My 'New Age' Town

We have our own currency here in Berkshire County, with the goal of keeping more of our financial resources local. And slowly but surely, BerkShares are making news:

GREAT BARRINGTON, Massachusetts (Reuters) - A walk down Main Street in this New England town calls to mind the pictures of Norman Rockwell, who lived nearby and chronicled small-town American life in the mid-20th Century.

So it is fitting that the artist's face adorns the 50 BerkShares note, one of five denominations in a currency adopted by towns in western Massachusetts to support locally owned businesses over national chains. [Full Story]

Mmmmm! Taste Some Fact-Free Spin, America!

Nice.

President Bush had a nearly hour-long secure video teleconference with Iraqi leaders on Monday and came away impressed and reassured by the progress they're making on political, security and economic reforms, the White House said.

Then, a few paragraphs later in the same story:

A Pentagon report released last week concluded that violence in Iraq edged higher during a four-month period between February and May — despite the U.S.-led security push in Baghdad. The report also raised questions about Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's ability to fulfill a pledge made in January to prohibit political interference in security operations and to allow no safe havens for sectarian militias.

It's all public relations and spin for this White House. Tragic.

This Week in American Justice

$$ Revolving-Door-o-Rama! $$

Bush Names Gillespie As New Counselor

WASHINGTON -- Ed Gillespie, a high-dollar Washington lobbyist and long-time go-to guy for President Bush and the Republican Party, is replacing Dan Bartlett as White House counselor in the president's inner circle.

[...] Gillespie was listed as lobbyist last year for dozens of clients, including such corporate giants as Microsoft, Verizon Wireless, AT&T, pharmaceutical manufacturer Bristol-Myers Squibb, Tyson Foods, the Safeway grocery store chain, the Entergy energy company, the Bank of America, the Diageo liquor company and NBC Universal, lobbying reports on file with the Senate show.

Hee?

Well, we may not be successfully "spreading democracy," but we seem to be spreading something else that some argue is uniquely American:

"Iraq's Parliament Speaker Says He'll Sue"

Follow the Money to Understand Our Mis-Representative Democracy

From the (largely powerless) folks at the Federal Election Commission comes some very instructive data. It makes clear that the whole, "The Internet will level the playing field in campaign fundraising! Small donors will be the most important of all! Democracy is saved!" is pure, utter fiction. It's a breakdown of the total money raised by all prez candidates to date:

Size of Donations

$200 and Under $ 17,546,118
$200 - $499 $ 3,787,252
$500 - $999 $ 6,108,419
$1000 - $1999 $ 18,154,526
$2000 and Over $ 87,400,009

So, the vast, vast majority of money comes from folks who contribute the big bucks. So who you gonna listen to, Mr./Mrs. Candidate? The folks kicking in $25 or even $100? Or the folks bringing in the large buckets of cash?

True, focusing on small donors can engage people in the campaign, get them to volunteer, etc. But the plain truth is that the system of private financing continutes to require candidates to raise big sums from wealthy donors.

Without full public financing of our federal elections - at a cost of less than 10 tax dollars per American per year - the fundraisers and big-business lobbyists and corporate PACs and those with dough will continue to drive our politics, our campaigns, our public policy, and, therefore, the direction of our nation (at home and in our efforts abroad).

Thanks for This, Judge Walton

From the New York Times story about Paris Hilton being sent back to jail:

Ms. Hilton was not the only high-profile defendant whose celebrity prompted a raised eyebrow from a judge this week. Also on Friday, the judge who sentenced I. Lewis Libby Jr. to prison this week issued an order dripping with acid sarcasm after receiving a supporting brief from a dozen prominent legal scholars, including Alan M. Dershowitz of Harvard and Robert H. Bork, the former Supreme Court nominee.

The judge, Reggie B. Walton of the Federal District Court in Washington, said he would be pleased to see similar efforts for defendants less famous than Mr. Libby, formerly the chief of staff to Vice President Dick Cheney.

“The court trusts,” he wrote, in a footnote longer than the order itself, that the brief for Mr. Libby “is a reflection of these eminent academics’ willingness in the future to step up to the plate and provide like assistance in cases involving any of the numerous litigants, both in this court and throughout the courts of our nation, who lack the financial means to fully and properly articulate the merits of their legal positions.”

“The court,” he added, “will certainly not hesitate to call for such assistance from these luminaries.”

P.S. Judge Walton is a George W. Bush appointee.

Planning the Libby Pardon

Late-breaking Reason Gone Mad(ness) from tomorrow morning's Berkshire Eagle newspaper: Planning the Libby Pardon

The Heart of the 'Fired Attorneys' Matter

It's all about the phony red-herring of "vote fraud," my friends. That's the real story here:

Mr. Schlozman said it did not occur to him that the indictments could affect the campaign. That is hard to believe since the Justice Department’s guidelines tell prosecutors not to bring vote fraud investigations right before an election, so as not to affect the outcome. He also claimed, laughably, that he did not know that Acorn was a liberal-leaning group.

Mr. Schlozman fits neatly into the larger picture. Prosecutors who refused to use their offices to help Republicans win elections, like John McKay in Washington State, and David Iglesias in New Mexico, were fired. Prosecutors who used their offices to help Republicans did well.

Actor's Risque Past Halts 'Adam' Film

"For the Creation Museum, I did what I did as an actor. It doesn't necessarily mean I believe in evolution or a believe in creation," Linden said. "I'm hired to get a point across. On the flip side, if I was hired to play a murderer, that doesn't mean I'd go out and kill somebody. It's make-believe." [Full story]

Hoo! Ha! Hoo! Ha! Ha!

Retired Gen. George Washington Criticizes Bush's Handling Of Iraq War

Attention Bob Saget!

Cops Raid Wrong Place, Kick Man in Groin

Sad and Pathetic, Actually

From what is currently the MOST POPULAR STORY on the Washington Post's Web site. More popular than the breaking news that more than 3,500 American soldiers have now died in Iraq. Just ridiculous:

Paris Hilton was released from county jail early Thursday because of an undisclosed medical condition and will serve the remainder of her sentence confined to her mansion in West Hollywood.

And this is just choice:

During her brief stint in jail, Hilton was visited by her attorney and her psychiatrist, according to the investigative gossip website TMZ.com.

Jesus. The "investigative gossip website"? How ridiculous. Right now Google News shows nearly 2,000 stories about Paris Hilton, and about 600 about the Iraq death toll. It's beyond parody. It's beyond belief. It's, it's, it's... Well, you know what I'm talking about.

Creepy, So Creepy

Here's the terrifying cover of a book I found today at a local book swap:

It's from 1980. The photo of the book cover doesn't quite do it justice. In person, it makes me think the title should be, "Anyone Can Have a Devil Child - Especially If You Look a Bit Over-the-Top Scary Yourself!"

Obviously the marketers realized their mistake, so the 1997 version of the book -- available at Amazon.com -- has a far less terrifying cover image, featuring a rainbow of happy children and even a dog, not to mention the "emotional intelligence" buzzword:

Tres amusante, methinks.

Ladies and Gentlemen!

Let me share with you THE MOST PREPOSTEROUS THING I HAVE EVER READ. From a Washington Post story about letters seeking leniency for Scooter Libby:

Others offered details of what they described as Libby's crucial role in key administration decisions.

Former ambassador and White House aide Robert D. Blackwill called Libby a "crucial voice" in President Bush's decision to accelerate transfer of sovereignty to the Iraqis after the ouster of Saddam Hussein.

"Sadly I believe that Mr. Libby's premature departure from the Administration has been a major reason for the downward spiral of the situation in Iraq and the consuming mess in which we find ourselves today regarding that country," he wrote.

Hilariously Absurd

"First, he denied it. Then he said it was his wife's idea. Finally, white anti-immigration activist Tim Brummer admitted to using the false Vietnamese surname 'Binh' in his capacity as spokesman for Vietnamese for Fair Immigration. In his defense, Brummer claimed that because he eats Vietnamese food and is half-Vietnamese 'in my own mind,' he wasn't really fibbing. In fact, he told a local reporter, he may even legally change his name to Binh."

The Perfect Way to Get Rid of an Unwanted Husband?

Asked what role former President Clinton would play in a new Democratic White House, she said, “Bill Clinton, my dear husband, would be sent around the world as a roving ambassador.” -- Sen. Hillary Clinton (Sorta-D, NY), in last night's Democratic presidential debate.