Hey, John Boehner....

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Remember those schoolkids you get too teared-up to visit?

They're living in poverty these days, they tell us on 60 Minutes. They're living in cars and cheap hotels and the spare rooms of their neighbors and in shelters. They're dropping out of school to try to help their unemployed parents pay the bills. They're seeing their Playstations and Barbie dolls get sold for storage fees. Too soon, one in four will be a child in poverty....

They're blaming themselves, these kids, for the fate of their family.

I blame you.

Sometimes a kid's American dream is as simple as a home.
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crossposted at firedoglake/MyFDL

Sarah Reads God's Mind

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(Marking time this Monday morning waiting to hear whether Governor John Hoeven, the now-most-popular Governor in the US_—Thanks, Bakken Oil Patch!—will announce that he is going to stay at #1 or run for the Dorgan seat to become part of the minority party and take up permanent whining for a career change.)

Meanwhile:
Sarah Palin believed her running for vice president was "God's plan." So said a former top McCain campaign aide on Sunday night's 60 Minutes.

Just in case you missed it with all that football to choose among.

So let's see if I'm understanding this: God whispers in John McCain's ear to choose Sarah Palin as his running mate. Sarah Palin. Pitbull with lipstick outa Wasilla Alaska, the meth capitol of the sub-Arctic...but of course that's just a coincidence. With a family that fits right in the Octomom Heenie balloon boy Jon and Kate "reality" era.

And God did this because?

Well, I've got one thought. God realized the only way a black man could get elected president in the "modern" warmongering pistolpackin' rightwing era would be if the opposing side were so horrifically inappropriately not ready, not fit for office that Americans would rather even vote for a young, community organizin', big city African-American promising hope and change.

Betcha Sarah never thought of that one.
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To Your Good Health

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Sunday evening, ABC Nightly News showed the tape of the Afghan girl being beaten by the Taliban.

Just minutes later, on 60 Minutes, Scott Pelle interviewed Americans who have been beaten down--sentenced to death--by the state of health care and insurance...or lack of it...in this country.

What exactly is the difference?
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crossposted at firedoglake's Oxdown Gazette

Welcome to America

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Give me your poor, your tired, your huddled masses, yearning to breathe free.

Emma Lazarus

An old man, tired, weary, a Baptist minister, flees danger in Haiti and comes to America, seeking political asylum. Instead of freedom, America greets him with a detention center, and, when he falls ill, deficient medical care, and finally, hospitalization, where he dies alone.

His family here in America are not permitted to visit him.

A young woman from Somalia, fleeing a country where her family were killed, comes to America, seeking political asylum. Instead of freedom, she is detained and put on heavy duty antipsychotic medicine until a human rights group can arrange for her care and release.

Watching Scott Pelley's 60 Minutes report last night, the old man's niece recounting his last days, the frustration, and ultimately the sorrow, I wondered again, what have we allowed America to become?

60 Minutes collaborated with the Washington Post's singular genius reporter, Dana Priest, to report on the detention centers the Bush Administration has set up around the country to house warehouse immigrants seeking political asylum. They are not pretty places.

A middle-aged woman sits awaiting a life-and-death determination of whether she'll be deported. Since last August. Meanwhile, the lump in her leg continues to grow. From the Post:

Harvill is one of 33,000 immigration detainees in the custody of the Department of Homeland Security's Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency, known as ICE, on any given day. They are locked up in a patchwork of out-of-the-way federal detention compounds, private prisons and local jails. This unnoticed prison system was built for a quick revolving door of detainees -- into custody, out of the country. But often, people linger in detention for months or years.

These detainees, like other prisoners, are by law and regulation entitled to medical services if they are sick. But Harvill's journey through immigration detention provides a glimpse into a medical system that often fails those who need it most. It is an upside-down world where patients have no say, doctors and nurses on site have little power to administer timely treatment, and a managed-care system in Washington operates from a rulebook that emphasizes what is not covered rather than what is.

Immigrants...detainees...the line is blurring as the bureaucracy and the social compact of this country breaks down under the combined weight of the Bush Administration/Republican way of governance, its policies and incompetence.

"You know that there are people watching this interview who are saying to themselves, 'Castaneda was an illegal immigrant. He had a drug conviction. The people of the United States owed him nothing,'" Pelley remarks.

"I'm sure there's people out there that think that," Doyle acknowledges. "But that's not what the law is. And that's not what a civilized society does. And you know, if it's true that you judge the degree of civilization in a society by entering its prisons, the United States has a long way to go on this particular issue."

It would be too quick, too easy to say "after 9/11, everything changed." Because really, 9/11 long since has ceased to be an event and instead become an enabling excuse. The Bush/Republican way of governance was etched in stone long before those Twin Towers crumbled that morning. That was just the shock and awe that gave Bush and his neocon Big Oil war machine cronies an opportunity to rape, pillage and plunder this country in a manner so brazen it is stunning.

Well, yes, but what does it matter, Prairie, if a few sick people who aren't even real Americans don't get medical care?

What does it matter, indeed. In a similar context, I wondered that earlier last week at the report that the Indiana voter fraud blocked a group of real desperadoes from voting—nuns in their 80s and 90s.

And another poem filled my mind:
They came for...

You know it. If you don't, google Niemoller, it's past time you did.

But after watching 60 Minutes last night, and musing on this whole business of Sundays, and Mother's Days, and then reading Dana Priest's first in a series "Careless Detention," another mother came to mind.

A young girl, pregnant, unmarried, forced to travel from one land to another to be counted. And the child she bore. Oh, there are loads of self-righteous fauxes who call themselves "Christian" and "compassionate conservative" and.... And they rule this land right now, they're entrenched in the bureaucracy of the government and the tony addresses on K Street, and the gleaming white bastion of SCOTUS.

And their prisons and their detention centers define them. And the rest of us. Never forget that. They define us, too. As Barack Obama has noted, "the fierce urgency of now"...it compels us all to be better than we have been.

Because, whatsoever ye do unto the least of my brethren, ye do unto me.

Musts

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Spring cleaning time in Prairie Country, so we'll probably be light on content hereabouts. But we do want to steer you to some "musts" this weekend.

Bob Herbert's column in today's New York Times on what Jon Stewart dubbed the Reverending Story. Herbert's pretty pointed: can't we get back to the issues?!? Would that the Sunday morning punditocracy actually reads and heeds, because Herbert speaks for a lot of us who are absolutely fed up to the hair follicles with the push-pastoring. Enough.

Arianna Huffington visits Firedoglake 's Book Salon this afternoon to discuss her new book, Right Is Wrong: How the Lunatic Fringe Hijacked America, Shredded the Constitution, and Made Us All Less Safe. [5 pm ET to 7 pm ET] If you've never "met" Arianna or visited Firedoglake, what better time to start.

And we've learned that 60 Minutes will be reporting on the Pat Tillman story this Sunday night. Mary Tillman speaks out, saying the government still has not told the truth about her son's death. 60 Minutes has been bringing their A game of late to reporting. We'll definitely be watching.

Oh, and have we mentioned that Senator Obama will spend an hour with Tim Russert Sunday morning live on Meet the Press? We'll be watching. Won't take long to tell whether Russert's read Herbert's column...or just the McCarthyist screeds from Blumenthal and the Clintonistas and McCainiacs.

UPDATE:
Snuffy will be questioning Hillary Clinton Sunday morning. We saw his idea of "tough, but fair" in the ABC-sponsored debate. We'll be looking for "tough, but fair" when he questions Hillary. Substance, not shiny objects. And tough but fair follow-ups, too.

We'll be watching.

Moore 4 Obama

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He brings a whole lotta reasons why to the table—Michael Moore sends an open letter to Pennsylvania asking 'em to vote for Obama.

Hey, I'm good with that. Need more reasons than Moore offers? How about Condoleezza Rice going over to the Baghdad Green Zone to taunt al Sadr? And to catapault Bush-Chee-knee's propaganda a step closer to bomb-bomb-bombing Iran with the same ol' conflate and lie tactics that bogged us down in Iraq. Not so exercised about that? Think what does it matter if it's the same ol' same ol?

Then consider last night's 60 Minutes report by Lara Logan about Green Berets under attack in Afghanistan.

The Republican civilian leaders treat our troops like cannon fodder and can't make the effort to take care of our bravest except with strategerially timed award ceremonies. Where's the Tough But Fair questioning of McCain about the veterans' benefits bill he steadfastly stands against?

And one of the candidates tactics are right out of the Rovian Republican playbook of race-baiting fearmongering. The candidate who voted for the Iraq war, who in recent days showed herself ready to meddle in the middle of further war. She who claims the feminists of a certain age base as her due has lost more than just moi.

One quibble I have with Moore's letter, which he closes with: On Tuesday, the good people of Pennsylvania have a chance for redemption.

Seems to me we all have a chance for redemption—and restoration and renewal and just plain being able to hold our heads high with honor again—as we vote this year.

H/T's to reader Melody and Sammie's Mommy for the heads-ups to Paglia and Moore links.

Be Your Own Advocate

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We've all heard the urging over and over to be your own advocate when it comes to health care. To read the fine print, to ask questions, to take notes in the doctor's office, to look things up.

Well, yesterday's 60 Minutes caught our ear because one man, who also travels the leukemia road as our Sunshine family does, decided to go a step further. He's invented a radiowave machine that kills cancer cells.

John Kanzius may not live long enough to see his machine routinely used for cancer treatments, but it's already caught the attention of cancer doctors who are carrying forward his research.

With all the fluff and flat-out crapola that passes for news and information these days, we want to take a moment out of "bitterness" and orange juice and elitism and salute a man who shows what really matters.

Like the farmer who plants walnut trees that will be harvested long after his own passing, John Kanzius is planting a seed of progress. His selfless gift gives hope and inspiration. He lives the example of the best of using one's intellect and imagination. And we wish him long years of good health.

In times when science is kicked around like a football, subject to scorn and derision from the Luddites who want to take progress back to—well, I would say the Stone Age, but we're learning more and more that centuries ago men were performing scientific tasks that became lost in antiquity and had to be totally reinvented. [Check out the History Channel for excellent examples.]

Imagine how far we could have come if so-called civilization had focused on bettering the whole rather than dividing and conquering and mocking and warmongering the planet. Could be, that's the real Revelation.

Salute and thank you to CBS... at least you're gettin' one thing right.

Im-plausible Deniability?

The dogwhistle's gettin' pretty shrill in Ohio, it seems. Tonight on 60 Minutes, Steve Kroft asked Hillary Clinton whether she thought Barack Obama was a Muslim [which he is not. You can read about it and see the video at CBS News.] My ears perked up at this question, and good golly Miss Molly Ivins, if the ears of Marley and Nova, our resident spaniels, didn't perk up too:

Schoenholtz told Kroft he is leaning towards Obama, but that there were a couple of issues he was “not too clear” on.

Asked what they were, Schoenholtz said, “Well, I'm hearin' he doesn't even know the National Anthem, you know. He wouldn't use the Holy Bible. He's got his own beliefs, got the Muslim beliefs. Couple issues that bothers me at heart.”

“You know that's not true,” Kroft remarked.

“No. I’m just…this is what I've been told,” he replied.

Now, to be clear, Kroft did tell him "you know that's not true." And Kroft did ask Obama about this smear tactic.

Kroft also asked Hillary Clinton about it. And got this for an answer:

“Of course not. I mean, that, you know, there is no basis for that. I take him on the basis of what he says. And, you know, there isn't any reason to doubt that,” she replied.

“You said you'd take Senator Obama at his word that he's not…a Muslim. You don't believe that he's…,” Kroft said.

“No. No, there is nothing to base that on. As far as I know,” she said. [emphases mine.]

Watch the video here

Tone matters, just as words matter. And Senator Clinton does a very artful job of stating a positive and then pulling back, planting seeds of doubt. And judge for yourself whether there's a bit of the ol' artful dodger in those "catch me if you can" eyes as she speaks.

We'll see how this all plays out in Ohio and the other primary states on Tuesday, but one wonders if the candidate who proposes a timeout from trade is also taking a timeout from ethical campaigning.

The Big Dog may have been leashed and put back in the kennel, but the dog whistles sure seem to be blowin' in Ohio.

Prairie Postcard: To Your Health

Something important happened Sunday night on 60 Minutes. We saw the two Democratic Senators contending for President offer more substance on the nation's health care than the President and Congress seem to have done for the past seven years.

Obama: get your daily exercise (he does basketball).

Clinton: quit the sodas and drink lots of water. Wash your hands...or use sanitizers like Purell. Eat hot peppers.

Thanks, Senators. Lesson taken: your good health starts with you.

Remember the blueberries and cinnamon on your oatmeal this morning, folks...and have a good health day.

UPDATE: As the folks over at Crooks & Liars remind us, today is Chee-knee shot a guy in the face and got away with it day—the second anniversary of the day Vice President Dick [his first name is "Dick"—that figures...my daughter's best line ever, long before BushCo] Cheney shot 78-year-old Harry Whittington in the face while "hunting" on a "hunting" ranch in Texas with no women named Lynn. Protect your health...never "hunt" with Dick.

An Other George

Monday night, I didn’t watch the State of the Union, either. And the media gave it pretty short shrift after. Segue right into the Florida primary, gang. Let’s see, what did I learn? Chris Shays loves him some Bush-cheek. The hyper-partisan Republican minority stayed true to their school. While everybody else just wanted George W. Bush’s last S.O.T.U. to be O.V.E.R. ... I'm betting Dubya did, too.

And then there’s another George. If you didn’t see the 60 Minutes feature interview with FBI field agent George Piro, check it out now. Piro’s months-long interrogation and gaining the trust of Saddam Hussein is, according to an FBI spokesman, the agency at its finest. And not a waterboard in sight.

I’d say it’s “George” at its finest, too. For seven long years, “George” has been in disrepute. A fork-tongued spokesman for the evils of gummit, callously orchestrating his ideologue minions to infiltrate and tear down the very agencies tasked to keep us safe. From agencies like the FBI and the CIA where Valerie Plame worked until exposed, to FEMA-botching post-Katrina thanks to Bush’s heckuva job, George Bush’s War on the Government-Which-is-US has steamrolled along for seven years now, virtually unchecked.

And at what cost?

The exposure and loss of the skills of workers like Valerie Plame. Even appointed DOJ lawyers who were headed out until the full measure of that scandal could no longer be hidden. The outflight of flight controllers. The lower and lower standards for military recruitment. The calculus of devastation to every segment of this government in furtherance of incompetent ideologues is daunting.

In a word, the State of the Union sucks.

But it will get better. Because there are candidates on the horizon who will lead us on a better course.

And because there are people like George Piro and the Wilsons and Sibel Edmonds, whose story is not yet told. And they work for us, each and every day, without expectation of reward or stock options or aggrandizement or insider cocktail parties.

But because they love this country.

And because we, the people love this country, we will pick up the pieces next January and put America back together again.

But first, come November, we will vote.