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Comic Dave Chapelle Misses Fundraiser for Brooklyn Congressional Hopeful
Posted by Lindsay Beyerstein, AlterNet on July 10, 2008 at 1:32 PM.

Comic Dave Chapelle, the much-hyped headliner for Kevin Powell's congressional campaign fundraiser, missed yesterday's event:

Comedian Dave Chappelle disappointed voters and raised doubts about congressional upstart Kevin Powell’s campaign by blowing off the candidate’s highly promoted Wednesday night fundraiser.

The hugely popular comic was the headliner at the $75-and-up fundraiser, but Powell, who is aiming to unseat 13-term incumbent Ed Towns (D–Fort Greene) in the September primary, said Chappelle missed two flights in his effort to get to Manhattan’s hip-hop club, Eugene.

Earlier, Powell had urged the crowd to bear with him, suggesting that the comedian was “on his way.” But as the 700 campaign contributors grew restless and the vast press contingent started asking questions, Powell made his admission that Chappelle actually would not be appearing. He blamed travel mix-ups.

“We were on the phones non-stop with Dave’s management to get him here,” said a contrite Powell, 42, who promised that campaign donors would get into his next celebrity event for free.

Powell also claimed that comedian Chris Rock was actually backstage to show his support for the underdog’s hip-hop-themed campaign , but Rock never took the stage — “out of respect [for] other comedians,” Powell said. [Brooklyn Paper]

Powell is a respected writer, organizer, and activist who is running on a progressive platform against a 13-term incumbent Democrat.

Arianna Huffington on Karl Rove's Contempt of Congress
Posted by on July 10, 2008 at 11:58 AM.

By Ariana Huffington

Karl Rove ain't coming. And he ain't talking. Except on Fox News.

Despite being subpoenaed by the House Judiciary Committee to testify on his role in politicizing the Justice Department -- and in using the Department to selectively prosecute Democratic officials -- the erstwhile Boy Genius has announced that he won't be showing up at tomorrow's scheduled hearing.

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McCain Thinks the Recession is All in Our Heads
Posted by Steve Benen, The Carpetbagger Report on July 10, 2008 at 10:29 AM.

Given economic conditions, the housing crisis, the energy market, dispiriting employment numbers, and the value of the dollar, you’d think the McCain campaign would be going to extraordinary lengths to show that John McCain a) recognizes the seriousness of the problem; and b) has a plan to help turn things around.

But that’s not quite the path the McCain campaign has chosen. Instead, the Republican presidential campaign has decided that the economy is really great, but Americans just aren’t smart enough to realize it.

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Karl Rove Skips Out on Judiciary Committee
Posted by , Think Progress on July 10, 2008 at 9:30 AM.

Toady, Karl Rove was set to appear under subpoena before the House Judiciary Committee to discuss the politicization of the Justice Department. Yesterday, Rove’s lawyer wrote a letter declaring Rove would not testify, citing executive privilege:

Mr Rove will respectfully decline to appear on July 10 on the grounds that as a close advisor to the President, whose testimony is sought in connection with his official duties in that capacity, he is immune from compelled Congressional testimony.

After Rove proved to be a no-show today, the panel voted 7-1 to rule that Rove’s claims of immunity under executive privilege are invalid.

As Global Food Crisis Tops G8 Summit Agenda, World Leaders Enjoy Lavish 18-Course Banquet
Posted by Democracy Now!, Democracy Now! on July 10, 2008 at 8:28 AM.

Shortly after saying they were “deeply concerned” about soaring global food prices and supply shortages, world leaders attending the G8 summit in Hokkaido sat down to an eighteen-course gastronomic extravaganza, courtesy of the Japanese government. We take a look at the global food crisis, food independence and real democracy with bestselling author, Frances Moore Lappé.

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John McCain Befuddled By Birth Control
Posted by Matt Corley, Think Progress on July 10, 2008 at 8:26 AM.

Earlier this week, one of Sen. John McCain’s (R-AZ) top advisers, Carly Fiorina, argued for McCain’s free-market approach to health care by noting that “there are many health insurance plans that will cover Viagra but won’t cover birth-control medication” and that many “women would like a choice.” But, as ThinkProgress noted, Fiorina’s argument was undermined by McCain’s 2003 vote against legislation that would have required insurance coverage of prescription birth control. When asked about the disconnect on his campaign bus today, McCain nervously replied, “I certainly do not want to discuss that issue“:

Q: Earlier this week Carly Fiorina was meeting with a bunch of reporters and talked about it being unfair that insurance companies cover Viagra but not birth control. And -

McCain: I certainly do not want to discuss that issue. (uneasy laughter)

Q: But apparently you’ve voted against (McCain laughter continues)

McCain: I don’t know what I voted -

Q: Voted against coverage of birth control, forcing health insurance companies to cover birth control in the past. Is that still your position?

McCain: I’ll look at my voting record on it, but I have, uh, (5 second pause) , I don’t recall the vote right now. But I’ll be glad to look at it and get back to you as to why, I don’t -

Q: I guess her statement was that it was unfair that health insurance companies cover Viagra but not birth control. Do you have an opinion on that?

McCain: (after 8 second pause) I don’t know enough about it to give you an informed answer because I don’t recall the vote, I’ve cast thousands of votes in the Senate. I will respond to - it’s a, it’s a (nervous)

McCain’s stumbling answer is reminiscent of when he was asked in March 2007 about public funding for contraceptives and he could only reply, “whether I support government funding for them or not, I don’t know.”

'Foreclosure Phil' Gramm: How John McCain's Closest Economic Advisor Helped Engineer the Morgage Crisis
Posted by Democracy Now!, Democracy Now! on July 9, 2008 at 12:37 PM.

In the latest issue of Mother Jones magazine, David Corn writes, "Who’s to blame for the biggest financial catastrophe of our time? There are plenty of culprits, but one candidate for lead perp is former Sen. Phil Gramm. Eight years ago, as part of a decades-long anti-regulatory crusade, Gramm pulled a sly legislative maneuver that greased the way to the multibillion-dollar subprime meltdown. Yet has Gramm been banished from the corridors of power? Reviled as the villain who bankrupted Middle America? Hardly. Now a well-paid executive at a Swiss bank, Gramm cochairs Sen. John McCain’s presidential campaign and advises the Republican candidate on economic matters."

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North Carolina Civil Servant Quits Rather Than Lower Flag for Jesse Helms
Posted by , Think Progress on July 9, 2008 at 12:15 PM.

L.F. Eason, a 29-year veteran of the North Carolina Department of Agriculture, “instructed his staff at a small Raleigh lab not to fly the U.S. or North Carolina flags at half-staff Monday” to honor the late senator Jesse Helms, “as called for in a directive to all state agencies by Gov. Mike Easley.” In a string of e-mail messages with his superiors, Eason was told he could either lower the flags or retire effective immediately. Here is Eason’s reasoning for his decision to retire:

This is in no way a political decision. I simply do not feel it is appropriate to honor a person whose epitaph of government service was to have voted against or blocked every civil rights issue that came before the US Congress. His doctrine of negativity, hate, and prejudice cost North Carolina and our Nation much that we may never regain.

[ED: Eason is on the left in the photograph, above.]

New Jersey GOP Club Removes "Obama Loves America like O.J. loved Nicole" Banner From Website
Posted by Matt Corley, Think Progress on July 9, 2008 at 11:23 AM.

After local Democrats “alleged racist campaign tactics,” the Republican Club in Pemberton, NJ removed a banner yesterday from its website that compared Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) to O.J. Simpson. “Obama loves America like O.J. loved Nicole,” the banner read. Though the image has now been removed, Blue Jersey saved a screen shot of the offensive banner:

Ed Kuck, the Republican County committeeman who placed the image on the website, told the Philadelphia Inquirer that he had put it up while adding pictures from a local rally for Sen. John McCain (R-AZ). Simpson was effectively found liable in a 1996 civil trial for the death of his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson.

Rachel Maddow on the FISA Capitulation
Posted by Lindsay Beyerstein, AlterNet on July 9, 2008 at 10:15 AM.

Political pundit Rachel Maddow on the Democrats' capitulation on illegal domestic spying and telecom immunity.

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Parsing the Drunken Jezebel Trainwreck
Posted by Amanda Marcotte, Pandagon on July 9, 2008 at 9:35 AM.

Because I’ve been doing D.C. stuff all day and thus have only had time to follow this blow-up.  I’ll admit; when I first read the quotes Lizz put up at HuffPo, I was appalled at Moe and Tracie.  But then I actually got some decent wi-fi speed and watched the videos and felt, okay, they were trying to be outrageous and funny.  And considering the fact that alcohol was flowing freely, it’s hard for me to get upset that they weren’t dazzling wits and instead going for shock value.  Tracie affirms as much.  I can’t even get upset that they failed to be sober on a TV show, which strikes me as a bare minimum thing to do, because the show is about drinking.  The jokes about pulling out especially didn’t deserve the moralistic shaming, because when you watch the videos, it’s clear that they’re jokes that only work because it’s so wrong. 

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G8 Dispatches: Amid Repression, Spider Web of Protests Expand in Japan
Posted by Marina Sitrin, David Solnit, Asha Colazione, Sarah Lazare, AlterNet on July 9, 2008 at 8:29 AM.

July 9
(See below for previous dispatches.)

The series of demonstrations against the G8 meetings in Lake Toya, Japan, continued this week with lively marches in Sapporo and Toyora. Thousands more showed their opposition to G8 policies by attending a nine-day Counter-Forum, networking and sharing experiences and ideas of how we might build a better world.

Organizers registered the Sapporo demonstration as a "March for Peace," afraid that a "March Against the G8" would not be granted permits. It was a colorful demonstration, with a wide variety of groups and nationalities proceeding through the streets carrying signs, banners, and giant puppets. Many participants wore costumes or brought their own instruments to play as they marched.

The procession was led by a sound truck playing music for the crowd, immediately followed by the beautifully attired Kimono bloc. In another Japanese tradition, a group carried a bamboo tree decorated with words on black paper strips indicating what people wish for in the coming year.

Behind the Kimono block, ominous puppets with heads of G8 leaders and bodies of skeletons donned yellow and red labels such as hunger, global warming, poverty or privatization of resources. Swooping after them, a flock of shimmering yellow birds made of painted cardboard and satin-like fabric carried signs indicating what they'd like to see instead of the G8--"democracy," "healthy environment," "peace."

A clown in a green wig and pink boa approached the lines of riot police with a rainbow-colored duster and proceeded to dust off their shields. A few more members of the Clown Army loomed behind, sporting red noses and army camouflage, waving their rainbow dusters in the air. A roving band of drummers kept up a lively beat behind them.

Police divided the march into three segments, each surrounded on all sides by two rows of police in riot gear. A group of demonstrators led by radical workers' movements, anarchist activists, and black bloc rebelled against the strict control of the demonstration by moving out beyond the one lane of traffic they were allocated in order to spread across the entire road.

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McCain Jokes About Killing Iranians With American Tobacco Exports
Posted by Satyam Khanna, Think Progress on July 9, 2008 at 7:57 AM.

Last year, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) joked about bombing Iran to the theme of the Beach Boy’s “Barbara Ann.” McCain was widely criticized for the remark, but simply told critics to “lighten up and get a life.” The Washington Post notes that McCain tried joking about “killing” Iranians again today:

Responding to a question about a survey that shows increased exports to Iran, mainly from cigarettes, McCain said, “Maybe thats a way of killing them.” He quickly caught himself, saying “I meant that as a joke” as his wife, Cindy, poked him in the back.

According to a report released today, U.S. exports to Iran “grew more than tenfold during President Bush’s years in office even as he accused Iran of nuclear ambitions and helping terrorists. America sent more cigarettes to Iran, at least $158 million worth under Bush, than any other products.”

DOJ Oversight Office Isn’t Releasing Reports on Waterboarding, Wiretapping
Posted by , ProPublica on July 9, 2008 at 7:46 AM.

By Eric Umansky

The Department of Justice's Office of Professional Responsibility is meant to ferret out potential misconduct by DOJ lawyers.  The office is investigating everything from warrantless wiretapping to department lawyers' role in authorizing waterboarding.

Yet the OPR isn't exactly the most powerful investigation arm around. It is not independent -- the office reports to the attorney general. (A few years ago, an OPR investigation into the legal authorization of NSA wiretapping was shut down after the bosses decided that OPR's lawyers didn't have the required security clearance. That decision was reversed after Michael Mukasey was confirmed as attorney general.) Such limits on its power have led to criticism that it's the wrong shop to investigate such important issues as torture.

Meanwhile, a story inside yesterday's Los Angeles Times flagged another ever so slight limitation of the office: It hasn't been releasing its reports. From the Times:  

After President Bush took office in 2001, the Justice Department reversed a decade-old policy of publicly disclosing detailed summaries of OPR investigations of department lawyers found to have committed professional misconduct. Janet Reno, attorney general since 1993, had believed that publicizing the information would bolster confidence in the department; and during her tenure she had authorized the release of two dozen public summaries of misconduct cases -- including one against then-FBI Director William S. Sessions.

The OPR also has been far behind in producing required annual public reports summarizing its activities. Last month, it released its report covering fiscal year 2005. That means many investigations undertaken during the tenure of former Atty. Gen. Alberto R. Gonzales remain under wraps.

Why the change in policy? According to the Times:

Associate Deputy Atty. Gen. David Margolis said it was his decision to excuse the OPR from preparing summaries of cases that might be released to the public. He said the decision reflected a lack of resources, as well as concern about balancing public interests with the privacy rights of individual attorneys facing accusations.

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Hagee's Revenge? Videos Of Controversial Pastor Removed From YouTube
Posted by Sam Stein, Huffington Post on July 8, 2008 at 2:19 PM.

Late last week, with no prior notification, lawyers for the controversial evangelist John Hagee had a series of videos concerning the pastor removed from YouTube. The clips spanned from the contentious to the mundane; some included footage lifted from sermons Hagee had already made public, others involved documentaries made by filmmakers inside Hagee's conventions. All told more than 120 videos were taken down in the abrupt sweep.

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