Dirac Angestun Gesept

Representative Edward Markey (D-MA) has sponsored H.R.5296, a bill to allow members of the armed forces who are wounded in combat to continue to receive their combat pay and similar bonuses during their recovery.

Sounds like the sort of thing that the “Support Our Troops” GOP should be all for, right?

Here’s the cosponsor list, with my addition of their party affiliations:

Rep Baca, Joe [CA-43] - 10/8/2004 [D] Rep Delahunt, William D. [MA-10] - 10/8/2004 [D] Rep Evans, Lane [IL-17] - 10/8/2004 [D] Rep Filner, Bob [CA-51] - 10/8/2004 [D] Rep Frank, Barney [MA-4] - 10/8/2004 [D] Rep Gutierrez, Luis V. [IL-4] - 10/8/2004 [D] Rep Hoeffel, Joseph M. [PA-13] - 10/8/2004 [D] Rep Kildee, Dale E. [MI-5] - 10/8/2004 [D] Rep Larsen, Rick [WA-2] - 10/8/2004 [D] Rep Majette, Denise L. [GA-4] - 10/8/2004 [D] Rep Maloney, Carolyn B. [NY-14] - 10/8/2004 [D] Rep McDermott, Jim [WA-7] - 10/8/2004 [D] Rep McGovern, James P. [MA-3] - 10/8/2004 [D] Rep Tierney, John F. [MA-6] - 10/8/2004 [D] Rep Van Hollen, Chris [MD-8] - 10/8/2004 [D] Rep Wexler, Robert [FL-19] - 10/8/2004 [D]

Bill status? Referred to not one but two committees.

Compare to the fact that George W. Bush has not had to veto any bills during his entire administration. Note that this means that, as Peter Canellos puts it, “he’s working so closely with leaders of Congress that little has gone through without his preapproval.”

If he really wants to help support our troops, this bill will clear committee in no time, with plenty of GOP co-sponsors. Anyone want to bet that will happen?

In an op-ed for the New York Times, Scott Dadich compares compares the Bush-Cheney and Kerry-Edwards logos with a graphic designer’s eye, including comments on the typography.

A typical Kerry logo displays the same inconsistency that his opponents accuse him of. A steady visual message requires the consistent use of the same font over and over again. On a typical drive to work, I encounter no fewer than five typefaces used in as many different Kerry-Edwards logos.

Fun for type geeks.

The “compassionate conservatives” in the Republican-controlled Congress want to be able to deport people, on suspicion alone (in other words, at Ashcroft’s whim) to countries that will torture them, unless of course the prospective deportee can manage to prove that they’ll be tortured.

Obsidian Wings has the details on this work toward legalizing torture here.

Anyone else think this might be a little more important than one news organization and their issues with memos?

Well, they didn’t announce “terrorists may strike at any of the following locations” and then list off the Kerry/Edwards campaign itinerary, but I’m sure I’m not the only person suspicious of Tom Ridge’s timing.

I mean, they could be trying to overshadow new evidence that Sibel Edmonds was fired for whistleblowing or perhaps they just want to reiterate that “threat potential remains through the Nov. 2 elections” (Tom Ridge) in order to keep a damper on the post-convention bounce.

Or, of course, they may actually have new evidence, but to quote Teresa Neilsen Hayden I deeply resent the way this administration makes me feel like a nutbar conspiracy theorist.

UPDATE: CNN has a Howard Dean comment that he’s “concerned that every time something happens that’s not good for President Bush, he plays this trump card, which is terrorism.”

One of the “In the News” names is… “Senator John”.

I guess it’s twice as common as either “Senator John Kerry” or “Senator John Edwards”.

Conservatives seek to help Ralph Nader

The Oregon Family Council also has been working the phones to boost attendance at Nader’s event — with the idea that it could help Bush this fall.

“We aren’t bashful about doing it,” said Mike White, the group’s director. “We are a conservative, pro-family organization, and Bush is our guy on virtually every issue.”

Yup; the anti-gay folks are out there pushing Nader onto the ballot.

How does the Nader camp feel about this?

The head of Nader’s Oregon campaign, Greg Kafoury, said he’s had no contact with the two conservative groups that have been calling people this week. But he said he’s not bothered by their actions, either.

Great. He’s not bothered. Does anyone need any more evidence that Nader running again is just going to hurt the causes he claims to promote?

The good news: SpaceShipOne had a successful flight.

The bad news: the US Supreme Court decided 5-4 that refusing to identify yourself is not Constitutionally protected. When I was a kid, we were always told that “papers, please” was something only the Nazis and Communists required, and weren’t we glad we lived in a free country? I suppose it was nice while it lasted.

Much has been written on this topic. This article, however, was written by a former commander of the 372nd MP Company.

Some choice quotes:

• “These actions were the result of huge command failures.”
• “I refuse to believe that no leader above Frederick was aware of or complicit in the abuses”
• “All these leaders failed in their most basic responsibilities of supervising their soldiers in the performance of their duties.”
• “Is special training needed to show a soldier that this sort of thing is contemptible and contrary to any standards of decency?”
• “We have a right to expect more from our military.”
• In response to the widely quoted Rush Limbaugh comment: “To minimize the egregious conduct of some members of the 372nd (and their superiors) dishonors those men and women who honorably serve their country. We must not, as some commentators have said, deem this to be soldiers “blowing off steam” and equate it to a fraternity initiation. To me, that sort of response dishonors those who strive each day to serve their fellow soldiers and complete their missions — and who risk their lives to do so.”
• and, last but not least, “If our claim is merely that we are better than the terrorists, we leave a tenuous legacy for a budding democracy in Iraq.”

This is not some left-wing commentator, either; this is the former commander of the unit. Add that to the Army Times editorial and see that both sides of the conservative-liberal divide have people very, very angry about what has happened, and the failures that have become clear.

So, let’s compare and contrast:

9/11 victim’s flag-draped coffin in campaign ad: “entirely approprate” according to Bush spokesman Marc Racicot.

Serviceman’s flag-draped coffin on newspaper front page: fire the person who took the photo, and her husband too.

UPDATE 2004-04-23 17:40: Another Bush spokesman, Trent Duffy, is quoted in the Guardian as saying “the sensitivity and privacy of families of the fallen must be the first priority.” Too bad he wasn’t in Racicot’s position when relatives of 9/11 victims complained about the ad back in March….

In the Boston Phoenix, Harvey Silverglate and Carl Takei’s Crossing the threshold points out how dangerous Ashcroft’s assault on habeas corpus really is.

In a world where many governments have the power “to lock them up and throw away the key,” habeas requires the judiciary to keep a spare key. In fact, the check habeas provides on executive detention powers doesn’t stop with the courts: the US Constitution grants power to suspend the writ only to Congress, and even then only in the event of “rebellion or invasion.”