America at a Crossroads, on PBS next week
From the PBS announcement for its "America at a Crossroads" series next week:

America at a Crossroads is a major PBS series that explores the challenges confronting the post 9/11 world — including the war on terrorism; the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan; the experience of American troops serving abroad; the struggle for balance within the Muslim world; and global perspectives on America’s role overseas. The series features 11 independently produced documentaries hosted by journalist Robert MacNeil. This landmark series will launch this Sunday, April 15 and will run through Friday, April 20, airing 9 - 11 p.m ET (check your local listings).

The documentaries include:

• JIHAD: The Men and Ideas behind Al Qaeda
  
• Warriors
  
• Operation Homecoming: Writing the Wartime Experience
  
• Gangs of Iraq
  
• The Case for War: In Defense of Freedom
  
• Europe’s 9/11
  
• The Muslim Americans
  
• Faith Without Fear
  
• Struggle for the Soul of Islam: Inside Indonesia
  
• Security versus Liberty: The Other War
  
• The Brotherhood

I'm guessing that "The Case for War" will draw a lot of comment; it features Richard Perle trying to make that case for Iraq, and discussing his views with journalist Abdel Bari Atwan and anti-war activist Stacy Bannerman ("Military Families Speak Out"), among others. "Security versus Liberty" should be interesting as well, with John Yoo among the interviewees.

A friend and neighbor of mine was involved in producing the series, and is very excited about it. They've got figures like Maryland Delegate Saqib Ali, Jamal Khashoggi, Rep. Keith Ellison, Hirsi Ali, and former Bosnian Prime Minister Haris Silajdzik, and experts like Michael Scheuer, James Bamford, Christopher Hamilton, and David Cole on these shows.

It's clearly a first-class effort. I'm planning to watch, and I'm confident it will be worth your time, too. posted by Thomas Nephew at 12:30:00 PM -- |    

 
White House: Chattanooga ate my homework
Well, well, well. AP's Jennifer Loven reports:

The White House said Wednesday it had mishandled Republican Party-sponsored e-mail accounts used by nearly two dozen presidential aides, resulting in the loss of an undetermined number of e-mails concerning official White House business.

Since at least some of the machines running the e-mail accounts involved reside in Chattanooga, I've drawn this story to the attention of the stalwart journalists of the Chattanooga Times Free Press, in hopes that they may be roused into retracing Karl Rove's steps in Chattanooga on February 21 of this year.

After all, Rove was apparently in Chattanooga that day -- on a trip apparently planned on short notice, with first notice of it to Tennesseans happening about two weeks earlier, right around the time the U.S. Attorneys scandal was starting to blow up. And so it seems at least worth investigating what exactly Karl Rove was doing in Chattanooga -- the presidential "health care policy" visit to the region notwithstanding.

Meanwhile, as the Criminal Conspiracy and Vote Suppression Party hems and haws, the Majority Oversight Rule of Law Party is displeased:

"This sounds like the administration's version of the dog ate my homework," said Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy, D-Vt. "I am deeply disturbed that just when this administration is finally subjected to meaningful oversight, it cannot produce the necessary information."

Not the dog -- but maybe Chattanooga IT firms SmarTech and/or Coptix. What was Rove doing in Chattanooga on February 21? I don't mean what was he doing in general -- accompanying the president on a meaningless trip so Bush could pretend he matters somehow. I mean tick, tock, minute by minute, for the 3 hours and 45 minutes he was there (assuming he came and left via Air Force One). Maybe that would be a wild goose chase. And maybe not.


=====
NOTES: AP report via Josh Marshall ("Talking Points Memo"), who also helpfully suggests the NSA or the FBI might be able to do that voodoo that they do so well and recover those dearly departed e-mails.
EDIT, 4/11: "about two weeks earlier" added for clarity.
LIGHT BULB, 4/12: The gist of this theory doesn't really even depend on Rove; any high-level GOP/White House deputy along for the Air Force One ride that day would do, if the object was to personally verify that e-mails were destroyed, or orally (hence deniably) direct that that be done.

UPDATE, 4/12: In the spirit of my "fair and balanced" motto, KCinDC, commenting at Obsidian Wings: "a little close to loony territory"; Gary Farber, same site: "Only someone with an IQ of about 50 would think it made sense to go down, on a covert, criminal, mission to Tennessee on freaking Air Force One, the most scrutinized way of travel in the world." posted by Thomas Nephew at 1:07:00 AM -- |    

 
Respect for Rutgers
The Post had a nice front page photo of the Rutgers women's basketball team today -- nice in that you saw the women as thoughtful, quiet people -- and so I read the accompanying articles, not really expecting to get much more out of the ugly story of Imus' ugly comments.

But I'm glad I did. I didn't watch much of the college basketball tournaments this year, so maybe that's why I was surprised to find myself suddenly getting something I hadn't: how the great achievement of those young women was trampled and vandalized by this lowlife's remarks. From Adam Kilgore's article in the Washington Post:

Said [Rutgers coach C. Vivian] Stringer: "While all of you come to talk about this great story, this Don Imus story, in the translation you have lost what this is really all about. At the beginning of the year, we were humiliated. But through perseverance and hard work, determination, ultimately they ended up playing for the national championship. And no one believed in them but them. That's the greatest story. It's not where you came from, but where you're going, not where you start, but where you finish."

With five freshmen and no seniors on its 10-player roster, Rutgers lost its first two games of the season and stood at 5-5 after 10 games. Players studied film and practiced for 10 hours daily over winter break, Stringer said, and from that point the Scarlet Knights won 22 of 25 games before Tennessee beat them in the national championship.

Along the way, Rutgers demonstrated its perseverance with stunning victories. It lost to Connecticut by 26 at home on Feb. 26, then beat U-Conn. by eight points eight days later in Hartford, Conn., to win the Big East tournament, the school's first league championship. In the NCAA tournament, the Scarlet Knights beat No. 1 Duke, which had throttled Rutgers by 40 points in December. Stringer told her players then they were her worst defensive team in 35 years of coaching. In the Final Four, Rutgers set a semifinal record by allowing just 35 points against LSU.

"You are familiar with what you might think is the story," said Rutgers Athletic Director Robert E. Mulcahy III, who attended the team's news conference along with Corzine and the school's president, Richard L. McCormick. "But the real story is not the despicable and degrading comments issued by Don Imus and his producer. The real story is about the 2007 Rutgers women's basketball team: their incredible accomplishments, where they came from and how far they went."

(Emphases added.) There will be time enough for a reckoning with serial jockass Imus and his misguided friends, defenders (Tom Oliphant!?), employers, and advertisers. But for now, I suggest that if you're appalled at what Imus spewed over the airwaves, go over to Hillary Clinton's web site -- and great credit where it's due for her quick reaction -- and join her and others in "Respect for Rutgers." Don't let Imus be who that Rutgers team remembers years from now. Instead, as Hillary put it:

Show them that we are proud to stand with them and for them.

posted by Thomas Nephew at 10:49:00 PM -- |    

 
The New Stasiland Bulletin (Vol 1, Issue 2)

Police Log Confirms FBI Role In Arrests (Carol Leonnig, Washington Post, 4/3/07):

A secret FBI intelligence unit helped detain a group of war protesters in a downtown Washington parking garage in April 2002 and interrogated some of them on videotape about their political and religious beliefs, newly uncovered documents and interviews show.

The protesters were asking for it, of course -- wearing black clothes, having political beliefs; you name it, they were doing it.

Another Enemy of the People? (Professor Walter F. Murphy of Princeton University, via Mark Graber, "Balkinization", 4/8/07):

When I tried to use the curb-side check in at the Sunport, I was denied a boarding pass because I was on the Terrorist Watch list. I was instructed to go inside and talk to a clerk. At this point, I should note that I am not only the McCormick Professor of Jurisprudence (emeritus) but also a retired Marine colonel. I fought in the Korean War as a young lieutenant, was wounded, and decorated for heroism. I remained a professional soldier for more than five years and then accepted a commission as a reserve office, serving for an additional 19 years.

I presented my credentials from the Marine Corps to a very polite clerk for American Airlines. One of the two people to whom I talked asked a question and offered a frightening comment: "Have you been in any peace marches? We ban a lot of people from flying because of that." I explained that I had not so marched but had, in September, 2006, given a lecture at Princeton, televised and put on the Web, highly critical of George Bush for his many violations of the Constitution. "That'll do it," the man said.

(Emphases added.) This reminds me, of course, that they hate our freedom. Murphy's got nothing to whine about, really; they got on Senator Ted Kennedy's case a couple of years ago the same way, and just like with Murphy, that was probably for sassing the President, too. The good thing is that Murphy might just need to wait a couple of months to get an apology from the Secretary of Homeland Security, that's how it worked for the Senator. But meanwhile, he should watch what he says.

Our homeland authorities can't do it all themselves, of course, they need help from a watchful populace. Aziz Poonawalla ("City of Brass") reports:

As my regular readers know, I am a member of the Dawoodi Bohra muslim community (specifically, an Ismaili sect with Shi'a Islam). Our masjid in Katy, Texas has stood there for over ten years.

Last night, drunken vandals smashed almost a dozen windows and a glass door on the madrasah building of our complex.

Maybe I should start a "New Kristallnacht Bulletin" to go with this one. By the way, Katy, Texas is also where a nice man put up a sign announcing pig races to try to prevent the building of a Muslim mosque. An ABC affiliate apparently thought it was all pretty funny, concluding: "There's no date for the groundbreaking ceremonies, or the first pig race."

I'm sorry, Aziz.


=====
NOTES: "Police log" -- via Laura Rozen ("War and Piece"), whose friend asks "why is this in the Metro section?"; Kennedy story -- "Terror no-fly list singled out Kennedy: Senator was stopped 5 times at airports," Sara Kehaulani Goo, Washington Post, August 20, 2004. (In one month, too.) Katy, Texas" story -- KTRK TV, ABC 13, Houston; way to go, guys. "Stasiland" refers to the East German security agency or "Stasi"; see my post "The Lives of Others" for more about it, with the bullet entries at the beginning of that post comprising Vol 1, Issue 1 of my new running feature. In its English usage, "Stasiland" was coined (as far as I know) by human rights attorney Scott Horton at his new blog, "No Comment," also writing about the 2002 DC incident.
EDIT, 4/11: "put up a sign announcing" instead of "staged".
posted by Thomas Nephew at 6:34:00 PM -- |    

 
Voter-verified balloting by 2010 in Maryland
VoteTrustUSA -- Maryland Passes Paper Ballot Bill: 'A Victory for Democracy', 4/10/07:

In the closing hours of the 2007 legislative session, a four year effort to require paper ballots for Maryland's voting system passed the House and the Senate unanimously. The bill, SB 392/HB18, requires a voter-verified paper trail to be implemented in 2010. "This is a victory for democracy in Maryland. Thousands of voters who worked to make this a reality are celebrating tonight," said Shazia Anwar, Director of TrueVoteMD.org the election watchdog group that spearheaded efforts for a paper ballot. "We crossed a major hurdle tonight, now we have to make sure the bill is fully implemented." Last week it looked there was no chance a bill would pass in 2007, but consistent citizen pressure -- emails, phone calls and voter visits -- let the Senate leadership know this was an issue of utmost importance to Maryland voters. "We're very pleased elected officials in both Houses decided this was the year to put in place a voter verified paper record that could used independent audits and meaningful recounts" said Anwar.

Anwar's comments notwithstanding, I have to admit I didn't know what to do about this issue as it came down to the vote yesterday. I'd been getting conflicting e-mails from different groups saying "yes, put pressure on Annapolis" or "no, back off, leave them alone" so that I was pretty unsure what to write or how to agitate for anything at the end.

But all's well that ends reasonably well. The legislation (which still needs Governor O'Malley's signature) "requires an optically scannable paper ballot marked by hand or with the help of a ballot marking device. The final bill also ensures that disabled voters will be able to vote independently and privately." I have no doubt some may criticize the bill -- for one thing, 2010 is a long time to have to wait.

Still, I'll take it, and with great thanks to TrueVoteMD.org and activists like Stan Boyd who've worked so long for this success. Great thanks also to the delegates and senators who voted and worked for it in Annapolis -- especially the ones who kept this bill from failing over the past week, whoever they all were. Bravissimo, one and all.


=====
UPDATE, 4/11: In an e-mail, TrueVoteMD.org director Shazia Anwar singles out Delegate Sheila Hixson (District 20, my district) and Senator Ed Kasemeyer (District 12) for their "unwavering leadership throughout the legislative session, especially during the last two weeks, when it looked like there was no chance that a bill would pass in 2007," and asks supporters to contact them directly to praise them for their perseverance. E-mail links are provided. posted by Thomas Nephew at 2:30:00 AM -- |    

 
Why I read watch TPM before WaPo or the NYT the TV networks
Josh Marshall probably explains more about the Pelosi/Syria "controversy" in just under four minutes than anything you'll have seen on the major networks or in the major newspapers until now.

Marshall referred to yet another execrable Washington Post editorial -- "Pratfall in Damascus" -- one I blew a gasket about last week but didn't have time to post anything about. Suffice it to say I thought it was possible the copy editors had inadvertently switched it with Robert Novak's column of the same day. You decide which article last Thursday was by a conservative or neo-con frothing at the mouth, and which was by your friendly neighborhood national newspaper:

Two weeks ago Ms. Pelosi rammed legislation through the House of Representatives that would strip Mr. Bush of his authority as commander in chief to manage troop movements in Iraq. Now she is attempting to introduce a new Middle East policy that directly conflicts with that of the president.

---

An overriding melancholy here this Holy Week follows Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's mission to Jerusalem last week. To Arabs and Jews seeking meaningful peace negotiations, it confirmed that no progress toward a two-state solution is likely for the remainder of George W. Bush's presidency.

Other links mentioned in Marshall's YouTube broadcast:

• "Damascene Comedy" (Greg Djerijian, "Belgravia Dispatch," 4/4/07); see also "More Pelosi", 4/8/07
• "Israel Seeks to Reassure Syria: No Summer Attack" (Aluf Benn, Ha'aretz, 4/3/07):
  

  The speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, is scheduled to meet with Syrian President Bashar Assad in Damascus today, and will deliver a message of calm from Israel.
  
  "We hope the message will be understood," political sources in Israel said yesterday.

• "Cheney, Olmert remarks heat up rhetorical battle over Pelosi's trip" (Ron Kampeas, Jewish Telegraphic Agency, 4/10/07):
  

  "It's obvious the White House is desperate to find some phony criticism of the speaker's trip, even though it was a bipartisan trip," said Lantos, a Holocaust survivor who is considered the Democrat closest to the pro-Israel lobby. "I have nothing but contempt and disdain for the attempt to undermine this trip."

The upshot: Pelosi delivered a message to Syria from Israel that was indeed calibrated to lessen immediate tensions between those countries -- and even Tom Lantos strongly suspects Bush got Olmert to embarrass her afterwards by disputing that.

If you're an American who reads blogs, you probably heard it there first. If not, you might never hear it at all. We truly have sick, moribund, worthless, sick, useless, decrepit journalism in this country. Did I mention sick? In other news, happy belated birthday, Seymour Hersh. Oh, and good luck with the whole blogger ethics thing, New York Times; heaven knows reporters like Josh Marshall, Greg Sargent, or Spencer Ackerman, or bloggers like Steve Benen, Avedon Carol, the Nielsen Haydens, Jim Henley, or digby need all the help you can give them from your lofty pinnacle of achievement. posted by Thomas Nephew at 2:15:00 AM -- |    

 
"If we continue"

Draped in Iraqi flags and chanting anti-American slogans, tens of thousands of Iraqis swept into the southern city of Najaf on the call of radical Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr to mark the fourth anniversary of the ouster of President Saddam Hussein, calling for U.S. forces to withdraw from Iraq."No, no to the occupier. Yes, yes, to Iraq," they chanted, as demonstrators burned and ripped apart American flags. "Get out, get out occupation."

--- "In Najaf, Protesters Demand U.S. Pullout," Sudarsan Raghavan and Saad Sarhan, Washington Post, 4/10/07

The Senate will not stop paying for the Iraq war or relent from insisting that President Bush keep pressing the Baghdad government for a negotiated end to the violence, a top Democrat said Sunday. Michigan Sen. Carl Levin, the Senate Armed Service Committee chairman, took issue with an effort by Majority Leader Harry Reid to limit war spending after March 2008 as a way to end U.S. involvement.

"We're not going to vote to cut funding, period," Levin said.

---"Levin: Senate Will Keep Paying for War," AP via Washington Post, 4/8/07

If we continue, there will be no doubt in my mind and in the mind of the world that we have no honorable intentions in Vietnam Iraq. It will become clear that our minimal expectation is to occupy it as an American colony and men will not refrain from thinking that our maximum hope is to goad China Iran into a war so that we may bomb her nuclear installations. If we do not stop our war against the people of Vietnam Iraq immediately the world will be left with no other alternative than to see this as some horribly clumsy and deadly game we have decided to play.

--- Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, 4/4/1967 2007

Carl Levin is wrong. There is no reason whatsoever to continue paying for this war without firm deadlines for getting out of there. I think the deadline should be May 1 (OK, maybe June 1), but you have to start somewhere, and then you move forward from there -- you don't backpedal, the way Senator Levin seems to have in mind. We are playing with fire in that region, we must de-escalate there, not "stay the course" -- let alone engage in reckless gunboat diplomacy with Iran. We are not wanted there, we have no business there, we're doing no good there, we should get out of there, we must make it clear when that will happen.

John Edwards is right. Support Senate Democrats -- especially Harry Reid and Russ Feingold -- as they rally with a promise to send Bush a second bill he'll really hate if he vetoes this one. It's time for us to start getting out of Iraq, and it's time for Bush to get another spanking about it. Keep sending it back. In the meantime, it will be Bush de-funding the troops, jeopardizing their safety, and (yet again) betraying their trust by pursuing a war no one but the White House supports or believes in any longer.


=====
NOTES: MLK speech via Nell Lancaster ("A Lovely Promise"). John Edwards initiative and "keep sending it back" via eRobin ("Fact-esque"). By the way, I got to know eRobin way back before she got famous, and I'll tell you all about it if you buy me a beer. posted by Thomas Nephew at 1:55:00 AM -- |