOU BREAK THIS RULE. IT'S THE EQUIVALENT OF ADOLF HITLER IN 1942 "I'M IN PARIS. HOW DARE YOU INVADE ME. HOW DARE YOU BOMB MY CITY? IT'S MINE." It doesn't matter than Republicans have used the filibuster before, or that Democrats have approved of far more of Bush's nominees than Republicans did of Clinton's. This is taking partisan hackery to a whole new level. Crooks and Liars video here. Swing State Project's roll call here....
Colorado Republicans are in a bind. They've got no one with state-wide recognition to run for governor in 2006. Or rather, no one not embroiled in a family taxpayer swindle. So they're contemplating taking Rep. Bob Beauprez out of Congress to run for governor against current Democratic Senator Ken Salazar. The problem? If Beauprez bites it against Salazar, a Democrat takes the governor's mansion and then gets to appoint his successor in the senate. Another reason why Democrats are looking, longingly, at Colorado....
It turns out that Republican Senate leader Bill Frist, who leads the charge to go nuclear and do away with the institution of filibuster in the Senate, voted in 2000 to filibuster one of Clinton's judicial appointments. Not only is Frist wrong on this issue, he's a hypocrite. Which is all the more reason we need Mr. Smith in Washington....
As Kiyoshi Kurosawa's 1999 feature Charisma begins, burnt out cop Yabuike (Koji Yaukusho) is brought in to defuse a hostage situation. Seized by a moment of indecision, he misses a key opportunity, leading to the deaths of both the unbalanced criminal and his prisoner. Yabuike is forced to take an obviously much-needed vacation, but instead of going home, he decides to go for a walk in the woods....
They're not just in Kansas anymore. The pseudo-scientists have invaded New York state and are pushing for our kids to learn Creationism 2.0. This stuff isn't junk science, it's just junk. The summary of the bill introduced to the NY State Legislature on May 3 by Catskill Assemblyman Daniel Hooker: Add S803-b, Ed L Requires teaching in both theories of intelligent design and evolution in their curriculums; provides that the board of education or trustees of every school district shall provide appropriate training and curriculum materials for the regular teachers who will be providing such instruction, to ensure that all aspects of the theories, along with any supportive date, is fully examined. Hooker's bill would require kids to learn Intelligent Design under the pretext of being fair to competing "theories." Questions about Intelligent Design? One could do no better to begin at Barbara Forrest's red-hot rebuke of a book of essays edited by ID proponent John Angus Campbell: Campbell states that the book addresses the question, "Should public school science teachers be free to teach the controversies over biological origins?" His introduction sets the tone for the discussion of this question with three false assertions: "ID is a science, a...
Koji and Junko Sato are a married couple living a quiet, modest life. Koji (Koji Yakusho) works as a sound effects recorder for television; Junko (Jun Fubuki) works from home as a medium. Their respective careers will come to involve them in quite the life-changing event....
Rhode Island Senator Lincoln Chafee's got a bit of an identity problem. As a New England Republican, he has frequently broken ranks with the divisive far-right-wingers who currently run his party. But there comes a time in every politician's life when he must fall in line with the party or face the possibility of losing support. Now the time is here. In the fight over John Bolton, Bush's proposed U.N. ambassador, Chafee has stood on the fence. "I wish this wasn't the nominee to the United Nations," Chafee said in April. But the Republican sheepdogs have gathered the stragglers, and Chafee's jumped off the fence. The senator from Rhode Island, who happens to be up for re-election next year, has sided with Bush. If Chafee votes for Bolton, Rhode Island will remember in 2006....
Pennsylvania tax-payers are still trying to figure out, or at least paying lawyers to figure out, whether Senator Rick Santorum did anything inappropriate by having his kids use Penn Hills School District cash to access an online charter school while the family lived in Virginia. Santorum and his wife, Karen, removed their children from the cyber school last fall after questions were raised about their residency. At the time, Santorum said they would home-school their children, which they had done previously. The Santorums own a Penn Hills home but spend most of their time at a home they own in Virginia. Under state law, a school district must pay a fee set by the state for each resident who attends a charter school. I'm no fan of Santorum, but it seems fair that if school money comes from property taxes, and the family owns a house in the county, it shouldn't matter where the kids access their online charter school from....
I've almost stopped paying attention to the senate's filibuster shenanigans. They go back and forth like children. I've been impressed by Harry Reid's doggedness and how smart he's played his card. And buried in this Times story about the fight is a line that might show the cracks in the GOP's armor: Some lawmakers said they were exploring a resolution that would satisfy both sides without forcing a vote, but others itched for the fight. "The sooner, the better," said Senator George Allen, Republican of Virginia, who said Dr. Frist should have acted before now. Among a recent poll of GOP bigwigs, Allen was named the lead contender for the 2008 presidential ticket. When he's saying he's peaved with your current leader, at the very least you've got party discipline problems -- and possibly something much worse....
Here's a poll of the approval ratings for all the nation's governors. The average approval rating is 48%. Governor Pataki's Mom was right -- Georgie isn't average. He's at 36%....
The pastor accused of booting John Kerry voters out of his church has resigned. Rev. Chan Chandler insisted it's all a big misunderstanding. "I don't believe he preached politics," church member Rhonda Trantham said. "I don't believe anyone should tell a preacher not to preach what's in the Bible." But some congregants of the 100-member church in western North Carolina have said Chandler endorsed President Bush from the pulpit during last year's presidential campaign and said that anyone who planned to vote for Democratic nominee Sen. John Kerry needed to "repent or resign." It seems to be a misunderstanding of the church's relationship to politics. A church can take a stance on political issues, as the Catholic church does with abortion and the death penalty, without becoming embroiled in endorsing candidates. There are such things as anti-choice Democrats. And I've never heard a pro-choice Democrat disagree with Bill Clinton that abortion should be rare. But when a pastor moves from the issue to the candidate is when it becomes a problem. Because abortion isn't the only issue believers should consult their Bible for. What ever happened to the cause of the poor and the suffering? What if those Kerry voters...
The 58th annual Cannes Film Festival kicks off today. Much has been made of the main competition's reliance on past masters, but that is not necessarily a bad thing, and it doesn't change the fact that there are some films getting excited about: In competetion David Cronenberg's A History of Violence has the baggage of being adapted from a comic book...oh, excuse me, a graphic novel, but as he has proven before, pulp source material can be transformed into excellent cinema (see: The Dead Zone, Dead Ringers). Michael Haneke's Cache, starring Daniel Auteuil and Juliette Binoche (reuniting with her Code Unknown director), sounds appropriately ominous from its description on the Cannes site: "Georges, who hosts a TV literary review, receives packages containing videos of himself with his family -- shot secretly from the street -- and alarming drawings whose meaning is obscure. He has no idea who may be sending them. Gradually, the footage on the tapes becomes more personal, suggesting that the sender has known Georges for some time. Georges feels a sense of menace hanging over him and his family..." Haneke may have won the Grand Jury prize in 2001 for The Piano Teacher, but for my money...
Is Manhattan ready for Leslie Crocker Snyder? The former prosecutor plans to challenge District Attorney Robert Morgenthau this year in the Democratic primary. Snyder's main argument? Morgenthau's dusty. He's 86 years old. Also, he spends a lot of money and attention on white-collar and terrorism-related crimes that are better handled by the Feds. This New Yorker article has a kicker of a close: Now Morgenthau, who was born closer to the Presidency of Martin Van Buren than to that of George W. Bush, is looking ahead. “I have a lot of unfinished business here,” he said. Indeed, Morgenthau believes that he may go on even longer than another four-year term. As I was getting ready to leave his office, I asked him whether he would promise not to run for a tenth term in 2009, when he will be ninety years old. “Never say never,” Morgenthau said. “Wouldn’t want to be a lame duck.”...
New Yorkers, watch your wallets when friends of Reverend Al enter the room. A top presidential fund-raiser for the Rev. Al Sharpton was convicted yesterday in a massive Philadelphia pay-for-play corruption trial. ... Hawkins and Philly powerbroker Ron White were caught on FBI tapes saying Sharpton could gain them access to New York City pension funds and "billions" in Pepsi contracts. White died before trial. "Let's say they [Pepsi] probably have some minority mandates . . . We could take insurance, we could take printing, we could take their pension fund . . . If you just broke off, like, you know, 10 percent of that s- - -, man, like, you talking billions," White tells Hawkins on a March 31, 2003, tape. It's a travesty the good Reverend holds one iota of power in NY politics....
A prominent NY Republican has joined the slow fight for treating marijuana in a rational way. State Senator Vincent Leibell introduced a bill that would allow doctors to prescribe pot for seriously ill patients....
