October 2005 Archives
Great Analysis of the Libby IndictmentBy on October 28, 2005 10:01 PM | No Comments
If you're oh-so-starved for more analysis, firedoglake has got some excellent analysis - final point being that:
There is no wobble in the indictments handed down today. It's pretty clear. Libby can deal or swing.Which brings us to David Radler. Who is David Radler? David Radler was the #2 man at Hollinger International. The day after he was indicted by the US Attorney for the State of Illinois Patrick J. Fitzgerald for looting money from the stockholders of Hollinger, he announced he'd rather "cooperate with investigators" (read: rat out his boss, Conrad Black) than spend the rest of his life perfecting the ultimate starch job in the prison laundry. Radler decided he would take Door #2 and do twenty-nine unpleasant months and pay a fine when the prospect of life in prison became a reality.
That's just the way Patrick Fitzgerald works. If the Hollinger case, and the Ryan case, and the Daley Case, and the Al Quaeda case and the Gambino case are any indication, Fitzgerald will now use what he's got to get more.
So it seems possible that Fitz is using this indictment of Libby as a pressure point to get him to leak out more info on Rove's involvement (or potentially even higher?). Interesting...
Libby Out, Rove In - For Now. (Meanwhile, Bush Leaves Town)By on October 28, 2005 5:11 PM | No Comments
Vice President Dick Cheney's Chief of Staff was, as many had predicted, indicted today on five counts - including one count of obstruction of justice, two of perjury, and two of making false statements. This is obviously a serious hit for the Bush Admin. It creates the perception for many Americans that Cheney was most likely privy to the same information (and it's not like he's a likeable guy in the first place, folks).
Even more problematic, though, for the Bushies is the fact that Rove was not, as they had hoped, cleared today. He is still under investigation. In recent White House statements about the investigation, the Admin had seriously hoped to get the investigation over with and behind them. This did not happen today. The investigation is ongoing and indictments for Rove are still a real possibility.
Moreover, its likely that the GOP nationally will further distance themselves from the Administration over this scandal. This distance will certainly make it increasingly difficult for the Admin to get anything done policy-wise.
Unfortunately for the Administration, Bush made the worst decision possible and continued with his plans to leave town today. He gave a 60-second-long schpeel to reporters this morning on how he has a job to do - including the upcoming SCOTUS nomination - and then high-tailed it out of town.
I had to ask myself, "Trevor, if you were President, would you leave town the day your Presidential Administration started to crumble?" No - I seriously doubt that'd be the best idea. I would have stayed at the White House and had the critical meetings necessary to assure everyone working for me that we were going to move forward. Bush didn't do this. And he can expect there to be fallout because of it.
Is Tomorrow the Day?By on October 27, 2005 5:35 PM | No Comments
Today, Mier's nomination withdrawal. Tomorrow, the fall of a regime? Many in the blogosphere are pining for the release of the findings of Special Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald's two-year investigation into the Valerie Plame affair.
Chatter is high that Libby (Cheney's Chief of Staff) and Rove (President Bush's Senior Advisor) are likely to face indictments. Of course, everything at this point is speculation. However, Rove's *four* appearances before the grand jury and the Prosecutor's warning of potential indictment given to Rove before his final cameo appear ominous for Bush's brain.
Will tomorrow, as so many of us on the left hope, bring news of indictments of two senior Bush Administration officials? If so, we can be sure that Bush's last few years on Capitol Hill will be marked by extreme struggle to get just about anything done. Why, you ask? Let's review the facts:
1. His effort to reform Social Security tanked, exposing cracks in the Right's concensus
2. One Word: Katrina
3. 2,000 Dead Americans in Iraq
4. Speaker of the House Tom Delay's most unfortunately timed indictment
5. The radical Right-wing flexed their muscle and forced Bush's own Supreme Court nominee down the toilet*
All of these factors amount to a serious obstacle for the Bush Administration. Add to the pile the loss of Bush's right-hand-man (Rove), and the White House has a disaster on its hands. Further tainting the public's perception of the Administration is recent news that Cheney himself may have played a role in the exposure of Plame's identity.
In 24 hours, let the regime change begin!
* Many on the Right had not expected Bush to accept capitulation on the nomination, for fear that doing so would contribute to the perception of a weak administration (see DailyKos clippings)
Howard Zinn on SCOTUS NomsBy on October 24, 2005 2:46 PM | No Comments
If you haven't read "The People's History of the United States" - it is certainly time you tried to pick up a copy at your latest bookstore. It's simply a must-read for anyone living in America who went through our public education system's understanding of history.
In any case, I was bloghopping and stumbled upon a link to a recent article of his concerning the ongoing Supreme Court nominations, and I thought I'd send out a shout for it. Find it here (Thanks to The Dyke Squad for the link)
"Robert Novak: Impartial and Discreet Patrio-Journalist"By on October 21, 2005 6:23 AM | No Comments
Oh that Robert Novak. Such a funny looking man. I sometimes miss his megalomaniac tirades on "Crossfire." Alas, not having to see Tucker Carlson in that silly bowtie may be reason enough for its cancellation (though his twerpie little ass is kind of hot, isn't it? Tucker if you're reading this my e-mail address is at the *bottom* and I'm open to having some Log Cabin fun).
In any case, I thought this little Novak moment from Whitehouse.org was too funny for words. Enjoy!
The Surreal Life, San Fran StyleBy on October 16, 2005 7:26 PM | No Comments
I found myself today on the front porch of a beautiful garden home, chatting casually, with three of the most important architects to my politics and thinking that exist. I took a deep breathe, and examined the people around me. David Halperin. Suzanne Pharr. Eric Rofes. Talk about overwhelming.
Two weeks ago, I was at Eric Rofes' house for his monthly potluck gathering to discuss issues of sexuality (politics, theory, journalism, ideology, and more). Before the meeting, Eric and I were discussing Suzanne Pharr (author and activist, wrote "Homophobia: A Weapon of Sexism") - his friend and also who I brought to UNC as keynote to my final Unity Confererence. Because of our previous connection, he invited me to a benefit he was hosting at his house for The Highlander Institute today (Pharr used to be executive director of the Highlander Institute).
And so, here I am two weeks later. David Halperin let me know back in September that he was coming into town this weekend for a conference. I met David at SFSU's 2004 Summer Institute on Sexuality, Society, and Health. Incidentally, in honor of his visit, I made my first trip to Steamworks - the big gay bathhouse in Berkeley. I'll blog about that experience more later!
Somehow today I wound up having brunch with one of David's former colleagues at MIT and then I invited David to Eric Rofes' house for the benefit for the Highlander Institute.
My life is too crazy. I was lucky enough to arrive in time to the event to hear Suzanne speak. She was, as she always is, brilliant. She spoke of the political and cultural aftermath of Hurricane Katrina with the conviction that has made her career as an activist so succesful. I got a chance to chat with Eric and David - which was surreal enough in its own right (since I met David in San Francisco and then later read, in Eric's book, David's thoughts about HIV prevention work in Australia).
What a damn day!
PrisonSucks.comBy on October 14, 2005 4:32 AM | No Comments
Inga Muscio has inspired me - yet again. She lists this phenomenal "Imagination Reclamation Resource Guide" at the end of her book, Autobiography of a Blue-Eyed Devil. The guide is also available online here.
I was flipping through the weblinks, many focused on the Prison-Industrial Complex, and came accross a wonderful resource: Prisonsucks.com. The site features a plethora of mind-boggling statistics about the US Prison system. It features such gems as:
U.S. incarceration rates by race, June 30, 2004:
Whites: 393 per 100,000
Latinos: 957 per 100,000
Blacks: 2,531 per 100,000
Gender is an important "filter" on the who goes to prison or jail, June 30, 2004:
Females: 123 per 100,000
Males: 1,348 per 100,000
Look at just the males by race, and the incarceration rates become even more frightening, June 30, 2004:
White males: 717 per 100,000
Latino males: 1,717 per 100,000
Black males: 4,919 per 100,000
If you look at males aged 25-29 and by race, you can see what is going on even clearer, June 30, 2004:
For White males ages 25-29: 1,666 per 100,000.
For Latino males ages 25-29: 3,606 per 100,000.
For Black males ages 25-29: 12,603 per 100,000. (That's 12.6% of Black men in their late 20s.)
This is perhaps the most depressing set of facts I've come accross in some time. It is the kind of thing you know to be true, but obviously are allowed to easily forget in this racist / Imperialist / classist society.
Perhaps the website's best factoid is their comparison of incarceration rates for South Africa under Apartheid versus America under George Bush:
South Africa under Apartheid was internationally condemned as a racist society.South Africa under apartheid (1993), Black males: 851 per 100,000
U.S. under George Bush (2004), Black males: 4,919 per 100,000What does it mean that the leader of the "free world" locks up its Black males at a rate 5.8 times higher than the most openly racist country in the world?
I'll leave you with that thought. Oh, and the vomit coming up in the back of your throat.
My Upcoming Article in American Sexuality MagazineBy on October 4, 2005 11:53 PM | No Comments
To my surprise, I found out today that the online sexuality magazine, "American Sexuality Magazine," has chosen to use a snippet of an article I have written as a teaser for their next issue.
If you go here to the National Sexuality Resource Center (who runs my Masters program) homepage, you'll see on the left a blue blox with a link called "American Sexuality Preview." Click that and you'll find a teaser of my article - just a few paragraphs of what will be a much longer piece.
Alternatively, you can jump directly to the piece here. I'm so excited about this! Just wanted to share!