Resigned

Gonzales resigns. Somehow, I'm not celebrating yet. I fear that our shrub will come up with an appointee who's a better liar. Gonzo's credibility was shot. He even lied to the end.

As recently as Sunday afternoon, Mr. Gonzales was denying through his press spokesman, Brian Roehrkasse, that he intended to leave.

Mr. Roehrkasse said Sunday afternoon that he had telephoned Mr. Gonzales about the reports circulating in Washington that a resignation was imminent, “and he said it wasn’t true, so I don’t know what more I can say.”

Steven Lee Myers, New York Times

My next question is if this will cause the congressional investigations to lose steam. With all the damage AG did to our constitution, I want to see him prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. But I doubt that congress has the guts.
Added: our shrub: "After months of unfair treatment". Gah!

Tuesday Tidbits

A few items that have added to today's anger/depression.
Economics is not my forte (but I am an expert on poverty) but this looks really bad:

The US government is on a ‘burning platform’ of unsustainable policies and practices with fiscal deficits, chronic healthcare underfunding, immigration and overseas military commitments threatening a crisis if action is not taken soon, the country’s top government inspector has warned.

David Walker, comptroller general of the US, issued the unusually downbeat assessment of his country’s future in a report that lays out what he called “chilling long-term simulations”.

These include “dramatic” tax rises, slashed government services and the large-scale dumping by foreign governments of holdings of US debt.

Drawing parallels with the end of the Roman empire, Mr Walker warned there were “striking similarities” between America’s current situation and the factors that brought down Rome, including “declining moral values and political civility at home, an over-confident and over-extended military in foreign lands and fiscal irresponsibility by the central government”.

“Sound familiar?” Mr Walker said. “In my view, it’s time to learn from history and take steps to ensure the American Republic is the first to stand the test of time.”

Mr Walker’s views carry weight because he is a non-partisan figure in charge of the Government Accountability Office, often described as the investigative arm of the US Congress.

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/80fa0a2c-49ef-11dc-9ffe-0000779fd2ac.html

Shaun at Kiko's House has written one of the most heartbreaking pieces about the consequences of the war in Iraq. http://kikoshouse.blogspot.com/2007/07/happy-birthday-abeer-qassim-hamza.html#links . I won't exerpt, because it needs to be read in full.

A real, live presidential candidate said this:

“Freedom is not a concept in which people can do anything they want, be anything they can be. Freedom is about authority. Freedom is about the willingness of every single human being to cede to lawful authority a great deal of discretion about what you do.” the link

And even Opus, while funny, is depressing.http://www.comics.com/wash/opus/archive/opus-20070812.html

R.I.P. Phil Rizzuto.http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news?slug=txobitrizzuto&prov=st&type=lgns

Mine Safety

Read this part of the news of the Utah mine collapse:

Government mine inspectors have issued 325 citations against the mine since January 2004, according to an analysis of federal Mine Safety and Health Administration online records. Of those, 116 were what the government considered
"significant and substantial," meaning they are likely to cause injury.

Having 325 safety violations is not unusual, said J. Davitt McAteer, former head of the MSHA and now vice president of Wheeling Jesuit University in West
Virginia. "It's not perfect but it's certainly not bad."

This year, inspectors have issued 32 citations against the mine, 14 of them considered significant. Last month, inspectors cited the mine for violating a rule requiring that at least two separate passageways be designated for escape
in an emergency.

It was the third time in less than two years that the mine had been cited for the same problem, according to MSHA records. In 2005, MSHA ordered the mine owners to pay $963 for not having such escape routes. The 2006 fine for the same problem was just $60.

Overall, the federal government has ordered the mine owner to pay nearly $152,000 in penalties for its 325 violations, with many citations having no fines calculated yet. Since January, the mine owner has paid $130,678 in fines, according to MSHA records.

Asked about safety, Murray told reporters: "I believe we run a very safe coal
mine. We've had an excellent record."

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070807/ap_on_re_us/utah_mine_collapse

Mining has always been dangerous, but there are ways to make it safer. Clearly the mine owners decided that it was cheaper to pay the fines, rather than fix the problems. The fine for NOT having escape routes was $963 in 2005 and $60 for 2006. I have no idea what it would have cost to build the required escape routes, but why should they when it's so much more profitable to pay the fine. While the fate of the six miners is not yet known, the lack of safety enforcement is.

Un-News

I swear, some days I really wonder why I crawl out of my cave. NPR is reporting "Do your friends make you fat?" at me. I'm sure that's the most important question in the news today.

Paging Dr. Bomber

So the London and Glasgow firebombers are Doctors? Huh?

British police focused Tuesday on at least five physicians and a medical student — including a doctor seized at an Australian airport with a one-way ticket — in the investigation into failed car bombings in Glasgow and London.

At least four of the eight suspects were identified as doctors from Iraq, Jordan and India. One of the doctors from India, 27-year-old Muhammad Haneef, was arrested late Monday at the international airport in the Australian city of Brisbane, where he was trying to board a flight, the Australian attorney general said.

Staff at a Glasgow hospital confirmed that two of the others detained were a junior doctor and a medical student.

I'm having a hard time wrapping my mind around this. We're brought up to think of Doctors as healers, not terrorists (although my own Doctor sometimes seems a little sadistic when it comes to therapy on my knee).

Authorities identified Bilal Abdulla, an Iraqi doctor who worked at the Glasgow hospital, as the other man arrested at the airport. Staff at the Glasgow hospital said Abdulla was a diabetes specialist.

Although this does explain the Mercedes. But the Hippocratic Oath?

Boating with Bush

Ah, this is almost poetic:

KENNEBUNKPORT, Maine - President Bush's presidency is stuck in low gear. On Sunday, his fishing boat was stuck on stop.

Fellow Republicans may not be rushing to rescue his legislative agenda, but the Secret Service bailed Bush out of a jam when his boat anchor got wedged in rocks along the Atlantic Coast.

Relaxing before his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, the president went fishing with his father, former President George H.W. Bush, and daughter, Barbara.

They dropped the anchor to fish less than 100 feet from shore at Biddleford, Maine, but when they decided to leave, they couldn't, according to an Associated Press photographer who took pictures of the incident.

A fishing guide along on the trip tried unsuccessfully to pull up the heavy anchor.

Bush yanked hard too, but couldn't dislodge it either.

Soon after, a member of the president's security detail called divers aboard a Secret Service boat that had been following behind.

Some local news

This is an interesting idea:

It may sound a little crude or unreal, but the city of Flagstaff could be the first U.S. city to power its cars from a fuel derived from what residents flush down their toilets.

City officials are evaluating whether to spend nearly $500,000 next year to test a machine that is supposed to turn sewage sludge into heat, liquid fertilizer and a hydrogen-based fuel to power government vehicles.

The device, which is not in operation anywhere else in the United States, would essentially burn some of the biosolids left over from the sewage treatment process at Flagstaff's Rio de Flag plant by putting the waste through a 10,000-degree electric arc.
http://www.azdailysun.com/articles/2007/07/01/news/20070701_front%20page_19.txt

I'm going to do some research to see how viable the plan is, as the company hasn't actually done it before.

Another Lie

I know this administration lies, but this one is ridiculous:

There's some disturbing news about marijuana use among teens. A new study from the White House is linking the drug to violence and even gang membership.http://wkbt.com/Global/story.asp?S=6693805

Or maybe Whig and I are secretly gang members...
(emphasis mine).

Palestine

What a mess...OK, that is not a profound statement. Hamas controls Gaza, Fatah controls the West Bank (for now-this could change). Egypt is aiding Hamas (prior to the 1967 war,Gaza was Egyptian), while Jordan is supporting Fatah. Isreal is now supporting Mahmoud Abbas (also known as Abu Mazen) strongly, although it's likely too little too late. And the average Palestinian is bound to suffer:

A resident of a Hamas-dominated neighborhood, identifying himself only as Yousef for fear of reprisal by his neighbors, said Gazans would always back the winner, regardless of ideology.

"Today everybody is with Hamas because Hamas won the battle. If Fatah had won the battle they'd be with Fatah. We are a hungry people, we are with whoever gives us a bag of flour and a food coupon," said Yousef, 30. "Me, I'm with God and a bag of flour."http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070615/ap_on_re_mi_ea/israel_palestinians

The failure to negotiate a viable Palestinian state has dragged on for decades. When Hamas won parliamentary elections last year, there was hope that they would move away from militancy. That has not happened.

The stage for the struggle between Fatah and Hamas was set last year, when Hamas
won parliamentary elections. Hamas reluctantly brought Fatah into a coalition government in March to quell an earlier round of violence, but the uneasy partnership began crumbling last month over control of security forces.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070615/ap_on_re_mi_ea/israel_palestinians

Now what?

Abbas just disbanded the government, announced the State of Emergency ( HUGE
SIGNIFICANCE) and called for early elections as soon possible….

as for the confederation, I have to tell you that now, from official sources, i have confirmations! It’s ready… They are building roads connecting the West Bank to Jordan PLUS … i received news from a source in a West Bank municipality about what is happening and they apparently received orders to clean the grounds for the arrival of the Badr Brigades ( under Jordanian rule) …. You can’t possibly imagine what is happening over here! I am seeing it and not believing it ….

As for Gaza…it will be Egypt’s business from now on … Pre 1967 coming back ? I don’t know …but it looks much like it! Nobody can wait anymore and everything
can happen in hours! IN HOURS… i repeat, i’m not analysing anymore, i’m just
watching …. http://olehgirl.com/

What's important

I thought I would never post anything with the name of a skinny blonde going to jail, but Juan Cole wrote something that puts it in perspective:
http://www.juancole.com/

American cable news has been fixated on the jailing of socialite Paris Hilton for the past week, on grounds that she twice violated the probation sentence she earlier received for drunk driving. They interrupted coverage of world leaders at the G8. They briefly spliced in Gates's decision not to reappoint Peter Pace as chairman of the joint chiefs of staff. A new frenzy broke out with every tiny twist . She was brave, she was weeping, she was mentally fragile. She was released, she was rejailed, she shouted it was unfair and cried, she was undergoing psychiatric evaluation.

Just for a little perspective, we could consider the news from Iraq on Saturday. Incoming mortar fire from guerrillas hit Bucca prison, killing 6 inmates and wounding 50.

The US military is holding 19000 Iraqis, 16000 of them at Bucca. Although most are guerrillas or their helpers, a lot of them were picked up because they were just in the wrong place at the wrong time. Once arrested, an inmate often cannot clear himself for months or years. I don't think they have access to attorneys. No one cares if they are depressed. At Abu Ghraib earlier on, some inmates were systematically tortured. It is unlear if all such practices have ceased.

Some Iraqi women have been held in this way. Some were essentially hostages, taken to make them reveal where their husbands or fathers were or to guarantee their good behavior. Their reputations were shot, since Iraqis think Americans are sex fiends and wouldn't trust the virtue of a woman who had been in their custody. The unmarried among them are likely doomed to be spinsters.



American television never mentions that the US has 19000 Iraqis in jail, or that some have been women, or that some are innocent, or how they feel about being in
prison.

So is Paris Hilton being given special treatment by our media? We all are, folks.

Not that you'll hear this in the nightly news.

Meet the meat

More beef recalls for e. coli. Nice to know that they're taking action to protect us, right?
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2003741087_beefrecall09m.html

LOS ANGELES — A meat supplier has expanded a voluntary recall of ground beef
that may be contaminated with E. coli bacteria.

United Food Group said in a statement this week that it expanded the recall of 75,000 pounds of ground beef to include an additional 370,000 pounds based on "unspecified concerns" raised by the California Department of Health Services.

The recalled products were shipped to grocery stores in Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington and Wyoming. They were sold under brand names Moran's, Miller Meat, Stater Bros., Inter-American Products and Bashas'.

What really infuriates me is the timing. Notice the "sell by" dates:

The products have "sell-by" dates from April 29 to May 6 and may have "freeze-by" dates of April 28, April 30 or May 7. The establishment number "EST. 1241" is stamped inside the USDA mark of inspection or is printed on the package.

I'm a simple bachelor, and I usually eat what I buy within a few days. It's now June, so ground beef that had "April 29th" as a "sell by" date has been consumed. Guess I got lucky.
It would be nice to know that the groceries I buy today are safe TODAY, dammit.
Thanks to Monkeyfister for the tip.

Question

In the wall-to-wall coverage of the XDR TB guy, I have a really simple question. The guy traveled to Greece WITH his fiance to get married. Has anybody tested the bride? Because if she hasn't been infected, I think the rest of us are reasonably safe.

The Food Safety Act of 2007

Here's a bill that I support. I've said repeatedly that we citizens should be able to trust the safety of our food, but that because of budget cuts, no one is checking.
http://www.cnn.com/2007/HEALTH/05/17/food.safety.law/index.html

(CNN) -- Spurred by deadly outbreaks of E. coli and other food-borne pathogens, a group of U.S. lawmakers is pushing to put all food safety oversight under a single federal agency.

"I believe the food safety system is broken. It's collapsing," Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-Connecticut, told CNN "We're unable to protect the public health. We're unable to protect public confidence in the food supply."

DeLauro has introduced the Food Safety Act of 2007, which would create a Food
Safety Administration responsible for ensuring the security of the food supply from all forms of contamination. (Watch Dr. Sanjay Gupta explain how spinach can become contaminated )

Sens. Dick Durbin, D-Illinois, and Chuck Schumer, D-New York, introduced a companion bill in the Senate.

The proposed legislation comes on the heels of a number of widespread outbreaks of food-borne illness.

Also, the strange split between the USDA and the FDA makes oversight sporadic at best.

The lines are not always clear-cut. For example, cheese pizzas fall under the
FDA, while pepperoni pizzas fall under the Department of Agriculture.

Jerry Falwell's death

I suppose that I should be more sympathetic, but the man was a disgusting zealot who made me say "thank god I'm an atheist". He exploited religion to make himself rich and espoused a philosophy of hatred and exclusion that I consider truly un-American.

How to prepare for alien invasion

Busy day, and then gone for a week, so I leave you with the most useful advice I've seen today:

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - When the aliens finally invade Earth, you may wish
you had listened to Travis Taylor and Bob Boan.

And if the invasion follows the plot of a typical Hollywood blockbuster, they
might also be the guys called in at the last minute to save the day.

After all, they have written "An Introduction to Planetary Defense", a primer
on how humanity can defend itself if little green men wielding death rays show
up at our cosmic doorstephttp://www.reuters.com/article/domesticNews/idUSN0934498720070425

Enjoy.

The Clergy get it

I would have expected Whig to be all over this:

Clergy join push to OK medical marijuana

By Kevin McDermott

POST-DISPATCH SPRINGFIELD BUREAU

04/21/2007

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — Illinois' latest attempt to legalize medical marijuana is getting support from a surprising source — religious leaders.

"The moral issue is relief of suffering,'' said the Rev. D. Jay Johnson of the Union Avenue
Christian Church in Litchfield.

Johnson is one of more than 40 state religious leaders named in a letter distributed to legislators as they consider changing Illinois law to allow use of marijuana for treating pain and nausea in
medical patients.http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/news/stories.nsf/illinoisnews/story/31A39A1DBA1ADA05862572C4001C70BF?OpenDocument

Keeping medical marijuana illegel is just plain cruel. Amen.

Renzi gets publicity

Oh my, our man Renzi makes the first page of the Wall Street Journal!http://online.wsj.com/article_email/SB117708053389976977-lMyQjAxMDE3NzI3MDAyODAwWj.html

That investigation has now become a formal public-corruption probe by a federal
grand jury in Tucson. On Thursday, the grand jury authorized a search warrant of
a Renzi family business. Investigators have uncovered evidence that Mr. Renzi
received a cash payment from his former business partner, funneled through a
family wine company, after a second investor group pursuing an unrelated land
swap agreed to pay $4 million for the alfalfa field, according to people contacted in the course of the two-year investigation.

The article clarifies how Renzi was able to manipulate a federal land deal to benefit his business partner, James Sandlin.

"Congressman Renzi told me that the purchase of the Sandlin parcel was a matter
of national security, and that it was key to ensuring the viability of Fort Huachuca," Mr. Aries says. "He said that if we were to buy it before" upcoming hearings about the possible closure of the base, "he would give our swap priority -- a 'free pass,' he said, would be sure to get through the Natural Resources Committee," thereby ensuring its approval.

The guy will look good modeling an orange jumpsuit.

Al gon

Ok, I'm taking a quick break, and checking up on the Gonzales hearings. He sounds pathetic. Imagine a corporate department head sounding like this:
"I don't recall" over and over.
"I was not involved"
"I have no idea what my employees are doing".
"I wasn't in charge, and I plan to remain so".
For real coverage, go to Firedoglake, http://firedoglake.com/

Mental Health Issues

The Virginia Tech shooter had mental health issues, and it's a media firestorm. I'm going to throw my 1.5 cents in.
First, some background: I was a mental health counselor for 14 years (yeah, since I gave up mental health I'm feeling much better). My degree is in community mental health, and as a crises counselor I was involved in many involuntary treatment situations.
There's a huge debate in mental health treatment regarding civil rights and when a person can be forced into treatment. The legal standard of "danger to self or others" is subject to interpretation and often hard to determine. For example, I as a counselor could be fairly certain that a client was suicidal based on their case history, but if the client denied being suicidal I would not be able to get them hospitalized against there will. Sometimes civil rights come with risks.
People with mental illness are no more (or less) dangerous than the rest of the population, and they deserve to be treated with dignity and respect. And mental health workers are not prescient. There is no way to know what someone might do in the future.
I will also point out that mental health is grossly underfunded. Even if the young man went to counseling, I doubt that what would be available would be adequate.
Could this tragedy have been prevented? I'm doubtful. But I would hate to see this become an excuse to stigmatize and oppress people with mental illness.

Guns (and butter)

I'm trying to figure out what to say.
I'm a gun owner, but I'm also a liberal who believes that gun responsibility comes first. I grew up with guns, but my dad and my uncle made sure that I knew what I shot. I may say more later, but the V.Tech massacre is not the gun debate.