Why is it, do you think, that some tyrants love show trials? Why not, as death squads did in Argentina and Chile kidnap, torture and murder at midnight? Why detain & torture people, coerce confessions, rig kangaroo courts (my apologies again to the kangaroos who, after all are innocent unlike our Decider-in-Chief) and bar lawyers from representing them effectively?

As you may well know by now, Mr. Bush as decided to follow up on the show trial and hanging of Saddam Hussein (who may well have been guilty of something, but we’ll never know) by trying” six people in Guantanamo before military commissions and executing them. Their crime? A la little Rudy one-note, claimed involvement in the September 11 attacks.

In order to make acceptable the “evidence” extracted by Mr. Bush by torture (Did he watch the torture tapes?) a public relations campaign has launched to show that water boarding is just fine. Mr. Injustice Antonin Scalia loves torture , he tells us, rewriting the Federal Rules of Evidence with scenes Fox’s 24. (Do you think Mr. Justice S plans to recuse himself from deciding these issues? Me neither.)

The White House whitewash of water boarding, here and here is buttressed by a bizarre argument: after we tortured them, we interrogated them nicely, indeed treated them to Starbucks Coffee and they still confessed.

While progressive sentiment is strong is the land (most people when asked, for example, favor single-payer universal health insurance, nowhere on the political agenda), progressive institutions are not. Our leaders are blown like dry leaves by the force of concentrated power, even if their personal convictions might lead them elsewhere.

Congress has just enacted a multi-Billion “stimulus” package to put cash into people’s hands and pump money into the economy so as to deter the looming (but technically not-here-yet) recession. The basic stories are reported in the NY Times and Washington Post . The package price is between $152- and $168 Billion; bringing to mind Everett Dirkson's remark: "a billion here, a billion there, pretty soon you're talking about real money". The package passed is better than that bargained for by President Bush and Speaker Pelosi. There are problems with the package.

It throws from the train the weakest and poorest of us: no food stamp increases and no extension for longer term unemployed. The George Bush-Nancy Pelosi vision of compassionate conservatism shuts out the poor. Money for the poor and unemployed would have been the quickest spent and produced the most economic activity for each dollar spent.

Liza's Note:
Please welcome to our humble blogdobe the fierce Ms. Debra Cooper, NYSDems Comittee Chairwoman for the Upper East Side.

She attended yesterday's now infamous "insult to truth" testimony on how she didn't for a minute mislead the public in believing that there was no potential harm in the toxic dust spread about New York City by the collapse of the Twin Towers.

Debra does and amazing job at capturing more than just the soundbites. As she said to me in the email that came with this post, not only did Todd Whitman dance "around her statements about the City government's responsibility for the safety of the first responders, especially in terms of their use of respirators. Unlike her prior statements, today in the hearing she did not make any direct accusations that the City and Guiliani did not do the right thing."

An observation that, as Debra noted later and asked me to share with you, points to Whitman's further coverup in an attempt to help Giuliani's bid for President.

Thanks Deb for covering this for our readers.

Some of the latest examples of a leftist circular firing squad have been many who complain that Congress is doing nothing to get us out of Iraq and some of the Hillary Bots who claim progressives in general, and Daily Kos in particular, are a bunch of atheist, anti-religion nut jobs.

Both accusations are untrue and here is one item that counters BOTH. This comes from a DAILY KOS diary by someone with the screen name PROGRESSIVE CHRISTIAN who is pushing progressives (and Christians, we can assume) to support HR 455, one of SEVERAL bills in Congress designed to block the McCain/Bush/Lieberman escalation and to bring our soldiers home from the Iraq quagmire. I sure hope those who have been denegrating congress for not acting to end the war and those who accuse progressives of being anti-religion will take note and help Progressive Christian in getting HR 455 passed.

On January 12, my congressman, Jerrold Nadler (NY-8), introduced H.R. 455, the Protect the Troops and Bring Them Home Act of 2007, a simple bill that limits the use of funding in Iraq for force protection, troop withdrawal and Iraq reconstruction. We spoke with Congressman Nadler's office last week and verified that he is still quite actively promoting this legislation.

Found out about this at the Democracy for NYC meeting in my neighborhood last night. And let me take this opportunity to say that if you aren't working with your local DFNYC group, you really SHOULD be. They do good work and are one of the foundations of the NYC grassroots.

New York Congressman Jerrold Nadler has introduced one of the better Congressional Bills regarding the Iraq War. Most of the bills introduced specifically aim to block the Bush/McCain escalation of the war. Nadler specifically aims to bring the troops home in a safe, responsible way.

I met Congressman Nadler at a National Jewish Democratic Committee breakfast a couple of years ago. My son, then very young, liked him and Nadler regaled us with a story of a local legislator giving a long speech holding another legislator's baby, who had been crying. Nadler is a no-nonsense man and someone who will advocate well for troop withdrawal and who can stand up to Republican smears.

Nadler's bill would limit Congressional funding of the war ONLY to protecting the troops while withdrawing and for diplomacy and specifically rules out paying for any additional troops. Withdrawal must start within 30 days of enactment of the bill and end by Dec. 31, 2007. Here is what Nadler has to say on his website:

En route to really wonderful concert on Sunday by the Musica Bella Orchestra of New York (about which more later) we passed by the Ryan Chelsea-Clinton Neighborhood Health Clinic on 10th Avenue where a press event was in full swing. There, Hillary Clinton, joined by Congress Member Jerry Nadler and NYC Council Speaker Chris Quinn, announced her support for a children’s health insurance bill. Reporters were standing on top of camera people who were trampling electricians. Two reports are here (newsday) and here (NYT) .

It took me a while to get the joke – Chelsea Clinton – I’m often slow that way. The bill, for which Senator Clinton announced her support may be familiar to you. It’s the same bill – The Healthy Child Act of 2007 --about which – surprise, surprise, Marian Wright Edelman made her impassioned speech at the Marin Luther King Jr. Memorial at Riverside Church. The long standing connections between Senator Clinton and the Childrens’ Defense Fund director continue.

Yup. We have the whole list. All 29 distristcs. Enjoy.

NY-01
Tim Bishop (DEM), Incumbent
Campaign Website: http://www.bishopforcongress.com

Italo Zanzi (REP), Campaign Website: http://www.zanzi2006.com

NY-02
Steve Israel (DEM, IND, WOR)
Incumbent
Campaign Website: http://www.israelforcongress.com

John Bugler (REP, CON)
Campaign Website: http://bugler.org

NY-03
Peter King (REP IND CON)
Incumbent, Campaign Website: ____

David Mejias (DEM, WOR)
Campaign Website: http://www.daveforamerica.com

NY-04
Carolyn McCarthy (DEM)
Incumbent
Campaign Website: http://www.votemccarthy.com

Martin Blessinger(REP, CON)

NY-05
Gary Ackerman (DEM, IND, WOR
Incumbent - Unopposed

NY-06
Gregory Meeks (DEM)
Incumbent

NY-07
Joe Crowley (DEM. WOR)
Incumbent
Campaign Website: http://www.crowleyforcongress.com

Kevin Brawley (REP)

NY-08
Jerrold Nadler (DEM)
Incumbent
Campaign Website: http://www.jerrynadler.com

Eleanor Friedman (REP)

Dennis Adornato (CON)

NY-09

Do you think that the Democrats are making a significant effort to capture a majority in the New York State Senate? Well, I don't know either. In hopes of an answer, I and other public school parents (persuaded that Senator Bruno's Republican Majority is blocking equitable funding for our kids' schools), went to a party last night to find out.

There, Senator Eric Schneiderman, strategist, was mobilizing the base to take Senate seats from the Reublicans. 100 Upper West Side progressives consumed wine and soda, crudités, fruit, pasta, more wine and dessert. As soon as he came in, we cornered Senator Eric: "So where's the money for public schools? Did you bring it?" He reached for his wallet which seemed not to have 5.6 billion in it. "Once we have control of the Senate, I'll deliver the money" he joked.

US. Rep. Jerry Nadler, looking thinner than ever, but still not thin, was in fine fettle, joked about how this time the election was really important (even though he'd said the same thing about so many elections past). Council Member Robert Jackson was there too: elegant, witty, focused on school funding. State Senator almost-elect Bill Perkins with his signature broad-brimmed brown hat, mixed with the crowd, passed out a palm card or two.