AddieStan

"This Train" lyrics If you've lost track lately of the antics of the religious right, your blogstress recommends bringing yourself up to date via the blogs of Max Blumenthal and Josh Marshall. Blumenthal has been cranking out pieces on the relationship of Jack Abramoff and his evil schemes to the " target=resource window>purportedly anti-gambling leadership of the Christian right . Most delicious in this tale is the apparent manipulation of the self-important James Dobson, king of the Focus on the Family media empire, by the oily Ralph Reed, former director of Pat Robertson's Christian Coalition, and currently a candidate for lieutenant governor of Georgia. (Your cybertrix has difficulty envisioning the Chuckyesque Mr. Reed seeing this candidacy through, given the road to indictment on which he may well find himself. If only he were in Texas...where the indicted Mr. DeLay appears to be on his way to winning the primary for his House seat.) Blumenthal rem...

Think it can't happen to you, ma cherie ? I mean, who would want to examine the phone records of little old you -- you're just a regular Jane who graces the occassional Web site with the occasional rant, right? Welcome to the 21st Century, where the U.S. Constitution appears to be breathing its last. Remember all that scary talk about how, under the Patriot Act, the FBI could demand that libraries and publishers turn over files on the reading and writing habits of selected targets? Now comes word that bloggers -- well, at least one blogger -- are the targets. Doug Thompson, founder of Capitol Hill Blue, which claims to be the oldest news site on the internet, says that, in his capacity as the proprietor of his own Web-hosting company, he received a National Security Letter from the FBI, demanding that he turn over records concerning traffic on his blog. This means that they're not just looking at Thompson himself; they're looking to track who's reading him. Whi...

It seems to your blogstress that, despite some six days of protests and riots around the world, the people of the Western world seem intent on not getting the furor over a series of cartoons, run in a handful of European newspapers , that cariactured the prophet Mohammad (peace be upon him) in a number of stereotypes ascribed to Muslims by bigots. It would have been enough of a blasphemy simply to depict the prophet, even in a positive light. Islam proscribes any depiction of the prophet, much like Jewish prosciptions of "graven images" of the deity. But to do so in such a disrespectful fashion, well, that was just gasoline thrown on already smouldering coals. Particularly distasteful is the fact that the cartoons in question originated as part of a "challenge to self-censorship" initiated by a Danish newspaper. In other words, these cartoonists were given the charge to be just as insulting as they pleased. And some pleased to be extremely insulting. All in th...

D.C. denizens: Don't miss your chance to see the incomparable J. Scales sing, play her bass and read some sage, poetic words this Friday at Mocha Hut.

Your blogstress is not one to lob the "L" word around -- no, not THAT L word; rather, she speaks of the one that ends in I-E. Yet so brazen was the section of the president's State of the Union speech that addressed his domestic spying program that your cybertrix calls her readers to this: Count the number of lies in the following passage: It is said that prior to the attacks of September 11th, our government failed to connect the dots of the conspiracy. We now know that two of the hijackers in the United States placed telephone calls to al-Qaida operatives overseas. But we did not know about their plans until it was too late. So to prevent another attack – based on authority given to me by the Constitution and by statute – I have authorized a terrorist surveillance program to aggressively pursue the international communications of suspected al-Qaida operatives and affiliates to and from America. Previous presidents have used the same constitutional authority I have ...

...and another one opens. Exit the era of Coretta Scott King--she who embraced civil rights for all, even non-heterosexuals--and enter the era of Justice Samuel Alito--he who appears to embrace rights for only the few, and who claims to have belonged to an organization that opposed the admission of women and minorities to his alma mater. Blessed Mother, pray for us sinners...

More on what your blogstress believes to be the fabrication of a certain credential on Alito's application for a job in the Reagan Justice Department comes from the indefatigable Chan Sethi of The Daily Princeton , the campus newspaper of Princeton University. Writing in The Weekly Standard, a prominent national conservative magazine of which he is currently publisher, Eastland added: "I didn't know Alito had applied for the job, and ... I didn't know that Alito had gone to Princeton, much less had any association with CAP [the Concerned Alumni of Princeton]." Alito's membership in the group was the subject of intense questioning during confirmation hearings this week. He said he has no recollection of CAP and likely put it on the 1985 job application — the only record of his participation in the group — to establish his conservative credentials for the Reagan administration. "You have to look at the question that I was responding to and the for...

On Friday, Bob Fertik of the blog, Democrats.com (apparently not officially affiliated with the Democratic Party) served up some weekend excitement for your blogstress by breaking news that Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.), of all people, would lead a filibuster against the confirmation vote for Judge Samuel Alito to the Supreme Court. Any red-blooded, U.S.-Constitution-loving American, thinks your cybertrix, should be grateful to the senator and the blogger for saving the weekend. Now, let's see if we can collectively save the Court. Here's Fertik's Friday scoop : Original post 1 pm: I have confirmed reports that Kerry wants to filibuster Alito, and he is talking to his colleagues to round up the 41 votes he needs. Three Democrats (Ben Nelson, Tim Johnson and Robert Byrd) support Alito. So right now, without the support of any Republicans, we still have 42 possible votes for a filibuster. There are 4 moderate Republicans who should be targeted (Lincoln Chafee, Susan Collins, ...

2005 (c) A.M. Stan for AFGE Two weeks after Katrina hit New Orleans, a city emptied of its citizens was one vast bin of debris. If only Lake Pontchartrain had been contained by a stone wall of equal height and strength to the one the Bush administration has erected against the Katrina queries of the U.S. Congress, the people of New Orleans' lower Ninth Ward might still have homes there today. From today's New York Times comes this account of obstruction , as the Administration seeks to shield its Katrina-related correspondence from prying eyes of Congress -- which, mes amis , is supposed to function as the eyes and ears of tu et moi , as nous --as in all y'all--are a bit too big of a plural to be granted an unobstructed view of the unitary executive. From reporter Eric Lipton: The Bush administration, citing the confidentiality of executive branch communications, said Tuesday that it did not plan to turn over certain documents about Hurricane Katrina or make senior White ...

Listen to your blogstress! So much to moan about; so little time. Your blogstress is feeling mighty alone these days in her indignation over the notion of a Justice Samuel Alito. Does no one else feel this is a disaster? Is no one else bothered by an indefinite tilt of the court to the right? Are we ready to enter a world of strip-searches for 10-year-olds, jailings of 12-year-olds for eating french -- no -- freedom fries in a subway station, and the overturning of civil rights and women's rights decisions? And how 'bout dem Dems, huh? Can anyone explain to your cybertrix the disorganized questioning of Alito during his nomination hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee? It's not as if this hearing was something that was sprung on them. He was nominated on Halloween, and the hearing began after New Year's, for Aphrodite's sake! Couldn't they have sent a bunch of staffers into a room together to come up with a plan? Your Webwench finds herself still a...

At last, another liberal who gets the game. Over at Liberal Oasis , the blogger has suggested that the Dems get into the constitutional amendment game. You'll recall that your humble blogstress has suggested that the minority party introduce one guaranteeing a right to privacy -- a right most Americans would be surprised to learn is mentioned nowhere in the Constitution. Liberal Oasis, on the other hand, is suggesting that Dems float one on campaign finance. In a post titled, Dems Make Their Stand on Ethics: Can They Draw A Bright Line Even Brighter? , the Oasis gives us this: On a Tuesday conference call with bloggers, Sen. Minority Leader Harry Reid showed some spine and savvy, saying there was little point cutting deals with GOPers on ethics when they’re the source of the problem. Instead, Reid said Dems would offer proposals that draw a “bright line” between the parties on fighting corruption, so the public could see the difference. The bummer is that the Democrats' eth...

Who would you rather have sitting on the Supreme Court: A. a guy who once belonged to a racist, sexist organization and embraced its mission B. a guy who once belonged to a racist, sexist organization without knowing its mission C. a guy who never belonged to a racist, sexist organization but fibbed that he did on a job application because he thought his presumed membership in the racist, sexist organization would please his prospective bosses D. none of the above If you chose D, you lose, because it looks like we're about to get either A, B or C--though some mystery exists as to which description best fits the current nominee to the High Court. As the second day of Judge Samuel Alito’s nomination hearing before the Senate Judiicary Committee drew to a close, it appeared likely that the next justice to take a seat on the Supreme Court will be a man who apparently once belonged to an organization committed to the goal of limiting the participation of women and minorities at on...

The AddieStan.com Web site is undergoing a renovation. Please bear with.

It has been a very long time since your blogstress last occupied her own breakaway republic; would that she could tell you why. Oh sure, she’s been mighty busy, doing the things one might expect a blogstress to be doing--singing torch songs, shopping for lingerie and watching C-SPAN, with box of bon-bons at hand. Yet, instead of turning her taunting wit to the plethora of scandal and perdition now gripping Our Nation’s Capitol and all in its realm, your cybertrix finds herself adrift in a sea of listlessness, barely able to raise her well-manicured middle finger in the direction of the White House. In short, your Webwench is consumed by--for lack of a better term--outrage fatigue. So shamelessly consistent are the thieving hucksters who control the executive and legislative branches of our superior form of government that, with each successive outrage--say, the revocation of food stamps from several hundred thousand single-parent families even as Congress stands poised to give Americ...

And so, as the New York Times predicted last night, Lewis "Scooter" Libby, chief of staff to the vice president of the United States, has been indicted on perjury and obstruction of justice charges. As they've been doing for the last week, Republican wags can be expected to characterize those charges as no big deal .

Now that the right has been served its pound of flesh, its leaders seem to have only the nicest things to say about Harriet Miers. And they're oh, so willing to be helpful to the president as he sets about choosing (with Ms. Miers' help?) his next nominee to replace Sandra Day O'Connor on the high court. Here's today's missive from Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council : Rebound, Retrench and Rally Harriet Miers graceful withdrawal of her candidacy for the Supreme Court speaks well of her loyalty and her wisdom--no mean traits. She has generously given the President a second golden opportunity to restore the historic and vital role of the Supreme Court. The President campaigned on the promise to appoint justices in the mold of Scalia and Thomas. He won the 2000 and 2004 elections on the strength of that promise. He and his party's candidates won back control of the U.S. Senate in 2002 by appealing for an end to liberal obstructionism on the confirmation...

And so it has come to pass that, as your blogstress predicted last Saturday , the White House has put the kaibosh on Harriet Meirs's nomination to the Supreme Court. Perhaps this fine piece filed yesterday by the New York Times 's David Kirkpatrick was the last straw. His opening and closing paragraphs say it all. Most telling is his interaction with the very conservative Alabama Senator Jeff Sessions. LEAD: The drumbeat of doubt from Republican senators over the Supreme Court nomination of Harriet E. Miers grew louder Tuesday as several lawmakers, including a pivotal conservative on the Judiciary Committee, joined those expressing concerns about her selection. CLOSE: Asked if the debate had become "one-sided," with too few defending Ms. Miers, Senator Sessions, the Alabama Republican, struggled for words, then pushed a button for a nearby elevator in the Capitol building and told an aide, "Get me out of here."

From the Fabulous Frankie G. (your blogstress's partner in musical crimes), comes this biting question: With legal tribulations looming for the administration, just how long will we have to wait before a "code orange" terrorist threat? Tomorrow? Today? Counting... 1 2 3 4 ... Now, the Fab F may be a bit mad (as good musicians are), but that doesn't mean he isn't right. Check out Keith Olbermann's chronology of the mysterious coincidences of bad news for the administration and elevated terror alerts.

Indictments to come down tomorrow, says Steve Clemons of The Washington Note . It would be a sight for sore eyes, that of Vice President Dick Cheney in an orange jumpsuit. Yes, your blogstress knows she is speculating wildly (as she does all things), tantalized as she is by today's New York Times front-pager (by David Johnston, Richard W. Stevenson And Douglas Jehl) that tells of how Scooter Libby learned that Joe Wilson's wife worked for the Agency: he learned it from his boss, the vice president of the United States. Notes of the previously undisclosed conversation between Mr. Libby and Mr. Cheney on June 12, 2003, appear to differ from Mr. Libby's testimony to a federal grand jury that he initially learned about the C.I.A. officer, Valerie Wilson, from journalists, the lawyers said. The notes, taken by Mr. Libby during the conversation, for the first time place Mr. Cheney in the middle of an effort by the White House to learn about Ms. Wilson's husband, Joseph C. ...

If you've found your blogstress to be negligent on the subject of the New York Times ' infamous reporter, Judith Miller, your blogstress herein offers her mea culpa , accompanied by a fascinating take on the unholy mess by William Powers of the National Journal . In this week's column (you really should be reading him weekly, dear reader), Powers draws a strong analogy between how the Roman Catholic Church has addressed its pedophilic priests problem and how the Times is addressing its problem with journalists who lie (and the editors who let them): Think about it. A powerful institution of enormous prestige and global importance, one that has unusual sway over our collective life, turns out to have troublesome elements in its ranks, some of them downright corrupt. The story has been dribbling out for years in small isolated cases, but it blows open when a member of the priesthood is revealed to be a serial abuser of the truth. Click here to read the complete piece Power...