Cribbing from the Best

In a speech right here in New York, today, Bush addressed the state of the economy and decried the sort of wildly disproportionate compensation for CEOs that has become par for the course. Some choice remarks:

''The fact is that income inequality is real. It has been rising for more than 25 years,'' the president said. ''The earnings gap is now twice as wide as it was in 1980,'' Bush said

It's funny...I almost feel like I heard something just like that recently:

"When one looks at the health of our economy, it's almost as if we are living in two different countries...The stock market is at an all-time high, and so are corporate profits. But these benefits are not being fairly shared. When I graduated from college, the average corporate CEO made 20 times what the average worker did; today, it's nearly 400 times. In other words, it takes the average worker more than a year to make the money that his or her boss makes in one day."

Poor Jim Webb...less than a month on the job, and he's already been co-opted by the Plagiarist-in-Chief.

US Plan to Stop Global Warming: Block the Sun

No, we're not kidding. The US wants to block some of the sun's rays using reflective dust and giant orbiting mirrors. There's not much we can say about this one. Just read about it and let us know if you think it's as silly an idea as we do.

Race For '08 Gets a Bit More Crowded

Senator Joseph Biden (D-DE), chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, has entered the race for the 2008 Democratic presidential bid. Biden will apparently skip the preliminary step of creating an exploratory committee, explaining that "I'm not exploring. I'm in. And this is the beginning of a marathon." Let's see if he can finish it.

McCain a tool and other Republican nonsense

It looks like next week is the battle royale for Iraq policy. After Obama's orgasmic speech rallied all of us yesterday, here comes the parade of idiots to bring it all down. And who's leading the march? Why no other than Sen. McCain!

While the lollygaggers aren't voting on Obama's in the works binding resolution, they're planning on voting down the non-binding resolutions. Why? Well, “We all know the world is watching,” said Senator Saxby Chambliss, Republican of Georgia. Go drink your mint julep and shut up. Yes, the whole world is watching. And yes, the whole world will think that that you all are still the most short-sighted, out of touch, idiotic party around. Looks like it's going to be chaos in the halls of the Senate come next week. Expect intense debate and wonderful speeches from presidential candidates.

Hooray democracy.

First War, Now Warming

As if this administration hasn't misled the American public enough (promises of WMDs and being greeted as liberators come to mind), advocacy groups are now claiming that the White House pressured federal scientists to play down global warming. Representative Henry Waxman (D-CA) charged that "there may have been an orchestrated campaign to mislead the public about climate change."

Remember when Bush mentioned climate change in his 2007 State of the Union address?

"America is on the verge of technological breakthroughs that will enable us to live our lives less dependent on oil. And these technologies will help us be better stewards of the environment, and they will help us to confront the serious challenge of global climate change." (Applause.)

Yes, Mr. President. Global warming - or "global climate change" - is a very serious challenge. Please treat it as such by allowing scientists to express the gravity of the situation to the American public.

Obama - US Out of Iraq by Apr. 2008

For those who claim the Democrats don't have a plan on Iraq, Senators Obama and Feingold proved today that we've got at least two.

Obama today offered a comprehensive bill that would mandate a phased redeployment of our combat troops in Iraq, to begin no later than May 1, 2007 and to end no later than March 31, 2008. Full text isn't up yet, but Obama's senate site has a nice summary, including the bill's aim and proposed benchmarks. The bill also (thankfully) prevents any escalation by capping the number of troops in Iraq and the number there on 1/10/07. My favorite part is something so gosh-darn common sense, it's almost criminal that it has yet to be enacted as law:

Congressional oversight: Requires the President to submit reports to Congress every 90 days describing and assessing the Iraqi government's progress in meeting benchmarks and the redeployment goals.

Expect to see more on Obama's plan as the week unfolds.

Senator Feingold is taking a bit of a different tack, proposing (though not offering) a bill that would end all financing for combat operations in Iraq effective six months after the bill's passage. I can't say I'm the biggest fan of this approach; while it certainly forces the President to act, it seems like a bit of a cop out to set a ticking clock and then just walk away. There's definitely some appeal to telling Bush, "You made the mess, so you clean it up", but can we really trust the Blunderer-in-chief to put the pieces back together on his own?

Speaker Pelosi, fresh off her trip to the region, chimed in today in favor of a rapid redeployment of US troops in Iraq. While not a plan, per se, this is definitely a promising development.

No matter who comes out on top, one thing is looking increasingly certain - sooner rather than later, our boys are coming home. (And women, of course. But it's an expression, ok?)

Power to the people - I mean, Executive Branch!

In a bold move, President Bush has given the White House increased control in regulating public health, the environment, civil rights, privacy and safety, the New York Times reported on Monday (Columbia Law School Professor Peter L. Strauss is quoted in the article). The White House would have a political appointee in each agency making sure that the President's priorities are met.

The move obviously comes as the result of Bush's loss of power with a new Democratic Congress, and represents Bush's efforts to regain some of this power. Increases of executive power by such rare means scare us here at The Lion and the Donkey, as they appear to be attempts to circumvent the checks and balances established in the Constitution. In an administration that has already proved that adhering to the Constitution is optional, who knows what could come of this?

"A Sorry State of the Union"

The Dems' own Brittany Brewer got an excellent Op/Ed published in yesterday's Spec on the numerous failings of Bush's poorly received (but cheerfully liveblogged) State of the Union. For your convenience and edification, you can find it reprinted below:

The State of the Union address is typically an opportunity for the President to dramatically present the successes of the past year and to gain support for an extensive list of new initiatives for the coming year. In last Tuesday's speech, President George W. Bush abandoned this tradition and attempted to address several key issues facing the nation. Much to the dismay of the newly elected Democratic Congress, however, the Bush's solutions were far less constructive and bipartisan than hoped for.

Bush seems to think that it is the government's responsibility to care for the elderly, disabled, and poor children, while all other Americans are responsible for supporting themselves. Every American should be appalled by a plan that ignores their needs: it penalizes people with high-quality, comprehensive plans, and fails to make health care more affordable for those suffering without. As U.S. Rep. Charles B. Rangel, D-New York, chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee argued, the policy is a bad idea, as it increases middle-class tax liability, a move that will only temporarily and inadequately address the problem.

In his speech, Bush praised the No Child Left Behind Act, a contentious piece of legislation, for its continued success, stating that it "has worked for America's children" and asked Congress to reauthorize it. While it is no surprise that Bush requested reauthorization for a program he initially proposed and implemented, it does seem outlandish that he obscured the fact that his administration has neglected to adequately fund the program since its inception in 2001.

Democrats were unimpressed by Bush's proposals for education reform. Sen. Jim Webb, D-Virginia, who delivered the Democrats' response, argued that "college tuition rates are off the charts" and that Bush's programs will not succeed in resolving these issues if they are not properly funded.

Bush displayed a similar disingenuousness with his economic proposals: balancing the federal budget, reducing earmarks, and reforming entitlements. Bush promised to eliminate the federal deficit, one which he both created and worsened over the course of his tenure, within the next five years. He promised to expose earmarks, yet he has rejected ethics reform so many times that the Democrats made it one of their biggest priorities for the first 100 days. He promised to fix Medicare and Medicaid and save social security, all of which he has attempted and failed to accomplish in the last seven years of his presidency.

In response, Webb observed that "when one looks at the health of our economy, it's almost as if we are living in two different countries," a scrutiny that most Americans can probably identify with after listening to the Bush's address. There is a divide between the America of workers living from paycheck to paycheck and the America occupied by executives who earn more in one day than many of their employees make in an entire year. Tragically, when Bush discussed the economy, he did not deem this gap worth addressing.

After alluding to the horrors of Sept. 11, 2001 and the tenacity of our enemies, Bush reiterated his plan to send about 20,000 more American troops to Iraq, proclaiming that "to win the war on terror we must take the fight to the enemy." Democrats responded with contempt following his first proposal of the plan and in their response on Tuesday, they stood unified in demanding "an immediate shift toward strong regionally-based diplomacy, a policy that takes our soldiers off the streets of Iraq's cities and a formula that will in short order allow our combat forces to leave Iraq." Bush now stands alone in his belief in the potential of additional troops, since even his own generals have advised him that an increase in troops will not help the situation and Republicans continue to desert him on this issue.

Both the victory of the Democrats in 2006 and Tuesday night's address demonstrate one thing: this nation is ready for a change. Bush's approval ratings are lower than ever, with only a 28 percent job approval rating in a recent CBS poll. Democrats in Congress must force Bush to respect their demands and to seek bipartisan cooperation. While Bush has acknowledged this challenge verbally, he has done little to execute it. Fortunately, the American people have placed their trust in a party that is demanding change from their president. The Democrats have vowed to join Bush if he responds favorably to their demands. As Webb declared, however, "if he does not, we will be showing him the way."

And so it begins...

The '08 smear campaign has begun - but not by the candidates themselves. The conservative website Insight has posted a report alleging that Senator Clinton's team is preparing to attack Senator Obama's Muslim background, claiming that he spent time in a Muslim seminary in Indonesia as a child. Just one problem...the New York Times reported on Monday that neither the news of the future attack nor the allegation itself is true. Insight's article names no sources and does not even name the reporter. Hmm...anonymous articles with unidentified sources. We can only imagine what else will follow between now and the election.

A little thing called history...and other protest observations

One of the more amusing and satisfying parts of the protest on Saturday (by the way, I do not believe the police crowd estimates. I bet there were a little over 100,000 there, but what do I know: I just was in it, that's all...) was the counter-demonstration on one side of the Capitol. About 15 counter-demonstrators were present as we walked by, holding up signs with rather generic slogans like "Hippies Smell." However, the funniest part of the counter-demonstration were the posters that had a picture of Saddam Hussein hanging. The caption? Sic Semper Tyrannis.

Sic Semper Tyrannis is the state motto of Virginia, and translates from Latin as "thus always to tyrants." To history students, though, the phrase is much better known as the words John Wilkes Booth shouted after he assassinated Abraham Lincoln (that first Republican tyrant who tried to, you know, free the slaves). Note to protestors: if you have a catchy Latin phrase, try Googling it first to see its meaning before you slap it on a poster.

In other protest news:
1. About 30 minutes beforehand, a group of anarchists marched past a group of us, going down seventh street. They had their customary black outfits...and a black and pink flag (call the fashion police!). They were led down 7th street, completely away from the White House which they claimed to be going to. It was a rather amusing sight, and I hope they all fell into the Potomac.

2. I would have to echo Bwog's sentiments: who cares about Jane Fonda? It seems to me that if she hurt the Vietnam anti-war movement with her ditzy dumbness, then she probably isn't gonna do this anti-war movement any favors.

3. And in parade route news, the original route called for the entire march to make a U-Turn in front of the Supreme Court (behind the Capitol). Not only is it rather silly to expect a whole march to turn around in the middle of the block, but it seems the Judicial Branch

General message to snobbish old protestors who complain about us compared to '68: if you're gonna be idiotic enough to not only invite Jane Fonda, but also expect a parade to make a u-turn, then stop organizing these things and let us take over. Young people deserve to have a voice at these events, and instead we got stuck listening to by-gone preachers, insufferable actors, and generally boring speakers. How can you expect a person to express him or herself if you give them no voice to do so?

Protest Coverage

Washington Post article on student anti-war coalition building and the Saturday protest. There's a nice mention of the Columbia University contingent with a quote from David Judd. Bwog also covered our trip. There is a great video of the protest on youtube.

The Senate Foriegn Relation Committee voted on quite the partisan resolution yesterday. In a move to show how much they dispise the escalation plan in Iraq, they actually voted on a resolution to condemn President Bush's plan. The best part? It passed 12-9, with Sen. Hegel joining the the rest of Chairman Biden's Contingent for the Force of Good, ie Democrats.

Meanwhile with Wolf Blitzer in the Situation Room, none other then Cheney was being interviewed about Iraq. Blitzer described him as "in a word, defiant, saying about the idea of any kind of resolution from the Senate, quote, 'It won't stop us.'" Here's a money quote from Cheney, "We are moving forward. The Congress has control over the purse strings. They have the right, obviously, if they want to cut off funding, but in terms of this effort the President has made his decision and I think it's far too soon for the talking heads on television to conclude that it's impossible to do."

Give me a break. Sorry that your grand strategy failed in its beginnings, failed in its mission, and continues to fail today. Such failure would normally mean a change in a policy. It's like the Bush administration is a kid that keeps touching a hot stove, but never learns that the stove is HOT. It will burn your hand. So either quit touching it or get an oven mitt. It is amazing how out of touch these people really are.

Kerry's Out

Kerry used the floor of the Senate today to announce to no one's surprise that he won't be running for the nomination. So ends a sad chapter in Democratic history...but here's to the next one.

We suspect Homeland Security

Josh and Jacob have been so good that Blogger thinks they're spamming. Anyways, that was a downer of a speech. My highlights: Republicans yelling so it sounds like more than a 1/3rd of the room is giving a standing ovation, Bush changing topics to Iraq without mentioning Iraq, and, of course, Wesley Autrey and Dikembe Mutumbo showing up all the other special guests. (Note to sports section editors: give everyone a laugh and put the shot of Mutumbo standing in between Laura Bush and another really short woman).

Stick around for the Democratic response by Jim Webb

The L&D summary of Bush's remarks:
WAR IS PEACE
FREEDOM IS SLAVERY
IGNORANCE IS STRENGTH

Bush has finally upgraded Africa from country to continent - about damn time.

Let's review. In 2002 Bush named Iran, Iraq and North Korea to the axis of evil. 2007 status: Iraq = disaster. Iran = scary as hell. North Korea = Oh right, we forgot about them.

A "civilian reserve corps" - did Bush just invent the Peace Corps? Next he's gonna tell us about this big new plan for a place that has movies you can borrow for a while and then take back.

January 23, 2007 - Bush decides to let the Democrats help out on the War on Terrr™. Well, jeepers.

Bush asks for 92,000 more people in the army and marine corps... CNN pans to one marine clapping reluctantly, which begs the question: Where is he gonna get the other 91,999?

Cassus belli #45 - we must protect America from the Iraqi powderkeg...we went there to stop the problem we created...with our time machine.

"Whatever you voted for, you did not vote for failure." Talk about buyer's remorse

Bush's nightmare scenario - all made possible by his thoughtful Iraqi adventure.

Did anyone ever think after mission accomplished four years ago that Bush would still be talking about securing Baghdad? I know he didn't

"We're sending 4,000 marines with orders to find the terrorists and clear them out." Hmmm what was their mission before?

20,000 new troops headed to Iraq. We knew it was coming but it's heartbreaking to hear it.

Ok recap... 35 minutes in and 37 applauses, no wait... 38...

Kerry looks on pretty glum. Probably daydreaming about a Kerry State of the Union. Then again no one wants to sit here for 4 hours.

Condi to level Tokyo with her gaze

I'm glad Bush has finally figured out that there are three kinds of Iraqistanis

Bush on Islam: Sunni, Shi'a, we hate'em all the same. Ugh.

Condelezaa Rice is.... The Catwoman.... scariest look of the night

Proof through silence - by that logic, I can say the Iraq War was a success because the Flying Spaghetti Monster didn't annihilate Des Moines, Iowa.

Bush commends those giving their lives to protect America. The first truly bi-partisan standing ovation. It reminds of the feeling after September 11th, you know, before we squandered the world's support and launched into a war that has only created more generations of terrorists instead of eradicating them.

The generals are sitting hunched and grimaced. Pretty representative of the state of the war these days.

Boy if the Republicans shout loud enough it almost sounds like people agree with him

First 9/11 reference - everyone take a drink.

The puppetmaster and the puppet take sips of water at the same moment. It begs the question, if Cheney's mouth is busy how can Bush be speaking?

Reducing our reliance on foreign oil is another great stolen dem idea. I'm sure Cheney is fully behind it. Especially when he called conservation a non-important "personal vitrue" just a few years ago.

No mention of Iraq still... but don't worry our president is talking about woochips! Beavers of the world unite.

We must reduce our dependence on oil by stockpiling more of it. Love it.

Cheney pauses, decides it's ok to clap for legal immigration. Is the Nativist party making a comeback?

Ok we're 15 minutes in. We've had a Pelosi tribute, some healthcare brainstorming and an immigration plan that makes no one happy. The standing ovations are pretty much non-existent and some of the students in the piano lounge are heading out. It's now or never if he's going to save himself from a lame duck presidency.

Healthcare is clearly the heavy hitter and Bush's biggest new proposal... you know who could use healthcare? The soliders dying in Iraq. I wonder when he's going to mention them.

Pelosi jumps up at the healthcare announcement which gets the biggest applause yet. Coincidence? I think not.

Bush is talking about education now. It's as if Cheney gave a speech on gun safety.

Anyone notice the striking resemblance between Laura and Chairman Mao:

Bush is giving Kennedy a stroke. No seriously, get a doctor.

"retrain the federal appetite," "balance the budget," "not harm our future generations," "develop alternative energy..."

I guess in those past six years he finally took a hint from the Democrats. Meat head.

The Bush plan for balancing the budget - cut redundant and unnecessary programs, like the Departments of Education and Health and Human Services.

Cheney is looking pretty spent after that standing 'O'. Someone better check local hospitals.

Next week comes a full report on the state of the economy... he didn't want to do it tonight obviously because America is watching

Recovery from whose failure?

Big things! Oh boy! sign me up. Good thing he has a crack team of speechwriters to lay out his detailed vision for "big things"

Is Cheney unhappy or just being himself? The world will never know.

Pelosi is clearly thinking about putting her foot through is face. She's not alone

Is this a kick or what! Pelosi lords over Bush and forgets to say the word pleasure when introducing him. Bush gives her due respect.

The smirker in cheif begins his speech

Thank God we're not leaving problems for future generations...like a massive deficit.

Elaine Chao is here - now we'll get this party started. But where oh where is Rummy? Ah, 2006 elections, how I love you.

Gotta love a State of the Union that begins "Madam Speaker."

Pelosi splits the intros... Madame Speaker and then President of the US... Is she elevating herself to his level? We'll see

SOTU with L&D

Ladies and Gents, stay tuned tonight at 9 pm for a Lion and the Donkey first - we'll be liveblogging the State of the Union, and we promise at least one snarky comment for every standing O (though given Bush's rather dismal numbers who knows how few and far apart those will be). Or, if you'd rather cut out the digital middleman, come jeer with us in person 9 in the Lerner Piano Lounge for free pizza and good company.

Great article from the WSJ about Bush's previous SOTU speeches and differences between what he said and what really happened.

It goes through every single one of his speeches and is sweet, sweet vindication of the thoughts we've always harbored about him—in an easy-to-read format.

State of the Union Drinking Game

Thought this was funny. Don't you love how America is so advanced, progressive, innovative (well you get the point) that we can make up games for just about anything. If only we used those tools to help us figure out how to provide universal health care. Ironic, huh?
Anyway, enjoy! Well, not too much!

Already Hedging

Two stories about shifting positions

First, the Los Angeles Times has a story about how all that posturing from Nancy Pelosi and others about fighting back against big business is mostly just that: empty posturing. It's sad that our Democratic congress is only 100 hours in and already drawing back on a number of campaign promises. After all their talk about student aid, we got only cuts in Stafford Loans (The Boston Globe has a good summary here), with no help in Perkins Loans or Pell Grants or any other programs that specifically target poorer students. Couldn't they have had enough backbone between 330 congressmen and representatives to be actual Democrats for one week? It is sad.

Second, one place that can be counted on for finding people who will do impressively deep research is Daily Kos (of course, there are plenty people who do almost none. There's a front page post right now gloating about how "effective" Pelosi has been. I guess it's easy to say that when you ignore that the bills she's passing are compromising on every issue.) Anyways, this new set of diaries, starting here, chronicles every vote where John Edwards and Hillary Clinton differed while they were in the Senate together from 2001-2005. The first part chronicles their approximately thirty vote differences in 2001, and shows that, contrary to Edwards's attempts to portray himself as the farthest left in this primary, he actually was more likely that Hillary to be pro-business and anti-campaign finance reform. I was particularly disappointed to learn that Edwards, for example, supported the 2001 Bankruptcy Act that progressives like Paul Wellstone fought against. Obviously, Edwards (whom I supported in 2004) has had time to change his views, and I hope that further parts of the series will show that he did so while in the Senate, not more recently because he thought it would position him better. But it does support those who would say it's easier for Edwards to position himself as more progressive since he's no longer in the Senate After all, it's easy to tell Congress to cut funding for the Iraq War, when you're don't actually have to vote for it.

Lukewarm reception ahead

Tomorrow night Bush will give his State of the Union Address, but how will the Congress and Americans respond? Judging from the election results, end of the 100 Hour Plan and Bush's overwhelming opposition to the will of the American people, it looks like the response is set to be cool.

Aside from Democrats being in control of both chambers of Congress, Republicans aren't exactly excited about their leader's political tactics. Case in point: the Senate Foreign Relations Committee which saw Senators Snowe and Hegel siding with Democrats over the ridiculous troop surge idea. Standing ovations should be rare. And having Speaker Pelosi sitting behind Bush in the direct view of the camera will be awesome--opposition will be there for all viewers to see at all times.

Apparently Bush is set to discuss alternative energy (nuclear, ethanol (BOOOO), hybrid cars, etc). I suppose he finally went back on his prediction that the war in Iraq would make oil prices cheaper.

Links

Just a quick heads-up: a links section has been added on the right side, with both Columbia and more general (liberal) interest links.

Also, Sunday nights may mean homework for others, but for me, it means Prime Minister's Question Time. A half-hour of British people putting our staid Congress to shame...maybe if we had debates like theirs, we'd get more people interested. It's at 9 on C-SPAN and C-SPAN radio, and it's delayed from the previous Wednesday. You can watch them online at the government site here.

The Most Diverse Field Ever

Bill Richardson has just thrown his hat into the ring for the 2008 race.

Boy, with the addition of Richardson it looks we dems have the most diverse and representative field of presidential candidates ever assembled.

The Republicans? They've got Sam Brownback.

She's officially thinking about it.

The speculation can stop--Hillary is officially thinking about running for president. This primary is already shaping up to be spectacular as the NYTimes points out that this is the EARLIEST start for presidential campaigns in history. Hillary knows what she's up against, too. While remaining modest in her soundbytes by claiming that she doesn't see herself as the front runner thus far, her office is wasting no time putting out the stats. Her office boasts the results of a Washington Times-ABC News poll which puts her at 41% lead. Obama got a measely 17%.

Here are the rest of the poll results:

Clinton- 41%
Obama 17%
Edwards 11%
Gore 10%
Kerry 8%
All others <3%

And on the flip side...
Guiliani 34%
McCain 27%
Romney 9%
Gingrich 9%
Brownback 1%


And so it begins...

60s and Now

Our former VP, Andrew Avorn, is over in Spain right now, and he sent us an email updating us about his trip. Included in that is a very interesting article from the Village Voice, where he and his dad (a Columbian who was active in the '68 demonstrations) walk around campus and talk about then vs. now, especially considering the similarity in conditions. Recommended reading.

If Only We'd Known Before Confirmation

From, as Andrew Sullivan calls it, the "You Can't Make This Up Dept.", our Attorney General's spectacularly scary reading of the Constitution:

Responding to questions from Sen. Arlen Specter at a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on Jan. 18, Gonzales argued that the Constitution doesn’t explicitly bestow habeas corpus rights; it merely says when the so-called Great Writ can be suspended.

“There is no expressed grant of habeas in the Constitution; there’s a prohibition against taking it away,” Gonzales said.

Gonzales’s remark left Specter, the committee’s ranking Republican, stammering.

“Wait a minute,” Specter interjected. “The Constitution says you can’t take it away except in case of rebellion or invasion. Doesn’t that mean you have the right of habeas corpus unless there’s a rebellion or invasion?”

Gonzales continued, “The Constitution doesn’t say every individual in the United States or citizen is hereby granted or assured the right of habeas corpus. It doesn’t say that. It simply says the right shall not be suspended” except in cases of rebellion or invasion.

Full article here

Axis of Evil Updates

Now that the 100 Hour Democratic Everything Liberal Love-a-thon comes to an exuberant close in the House and Ney is going to prison, there is a slew of updates from the foreign front that are worth noting.

Such Axis of Evil, or should I say "Axis made more Evil because of US incompetence," happenings are both encouraging and saddening. It should be interesting to see what happens and how the Democrats will deal with it.

First off, terrorist detainees awaiting their military tribunals at the dismal Guantanamo Bay holding pen. The Pentagon released its revamped policy on when military tribunals are to be used--sadly, there's not much change from where the whole deal started off. Indeed, the penumbra from the Republican Congress of Horrors is still casting a shadow over just trials. As the NYT puts it, "Under legislation signed into law last year, the government is poised to restart tribunals that the Supreme Court halted last summer." It's my sincere hope that the Democrats will do something about this. Of course the ACLU is all wound up over it. They have a good selection of blogs all about the Guantanamo disaster. On another interesting note, the ACLU points out that the Pentagon as actually been monitoring peace protests throughout the country, "[collecting]more than 2,800 reports involving Americans in an anti-terrorist threat database." That sure gives us something to look forward to for the UPJ March next weekend.

Second, there seems to be a dim and somewhat disorienting light at the end of the tunnel in terms of talks with North Korea. Pyongyang has agreed to resume talks in the six-party negotiations with the US. WaPo reports that "The talks took place from January 16 to 18 in a positive and sincere atmosphere and a certain agreement was reached there." At least some form sensibility and diplomacy have been reached, eh?

Finally, the Iraq troop surge controversy. Democrats are working together in both chambers of Congress to oppose the troop increase that is "not in the national interest of the United States." Amen! Some legislation should hit the floor as early as next Wednesday.

Karma

Sometimes, people surprise us. Just a day after the Senate almost unanimously passed a sweeping ethics- and lobbying-reform package that well surpassed not just the Republicans' own paltry attempts at reform but even the Democrats' rather-lofty campaign pledges and the measure railroaded through by Speaker Pelosi (damn, doesn't that feel good to write), disgraced Republican former-Congressman Bob Ney of Ohio was sentenced to 30 months in prison for numerous Abramoff-related ethics violations. For all his power, all his money, all his influence, he couldn't dodge this one—justice, at long last, was served. Kind of makes a jaded seen-it-all New Yorker sit back and say, 'huh'.

Add that to the remarkable nature of the Senate legislation, expanded over the objections of, well, everyone thanks in no small measure to Senators Feingold (D-WI) and Obama (D-IL), and things really start looking funny. What's a conspiracy-theorist to do when they bar up all the smoke-filled rooms? If you can't mistrust a lobbyist (restrained now from giving gifts, private air-flight, or anonymously fund-raising for legislators), who can you?

Obviously no reform is perfect, and there's certainly a lot more to be done - publicly financed elections, anyone? - but at least for this afternoon, I've got to tell ya - the system worked. Democrats, with their mandate for change, actually brought about change, even at the expense of their own reelection efforts. God-willing thanks to their efforts we won't see another Bob Ney polluting Capitol Hill any time soon. And that, to me at least, seems to justify a nice, long, contemplative 'huh'.

Welcome Back...and Already The Polls Are Coming...

First of all, to all fellow students reading this, welcome back. However, if you thought you were going to have a few months off to catch your breath and watch the new Congress work its wonders (last night was the best of all - student loan rates slashed in half to 3.4%), you were mistaken. The presidential races are already starting, and Zogby and all those other pollsters are hard at work. In fact, check out this New York Times article for details about Nevada's Democratic candidate forum this Feb. 23 and then New Hampshire's debates (carried on CNN) on April 4 and 5

So what do Iowa and New Hampshire look like initially? Well, not too great if you're Hillary Clinton. After all, she's supposed to be the frontrunner, right? Which would mean she should be leading in at least one of the two, right? Not so.

Here's Zogby telephone polls for Iowa and New Hampshire. Quick summary on the Democratic side: Edwards leads Iowa with 27%, followed by Obama at 17% and Hillary and Iowa Governor Tom Vilsack at 16%. In New Hampshire, Obama leads with 23%, with Edwards and Clinton at 19%, and no one else within striking distance.

Those who have been following the numbers for a while actually won't be surprised at Iowa: Edwards has been building his organization there continuously since he announced for 2004. He has a bunch of connections among the caucus voters, and led a fair number of polls in Iowa during 2006. But what would give me pause if I were Clinton is that Obamamania appears to be hanging on in New Hampshire. His visit to the state several months back drew many many more people than normally seen this far ahead, but it's clear that was no book tour/media frenzy creation. Looks like the supposed frontrunner has to come from behind in two states. Furthermore, her statement against escalation this week looked pale next to the Edwards campaign description of escalation as "total bull."

Finally, I'd bet that Obama's drawing out his announcement not only to keep the media writing, but also to make sure that his polls numbers have legs that last. I don't think he would want to enter a race where he wasn't in control of at least one of the states. After all, he's already had his media frenzy. If other polls continue to confirm his strength, newspapers can already start printing their Feb. 11 headlines "Obama Announces Campaign For President."

Day 1, Everything Changes

Almost lost in the story of the Democrats' coast-to-coast victory this past November was the election by an overwhelming margin of New York's newest governor, Eliot Spitzer. At midnight on January 1, while most of us were busy with...other pursuits, Governor Spitzer took the oath of office and ended twelve years of Republican domination in Albany (at the earliest constitutionally permissible moment). Before we turn our collective attention to the installation of Speaker Pelosi and the 110th Congress's first 100 hours,let's not overlook the meaningful change Spitzer is already bringing to our adopted state.

At 8:45 a.m. yesterday before the first speech was made or the first bottle of Champagne uncorked, Governor Spitzer issued 5 executive orders aimed at driving corruption out of Albany. While most politicos give the electorate flowery rhetoric on Inauguration Day (admittedly, Eliot was no exception) Spitzer brought us real and meaningful action, imposing tight ethical restrictions that among other things, bar state employees (himself included) from receiving any gifts, making use of taxpayer-funded private transport, or returning later to lobby their old co-workers.

Props to Governor Spitzer for giving us, among other things, a campaign slogan that actually meant something—on Day 1, Everything Changed.