Catfish Wallow

01-28-09

Did Holder Promise No Prosecutions? (emptywheel) - For a few brief moments it looked like we had gotten out from under GOP rule, but now it seems that was just as ruse. The GOP is now ruling under a proxy administration headed up by our first African-American president--an advance in the politics of race relations that in and of itself may end up being the greatest accomplishment of the November '08 election.

However, Leading Senate Dems Patrick Leahy and Sheldon Whitehouse Dismiss Report That Holder Promised No Torture Prosecutions (tpmdc). Referring to Kit Bond, a member of the ethically-challenged Republican Party, Leahy said, "No senator would make a request like that. It'd be improper." Wow! Such breathtaking logic! Sen. Leahy, I'm sure glad you're on our side!
Even cable news knows who's really running things: GOP Lawmakers Outnumber Democratic Lawmakers 2 To 1 In Stimulus Debate On Cable News (thinkprogress)

Failing U.S. Infrastructure: Engineers give U.S. infrastructure poor grades (reuters - wonkroom) - "Earlier this month, the engineers estimated that the president's stimulus package contained some $90 billion in infrastructure spending." If that amount is accurate, then after Larry Summers' recent hatchet job on the $825 billion package, peeling away 33% for tax reductions instead, it would now contain considerably less for infrastructure projects, perhaps around $62 billion. (caps.fool) - That's sure a lot less than we understood from Candidate Obama's campaign speeches.

Mark Morford (archive) on Why buy a house? Behold, one of the biggest myths of the American Dream. (sfgate)

US 2.3 million prison population dwarfs that of other nations (iht) - The phony 'war on drugs' is one of the reasons. Lazy, cowardly politicians is another. Politically motivated judges is another. Prison-Industrial Complex profit motive is another.
Double-Standard Justice:

Greenwald: The definition of a "two-tiered justice system" (salon) - "Our political class has embraced mandatory minimum sentencing schemes as a way to eliminate mercy and sentencing flexibility for ordinary people who break the law (as opposed to Bush officials who do)." Our vaunted political representatives argue for immunity for high-level government officials who commit felonies, while a homeless man gets 15 years for stealing $100 so he could stay at the detox center and get some food. The "United States imprisons more of its population than any other country on the planet, and most astoundingly, we account for less than 5% of the world's population yet close to 25% of the world's prisoners are located in American prisons."
US: More Whites Use Drugs, More Blacks Imprisoned (mapinc) - "These racial disparities are a national scandal." "Black and white drug offenders get radically different treatment in the American justice system. This is not only profoundly unfair to blacks, it also corrodes the American ideal of equal justice for all." Reality certainly shreds the Pledge of Allegiance, doesn't it? Kinda like George W. Bush and his 'goddamned piece of paper.'

It's official: Secretary of State Hillary Clinton mouths the same neocon drivel as Obama--that Israel has a right to defend itself--and should--while completely ignoring Israel's persistent crushing abuse of Palestinians and lack of any humane sense of proportionality. (haaretz) - See also my entries on 01-25-09 (Israel/U.S. Shame . . .) and on 01-24-09 (Military-Industrial Complex . . .)
Palestinian Apartheid: '60 Minutes' Tells the Truth (cbsnews) - In dribs and drabs the truth comes out to Americans. How did this story get past the CBS 'Establishment Censors'?

Wednesday, January 28, 2009