Should We Start A Pool?

This is very, very funny. What if certain very corrupt members of the United States Senate started being named for accepting bribes by a man convicted of bribery? What if those Senators were part of the leadership of the party in the Senate?

What if they were members of the Democratic party?

The Jack Abramoff probe may turn on the same Democrats who tried exploiting the scandal for electoral advantage this year. ABC reports that federal prosecutors have taken statements from the disgraced lobbyist that implicate, in Abramoff's words, "six to eight seriously corrupt Democratic senators":

Convicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff is scheduled to report to federal prison tomorrow, over the objections of federal prosecutors who say they still need his help to pursue leads on officials he allegedly bribed.

Sources close to the investigation say Abramoff has provided information on his dealings with and campaign contributions and gifts to "dozens of members of Congress and staff," including what Abramoff has reportedly described as "six to eight seriously corrupt Democratic senators."

The sources say Abramoff was about to provide information about Bush administration officials, including Karl Rove, "accepting things of value" from Abramoff.

The Rove mention seems a little odd. After all, Rove has no legislative power, nor any direct impact on policy or spending. Abramoff may well have provided Rove with some gifts, but what would Rove be able to get Abramoff in return? He could have acted as an entree to Republican lawmakers, but that's hardly illegal, and from all of the evidence we have seen, Abramoff hardly needed any help in throwing money at Senators and Congressmen.

Check the list of who got some serious cash (first link). There are a lot of names from the newly elected leadership in the Democratic Senate. If Abramoff just nailed them, this may be an even more interesting two years than I thought it would be already. It's hard to make it to a floor vote when you're wearing shackles.

A “Duh” Moment

57 % of people polled do not think the Democrats have a coherent plan on what to do with Iraq.

While voters in Election Day surveys said corruption and scandal in Congress was one of the most important factors in their vote, the postelection poll showed that 37 percent of all adults said the war in Iraq should be at the top of the congressional agenda during the next two years. The issue of terrorism, the second most mentioned priority, was ranked highest by 15 percent of those polled.

Though voters apparently embraced the Democratic mantra of changing course in Iraq, a majority of the public did not detect a clear Democratic blueprint for ending the war. Fifty-seven percent of all adults in the AP-Ipsos poll said Democrats do not have a plan for Iraq; 29 percent said they do. The poll of 1,002 adults has a margin of error of 3 percentage points.

That finding strikes at the heart of a Democratic dilemma. The party has been of one voice in criticizing President Bush's strategy for the war but has been more equivocal on how to move in a different direction.

Democrats such as Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts and Rep. John Murtha (news, bio, voting record) of Pennsylvania want a fixed deadline to pull all troops out of the country. Other Democrats, including some party leaders, have voiced support for a staggered withdrawal that demands greater responsibility from the Iraqis.

The public's perception was reinforced during the campaign, when President Bush time and again told voters that the Democrats had little to offer on the war.

"Everyone agrees that we're going to have to begin redeployment," Rep. Ike Skelton (news, bio, voting record), D-Mo., said of the Democratic position. Skelton, in line to become chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, has proposed withdrawing a U.S. brigade for every three Iraqi combat brigades rated fully capable. Skelton opposes setting a timetable for withdrawal but said at least one U.S. battalion or brigade should pull out promptly.

"It should send a clear message to the Iraqi government, the Iraqi people and the American people that we're not there to stay," he said.

No doubt, the election results have put Democrats in something of a box, said Stephen Biddle, a defense policy expert at the Council of Foreign Relations.

"It's a very, very awkward thing to run a war from the Congress," he said. "The public wants them to do something. And they don't want to go into 2008 and be accused of being the do-nothing 110th Congress."

Kind of scary when you realize the people you put in charge don't have a plan, isn't it?

Border Wars

I said earlier this year that the first political party to get it right on border security would win the election. Of course, there were other factors that came into play over the course of the election. But the fact remains that 2/3 of Americans are worried about border security. Although the Republican Congress managed to pass a watered down "security first" bill that would have built a 700 mile fence, I suspect that most voters - rightly - saw that for a band-aid. But it was at least a start.

Not anymore.

WASHINGTON, Nov. 13 (UPI) — The incoming U.S. Congress will review the law mandating 700 miles of fence along the U.S.-Mexico border, and may seek to scrap the plan altogether.

Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., told reporters this week that he expected to "re-visit" the issue when he becomes chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee in the 110th Congress, which has a Democratic Party majority.

He said that the high technology Secure Border Initiative, or SBI Net — essentially a set of monitors, cameras and other integrated surveillance systems to monitor the border — was a viable alternative.

"We might do away with it, or look at (integrating it into) SBI Net," he said, "A virtual fence rather than a real one."

The Secure Fence Act, one of the laws passed by the GOP-controlled Congress in a pre-election flurry of border security legislation, mandates 700 miles of fencing in five sections, and defines where on the 1,951-mile southern border they should go.

Here's the thing about a so-called high tech barrier: so what? With nothing to stop the people crossing, what will the high-tech barrier do? Give the folks watching the monitors something to watch? If there isn't a force behind it to swoop in and nab the people crossing, what good is it? Border security as video game?

But a really boring video game where the waves of people keep crossing and the cameras record it all. So what? I think those 2/3 of Americans who want something done are about to get word from the new Congress on what it plans to do about the problem. Nada.

(By the way. Folks that sat out the elections, how are you feeling about the choice you made? Just asking.)

New Blog, New Blogger, Familiar Name

Jules Crittenden, city editor and columnist for the Boston Herald is someone I have linked to on a fair number of occasions. Well he's taken the big leap and has joined the ranks of bloggers. His blog is called Forward Movement and this is his very first (official) post. Welcome to the blogosphere, Jules. Do you have any idea what you're in for?

Jihad Rock

The album of the year. Not available in stores. This will blow Zamfir out of the market. Probably in a literal sense.

Blogworld & New Media Expo

I've actually known the outline of this for some time, but was sworn to secrecy. My good friend Rick over at The Real Ugly American has been working like mad to pull a brand new, world-class event for bloggers together. A trade show, a place to meet and greet, a forum for sharing ideas or a convention. Any or all apply and more. This is going to be a very big event and is meant to become an annual event. Here is the new website for the expo, it will be growing and changing as the project evolves. Rick tells me that they will be the host for the 2007 Weblog Awards, too. I think this is an idea who's time has come. Here's Rick:

We held our idea very closely but we had to approach several important vendors before we made our announcement. We also needed to find a couple investors. It didn’t take long before we recognized a pattern. Every person we told about this idea had the same response “I Want In!”. Now when everyone you know in your professional life has this kind of reaction to your idea, especially when many of them have heard a million ideas and worked thousands of shows you know you are on to something.

We named the show BlogWorld right out of the gate. It’s just something us tradeshow people do. There is a world for just about every industry you can think of.

When I started telling a few of my closest blogger friends about the idea they were all excited as well. However several people told me you have to include all new media. The techy bloggers and business bloggers said you have to include social media. Sounds good to me. It’s all related and blogging is really just the tip of the iceberg. Vlogging, podcasting, internet radio, social networks, and who knows what in the future is going to continue to change the way people get their news and make buying decisions.

So the name has evolvled to what you see today. BlogWorld & New Media Expo.

In the upcoming days I will be posting more about how this show came about and dropping a lot of names of people we have gotten involved. But I will sign off for now and look forward to hearing what my fellow bloggers have to say and to seeing all 57 million of you in Las Vegas next year. Particularly the 30 million sploggers out there. I never met a robot before and I’m curious to see what you guys look like.

Here's part of the email Rick sent me about this:

 Although this is a non partisan even non political event we fully expect to have
political candidates from both parties attending and speaking at the event as part of our
?blogs in politics? track as well as hundreds of traditional media outlets covering the
show, and bloggers of different levels of celebrity from every major topic, business,
technology, politics, sports, lifestyle & culture, celebrity gossip, Godbloggers,
Milbloggers, etc.

We are projecting 4,000 attendees our first year and 20,000 sq. ft. of exhibit space
along with a comprehensive 2 day conference covering all of the hot topics bloggers,
vloggers, podcasters, internet radio broadcasters and other new media content creators
want to discuss.

We will be hosting the 2007 Weblog awards and of course will have a major party. The big
idea is for this to be the event for the blogging industry with every product or service
any blogger or other new media entrepreneur could ever want.

Las Vegas, baby! Next year, November 8-9, 2007. Mark your calendars! Congratulations on bringing a great idea out, Rick.

We Expect People To Thank Us For This

We here at the Crabitat are justly famous for our timely reporting of the most important news, relentless follow through and all around fabulous advice. Not that we'd brag or anything. But this one story, we believe, should earn us many, many thanks from people, particularly women. Because this is probably the most important medical news in all history!

Chocolate can help reduce the risk of a heart attack.

It turns out chocolate, like aspirin, affects the platelets that cause blood to clot, Diane Becker of the Johns Hopkins University's School of Medicine and her colleagues discovered.

"What these chocolate offenders taught us is that the chemical in cocoa beans has a biochemical effect similar to aspirin in reducing platelet clumping, which can be fatal if a clot forms and blocks a blood vessel, causing a heart attack," Becker said in a telephone interview.

The 139 so-called chocolate offenders took part in a larger study of 1,200 people with a family history of heart disease. The study looked at the effects of aspirin on blood platelets.

Before they got the aspirin, the volunteers were asked to stay on a strict regimen of exercise, refrain from smoking and avoid caffeinated drinks, wine, grapefruit juice and chocolate.

Chocolate and the other foods are known to affect platelets.

"We knew they would offend," Becker said. "Some people said to us, 'I can do anything but I can't stay off my chocolate.'"

"If people said, 'I will try my very best,' we said, 'OK do your very best, but it is crucial that you don't eat chocolate for 24 to 48 hours before you come in for testing.'"

….

The blood of the chocolate eaters was slower to clot than the blood of the volunteers who resisted chocolate, Becker told a meeting of heart experts in Chicago.

In a urine test, the chocolate lovers had lower levels of a platelet waste product called thromboxane.

So all those times you heard that chocolate was bad for you: right out the window! Go ahead! eat up. Pay no attention to the doctors who are now saying the fat and sugar content of the chocolate may outweigh the benefits.

They're just trying to keep it all for themselves.

Peg Leg Pilferage

I got a girl, her name is Peg
She looks kind of pretty but she's got a wooden leg
She's got a leg shaped like the leg of a chair
But when it comes to dancing, no one can compare

Peg Leg Peggy she really knows how to hop
She really knows how to hop
She really knows how to hop
When it comes to dancing she's the queen
She sounds just like a sewing machine
Peg Leg Peggy she really knows how to hop
She really knows how to hop
She really knows how to hop
(John Entwistle, Peg Leg Peggy, Rigor Mortis Sets In, 1973)

(Okay, the story hasn't got anyone named Peggy or any dancing, but how often will I get a chance to at least tie in the peg leg part and refer to this rather obscure John Entwistle tune?) It seems that store security in a store in Tallinn, Estonia were positive that a man had shoplifted some cosmetics. They were pretty familiar with the guy and knew he was a shoplifter. But they couldn't find the loot when they searched. They finally did find it, though. Inside his hollowed out wooden leg.

A limping customer, whom security staff said they recognised as a seasoned thief, entered the shop in the Estonian capital Tallinn, the Falck security company said Tuesday.

"The security staff member followed the experienced shoplifter through a surveillance camera and saw him entering a changing booth with a lot of cosmetic goods in his shopping basket," Katrin Paas, spokeswoman for Falck, said.

"He then left the changing room, but with an empty basket."

When security guards stopped the man for a check at the door, they eventually found women's beauty products worth 885 kroons (57 euros, 73 dollars) hidden in a hole carved in his wooden leg.

Well, it's not like we've never seen this particular trick before, either.

Outright Fraud Exposed

It seems that one of the photos that bloggers questioned early on in the Israeli-Hezbollah war was, indeed, a fraud. And one that was perpetrated by the editors, according to the photographer who took the pictures.

All our suspicions about mainstream media slanting and distorting the news from the Middle East are confirmed in a bombshell of a post by Bruno Stevens, at the Lightstalkers pro photographers’ forum: The Lebanon ‘garbage dump’ story: complete explanation. (Hat tip: Snapped Shot.)

His photograph, published by both US News and World Report and Time Magazine, had a caption describing the scene as the wreckage of an Israeli jet shot down by Hizballah. In this post, Stevens reveals that the captions he sent in with his pictures described the scene accurately—but editors at the magazines changed the captions to completely alter the story.

This caption clearly says that there is no proof that an Israeli jet had been shot down and that the objective was indeed to destroy a legitimate military target.

…A week later TIME published this image shot at the same time as the first…

They choose to caption it this way (I had NO control in this matter), they HAD my original caption: “The wreckage of a downed Israeli jet that was targeting Hizballah trucks billows smoke behind a Hizballah gunman in Kfar Chima, near Beirut. Jet fuel set the surrounding area ablaze.”

The anti-Israel bias of mainstream media has never been revealed more nakedly; the editors who selected this photograph deliberately changed the caption to convey an anti-Israel message, throwing the truth right out the window to do it.

How much more was propaganda? How much truth is the media publishing these days at all?

Murtha Throws A Tantrum

Allah has the details.

In its schadenfreudean hilarity it is, quite simply, sublime:

“I am disconcerted that some are making headlines by resorting to unfounded allegations that occurred 26 years ago. I thought we were above this type of swift-boating attack. This is not how we restore integrity and civility to the United States Congress,” Murtha said of the ample press coverage of his link to Abscam and more recent negotiations he made as ranking Democrat on the Defense Appropriations Committee.

They even used that idiotic photo of him that I always use to illustrate their article.

So who’s the favorite, Steny Hoyer or Spanky? Hotline says the blue dogs are sticking with Hoyer because the Okinawa plan doesn’t play well with conservative-ish voters. Fox says Hoyer has some progressive votes too due in part to his more “progressive” views on abortion. Still other Dems are expected to opt for Hoyer because it’s hard to set a clean hands agenda with a figurehead as grimy as Murtha is:

It seems John "unindicted co-conspirator" Murtha doesn't like people bringing up that he was an unindicted co-conspirator in the Abscam investigation. Which is just too bad, isn't it? I've seen the video. He only dodged getting busted because he did not take the cash right then, but said he'd be willing to revisit the issue after the fake businessmen had done a little investing in his district. That he did not take the envelope then and there is all that saved him.

Senate Democrats Pick Leaders

The incoming Democratic majority has already picked their leaders. Harry Reid, as expected will be the Majority Leader.

When the 110th Congress convenes in January, Sen. Richard Durbin of Illinois will be Reid's deputy as the vote-counting majority whip.

Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., will continue serving as the cash-raising campaign committee chairman, and also will assume the title of vice chairman of the Democratic caucus. As such, Reid said, Schumer will act as a utility man who will tend to whatever policy or political matters require.

Sen. Patty Murray of Washington will serve as conference secretary. Sen. Byron Dorgan of North Dakota will chair the caucus' policy committee, which holds oversight hearings and researches legislative proposals, while Sen. Debbie Stabenow of Michigan, will head the party steering committee.

That panel, in turn, was meeting later Tuesday to choose committee chairmen.

That was done quickly and with a lot less fuss than what appears to be likely in the House.

When Snakes Are Outlawed….

….Only outlaws will have snakes. An Australian man tried a novel approach to trying to escape a drunk driving charge. He took a snake hostage, apparently.

The driver in the outback Northern Territory was stopped on Saturday night by police just outside the city of Darwin after they saw him swerving, police said in a statement.

After registering a blood alcohol level well over the legal limit, the man ran onto the road and picked up a live snake.

"The driver allegedly armed himself with a live snake, pointed the head of the reptile at them and threatened them," said police.

Police told the man to drop the snake, but he ran into bushland still carrying it. The man has been charged with drunken driving and will appear in the Darwin Magistrates Court.

It looks more like he told the cops to let him go or the snake gets it. His escape must have been short-lived if he's making a court appearance. Inquiring minds want to know what happened to the snake. And whether the cops were unable to give chase immediately because they were laughing too hard to run after him.

Plutonium, Enriched Uranium Found In Iran

The IAEA has discovered traces of plutonium and enriched uranium where they should not have been in a waste facility in Iran. They have asked for an explanation. Yeah, that'll work.

VIENNA, Austria - International Atomic Energy experts have found unexplained plutonium and enriched uranium traces in a nuclear waste facility in Iran and have asked Tehran for an explanation, an IAEA report said Tuesday.

The report prepared for next week's meeting of the 35-nation IAEA also faulted Tehran for not cooperating with the agency's attempts to investigate suspicious aspects of Iran's nuclear program that have lead to fears it might be interested in developing nuclear arms. As well, the four-page paper made available to The Associated Press confirmed that Iran continues uranium enrichment experiments in defiance of the U.N. Security Council.

Earlier Tuesday, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Tuesday that Iran would soon celebrate completion of its nuclear fuel program and claimed the international community was ready to accept it as a nuclear state.

Iran has been locked in a standoff with the West over its nuclear program. The United States and its European allies have been seeking a U.N. Security Council resolution imposing sanctions on Tehran for refusing to suspend uranium enrichment.

"Initially, they (the U.S. and its allies) were very angry. The reason was clear: They basically wanted to monopolize nuclear power in order to rule the world and impose their will on nations," Ahmadinejad told a news conference.

"Today, they have finally agreed to live with a nuclear Iran, with an Iran possessing the whole nuclear fuel cycle," he said. He did not elaborate.

President Bush said Monday there was no change in his position that Iran must first suspend uranium enrichment before there can be any dialogue with Tehran.

It would be a dreadful mistake to open negotiations with Iran given these events. Even if they agreed to something, the odds of them actually upholding any agreement are vanishingly small.

Unforced Error

That's what Ed Morrisey calls the decision by Nancy Pelosi to jump into the House Majority Leader battle by publicly backing John Murtha. And none other than Charles Rangel has publicly and openly broken with Pelosi on this.

Nancy Pelosi has won few plaudits for her first major decision as presumptive Speaker of the 110th Session of Congress. Throwing her support to John Murtha over Steny Hoyer has caused an eruption of criticism and indignation from within her own political coalition, who wonder how a party leader could campaign against corruption and then support one of the biggest porkers in Congress for a leadership position. Rather than attract support for passing over Hoyer, Pelosi has inspired public opposition to her decision — the latest from Charles Rangel, her choice to chair the Ways and Means Committee:

Some of Mr. Hoyer's backers in New York are asking why the likely new speaker of the House, Rep. Nancy Pelosi of San Francisco, has endorsed Mr. Murtha rather than the Maryland congressman, who is the minority whip and the second-ranking Democrat.

Rep. Charles Rangel of Harlem, who called Mr. Murtha "a friend" and received support from him in 2004 in his push for the reinstitution of a military draft, said yesterday that Mr. Murtha would make a good majority leader. But Mr. Rangel is going to vote for Mr. Hoyer.

"My kind of politics is, if you do your job, you are supposed to be rewarded," Mr. Rangel, who was one of 105 co-sponsors of Mr. Murtha's resolution to redeploy American troops in the Middle East in 2005, said. "I think Steny has done his job. I cannot think of any reason why this is happening."

We saw the seeds of this split five months before the election, when Murtha first announced his candidacy for the Majority Leader position. At the time, we noted Pelosi's impotence in controlling her caucus and wondered whether it would doom her leadership. That, however, was when she made the wise decision to remain neutral on the question of leadership positions in the next Congress, a wisdom that has escaped her in the past week.

One can't help but wonder if Pelosi is setting herself up for a potential battle over the Speakership. It probably won't come to that, but it could if she ticks off enough people. Captain Ed thinks so , too.

UPDATE: And if this is true, this just took a very, very ugly turn. One of Murtha's supporters told The Hill that Pelosi would ensure Murtha wins. Or else.

House Speaker-to-be Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) will ensure that Rep. John Murtha (D-Pa.) wins his race for majority leader, a key Murtha ally said Monday night.

"She will ensure that they [the Murtha camp] win. This is hard-ball politics," said Rep. Jim Moran (D-Va.), a longtime Murtha supporter. "We are entering an era where when the Speaker instructs you what to do, you do it."

Pelosi recently endorsed Murtha’s bid for majority leader against House Democratic Whip Steny Hoyer (D-Md.), but it was unclear whether she would use her clout as the first Democratic Speaker in 12 years to help Murtha win or whether her letter simply expressed a personal preference as a favor to Murtha.

Pelosi’s move was deliberate, Moran said, and she was already leaning on her colleagues to affect the outcome.

"Yes, she’s making calls to people. She is contacting people and letting them know that it’s an unequivocal letter," Moran said.

A spokeswoman for Pelosi could not immediately confirm that she had made the calls. Pelosi returned today from New York City after attending the birth of her sixth grandchild. She voted on the floor and then attended Murtha’s reception Monday night for newly elected members.

If Moran’s claims are true, Pelosi is taking an enormous gamble only a week after the election propelled her into the Speakership. If she prevails, she will likely banish her onetime rival Hoyer to the back benches and send a clear signal to her colleagues that she intends to rule with an iron hand. If Hoyer wins, she loses substantial political capital and alerts the caucus that they can successfully oppose her.

What was that about thuggish Republicans again?

What was that about thuggish Republicans again?

Speeding Ahead

Iran's president announced that he hopes to hold a celebration of the completion of Iran's nuclear program this year.

"With the wisdom and resistance of the nation, today our position has stabilized. I'm very hopeful that we will be able to hold the big celebration of Iran's full nuclearization in the current year," the hard-line president told reporters during a press conference.

Iran's current calendar year ends on March 20.

The hard-line president also claimed that international community was caving it to Tehran's demand for a nuclear program. He did not elaborate.

Given Ahmadinejad's many past statements, one wonders if the fireworks they plan will include mushroom clouds.