Turns Out a Coin Flip Doesn't Satisfy Article Three

This week the US Supreme Court ruled that the military tribunals utilized by the Bush Administration at Guantanomo Bay do not past constitutional muster. The Court rejected the Administration's argument, titled "Due Process, We Don't Need No Stinkin' Due Process." and also ruled that the Administration must remove a sign that said 'Kangaroo Court.' outside the Gitmo Hearing Room. While the press reported the story as a setback for the the Administration, Attorney General Alberto Gonzalez offered a contrarian view. "These are minor setbacks. You see, while we hold almost five hundred captives at Gitmo, we have only charged a handful with any wrongdoing. Now that our tribunals have been tossed, we are in no hurry to charge any of the others. Of course, we will continue to call them 'killers' and the worst of the worst.' So we get all the benefits of making accusations, but none of the burden of actually proving them. I mean, geez, had the Supreme Court gone the other way, we might of had to actually try to prove some of these folks violated some law. I'll take the pass thanks..."

SAPS ....

This week, sanity returned to the nation's capitol. Amid a sluggish economy, growing poverty, global warming, Iraq and important questions of energy consumption, Congress is finally turning itself to a question of real import: flag burning. While actual instances of flag desecration are as rare as a virgin on the congressional staff, the Senate will begin debate on a law making flag burning a federal crime. While many commentators view this as a cynical attempt to whip up the right wing base in front of the November elections, Republican Chairman Ken Mehlman stated otherwise: "Amid all the other challenges this country faces, you cannot lose the SAPS, or "Sentimentally Affected Patriots." These folks -- and they are an important demographic -- attach great importance to the symbols of this country. Their sense of history is wrapped up in a few heroic snapshots of this country's past, Iwoa Jima, Neil Armstrong, Normandy, etc. They are very interested in maintaining a symbolic America, but not very interested in the complexities of looking after an actual country with real people. For them, healthcare, the war, immigration, whatever, are just passing fancies. But the flag. The flag is forever. The flag will put a choke in their voice and a tear in their eye. These folks tend to be Republicans, tend to have yellow ribbons on their cars, and tend to vote. They also, for some reason tend to really like magazines with lots of pictures. "

Hearts and Minds...

From the wires:

Five U.S. Army soldiers are being investigated for allegedly raping a young woman, then killing her and three members of her family in Iraq, a U.S. military official told The Associated Press on Friday.

The soldiers also allegedly burned the body of the woman they are accused of raping.

Major General James D. Thurman, commander of coalition troops in Baghdad, had ordered a criminal investigation into the alleged killing of a family of four in Mahmoudiya, south of Baghdad, the U.S. command said. It did not elaborate.

They Should Feel Lucky...

This morning, the New York Times ran a story about the effect of illegal immigration on a working class community on Long Island. The story was focused on one particular resident, an Italian American truck driver who was upset that the children of illegal immigrants are using his schools. He was also upset that his neighbors were willing to profit from illegal immigration by renting rooms to immigrants and hiring them to do menial labor at low wages. The guy was convinced that the gaggle of immigrant laborers who gathered at a local gas station every morning were depressing wages for miles around.

He may be right. Because we are dealing with an underground economy, we will never really know how much working class wages are affected by illegal immigration. However, the sheer numbers of immigrants working in agriculture, construction, landscaping and as domestic makes it difficult for me to believe that it has no effect on the wages paid for these types of jobs. Oddly though, the presence of illegal immigrants isn't the problem. The problem is the "they are lucky" syndrome, as in "they are lucky to have any work at all" or "they are lucky because that is a lot of money in Mexico."

The "they are lucky" syndrome is what people use to justify the fact that they are able to get a room painted, a yard cleared, their home cleaned, or their kids supervised for a low price. It is what we use to soothe our consciences when we know we derived some savings by the fact that a worker was poor and vulnerable.

Some of the "they are lucky" crowd argue that immigrants have made a choice to come to our country and thus cannot complain about what they are paid. This is fatuous. Do you really think immigrants leave their homes and families because they want to? I suspect, if asked, many if not most immigrants will tell you that, were it not for grinding poverty or political oppression, they would have been more than happy to stay local. Our immigrants are not like American students on a semester abroad. This isn't some kind of fun adventure for them. Its not like the "Susie Moves to the Big City to See if She Can Make it" sitcom.

Some of the "They are lucky" crowd even see themselves as virtuous for hiring immigrant labor in the first place. But that is where the charade just gets ridiculous. Ask yourself, why immigrant laborers are willing to work on the cheap. Is it because they have some unnatural attraction to low wage labor? Are they nursing a martyr complex? I suspect not. Immigrants work for cheap because the have to. They are poor and thus are forced into the grim calculus which yields that something is better than nothing. They are often here illegally, so they have no real standing to argue and are easily intimidated by the threat of legal intervention. They are a disparate group with little means to organize themselves and they have no foothold in our society that they can leverage. In short, they are at our mercy.

So really, it is not "they" who should feel lucky, it is us. Were it not for immigrant labor, we might have to pay middle class wages for many of the menial tasks we take for granted. You see, every time our contractor hires an immigrant to work for $7/hr, every time we get our lawn cut by a crew of minimum wage Mexicans, every time we buy a laughingly cheap can of Campbell's Chicken Noodle, and every time we get a pedicure by a young Korean lady who can't speak English but works for tips, we are leveraging the poverty and insecurity of immigrants to their detriment and the detriment of our countrymen. We are using their sad situation to capture an economic benefit.

Some may argue that such is the American way, and with American corporations scouring the globe for a cheaper set of seamstresses, I can't argue. But I can argue that it is not the right way. It's a downward elevator for us all. Every major religion has taught that it unethical to use someone's needs against them, that it violates some very basic moral duty to expolit someone else's vulnerability for your own gain. We know that. We know you can't charge a sick person more for medication than a healthy one, and we know that you should not low ball someone's pay becuase they are desperate to feed their children. But the lure of really cheap stuff, and the attraction of not callousing our middle class hands with menial labor is overwhelming. We should feel lucky.

Sweep

Nothing says summer quite like three sold out nights of golden baseball. And a sweep to boot...

Doing the Hard Work of Lowering the Bar

This week, the Department of Defense announced that a number of US soldiers were being tried for murder in the deaths of Iraqi civilians in the Salahuddin Province and the city of Hanandya. The news comes on the heels of the Army's internal investigation of an alleged civilian massacre at Haditha. In order to blunt the possible negative effects of the news, the Pentagon announced that it was creating a new slogan which it hoped loyal Republicans would spread. At this point, the leading candidates are 1) "Only girly men care about civilian deaths, " 2)" Eggs, omelettes dude," 3) "Yeah, but they do bad stuff to us too," 4)"We own this country, like it or not the Iraqis are our b--ches," 5) Are you disrepecting our troops?" and 6) Shouldn't you be more worried about gay marriage?"

The Chickenhawk's Mantra

This week, uber advisor Karl Rove delivered a speech in which he criticized Sen. John Kerry and Rep. Jack Murtha for wanting to "cut and run" in Iraq. Odd. Rove was of age to serve when both Kerry and Murtha were playing hide and seek with the Viet Cong yet -- like so many of his compatriots (the President and Vice President) Rove avoided service in Vietnam. Defending his non service Rove stated "At that time, the US needed principled defenders of the war in Vietnam. I realized that I could not fill that vital role if I actually served in Vietnam as it seems that personal experience with war tend to sour one's outlook on armed conflict. I had to remain pure and unsullied by any actual knowledge of the war's realities. History has vindicated me on this. Do you think anyone who had ever actually made war would be effective at promoting this one? I think not."

By "Competitive" We Mean "Wealthy"

This week, the Economic Policy Institute (EPI) released a report concluding that WalMart, the nation's largest employer and most profitable company could give each of their hourly workers a $2,000/year raise without affecting its prices and while maintaining a profit margin 50% higher than its closest competitor. Another study indicates that Walmart could give each of its workers a dollar an hour raise ft it raised prices by only a half penny for each retail dollar. These studies contradict Walmart's oft stated claim that it must pay workers sub poverty level wages in order to maintain its competitiveness. While WalMart ould not comment on the studies, sources inside the company indicate that Hal Stacker of Bentonville, AK won the company pool on "How long before people figure out WalMart is just plain greedy."

And Yet More Congressional Dirt...

This week, it became clear why Congress needed a pay raise. Review the cases of House Speaker Dennis Hastert (R TX), and Reps. Ken Calvert (R CA) and Gary Miller (R CA). Each of these House members purchased land in their home district and then -- just by coincidence-- voted for highway bills that would significantly improve the value of their holdings. Hastert made $2 million of the sale of his 5 acre parcel after Congress picked up the tab to build a highway near it. Defending his prudent investment, Hastert stated "$164K? Have you ever tried to live on $164K? There is no flat screen, no 4,00 square foot house, your vacations are domestic and you have to cook your own meals. I mean, get real."

Holding the Line...

This week, the Senate rejected an attempt to raise the federal minimum wage to $7.25/hr (or $15,000 a year). Interestingly, the base pay for a congressman is now $164,000, or four times the average US household income. Congress has raised its own pay eight times since 1997. In that same period, the buying power of the unchanged minimum wage has declined over 20%. Asked to explain his vote against a measure to help workers on the lowest rung of the economic ladder one Senator stated that he felt raising the minimum wage would be dangerous for American workers: "Nothing spurs initiative and builds the work ethic like working forty hours a week and still being dirt poor." Other members of Congress cited their cowardice and depraved morality as their reason for voting down the measure.

Radio Radio

Today I was listening to a new radio station. They said that they will "play anything." Then they proved it by playing Phil Collins.

Oh Liberal Don't You Weep No More....

This weekend I took in Bruce Springsteen's Seeger Sessions show. As a closet folkie, I was glad to hear the music played with such passion, and glad to see a performer of the Boss' heft take an interest in reclaiming our roots.

The concert came at the end of a week in which we saw progressive Democrats on both coasts attempt to build momentum for a truly progressive candidate. At the same time, the self anointed frontrunners were busy moderating themselves into oblivion. Its never a pretty sight. I couldn't help but think that the Democrats need to listen to "Eyes on The Prize", a civil rights era anthem:

The only thing I did wrong/Was stayin' in the wilderness too long ...

The one thing we did was right/ Was the day we started to fight.

Maybe a quick read of the full lyrics, or a thorough read of the book by the same name will help our so-called contenders muster a brand of courage they have not yet displayed.

The other thing that struck me about the show was the degree to which we have lost the language of our common dreams and virtues. Folk music played an integral role in the labor struggle and later the peace movement. Gospel was at the core of the civil rights movement. Both genre's celebrate the notion that their are better days ahead if we insist on them. Both genres provided a way for people to talk about things they are often inarticulate about: justice, compassion, and community. The last of these is particularly important because we Americans now have very few avenues to talk about our collective dreams, duties and aspirations. These concepts are just not part of our vernacular anymore. They have been replaced by efficiency, competition, and the ownership society.

That's not to say music has lost all social consciousness. Unfortunately, the socially conscious music of my era has been either overly aggressive and nihlistic (punk) or far too intimidating and inaccessible for the middle class majority (rap). Pop music, which keeps its eye on the least common denominator, simply recalls the painfully individual quests for true love, true fucking, or really nice stuff.

Religion, simillarly, no longer fuels our common fire. It is far too wedded to the interests of power, and long ago gave up any pretense of moving the meek to the head of the societal line. It has lately devolved into a blunt weapon used to smite political opponents or a balm to soothe individual wounds.

Politics is right out too as any way of talking about the collective we. For the last twenty years our leaders have told us that their really is no common interest;just a mass of individual interests, which if left unfettered and untaxed, will lift all our boats. Too many people who know better still believe this and our government has devolved into a trough at which the invited can feed. Outside the realm of the military, the notion of the national interest or the collective welfare is marginalized at best, mocked at worst.

But the thing that I owe Mr. Springteen is, that in spite of all this, he reminded me that talking about the collective we and imagining ourselves as part of something bigger than ourselves -- something with a moral identity -- feels good. It exercises some important muscles. It fills our tubercular lungs with some clean air. Hope springs eternal.

Capturing the Cranky Vote

This week, in her continued quest to capture the Democratic nomination for President and recapture the love her parents never gave her, Sen. Hillary Clinton delivered public criticism to the makers of violent video games. This, combined with Clinton's recent attacks on America's youth as lazy and unmotivated and her continued run to the middle on abortion, shows that Clinton is targeting the ever elusive fifty and over deomgraphic by showing that she shares their cantankerous vision. This suspicion was confirmed by a Clinton Campaign Memo that highlighted her planned attacks on"People Who Talk During My Program," "Bunions," "The Internet and Other Things I Don't Understand" "Smarty Pants Doctors and Their Fancy Talk," and "Those Damned Kids with Their Droopy Trousers."

There Are No Stoners in Middle Management

This week, researchers at the University of California released a long term study of over 2000 marijuana smokers. The study concluded that even those who smoked multiple joints a day did not suffer an increased risk for lung cancer and, in fact, were statistically less likely to develop lung cancer than the general population. The study debunks claims that smoking marijuana was more harmful to the lungs than normal cigarettes. Fearful that their crusade may suffer a set back, The Office of Drug Policy quickly turned resourceful and launched an agency wide competition called, NBL, or The Next Big Lie. "We started with the argument that pot was a gateway to harder drugs. Turned out we were wrong," explained Director Thomas Chong, "then we said pot will fry your brain. Again. Not so true. Lastly we said, hey it will give you cancer. Ok. Maybe not that much. So we need something fresh. Look for us to try to link marijuana to terrorism in some way, or hammer home some stoner kids stereotypes. Terrorism is the key that opens all doors and the fear that your children will not reach the upper middle class is very au courant."

All Props for Candor

" I wish I had never given any support to this fool war." National Review columnist, John Derbyshire.

Oh The Dogs of Asymmetric Warfare

Late last week three of the 462 detainees at Guantanomo Bay took their own lives by hanging themselves in their cells. The Pentagon's Admiral Harris was widely quoted in the news as describing the deaths as a "an act of asymmetric warfare waged against us." (real quote).

What could that possibly mean? I suppose the Admiral is hoping that Americans do not think the suicides were motivated by the hopelessness of men who have been held in captivity for over four years, incommunicado, subjected to repeated interrogations and perhaps torture, with no charges filed against them. I think the Admiral wants us to recognize that the suicides were a carefully crafted public relations move to publicize the plight of those at Guantanomo. We will probably never know the true motivations of the prisoners. (I suspect it was a mix of hopelessness and rage.) But you have to love the Admiral's rhetorical ruse. So now even passive resistance is part of the war against us.

How does one retaliate against "asymmetrical warfare." Wait and find out.

I took some time to survey the blogosphere regarding the ongoing investigation into the incident at Haditha. It seems the right is taking a rather consistent tone: these things happen in wars, human beings put under stress perform imperfectly and immorally. The argument, I suspect serves the purpose of making the murder of civilians mundane, and painting liberals as weak stomached, naive, and unwilling to "get 'er done."

Whatever the rhetorical strategy, I could not agree more, however, with the premise. Once you unleash the dogs of war, you are subject to their appetites. Its a bit like saying that once you mix alcohol and automobiles you will get fatalities. That is why you avoid discretionary wars and avoid drunken driving : both have an unacceptable and totally foreseeable consequence. That is why Pope John Paul II warned the US of the "unintended consequences" of this war. He was no fool. He remembered the Axis' mistreatment of civilians, he remembered Hiroshima. Maybe he even remembered Mi Lai.

It is more than disappointing that the generation that witnessed Mi Lai did not see a Haditha barreling down the highway ten miles a way. What is more troubling is that there is a column who want the murder of civilians to be somehow a routine part of war that no longer raises our objections. As our sensitivities become dull, each atrocity becomes more tolerable.

Isn't history supposed to be going the other way?

'Merican Spoken Here

This week a handful of House Republicans and a few state legislators began work on bills that would mandate English as the official language of the United States or a particular state. Asked if such legislation would apply to the President.... ohh this is low lying fruit. Fill it in as you see fit.

War Is Hell Without the Right Corset

This week a rift developed between the Department of Defense and the State Department. The DOD is issuing another manual regarding the treatment of enemy prisoners and detainees. The DOD has decided to leave out of the manual the Geneva Convention's rule against "inhumane and humiliating treatment of prisoners." (real quote). The State Department wants the language included, perhaps thinking that at least giving lip service to the notion of being human may be helpful at some point. For insight on the debate, we talked to an anonymous source at the Pentagon: "The State Department is full of over-educated gutless pussies. They do not have the courage to place naked men in human pyramids, they do not have the raw guts it takes to terrify a bound man with a Belgian Shepard, they cannot muster the bile to stick a vegetable where the sun doesn't shine, and they certainly do not have the cohones to open our vast store of women's lingerie and have themselves an all Arab drag party. Think about it. What should be the symbol of American power? What image should lay in the minds of our enemies and allies? The Geneva Accords? The UNs Blue Helmet. Iwoa Jima? Normandy? Or a blindfolded Arab man, bound to his rack in a red thong? "

Once You Know the Notes to Sing...

This week, the debate on illegal immigration continues. Far beyond the question of securing our borders, many so called immigration hawks see illegal immigration as the root of so many problems. You may think our heath care system is inefficient and too geared toward profit? Not so. The problem is Mexicans using our hospitals. You may believe our public education system is woefully underfunded and inequitable. Not so. The problem is Mexicans using our schools. You may believe that US economic policy has left working people behind. Not so. The problem is Mexicans taking our jobs. You may think that our drug war has created a permanent prisoner class. Not so. The problem is Mexicans bringing in drugs we buy from them. Noting the potency of the immigration debate, anti immigrant activist Moe Lester stated, "Listen, we are doing quite a service beyond the immigration arena. We provide a focal point for people's concerns in many areas and offer them a way to channel their frustration besides questioning the values and intentions of their government. The problem is Mexicans and they are easy to find."

A Uniter Not A Divider

This week, President Bush devoted his weekly radio address to his support of a Constitutional amendment defining marriage as the union of one man and one woman. (The numerical adjectives are important and the White House is already girding its loins for an assault by bigamists).) Given, the situation in Iraq, signs that the economy is becoming even more sluggish (yesterday the DOL announced that, contrary to its estimates, in the last three months, the US has not produced enough jobs to break even), many questioned whether this was an odd topic to focus upon. Caught on the way to his Crawford ranch, the President defended his choice of topics. "Once again I have been misunderestimated. Look at it this way. Midterms in November. Debate on fags starts now. Goes through November. Midterms are about gay people not me or war. Better yet, Amendment gets by House and Senate. Goes to states. Debate goes on for years. Next election is not about war or prosperity but about whether Adam & Steve are automatically beneficiaries of each others social security. Where is all your Iraq crap and economy astronomy now?" The President then boarded Air Force One looking self satisfied as always.

Hosed....

Will not blame Todd Jones.... Will not blame Todd Jones....

I Was Beautiful Then....

This week, the US aborted and then restarted an initiative aimed at beginning negotiations with Iran over its alleged nuclear weapons program. Ever wary of the US's changing positions, Defense analysts have turned to the one tried and true method of predicting imminent aggression: the whereabouts of the President's Flight Suit. As TWN reported, after being cleaned and tailored, Flity made its way back to the oval office. While Secretary of State Condi Rice has ordered the suit temporarily locked up, V.P Dick Cheney is said to allow the President an hour each day to admire his macho attire. Said one White House Staffer, "Its odd, he just looks at it and rubs it, like a drag queen with a pair of Judy Garland's shoes ...Sometimes he hums 'Memories' from Cats. "

No One Understands Him But His Woman....

This week, the US Military confirmed that in addition to the incident at Haditha, it is also investigating the death of eleven Iraqi civilians in the village of Ishaqi, north of Baghdad. While the Army initially reported the civilians died when a building collapsed during a firefight, Iraqi security forces have presented evidence indicating the civilians were shot by US forces and the building destroyed to cover up the murders. Reached for comment, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld stated, "Great Hammurabi's Tunic!!!! We have been trying to get the Iraqi security forces to step up so we could step down for a year. Against the insurgency its like watching Inspector Gadget and Inspector Clousuea try to lasso Lex Luthor. But when it comes to bodies piled up by our boys, they get all Shaft and Sherlock Holmes on us. Where is the love in that?"