Thank you, dday, your analysis and insight has been invaluable. I will miss my daily fix, but I wish you the best of luck in future endeavors. Keep fighting the good fight.

OT but wondering if folks here have seen that Northwestern fired David Protess of Innocence Project:

http://bit.ly/hIDum6

http://bit.ly/i9JnQm

Also, related to electronic privacy, interesting patent application by MySpace. (I didn’t discover this, Chris Hayes tweeted)

http://bit.ly/fW9XIe

Security and Monetization Through Facial Recognition in Social Networking Websites

Wow. It’s always refreshing to hear unvarnished truth.

Related: Good reporting in The Nation about “Communications Monitoring Units” at prisons in Marion and Terre Haute.

http://bit.ly/eYMwKM

Gitmo in the Heartland

Important reporting in The Nation.

Gitmo in the Heartland
http://bit.ly/eYMwKM

Eight days after CCR filed suit, the BOP suddenly gave notice of a proposed rule titled “Communication Management Units.” In it the Obama administration kept the Bush-era communication restrictions while broadening their scope. While the 2006 proposed rule was limited to people with “an identifiable link to terrorist-related activity,” the Obama-era rule can be applied to “any inmate,” including “persons held as witnesses, detainees or otherwise.”

Many individual revelations in the diplomatic cables have been important, but when you see what the big picture looks like, even when only 2m or so of the cables have been published, it’s clear what our “diplomacy” is actually about:

1)Protecting and furthering the interests of powerful corporations above all other considerations

2)Arms and military equipment sales

This is not news to many who pay attention, but when you see it illustrated over and over, along with the hypocrisy and betrayal of democracy and “American Values” it’s pretty stunning in scope.

RIP

So sad. I had so much admiration for Sara. So much lost with her passing. Funny, I had thought about her and wondered how she was doing just a couple of days ago. I would be content if I could live my life with 1/1000th of her kindness, intelligence and purpose.

Crikey. By the time I finish reading the DOJ press release you already have analysis and a time line compiled and posted. Guess that’s why you get the big bucks:)

from DOJ press release

characterizing the classified information in a false and misleading manner as a means of inducing the author to write and publish a story premised on that false and misleading information;

How clever. They can simultaneously deny the truth of the leak while also denying the action is “whistleblowing”.

Merry Christmas, edub. Enjoy yourself, you deserve it.

Here’s what jumped out at me from that interview:

The problem is, how are we dealing with our medium-term debt and deficit, and how are we dealing with our long-term debt and deficit? And most of that has to do with entitlements, particularly Social Security and Medicaid.

Gah. Third rail? Third party.

Quick, everyone over to RedState and post comments about lazy unemployed and ethanol bailouts.

That’s $1,371 ave per person for the plebes, $27,708 ave per person for the fat cats.

Yes, it would be nice if voters would like more at the evidence of what a politician has actually done, versus what they say.

Things like paling around with Lieberman and Blue Dogs.

Check this out that Dave Weigel dug up from the primary wars, too.

http://slate.me/gJxbCr

Barack Obama is no Muhammad Ali. He took a walk every time there was a tough vote in the Illinois State Senate. He took a walk more than a 130 times. That’s what a shadow boxer does. All the right moves. All the right combinations. All the right footwork. But he never steps into the ring.

Video at the link.

Keith’s was fun in his usual bombastic style, but I though Rachel’s segment on “First You Win” was extremely powerful stuff. She said that Obama could be on his way to irrelevance if he doesn’t get better at negotiating, basically by turning the famous statement on it’s head.

First you win
Then they fight you
Then they laugh at you
Then they ignore you

Seriously good stuff. She also called him “baseless”, in every sense of the word.

Grover Norquist loves the tax plan.

So if Obama is working with Grover Norquist, does that make Obama a firebagger now?

I’m not sure how much a threat ending the filibuster is when Republicans are set to take over.

It may not be as hard to enforce as you think. For example, here in MN, if you are in the Minnesota Care health care program, which is for people who are low income but not poor enough to qualify for straight General Assistance Medical care, you are already required to notify MN Health Services within 10 days of a change in income, or anything else that would effect your eligibility status or monthly co-pay amount.

If you don’t do that, you can be charged with obtaining benefits through fraud.

Unless you don’t file taxes, they will find out if your income increased.

Republicans here already want to drug test people who get any kind of assistance. I’m sure they can come up with some creative enforcement methods. It will be expensive, but at least nobody “undeserving” will get any goodies.

Glad you posted on this, that is an incredible good post by zunguzungu. I hope it gets read widely.