Really bad romance novel writing

The romance novel genre has really taken a hit since Sanford and Ensign have hit the airwaves with their ravings.

Just the facts, please!

Facts are pesky things.  You ignore them at your peril, especially when  they are easily, er, fact-checked.

On Friday, July 3, 2009 Sarah Palin made the surprise announcement in a hastily called news conference that she was going to resign.  Since none of the faradiddle of reasons for quitting made the slightest bit of sense, there was a rush from reality-based commentators in both the MSM and the blogosphere to try to find some kind of rationale for Palin’s abrupt mid-term departure.

‘But, Mr. Adams’ from the Musical ‘1776′

An appropriate tribute to Independence Day — an excerpt from the musical “1776″.  Once upon a time we were fortunate enough to see a live performance of “1776″ at Faneuil Hall in Boston. A really appropriate Revolutionary setting, even though the action takes place in Philadelphia.

Brits find rare copy of Declaration of Independence

A real treat in time for Independence Day — a rare copy of the Declaration of Independence that was printed and distributed throughout the 13 original colonies. It was found in UK while a researcher was looking for something else.  Take a look and savor the legacy of the visionaries who led the revolutionary generation.  http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jcFZGF_TArNMHGexwmrexNNjrqyQD996E1K80

LONDON (AP) — British researchers have announced the discovery of a rare original copy of America’s Declaration of Independence — just in time for the Fourth of July.

Katrina McClintock, a spokeswoman at the National Archives, said Thursday that a researcher accidentally discovered the “Dunlap print,” named after a printer, several months ago. The find was announced only after it could be properly catalogued.

Edward Hampshire, the National Archives’ specialist in colonial materials, said the find was “incredibly exciting.”

“It is likely that only around 200 of these were ever printed, so uncovering a new one nearly 250 years later is extremely rare, especially one in such good condition,” he said.

He said the declaration is one of the most important documents in history because it marks the birth of the United States.

The last Dunlap print to be found was sold at an auction for $8.14 million in 2000.

National Archives officials said they weren’t sure how the Declaration of Independence copy ended up there.

Take a look at the image here.  How long has it been since you read the entire document?  Do it now.

This undated image released by Britain’s National Archives Thursday, July 2, 2009, shows a copy of the United States Declaration of Independence, which has been discovered at the National Archives in Kew, England. The rare copy of the American Declaration of Independence has been found hidden in a file at the British National Archives. The Archives say that the print, known as the Dunlap print after the printer who commissioned it, is the 26th copy of the document to be found. The last Dunlap print found was sold at an auction for $8.14 million in 2000. Archives spokeswoman Katrina McClintock said Thursday that the file was found by a researcher looking through late 18th Century files for something unrelated. McClintock said it was discovered months ago but not revealed to the public until it could be extracted and catalogued. (AP Photo/National Archives)

Palin Facing Criminal Probe?

In the wake of Sarah Palin’s resignation as governor of Alaska, here is a humorous take on a possible looming scandal from StevenD at BoomanTribune:    http://www.boomantribune.com/story/2009/7/4/135319/1069

It’s murder most foul.

On a more serious note, there are rumors of a pending Federal criminal indictment — stories that Federal agents have been poking around the Matsu valley for the past three weeks (h/t  Shannyn Moore on MSNBC).  But the real details may be laid out in this post from Stef on DailyKos. http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2009/7/3/749721/-I-Think-Its-Housegate!

Free at last, praise Allah!

Four Uighurs experienced their first swim in the ocean recently after being released from seemingly endless detention at Guantanamo.  Their new home is the island of Bermuda, which at first glance appears to be an unlikely destination for men who grew up in a landlocked part of China.

The wheels of justice grind exceeding slow

Lakhdar Boumediene’s odyssey began back in 2001 when he was picked up in Bosnia, suspected in a bomb plot against the U.S. Embassy in Sarajevo. In January 2002 he  arrived at Gitmo, where he languished for more than six years without charges ever being filed and without hope of  release.

Then in June 2008 the U. S. Supreme Court ruled  that the  Algerian-born Muslim was entitled to the basic right of habeas corpus.

At last there was hope that he would be able to leave the prison located on the Guantanamo Bay naval base.

Still he had to wait … and wait … and wait.

Why does John Rizzo still have a job in the Obama administration?

One of my favorite bloggers is Marcy Wheeler, who writes as Emptywheel at FiredogLake.com.  Marcy and her team did outstanding work covering the Scooter Libby trial, among other things.  She is the author of  “Anatomy of Deceit” and recently won the 2009 Hillman Award for blogging.

So when Marcy turns her attention to  the “Dirty Thirteen” of torture I pay close attention.  Most of the names on the list are the usual suspects like Alberto Gonzales, Jay Bybee, Dick Cheney and GWB.  And most of them are no longer employed by the U.S. government.

The exceptions are Jay Bybee and John Rizzo. 

A mother speaks out about SERE

The defense of torture at Gitmo and other US facilities has included several fronts — it works, it’s not so bad, we didn’t do it anyway, the Democrats knew and didn’t object.  The latest line of defense seems to be that its OK because did it to our own troops through the SERE program.

That makes it sound innocuous, doesn’t it?

If our troops routinely undergo waterboarding with their consent then we can do it to detainees without their consent.  Not particularly sound logic because there is a world of difference between having consent and not having consent.

Sen. Wyden: Don’t let any one fool you that the Bush administration kept Congress in the loop on torture

Another U.S. Senator is challenging the CIA’s claims that members of Congress were properly briefed on Bush administration torture practices and policies.  Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR) was  a member on the Senate Intelligence Committee throughout the Bush years and has now added his voice to the growing chorus of those like Nancy Pelosi who say they were not properly briefed.  Wyden claims that his briefing did not come until 2006 — and was too little, too late.  MSNBC’s Andrea Mitchell interviews Wyden and waves a copy of the CIA briefing list at him.  Wyden dismisses it and  pivots to the larger question — the illegal actions of the Bush administration in conducting a torture program in direct contravention of U.S. law and treaties. http://www.loadedorygun.net/diary/1797/wyden-kept-in-the-dark-on-torture-calls-cheneys-bluff

Note how easily and dismissively Wyden moves away from the Pelosi question, for whatever reason, and zeroes in on what for him is a more central question: why aren’t we talking about the way in which the Bush administration consistently failed to inform properly? He claims he was “kept in the dark” until 2006, linking the Bush administration’s failures to the 1947 National Security Act, which he refers to a couple of times. That’s a nice summary link which is then applied to an analysis of the NSA wiretapping scandal–another prime example of the administration totally holding out on Congress. But it has this key section:

Under current statute, the President is to ensure that the congressional intelligence committees are kept “fully and currently informed” of U.S. intelligence activities, including any “significant anticipated intelligence activity.” According to legislative history, the term “fully and currently informed,” is intended to mean that complete and timely notice of actions and policies is provided, and that the committees will be informed of intelligence activities in such detail as the committees may require.Further, the Senate in report language said it expected the executive branch not to limit itself to providing full and complete information upon request from the committees, but to affirmatively keep the committees fully and currently informed.