Chart of the day.

Via Norman Ornstein...

Go ahead, click it bigger.
Hat tip to Steve Benen.

Why we fight?

What we get for our blood and treasure…

Afghanistan's President, Hamid Karzai, has signed a law which "legalises" rape, women's groups and the United Nations warn. Critics claim the president helped rush the bill through parliament in a bid to appease Islamic fundamentalists ahead of elections in August.

In a massive blow for women's rights, the new Shia Family Law negates the need for sexual consent between married couples, tacitly approves child marriage and restricts a woman's right to leave the home, according to UN papers seen by The Independent.

This is not a cause worthy of our sacrifice.

The right way in Afghanistan is out.

From the "Hippo birdie" file.

Any of y'all who've ever read the children's classic "Goodnight Moon" to your kids, grandkids or any kids should track down the parody version (not particularly for kids) titled "Goodnight Bush," which was presented to me by the Brilliant and Beautiful Bride of Upper Left on this, the completion of my 58th trip around the sun.

And a shout out to my pals at the Northwest Progressive Institute Advocate, which turned five yesterday.

My country committed war crimes and all I got…

…heck, I didn't get anything...

In the end, though, not a single significant plot was foiled as a result of Abu Zubaida’s tortured confessions, according to former senior government officials who closely followed the interrogations. Nearly all of the leads attained through the harsh measures quickly evaporated, while most of the useful information from Abu Zubaida—chiefly names of al-Qaeda members and associates—was obtained before waterboarding was introduced, they said.

Hat tip to John Cole.

It's time for...

Kicking off the day…

…with a 'kicker heavy random ten.

Lee Valley String Band - Carolina Star
Doc Watson - On A Monday
Dan Bern - One Thing Real
George Jones - Skip A Rope
Richard & Mimi Fariña - Pack Up Your Sorrows
Steve Earle - Rich Man's War
Mollie O'Brien - Brown Eyed Handsome Man
Ian Tyson - Casey's Gone
Roger Miller - Kansas City Star
Willie Nelson - I Gotta Get Drunk

I'm in.

Goldy's got a deal for the leg…

So here’s the deal. Put a sales tax and excise tax increase on the June ballot, and folks like me will give you our support… but only if you also put on the November ballot a measure that would repeal the June increase, and replace the revenue with a tax on incomes over $200,000 a year.

According to the Economic Opportunity Institute, a “high income tax” of 3% on incomes between $200,000 and $999,999, and 5% on incomes over $1 million, would raise about $2.58 billion per biennium, yet fall on only 4% of WA households. I’m guessing that’s slightly more than the June measure would be expected to raise.

Sounds good to me. A sales and excise tax jncrease isn't a good idea for all the reasons that Washington's revenue system is awful, biting particularly hard those who've already been bitten hardest by a slow economy and rotten job market.

Still, this is one of those times when something actually must be done lest the cuts in state spending move from painful to crippling.

So, OK, let's do it if you give us a chance to fix it.

From the "Since you asked…" file.

Steve Benen inquires...

"If Republicans aren't going to take their own ideas seriously, why should anyone else?"

Since you asked, there's no reason at all to take their ideas seriously, whether they do or not.

In fact, there's no reason for Republicans whatsoever.

Quote of the day.

Former Grand Inquisitor Attorney General John Ashcroft…

“I don’t have a mark on my conscience.”

I suppose you can't mark what you don't have.

My own personal Congressman…

…writes…

...yesterday I introduced The Clean Environment and Stable Energy Market Act of 2009, HR 1683, that would reduce emissions 80 percent by the year 2050. As a Member of the Ways and Means Committee, I propose a solution that addresses the issue from the prism of financial impacts — providing a price signal for producers of greenhouse gas emissions to change to newer, clean technologies, and at the same time, provide a stable market that encourages the significant investments that will be required to transform America.

Using the budget process as a vehicle for social progress was a hallmark of Jim McDermott's tenure in the Washington State Senate, but he's served a good deal of his time in the U.S. House in the minority, blunting the impact of those very skills that helped put him in Congress. Seeing Jim back in high gear doing what he's always done best is only one of the reasons I'm thankful for Democratic majorites, but it's a particularly satisfying one.

Done deal.

Congratulations, Mr. Secretary!

The U.S. Senate voted on Tuesday to approve the nomination of former Washington state Governor Gary Locke to be U.S. commerce secretary, putting a Chinese-American in the job for the first time.

Hat tip to Sam Turner at The Bellingham Herald.

From the "Since you asked…" file.

John Aravosis wonders…

...why doesn't Arlen Specter stop pretending he's a moderate?

Since you asked, it's because that would mean telling the truth, and, well, he's a Republican after all.

They just lie.

It's all they've got.

Near as I can figure…

Geithner just doesn't seem to understand what Roy explains...

The trillions of dollars that vanished, never existed. The Emperor did not lose his clothes, he was always naked.

It's gone, and it's not coming back, which is why I don't think there will be a recovery in the conventional sense, but a reset. The fundamental argument is over where and how to start over.

Climbing back, though? Tried that. There's not enough oxygen up there, which led to hallucinatory decision making and mirages of vast wealth. The next path has got to stick a bit closer to the ground.

From the "Good question" file.

President Obama has one...

"How many terrorists have actually been brought to justice under the philosophy that is being promoted by Vice President Cheney?"

A lower number, I'm sure, than how many non-terrorists have been subjected to injustice under that philosophy.

Hat tip to Steve Benen.

It's time for...

From the "Fair warning" file.

John Rogers...

There are two novels that can change a bookish fourteen-year old's life: The Lord of the Rings and Atlas Shrugged. One is a childish fantasy that often engenders a lifelong obsession with its unbelievable heroes, leading to an emotionally stunted, socially crippled adulthood, unable to deal with the real world. The other, of course, involves orcs.

The hits just keep coming...

...ten at a time.

Bottoms Up Blues Gang - Ain't Nobody's Business
The Gourds - Blankets
Chris Smither - Link Of Chain
Peter Rowan - Ruby Ridge
Johnny Cash - Guess Things Happen That Way
Eric Anderson - Thirsty Boots
Gogi Grant - The Wayward Wind
David Gans - Normal
Joan Baez - Long Black Veil
Ramsay Midwood - He's Gone

Chart of the day.

Via Nate Silver…


(Note: this chart corrects in a change of accounting methods made in 1999)
It's broke. Fix it.

Quote of the day.

Governor Richardson, via John Cole...

“Regardless of my personal opinion about the death penalty, I do not have confidence in the criminal justice system as it currently operates to be the final arbiter when it comes to who lives and who dies for their crime.”

Regardless of your personal opinion, Governor, there's still applause from over here for your proper and principled action .

Once again, why not Washington?

Chart of the day.

nimh beat me to it, but it bears spreading around...



Seems like some of that income would bear spreading around, too.

From the "Credit where it's due" file.

I've never been particularly enamored of Bill Richardson, but this merits applause...

N.M. governor repeals death penalty

Now, why not Washington?

Employment opportunity...

…with the worst Preznit ever…

"I'm going to put people in my place, so when the history of this administration is written at least there's an authoritarian voice saying exactly what happened."

Guess he's looking to replace Cheney. Tough act to follow, authoritarian-wise.

Hat tip to Steve Benen.

50 pounds of corned beef...

...and a mountain of cabbage, carrots and spuds are set to serve and the fiddlers are booked. There's Guinness and green beer and a drop (a bunch of drops, actually) of the pure at the ready. Sounds to me like the perfect tavern is the perfect place for St. Pat's.

If you can't be with us, I'll raise a perfect pint to you wherever you may be. Happy St. Patrick's Day to all y'all fine Irish men and women, honorary or otherwise.

R.I.P.P.I.

1867 - 2009

Dear Tahman Bradley…

If your lede includes the words "Former Vice President Dick Cheney said…," you're almost certainly writing the wrong story.

Unless he said "Guilty, you honor," of course.

Choices.

Darryl presents the options...

So when Gov. Mike Huckabee, Gov. Sarah Palin, Sen. Jim DeMint, Sen. John McCain, or the dozens of Wingnut talk radio dittoheads tell you Obama is a Socialist, one of two things is going on:

1. The person is ignorant about Socialism
2. The person is lying to you

Or maybe both.

Maybe. Probably, even.

Almost certainly, in fact.

It's time for...

From the "With friends like these…" file.

WIIIAI...

Iraq has sentenced shoe-throwing journalist Muntadar al-Zeidi to three years in prison, and Afghanistan’s supreme court has upheld (in a ruling issued secretly) the sentence of 20 years given to journalism student Pervez Kambaksh after a 4-minute trial for the crime of downloading material about the role of women in Muslim societies from the Internet. Like the original court, the supreme court didn’t bother hearing from the defense.

That's not justice, that's tyranny. If the installed governments of Iraq and Afghanistan choose to wield their sovereignty tyrannically, it's time to leave them to their own devices and let their people deal with them as they will.

Past time, really.

And hardly for that reason alone.

But for that reason, too.

Ten with a wee brogue.

'Tis the season...

Bing Crosby - Too-Ra-Loo-Ra-Loo-Ral
Rig The Jig - The Irishman In Chinatown
De Dannan - The Humors Of Galway
The Clancy Brothers - Whisky You're The Devil
Clannad - Fairly Shot Of Her
Christel Rice - Colonel Frazer
Black 47 - Rory
The Dubliners - Lord Of The Dance
The Waterboys - A Song For The Life
Danu - Bridget Donaghue

Good question…

…about DADT from Rep. Jim Moran (D-VA).

“How many more good soldiers are we willing to lose due to a bad policy that makes us less safe and secure?”

At least some, it seems, until somebody does something.

Where's Eric Cantor?

Out on a limb is usually a good bet, but it's nice to know someone's keeping track.

From the "No one expects the Spanish Inquisition" file.

New jobless claims rise more than expected
Shouldn't we just expect new jobless claims to rise more than expected? Seems like they mostly do.

Yes, but…

Michael Spencer...

Evangelicals have identified their movement with the culture war and with political conservatism. This will prove to be a very costly mistake. Evangelicals will increasingly be seen as a threat to cultural progress. Public leaders will consider us bad for America, bad for education, bad for children, and bad for society.

Yes, but isn't that putting a lot of pressure on "public leaders"? Can't we take individual responsibility for seeing evangelicals (or at least the fundie wing that's co-opted the term) bad for America, bad for education, bad for children, and bad for society?

Because, you know, they are.

You've got to admire a man…

…with perspective. Chas Freeman...

When Admiral Blair asked me to chair the NIC I responded that I understood he was “asking me to give my freedom of speech, my leisure, the greater part of my income, subject myself to the mental colonoscopy of a polygraph, and resume a daily commute to a job with long working hours and a daily ration of political abuse.” I added that I wondered “whether there wasn’t some sort of downside to this offer.”

Pity we lost him.

Get ready, get set…

…get it done!

Employee Free Choice Act Introduced In House And Senate

From the "Worth repeating" file.

Melissa Harris-Lacewell at The Notion...

Let me say it one more time is this totally psychotic political environment: Earmarks are not necessarily bad.

Rinse, lather, etc.

From the "Worth repeating" file.

Melissa Harris-Lacewell at The Notion...

Let me say it one more time is this totally psychotic political environment: Earmarks are not necessarily bad.

Rinse, lather, etc.

A request.

Would someone please tell John McCain that he lost, and that he lost mostly because hardly anyone agrees with him and no one likes him and its time to sit down and shut up?

Thank you.

And to all y'all journalists, a friendly tip. If your lede contains the words "John McCain," you're probably writing the wrong story.

You're welcome.

Heh™.

John Cole...

For an omnipotent and omniscient being, God has made some really lousy earthly staffing decisions.

Gauge of the day.

Via Gordon...

It's time for...

I got no kick against modern jazz…

…but there's not any in this week's random ten.

Wilson Pickett - 634-5789
Robbie Fulks - Let's Kill Saturday Night
Peter, Paul & Mary - Kisses Sweeter Than Wine
Townes Van Zandt & Doug Sahm - Two Girls
Kinky Friedman - Sold American
Warren Zevon - Werewolves Of London
Muddy Waters - Got My Mojo Workin'
Ron Sunshine - Natural Man
Steve Earle - Sweet Little '66
The Youngbloods - That's How Strong My Love Is

Worth repeating.

A bit of driftglassian doggerel...

The
Problem
With
The
Republican Party
Is
That
It
Is
Full Of Republicans.

Mostly, yeah.

Chart of the day.

Via The Gavel...


You can click it a bunch bigger.

Damn.

From the "Even a stopped clock…" file.

Republican strategist Ed Rollins...

Republicans are not relevant.

Hard to argue with that.

Hat tip to Driftglass.

Hammer, nail…

…BANG! Matt Yglesias on CNBC...

The whole thing is a farce. It’s as if we had a 24-hour news network dedicated entirely to the pronouncements of astrologists and entrail readers.

Quote of the day.

"It's the right thing to do, so let's move out."

Gen. Ray Odierno, ordering a cut in the use of civilian contractors in Iraq.

Good move, General, and well said. A snappy salute and hearty "Yes, sir!" from here.

From the "Since you asked" file.

Chris Dashiell inquires...

How civilized do you think the human race really is?

Since you asked, I'm with Gandhi on this one. I think human civilization would be a good idea.

(What Chris thinks is, as always, worth your while.)

From the "That's a fact, Jack." file.

Hunter...

...there is absolutely nothing -- nothing -- that Republicans believe in as a matter of principle, and every belief changes exactly as much and as often as is needed in order to justify whatever they feel like doing at any particular moment.

Yep.

Chart of the day.

Maybe the Birchers were right after all. Maybe Ike was a commie.

Nah.

Nixon, neither.

Hat tip to John Cole.

See what happens?

Whiskey Fire...

Limbaugh addresses CPAC, Dow crashes

Hey, no one could have predicted…

From the "One can only hope" file.

Via Howie...

Chuck Todd: "Has Obama declared war on conservatives?"

The reverse, sadly, is closer to the truth.

Journamalism 101.

Jon Chait, via Steve Benen...

Pretty clearly the reporter started off on her mistaken premise, found some subjects who shared her ignorance, and then came across a financial advisor who gently corrected her. But, instead of nixing the collosally uninformed article, or writing a different kind of article ("Rich Morons Decreasing Own Income Due To Lack of Tax Code Knowledge") she instead plowed ahead with her initial premise.

I wish that was the exception. I'm afraid it's the rule.

Dream ticket 2012...

Hat tip to John Cole.

From the "Me neither" file.

Steve Benen...

...I have no idea why conservatives get to accuse Democrats of "socialism," but accusations of "fascism" are considered beyond the pale of reasonable discourse.

Nor I.

And another thing, Mr. President…

…isn't about time the Commander in Chief started locking some four-star heels? The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs has no business doing free-lance punditry...

During an appearance on Fox News Sunday, the head of U.S. military forces said he didn't know where the Obama administration was getting its long-term projections for the money it will save by drawing down the war in Iraq...he did say, on two occasions, that he never had seen that number before, the implicit message -- at least the one pushed by Wallace -- being that Obama had chosen rosy figures to meet its deficit reduction strategy.

The fact that today's general officer corps consists of men and women who were able to advance their careers in the environment of the Rumsfeld regime is sufficient cause for a careful review of their character and qualifications for command. There is a forum for officers like Admiral Mullen to offer their evaluations and critiques of the policies of the Commander in Chief, but that forum is not the public airwaves. Once those policies are announced, the appropriate response is a hearty "Yes, Sir!" (or, as the case may be, "Aye, aye, Sir!").

Tell them that until they promote themselves to civilian, public opinions are above their pay grade. They are every bit as much subordinates as any private soldier. It's time to let them know that if they can't get with the program, it's time to turn in their papers.

From the "Yes, but…" file.

President Obama...

Let me say this as plainly as I can: by August 31, 2010, our combat mission in Iraq will end.

Well done, Mr. President, yes, but not particularly well said. Any timetable for withdrawal is an improvement, but the combat mission will end when no American troops are in harm's way in Iraq. We may be withdrawing combat arms brigades first, but will we deny the "training," "support" and "security" forces left behind hazardous duty pay? I can't imagine doing so. Will we still be awarding Purple Hearts and other combat decorations when circumstances call for them? I assume we will.

Will the trainers send their trainees into the field unaided and unsupervised, or join them in the field? When convoys and installations are attacked, will our troops take cover and call the local authorities, or will they act in self defense? Save some medical personnel and military chaplains, every man and woman in uniform is a combatant, regardless of their MOS.

As long as we have combatants occupying Iraq, we have a combat mission. To pretend otherwise demeans the service of those who remain.

It's time for...