2009 - %3, April

Spanish Judge Gives Go-Ahead on Torture Investigation

—By

| Wed Apr. 29, 2009 7:56 AM PDT

This just came over the AP wire:

Spain's top investigative magistrate has opened an investigation into the Bush administration over alleged torture of terror suspects at the Guantanamo prison.

The new investigation by Judge Baltasar Garzon (whom Mother Jones profiled in 2004 and discussed again this January) comes after he was instructed earlier not to open an inquiry into six former Bush administration officials, including former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales. Garzon's latest ruling does not name specific individuals, but will "investigate both those who carried out torture and those who ordered or cooperated with it," according to Reuters. When David Corn, Mother Jones' Washington bureau chief, asked White House press secretary Robert Gibbs about Garzon's plans two weeks ago, Gibbs joked about it. David pointed out that "If an investigation proceeds, Obama could well have to decide whether or not to comply with Spanish requests for US government documents--that is, to help or hinder the investigation." Now that Garzon is going forward with an investigation—this time without the names—will the Obama administration take it seriously, or keep kidding around?

Advertise on MotherJones.com

Michael Steele, Really Bumbling Through This Specter Situation

—By

| Wed Apr. 29, 2009 7:33 AM PDT

Michael Steele and the RNC sent out an email to supporters late last night trying to raise funds on Specter's switch. "His defection to the Democrat Party puts the Democrats in an almost unstoppable position to pass Obama's destructive agenda," he wrote. "Join me in this fight by making a secure online contribution of $25, $50, $100, $500 or $1,000 right now." For good measure, he calls Specter "craven" and Obama backers a "band of radical leftists."

My favorite bit, though, is when he follows up that name-calling by comparing the RNC and its supporters to America's greatest statesman.

Some will use Specter's defection as an excuse to fold the tent and give up. I believe that you are not one of those people. When Benedict Arnold defected to the British, George Washington didn't fold the tent and give up either.

What's a little self-flattery among friends? Steele also said yesterday that Specter, who is basically a moderate conservative, has a "left-wing" voting record. Which is a pretty clear signal that, oh, 70 percent of Americans and their political views aren't welcome in today's GOP. Nice work, Chairman Steele!

Update: Uh oh. Looks like Steele is facing dissent in-house.

Swine Flu Gives Pork a Bad Name

—By

| Tue Apr. 28, 2009 9:45 PM PDT
pig.jpg

Fewer little piggies are going to market, and farmers are scrambling. News of the now-ubiquitous swine flu fills the headlines (what recession?), everyone's either got it, has symptoms, or can't get the virus off their RSS feeds (sorry). Even the "swine" in swine flu is presenting some with opportunities. The advocacy group Farm Sanctuary has taken the swine flu's 15 minutes and released an advisory on the ills of factory farmed pork. True, the pandemic may represent a policy window for proposed legislation to better regulate mass production of pork, but officials are now saying that the flu's name is misleading.

Also called the North American flu or the catchy "H1N1" virus, swine flu is the name that's stuck (except in Israel where they've pulled the swine reference since no one eats pork in that Jewish/Muslim mess-of-a-state and apparently therefore no one would care?). Earlier today Ag secretary Tom Vilsack practically begged people to stop using "swine flu" and to start referring to the illness by its scientific name HIN1. Too bad the science didn't work out to C3PO.

[Read more]

Q&A: Adam Freeland

—By

| Tue Apr. 28, 2009 8:34 PM PDT
mojo-photo-adamfreeland.jpg

While he may not be a household name, Adam Freeland is a legend in the world of electronic music. He's one of a handful of producers who can legitimately be credited with, if not wholly inventing, at least bringing to the foreground an entirely new genre: a darker, smarter strain of breakbeat music called "nu skool breaks." Moreover, his music has often been politically outspoken, and with his eponymous band, he bridges the gap between rock and dance. I talked with him backstage at the Coachella festival about the changing political scene as well as his upcoming album.

[Read more]

Green Shoots

—By

| Tue Apr. 28, 2009 2:21 PM PDT

Tapped glosses an EPI report on green jobs:

Most notable is its pronouncement that a "green" investment is one of the most stimulative forms of government spending, providing a 1.6:1 return-to-investment ratio. This is greater than generic infrastructure investment (1.59), temporary tax cuts (1.03), and corporate tax cuts (0.3)....Now for the less-than-rosy projection: men would be disproportionately advantaged by this spending, accounting for 75 percent of the total employment gains.

Actually, that's not as bad as it sounds — at least in the short run.  As CAP's Heather Boushey points out, men have absorbed 75% of all job losses during the current recession, so a stimulus program that targets them disproportionately makes some sense.  After all, it's either that or let them stay home grinding their teeth and taking cues from Fox News about who to blame for all this.  And we don't want that, do we?

Overall, EPI's model projects that $100 billion in green investments would generate 750,000 jobs and raise wages of non-college educated workers by about half a percent per year.  Plus it would help prevent us from turning the planet into a cinder.  So that would be another bonus.  The whole paper is here.

Specter and EFCA

—By

| Tue Apr. 28, 2009 1:39 PM PDT

A few weeks ago Arlen Specter announced that he would oppose the Employee Free Choice Act (aka "card check"), labor's top legislative priority.  But now that he's a Democrat, what will he do?  Jon Chait speculates:

Specter says he’ll still oppose EFCA, but I have trouble seeing him really maintain that stance. He has to make it through a Democratic primary now. That’s very hard to do in Pennsylvania when the AFL-CIO is out for your blood.

Specter’s most likely play is to stay formally opposed to EFCA, but support a compromise along the lines of what some moderate Democrats might favor. He certainly can’t risk being the decisive anti-EFCA vote. Democrats in the Senate may be offering him institutional support in the primary, but primaries tend to be low-turnout operations, and Specter is going to have to work his way into the favor of the partisan Democratic base.

I think that's probably right.  Specter won't completely flip-flop, but there was some wiggle room in his statement announcing opposition to EFCA.  Even without changing his position on secret ballots, then, I could see him working with a few conservative Dems and moderate Republicans to construct a compromise bill that pretty effectively boosts his labor bona fides.  After all, the current version of EFCA is almost certainly dead in the water (and was likely dead before Specter announced his oppostion), so gaining support for even a watered down version would allow him to position himself as the guy who rescued EFCA and got half a loaf where there was nothing previously.

It might not work, of course, but it's probably worth a try for him.  I wouldn't be surprised to see him give it a go.

Advertise on MotherJones.com

Is Luce's "American Century" Finally Over?

—By

| Tue Apr. 28, 2009 1:15 PM PDT

Via TomDispatch, Andrew J. Bacevich has an interesting take today on how to drive a stake through the heart of Hank Luce's "American century." A snippet, plus video:

When the Time-Life publisher coined his famous phrase, his intent was to prod his fellow citizens into action. Appearing in the February 7, 1941 issue of Life, his essay, "The American Century," hit the newsstands at a moment when the world was in the throes of a vast crisis. A war in Europe had gone disastrously awry. A second almost equally dangerous conflict was unfolding in the Far East. Aggressors were on the march...

[Read more]

Swine Flu's Boosters

—By

| Tue Apr. 28, 2009 12:36 PM PDT

James Ridgeway has some great reporting on swine flu over on MoJo Blog. Here's a snippet:

You can't blame everything bad that happens on right-wing policymaking—but you can usually count on it to make a bad situation worse. Conservatives didn't bring on the swine flu outbreak, any more than they caused Hurricane Katrina. But in both cases, they've made the federal government less equipped to respond to these disasters with possibly life-saving emergency services.

Read the rest of Ridgeway's swine flu post, plus more on swine flu profiteers.

The Photo Op

—By

| Tue Apr. 28, 2009 12:02 PM PDT

I know it's Arlen Specter 24/7 most places, but I'm still curious: what was the "photo-op" that the White House staged with Air Force One over the streets of Manhattan yesterday?  The Washington Post explains:

The event was intended to update a stock photo of the presidential plane that is used for distribution to media and others, according to a person familiar with the matter who was spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly. The photo, featuring the Statue of Liberty, is to replace one of the aircraft flying near Mount Rushmore, the person said.

Jeebus.  They had to provide this explanation on background?  I know it's embarrassing, but can't they just fess up to the whole thing in public?

Credit Card Companies Snatch Social Security Payments

—By

| Tue Apr. 28, 2009 12:01 PM PDT

Holes are appearing every day in our so-called safety net. But even amidst all the budget cutting, most elders and disabled people probably feel that their monthly Social Security checks are something they can count on. Having escaped attempts at privatization under Bush, Social Security might appear secure, at least in the short term.

Maybe not. As New America Media reports, debt collectors for credit card companies and other creditors are now going after Social Security payments, which are supposed to be exempt from garnishment in such situations. Their tactics include freezing the bank accounts into which a beneficiary’s Social Security checks are direct-deposited. When this happens, often without warning, old and disabled people find themselve suddenly without the resources to buy food and medicine, which can trigger a desperate medical crisis.

That’s right. The meager amounts deposited into our accounts by the Social Security Administration, which many older people now must rely on more than ever before because of layoffs, the real estate crash, and the 401k collapse, are being illegally siezed, often by the very same companies that brought on the crisis in the first place–the big banks and other financial institutions that issue loans and credit cards. After taking in billions in public stimulus funds, they are wringing out every last dime by going after these public pensions, which are supposed to be protected. When you read stories about how Wall Street is relaxing with the comeback of high pay and big bonuses, think about this:

Margot Saunders of the National Consumer Law Center estimates that “tens of thousands of people every month,” who are elderly or disabled, are being forced into dire financial circumstances. Bank account freezes and illegal garnishments of exempt funds, including veterans’ benefits, are shredding safety nets. In her 2008 testimony before a House Ways and Means Subcommittee on Social Security, Saunders included a long list of stories.…

[Read more]