“Punting the Pundits” is an Open Thread. It is a selection of editorials and opinions from around the news medium and the internet blogs. The intent is to provide a forum for your reactions and opinions, not just to the opinions presented, but to what ever you find important.

Glenn Greenwald: The Obama administration’s war on privacy

In early August, two dictatorial (and U.S.-allied) Gulf states — Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates — announced a ban on the use of Blackberries because, as the BBC put it, “(b)oth nations are unhappy that they are unable to monitor such communications via the handsets.”  Those two governments demand the power to intercept and monitor every single form of communication.  No human interaction may take place beyond their prying ears.  Since Blackberry communication data are sent directly to servers in Canada and the company which operates Blackberry — Research in Motion — refused to turn the data over to those governments, “authorities [] decided to ban Blackberry services rather than continue to allow an uncontrolled and unmonitored flow of electronic information within their borders.”  That’s the core mindset of the Omnipotent Surveillance State:  above all else, what is strictly prohibited is the ability of citizens to communicate in private; we can’t have any “uncontrolled and unmonitored flow of electronic information.” . . . .

Anyone who thinks that is hyperbole should simply read two articles today describing efforts of the Obama administration to obliterate remaining vestiges of privacy.  The first is this New York Times article by Charlie Savage, which describes how the Obama administration will propose new legislation to mandate that the U.S. Government have access to all forms of communications, “including encrypted e-mail transmitters like BlackBerry, social networking Web sites like Facebook and software that allows direct ‘peer to peer’ messaging like Skype.”  In other words, the U.S. Government is taking exactly the position of the UAE and the Saudis:  no communications are permitted to be beyond the surveillance reach of U.S. authorities.

The new law would not expand the Government’s legal authority to eavesdrop — that’s unnecessary, since post-9/11 legislation has dramatically expanded those authorities — but would require all communications, including ones over the Internet, to be built so as to enable the U.S. Government to intercept and monitor them at any time when the law permits.  In other words, Internet services could legally exist only insofar as there would be no such thing as truly private communications; all must contain a “back door” to enable government officials to eavesdrop. . . . .

In other words, the Obama administration is demanding exactly that which the UAE demanded:  full, unfettered access to all communications.

(my emphasis)

Dean Baker: Are the Politicians Stealing Your Social Security?

That’s the question that people should be asking their current or would be representatives in Congress. With the huge baby boom cohort at the edge of retirement, there are few issues that will matter more directly to the people who will vote in the November elections. . . .

he threat to cut Social Security should be taken seriously right now since two of the would be cutters are former Sen. Alan Simpson and Erskine Bowles, the co-chairs of President Obama’s deficit commission. Key figures in the Congressional leadership of both parties have also indicated an interest in cutting Social Security.

This is especially outrageous, since the fact that the baby boom cohort is ill prepared for retirement is a direct result of economic mismanagement by both the Clinton and Bush administrations. The economic leadership of the last two decades set the economy on a course of bubble-driven growth that was bound to end in a disaster like the one we are currently experiencing. Now, these very same people (all of whom still have their jobs) are targeting the one asset the baby boomers have left: the Social Security benefits that they paid for throughout their working career.

Turkana: Maureen Dowd needs a mirror

Maureen Dowd had a very good column on Sunday, but her congenital solipsism and narcissism likely prevent her from being able to recognize the degree to which she helped create that which she now condemns. Dowd is smart and savvy and an entertaining writer, but she’s also the paragon of everything that is wrong with what passes for political analysis in the traditional media. But she did write a good column, on Sunday, and given her elevated perch at the New York Times, that’s a good thing. Discussing the anti-intellectual movement that now defines the Republican Party, Dowd wrote:

Bill Maher continued his video torment of (Christine) O’Donnell by releasing another old clip of her on his HBO show on Friday night, this time showing one in which she argued that “Evolution is a myth.”

   Maher shot back, “Have you ever looked at a monkey?” To which O’Donnell rebutted, “Why aren’t monkeys still evolving into humans?”

And Dowd quoted from a recent conversation she had with Maher.

“I find it so much more damaging than the witch stuff because she could be in a position to make decisions about scientific issues, like global warming and stem cells, and she thinks primate evolution can happen in a week and mice have human brains.”

And Dowd referred to Sarah Palin’s climate denialism and Sharron Angle’s autism denialism and Joe Miller’s bizarre brand of Constitutional originalism, and correctly assessed the real goal of Palin, Newt Gingrich, John Boehner and Jim DeMint, which isn’t a return to an idealized 1950s but to the 1750s, before the advent of modern science and modern republics and modern democracy. Which, one might add, accords perfectly with those that seem to want to become the effective future monarchy.

So, good for Dowd. Yes. The Republicans are not funny, they are unfettered from reality. And given that they are not the cartoon characters they seem, but a political party that could in the near future gain some semblance of governing power, that makes them dangerous. But Dowd’s long-apparent incapacity for self-reflection necessitates an explication of her own role in propagating a national political dialogue that too often lacks any dialogue about actual politics. The modern Republican Party would not be what it is if not for the enabling of people like Maureen Dowd.

Seth Schoen: Government Seeks Back Door Into All Our Communications

For a decade, the government backed off of attempts to force encryption developers to weaken their products and include back doors, and the crypto wars seemed to have been won. (Indeed, journalist Steven Levy declared victory  for the civil libertarian side in 2001.) In the past ten years, even as the U.S. government has sought (or simply taken) vastly expanded surveillance powers, it never attempted to ban the development and use of secure encryption.

Now the government is again proposing to do so, following in the footsteps of regimes like the United Arab Emirates that have recently said some privacy tools are too secure and must be kept out of civilian hands.

As the Internet security community explained years ago, intentionally weakening security and including back doors is a recipe for disaster. “Lawful intercept” systems built under current laws have already been abused for unlawful spying by governments and criminals. Trying to force technology developers to include back doors is a recipe for disaster for our already-fragile on-line security and privacy. And like the COICA Internet censorship bill, it takes a page from the world’s most repressive regimes’ Internet-control playbook. This is exactly the wrong message for the U.S. government to be sending to the rest of the world.

The crypto wars are back in full force, and it’s time for everyone who cares about privacy to stand up and defend it: no back doors and no bans on the tools that protect our communications.

Politerati: Biden’s instruction to base to “stop whining” backfires instantly

Vice President Biden, seeking to buck up Democratic troops in advance of the midterm elections, instead appears to have stuck a finger in the eye of those working to help the Democrats build levees against the incoming Republican wave.

Speaking before about 200 Democratic activists and donors at a private fundraiser for Rep. Paul Hodes at Stoneyfield Farm in Manchester, N.H., Monday afternoon, Biden urged Democrats to “stop whining.”

Democrats need to “remind our base constituency to stop whining and get out there and look at the alternatives,” he said. “This president has done an incredible job. He’s kept his promises.”

“Don’t compare me to the Almighty. Compare me to the alternative,” Biden quoted former Boston mayor Kevin White as having said.

That went over about as well as previous rounds of what one progressive blogger has called “hippie punching.”

“The ‘professional left’ is busting our butt to mobilize progressive voters in 2010, picking up the ball that this White House dropped when they refused to fight for the overwhelmingly popular public option, refused to break up the big banks, and demobilized Obama voters who expected this president to at least fight for big change,” Progressive Change Campaign Committee cofounder Adam Green said in statement. “When Vice President Biden tells Joe Lieberman to ‘stop whining’ about the public option, and tells Ben Nelson to ‘stop whining’ about voting on a middle-class tax cut that benefits 98 percent of Americans, he’ll have some credibility on the whining front.”

The PCCC backed congressional candidate Ann McLane Kuster in her New Hampshire primary contest; she is running for the seat Hodes is vacating to run for the U.S. Senate, and she spoke at the Stoneyfield Farm fundraiser, which also benefited Rep. Carol Shea-Porter’s bid for reelection and the New Hampshire Democratic Party Coordinated Campaign Committee.

“You’re welcome, Joe Biden, for helping to get the more electable Democrat who actually excites voters to be the Democratic nominee – instead of a lame corporate stooge. How’s Blanche Lincoln working out?” Green said.

Bob Woodward: Military thwarted president seeking choice in Afghanistan

President Obama was on edge.

For two exhausting months, he had been asking military advisers to give him a range of options for the war in Afghanistan. Instead, he felt that they were steering him toward one outcome and thwarting his search for an exit plan. He would later tell his White House aides that military leaders were “really cooking this thing in the direction they wanted.”

He was looking for choices that would limit U.S. involvement and provide a way out. His top three military advisers were unrelenting advocates for 40,000 more troops and an expanded mission that seemed to have no clear end. When his national security team gathered in the White House Situation Room on Veterans Day, Nov. 11, 2009, for its eighth strategy review session, the president erupted.

“So what’s my option? You have given me one option,” Obama said, directly challenging the military leadership at the table, including Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates, Joint Chiefs Chairman Adm. Mike Mullen and Army Gen. David H. Petraeus, then head of U.S. Central Command.

“We were going to meet here today to talk about three options,” Obama said sternly. “You agreed to go back and work those up.”

Mullen protested. “I think what we’ve tried to do here is present a range of options.”

Obama begged to differ. Two weren’t even close to feasible, they all had acknowledged; the other two were variations on the 40,000.

Silence descended on the room. Finally, Mullen said, “Well, yes, sir.”

Mullen later explained, “I didn’t see any other path.”

This stark divide between the nation’s civilian and military leaders dominated Obama’s Afghanistan strategy review, creating a rift that persists to this day. So profound was the level of distrust that Obama ended up designing his own strategy, a lawyerly compromise among the feuding factions. As the president neared his final decision on how many troops to send, he dictated an unusual six-page document that one aide called a “terms sheet,” as though the president were negotiating a business deal.

And why it doesn’t matter.

You cursed brat! Look what you’ve done! I’m melting! melting! Oh, what a world! What a world! Who would have thought a good little girl like you could destroy my beautiful wickedness? Oooooh, look out! I’m going! Oooooh! Ooooooh!

The flying monkeys Villagers are all atwitter (and when aren’t they now days?  140 characters seems more than sufficient to capture their “wisdom”) about the upcoming unceremonious kicking out on his ass departure Mayoral campaign of Rahm Emanuel.  Jane Hamsher’s take at Firedog Lake is here.

So, Orzag, Summers, and now Emanuel.  Who’s next?

How about Axelrod?

It’s really hard to read this piece by Noam Scheiber at The New Republic any other way.  It reminds me of the hagiographies of Rahm we were seeing a month or two ago.

Should we celebrate like Munchkins?

While I do love me some heads on pikes and I think each one richly deserved (Scheiber’s obsequious beat sweetening butt kissing not withstanding), I think I’ll hold off for the moment and not just because Doughnut Holes are just as fattening as Doughnuts however much Homer pretends otherwise.

There is absolutely no indication this White House intends to stop hippie punching or change course (h/t Corrente).

We have a saying in the Corleones- a fish rots from the head down.

This is the man that Obama needs to put on speed dial.

Global Economy Will Suffer More Financial Crises in Next 10 Years: Roubini

The global economy will suffer a “couple of financial crises over the next 10 years” as financial reforms are not going in the right direction and not enough is being done, warned Nouriel Roubini, chairman at Roubini Global Economics.

“Nothing has changed fundamentally. When the regulatory reform was passed by the U.S. Congress, my view is too little, too late,” Roubini told CNBC Monday on the sidelines of the World Capital Markets Symposium in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Roubini said even if the world economy doesn’t slip into a double-dip, the effects will still be felt.

“We are already in a situation which is going to feel like a recession, (even) if we are not in one,” he said.

“And if the economic data surprise on the down side, we are going to have a correction of the stock markets, widening of credit spreads, increased volatility, increase risk aversion, then it leads to a shock for the real economy.”

This is your morning Open Thread. Pour your favorite beverage and review the past and comment on the future.

September 28 is the 271st day of the year (272nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 94 days remaining until the end of the year.

On this day in 1928, the antibiotic Penicillin was discovered. It’s discovery is attributed to Scottish scientist and Nobel laureate Alexander Fleming in 1928. He showed that, if Penicillium notatum  was grown in the appropriate substrate, it would exude a substance with antibiotic properties, which he dubbed penicillin. This serendipitous  observation began the modern era of antibiotic discovery. The development of penicillin for use as a medicine is attributed to the Australian Nobel laureate Howard Walter Florey together with the German Nobel laureate Ernst Chain and the English biochemist Norman Heatley.

However, several others reported the bacteriostatic effects of Penicillium earlier than Fleming. The use of bread with a blue mould (presumably penicillium) as a means of treating suppurating wounds was a staple of folk medicine in Europe since the Middle Ages. The first published reference appears in the publication of the Royal Society in 1875, by John Tyndall. Ernest Duchesne documented it in an 1897 paper, which was not accepted by the Institut Pasteur because of his youth. In March 2000, doctors at the San Juan de Dios Hospital in San José, Costa Rica published the manuscripts of the Costa Rican scientist and medical doctor Clodomiro (Clorito) Picado Twight (1887-1944). They reported Picado’s observations on the inhibitory actions of fungi of the genus Penicillium between 1915 and 1927. Picado reported his discovery to the Paris Academy of Sciences, yet did not patent it, even though his investigations started years before Fleming’s. Joseph Lister was experimenting with penicillum in 1871 for his Aseptic surgery. He found that it weakened the microbes but then he dismissed the fungi.

Fleming recounted that the date of his discovery of penicillin was on the morning of Friday, September 28, 1928. It was a fortuitous accident: in his laboratory in the basement of St. Mary’s Hospital in London (now part of Imperial College), Fleming noticed a petri dish containing Staphylococcus plate culture he had mistakenly left open, which was contaminated by blue-green mould, which had formed a visible growth. There was a halo of inhibited bacterial growth around the mould. Fleming concluded that the mould was releasing a substance that was repressing the growth and lysing the bacteria. He grew a pure culture and discovered that it was a Penicillium mould, now known to be Penicillium notatum. Charles Thom, an American specialist working at the U.S. Department of Agriculture, was the acknowledged expert, and Fleming referred the matter to him. Fleming coined the term “penicillin” to describe the filtrate of a broth culture of the Penicillium mould. Even in these early stages, penicillin was found to be most effective against Gram-positive bacteria, and ineffective against Gram-negative organisms and fungi. He expressed initial optimism that penicillin would be a useful disinfectant, being highly potent with minimal toxicity compared to antiseptics of the day, and noted its laboratory value in the isolation of “Bacillus influenzae” (now Haemophilus influenzae). After further experiments, Fleming was convinced that penicillin could not last long enough in the human body to kill pathogenic bacteria, and stopped studying it after 1931. He restarted clinical trials in 1934, and continued to try to get someone to purify it until 1940.

 48 BC – Pompey the Great is assassinated on the orders of King Ptolemy of Egypt after landing in Egypt.

351 – Battle of Mursa Major: the Roman Emperor Constantius II defeats the usurper Magnentius.

365 – Roman usurper Procopius bribes two legions passing by Constantinople, and proclaims himself Roman emperor.

935 – Saint Wenceslas is murdered by his brother, Boleslaus I of Bohemia.

1066 – William the Conqueror invades England: the Norman Conquest begins.

1106 – The Battle of Tinchebrai – Henry I of England defeats his brother, Robert Curthose.

1238 – Muslim Valencia surrenders to the besieging King James I of Aragon the Conqueror.

1322 – Louis IV, Holy Roman Emperor defeats Frederick I of Austria in the Battle of Muhldorf.

1448 – Christian I is crowned king of Denmark.

1542 – Navigator Joao Rodrigues Cabrilho of Portugal arrives at what is now San Diego, California, United States.

1708 – Peter the Great defeats the Swedes at the Battle of Lesnaya.

1779 – American Revolution: Samuel Huntington is elected President of the Continental Congress, succeeding John Jay.

1781 – American forces backed by a French fleet begin the siege of Yorktown, Virginia, during the American Revolutionary War.

1787 – The newly completed United States Constitution is voted on by the U.S. Congress to be sent to the state legislatures for approval.

1791 – France becomes the first European country to emancipate its Jewish population.

1844 – Oscar I of Sweden-Norway is crowned king of Sweden.

1864 – The International Workingmen’s Association is founded in London.

1867 – Toronto becomes the capital of Ontario.

1867 – The United States takes control of Midway Island.

1868 – Battle of Alcolea causes Queen Isabella II of Spain to flee to France.

1889 – The first General Conference on Weights and Measures (CGPM) defines the length of a meter as the distance between two lines on a standard bar of an alloy of platinum with ten percent iridium, measured at the melting point of ice.

1928 – The U.K. Parliament passes the Dangerous Drugs Act outlawing cannabis.

1928 – Sir Alexander Fleming notices a bacteria-killing mould growing in his laboratory, discovering what later became known as penicillin.

1939 – Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union agree on a division of Poland after their invasion during World War II.

1939 – Warsaw surrenders to Nazi Germany during World War II.

1944 – Soviet Army troops liberate Klooga concentration camp in Klooga, Estonia.

1950 – Indonesia joins the United Nations.

1958 – France ratifies a new Constitution of France; the French Fifth Republic is then formed upon the formal adoption of the new constitution on October 4. Guinea rejects the new constitution, voting for independence instead.

1960 – Mali and Senegal join the United Nations.

1961 – A military coup in Damascus effectively ends the United Arab Republic, the union between Egypt and Syria.

1971 – The Parliament of the United Kingdom passes the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 banning the medicinal use of cannabis.

1973 – The ITT Building in New York City is bombed in protest at ITT’s alleged involvement in the September 11 1973 coup d’etat in Chile.

1975 – The Spaghetti House siege, in which nine people are taken hostage, takes place in London.

1987 – The beginning of the Palestinian civil disobedience uprising, “The First Intifada” against the Israeli occupation.

1994 – The car ferry MS Estonia sinks in Baltic Sea, killing 852 people.

1995 – Bob Denard and a group of mercenaries take the islands of Comoros in a coup.

2000 – Al-Aqsa Intifada: Ariel Sharon visits the Temple Mount in Jerusalem.

2008 – SpaceX launches the first ever private spacecraft, the Falcon 1 into orbit.

   

C.I.A. Steps Up Drone Attacks in Pakistan to Thwart Taliban

 

By MARK MAZZETTI and ERIC SCHMITT

Published: September 27, 2010

WASHINGTON – The C.I.A. has drastically increased its bombing campaign in the mountains of Pakistan in recent weeks, American officials said. The strikes are part of an effort by military and intelligence operatives to try to cripple the Taliban in a stronghold being used to plan attacks against American troops in Afghanistan.

As part of its covert war in the region, the C.I.A. has launched 20 attacks with armed drone aircraft thus far in September, the most ever during a single month, and more than twice the number in a typical month. This expanded air campaign comes as top officials are racing to stem the rise of American casualties before the Obama administration’s comprehensive review of its Afghanistan strategy set for December.

Aliens have landed … in the headlines

Cosmic Log  

Alan Boyle writes  

Did UFOs interfere with nuclear missile systems in the 1960s? Has the U.N. appointed an ambassador to the aliens? Due to a grand convergence, such questions have been generating fresh waves of headlines over the past few days – and that provides a ripe opportunity for a reality check.

The nuke-test angle was today’s highlight, due to a much publicized news conference at the National Press Club in Washington. Eyewitness accounts about funny business at and around military bases have been circulating for years, and in fact are among the main themes of Leslie Kean’s recently published book “UFOs: Generals, Pilots and Government Officials Go On the Record.”

Several retired military men discussed their recollections of an incident that took place at Malmstrom Air Force Base in Montana in March 1967, relating to reported missile system malfunctions at two locations known as Echo Flight and Oscar Flight.

USA

New ‘Super Pacs’ bringing millions into campaigns



By Dan Eggen and T.W. Farnam

Washington Post Staff Writers  

A new political weapon known as the “super PAC” has emerged in recent weeks, allowing independent groups to both raise and spend money at a pace that threatens to eclipse the efforts of political parties.

The committees spent $4 million in the last week alone and are registering at the rate of nearly one per day. They are quickly becoming the new model for election spending by interest groups, according to activists, campaign-finance lawyers and disclosure records.  

Immigration has grown more complicated



By Chris Hawley, USA TODAY

When Yudi went to the U.S. consulate in San Pedro Sula in Honduras to see whether she could get into the USA, the receptionist ticked off the documents she would need to apply for a visitor’s visa.

She would need to show whether she had a bank account and how much was in it, whether she owned real estate or a car and that she had a good-paying job for at least five years – all evidence that might indicate she was not trying to get into America to stay and work illegally. Her heart sank.

Europe

 Poet forced to pulp book after row with her family

 

By David McKittrick, Ireland Correspondent  Tuesday, 28 September 2010

A prominent Irish poet has lived up to descriptions of her work as provocative, anarchic and untameable by sparking family divisions with her latest collection.

More than 900 copies of the Galway poet Rita Ann Higgins’ book, entitled Hurting God, were pulped by her publisher following objections from her millionaire brother.

He took exception to references in the collection to him and the pair’s mother which he and other members of the family characterised as “offensive” and “untrue”.

Kosovo president resigns over breach of constitution  

Fatmir Sejdiu, the president of Kosovo, has announced his surprise resignation in a move that could hamper the start of Eu-brokered talks between Belgrade and Pristina.  

Telegraph  

Mr Sejdiu resigned following a court ruling that he breached the constitution by keeping a party post while in office.

In a decision published on Friday, Kosovo’s constitutional court said that Mr Sejdiu was in “serious breach” of the constitution by holding the posts of president of Kosovo and of the LDK.

A complaint against him had been filed by 32 members of parliament.

“I was convinced that keeping the function of the president of the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) without exercising it did not violate the constitution. The court had a different opinion and I respect the ruling,” he said

Middle East

Has the West declared cyber war on Iran?

Experts say the computer virus found in a nuclear plant is the work of a foreign power

By Rhodri Marsden  Tuesday, 28 September 2010

Computers can go wrong, and everyone is used to it. But that’s at home. We assume that the machines controlling the infrastructure that makes everything tick – power stations, chemical works, water purification plants – have rock-solid defences in place to deal with unexplained crashes or virus attacks by malicious strangers.

Now, though, a new kind of online sabotage has reached its zenith with a self-replicating “worm” that started on a single USB drive and has spread rapidly through industrial computer systems around the world.  

Hezbollah looks to Hariri for payback  



By Sami Moubayed

DAMASCUS – Tension are rising between Lebanon’s Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri and the Hezbollah-led opposition over reports that the Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL) is laying the grounds to indict some of the group’s for the 2005 murder of Lebanon’s ex-premier, Rafik al-Hariri, who was Saad’s father.

Hariri remains committed to the STL while Hezbollah is calling for its immediate abolition. It was Hariri, in his capacity as son of the slain prime minister, who called for the STL and only Hariri, in his capacity as the prime minister of Lebanon, can call for its cancelation

Asia

Taliban leaders met with Afghan government

News of approaches ahead of establishment of high peace council may signal that direct talks could happen soon  

Chris McGreal in Washington

The Guardian, Tuesday 28 September 2010  

Top echelons of the Taliban have approached the government in Kabul about peace talks, said General David Petraeus, the Nato commander in Afghanistan yesterday.

Petraeus told reporters that there have been no substantive negotiations so far, but news of the Taliban’s approaches ahead of the establishment of a high peace council this week could signal that direct talks are not far off.

Although there have been contacts at various levels between President Hamid Karzai’s government and the Taliban for several months, Petraeus’s comments are the first time they have been revealed to be at such a high level.

Kim’s son, 27, now a 4-star general  

 

September 28, 2010 – 5:41AM  

North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il has appointed his youngest son as a four-star general, the communist state’s official media said today in its first mention of the man widely seen as heir apparent.

The announcement comes hours before the scheduled opening of the biggest ruling party meeting for 30 years.

The conference is expected to anoint the son Kim Jong-Un as eventual successor to the ailing 68-year-old leader.

Africa

South Sudan to arm militias against Uganda rebels

 

TUESDAY, 28 SEPTEMBER 2010

THE governor of South Sudan’s Western Equatoria state, Joseph Bakasoro, has promised to provide community militia groups with weapons to fight the brutal Ugandan Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) rebel group.

Self-defence groups known as “Arrow Boys” – armed with basic weapons such as machetes – already guard the rural communities affected by the LRA fighters, since the mainstream armed forces are stretched too thin across the vast jungle region.

Now the southern parliament has allocated five million Sudanese pounds (two million dollars) to supply them with guns, communication systems and training, said Bakasoro in a chat with Agence France Presse (AFP) in Yambio, the state capital.

Angolan interior minister fired over ‘illegal extradition’

Angolan President Jose Eduardo dos Santos has fired his interior minister over accusations he ordered an illegal arrest and extradition, the president’s office said Monday.  

By Sapa-AFP  

Interior Minister Roberto Leal Monteiro will be removed from office for ordering the “irregular and illegal” extradition from Sao Tome and Principe of a Portuguese national wanted on fraud charges in Angola, said a statement from the president’s office published in state media.

“There is no extradition agreement between the two countries and there was no judicial authorisation from any relevant authority in Sao Tome and Principe,” the statement said.

Latin America

Mayor stoned to death in drug-plagued Mexican state  

 

September 28, 2010 – 9:26AM

A small-town mayor and an aide were found stoned to death in a drug-plagued western state, the fifth city leader to be slain in Mexico since mid-August.

Michoacan state Attorney General Jesus Montejano said the bodies of Tancitaro Mayor Gustavo Sanchez and city adviser Rafael Equihua were discovered in a pickup truck abandoned on a dirt road near the city of Uruapan.

Montejano’s spokesman, Jonathan Arredondo, said initially that the victims were hacked to death with a machete, but the attorney general said they were killed with stones.

Ignoring Asia A Blog

More broadcast premiers hardly worth watching (unless you’re a fan and then you don’t need my help).  Packers @ Bears.  Have I mentioned I’m only half troll?  You’ll need something to watch at 10 (and at 1).  I recommend King of the Hill, Aqua Teen Hunger Force, and Squidbillies.

• ABC Family– Liar Liar x 2 (again, again, again, again, again, again) (again)
• AMC– Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood (2002 is hardly a “classic”)
• Bravo– The Event (Series Premier repeat.  NBC is really whoring this one.)
• Oxygen– The Event (Series Premier repeat.  NBC is really whoring this one.)
• SciFi– The Event (Series Premier repeat.  NBC is really whoring this one.)
• Food– New Unwrapped, The Best Thing I Ever Ate, Triple D (premiers)
• FX– 27 Dresses
• History– Pawn Stars and American Pickers
• National Geographic– Ancient X-Files (2 premiers)
• Spike– No Country for Old Men
• TBS– Family Guy night
• Turner Classic– The Westerner, El Dorado
• Toon– New Regular Show, MAD, Total Drama World Tour
• Travel– Man v. Food marathon (thank goodness)
• TV Land– Tootsie

Later-

• AMC– Rubicon, Mad Men (this week’s)
• FX– The Grudge 2
• Turner Classic– The Violent Men
• TNT– Men of a Certain Age (Series Premier repeat)

Dave hosts Katherine Heigl, Daniel Dae Kim, and Runner Runner.  Jon has BillO, Stephen Ken Burns.  Alton does Tortillas x 2.

Boondocks– The Fried Chicken Flu.

Zap2it TV Listings, Yahoo TV Listings

Evening Edition is an Open Thread

1 North Korean leader names son as general: official media

by Simon Martin, AFP

1 hr 39 mins ago

Different from Luke Russert how?

2 Race to finish C.Games facilities as athletes move in

by Ben Sheppard, AFP

Mon Sep 27, 1:45 pm ET

3 US commission told 50 percent of oil spill remains in Gulf

by Alex Ogle, AFP

53 mins ago

4 George Clooney lends star power to Milan fashion

by Gina Doggett, AFP

2 hrs 52 mins ago

5 Asians muscling into social media world

by Philip Lim, AFP

Sun Sep 26, 6:48 pm ET

6 France, Germany split on automatic EU budget fines

by Laurent Thomet, AFP

2 hrs 22 mins ago

7 Japan demands China pull back boats from disputed islands

by Kyoko Hasegawa, AFP

Mon Sep 27, 12:22 pm ET

8 Greening the high-street: big brands and the eco-revolution

by Emma Charlton, AFP

Mon Sep 27, 12:03 pm ET

9 ‘Blood gold’ warning at precious metals conference

by Simon Sturdee, AFP

Mon Sep 27, 9:52 am ET

10 Cambodian clothes workers fight to stitch a living

by Michelle Fitzpatrick, AFP

Mon Sep 27, 8:56 am ET

11 Germany calls for stricter EU fiscal rules

by Laurent Thomet, AFP

Mon Sep 27, 8:16 am ET

12 North Korean leader’s son rises as likely successor

By Jack Kim and Jeremy Laurence, Reuters

18 mins ago

13 Southwest eyes AirTran to attack East Coast markets

By John Crawley and Kyle Peterson, Reuters

56 mins ago

14 Japan seeks damages as China trawler row lingers

By Kiyoshi Takenaka and Chris Buckley, Reuters

Mon Sep 27, 10:10 am ET

15 Obama presses for longer school years

By ERICA WERNER, Associated Press Writer

1 hr 23 mins ago

Forget the kids.  Let’s Air Traffic Controller the Teachers.

16 NKorea appears to give military rank to Kim son

By KELLY OLSEN, Associated Press Writer

17 mins ago

17 Report: US would make Internet wiretaps easier

By LOLITA C. BALDOR, Associated Press Writer

14 mins ago

18 Segway owner dies after falling off river cliff

By GREGORY KATZ, Associated Press Writer

1 hr 52 mins ago

19 Attorney says ‘sexting’ Wis. prosecutor to resign

By CARRIE ANTLFINGER, Associated Press Writer

46 mins ago

20 Comcast COO Burke takes top spot at NBC Universal

By EMILY FREDRIX, AP Business Writer

Mon Sep 27, 7:00 am ET

21 Citizens United finds niche after landmark case

By JIM KUHNHENN, Associated Press Writer

Mon Sep 27, 7:02 am ET

22 Ga. megachurch pastor’s flock standing by him

By ERRIN HAINES, Associated Press Writer

2 hrs 32 mins ago

23 Chile: trapped miners get Brad Pitt, censored news

By VIVIAN SEQUERA, Associated Press Writer

Mon Sep 27, 12:37 pm ET

24 PROMISES, PROMISES: Waiting for Abu Ghraib amends

By PETE YOST, Associated Press Writer

Mon Sep 27, 3:18 am ET

25 Japan, China test each other’s diplomatic resolve

By MALCOLM FOSTER, Associated Press Writer

Mon Sep 27, 8:12 am ET

26 Hearing begins in alleged plot to murder Afghans

By GENE JOHNSON, Associated Press Writer

39 mins ago

27 Are we raising a generation of nincompoops?

By BETH J. HARPAZ, Associated Press Writer

41 mins ago

28 Obama returning U. of Wis. to court young voters

By SCOTT BAUER, Associated Press Writer

49 mins ago

29 Congress asked for study of urological war wounds

By HOLLY RAMER, Associated Press Writer

1 hr 21 mins ago

30 Pa. State Police says bulletins caused headaches

By MARK SCOLFORO, Associated Press Writer

1 hr 29 mins ago

31 Some US executions held up by shortage of drug

By ANDREW WELSH-HUGGINS, AP Legal Affairs Writer

2 hrs 1 min ago

32 Iraq: US should help break government deadlock

By JOHN DANISZEWSKI and EDITH M. LEDERER, Associated Press Writers

2 hrs 44 mins ago

33 Oil gusher is dead, but not residents’ anguish

By JAY REEVES, Associated Press Writer

2 hrs 45 mins ago

(4 pm. – promoted by ek hornbeck)

Back in the beginning of August I wrote about “Four Little Words”, “electronic communication transactional records“, which the Obama administration wanted to add to the FBI’s ability to make it easier for the FBI to compel companies to turn over records of an individual’s Internet activity without a court order if agents deem the information relevant to a terrorism or intelligence investigation. The lawyers were claiming that this would not give them access to the content of the e-mail just access to the addresses to which an Internet user sends e-mail; the times and dates e-mail was sent and received; and possibly a user’s browser history. Sounds invasive? Well, it wasn’t good enough, either. Charles Savage reports in the New York Times that Federal law enforcement and national security officials want to make it easier to wiretap the Internet.

Essentially, officials want Congress to require all services that enable communications – including encrypted e-mail transmitters like BlackBerry, social networking Web sites like Facebook and software that allows direct “peer to peer” messaging like Skype  – to be technically capable of complying if served with a wiretap order. The mandate would include being able to intercept and unscramble encrypted messages.

The bill, which the Obama administration plans to submit to lawmakers next year, raises fresh questions about how to balance security needs with protecting privacy and fostering innovation. And because security services around the world face the same problem, it could set an example that is copied globally.

The bill would also require Financial Institutions to report all electronic money transfers into and out of the country, no matter how small. Currently banks must report international money transfers of $10,000 or greater.

But critics have called it part of a disturbing trend by government security agencies in the wake of the 2001 attacks to seek more access to personal data without adequately demonstrating its utility. Financial institutions say that they already feel burdened by anti-terrorism rules requiring them to provide data, and that they object to new ones.

“These new banking surveillance programs are testing the boundaries of privacy,” said Marc Rotenberg, executive director of the Electronic Privacy Information Center. “Many consumers both in the United States and outside are likely to object.”

“This regulation is outrageous,” said Peter Djinis, a lawyer who advises financial institutions on complying with financial rules and a former FinCEN executive assistant director for regulatory policy. “Consider me old-fashioned, but I believe you need to show some evidence of criminality before you are granted unfettered access to the private financial affairs of every individual and company that dares to conduct financial transactions overseas.”

Djinis said he does not think the department has made a case that it could analyze such volumes of data effectively or needs so much raw data. “It’s presumed that the information will be valuable in anti-terrorism activity,” he said. “We’re told, ‘Trust us. Once we get the data, we’ll determine what’s legal or not.’ ”

(emphasis mine)

Marcy Wheeler points out that it may be the banks that bail us out of this further unfettered invasion of the government into our lives.

Any communication you make, any financial transaction you make, the Obama Administration thinks nine years after 9/11 is the time to demand such access.

I suspect it’s only the corporations can save us from this power grab. Not only are corporations doing business in the US not going to want all their transactions accessible by the government (we’ve already stolen enough corporate secrets), but banks aren’t going to want to track transactions at that level.

Up Date: From the ACLU

Administration Seeks Easy Access To Americans’ Private Online Communications

September 27, 2010

Executive Branch Spying Powers Already Too Broad, Says ACLU

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT: (202) 675-2312 or [[email protected]] [email protected]

WASHINGTON – The Obama administration is seeking to expand the government’s ability to conduct invasive surveillance online, according to a report in The New York Times today. According to the report, the administration is expected to submit legislation to Congress early next year that would mandate that all online communications services use technologies that would make it easier for the government to collect private communications and decode encrypted messages that Americans send over texting platforms, BlackBerries, social networking sites and other “peer to peer” communications software.

The administration has argued that it is simply hoping to emulate the Communications Assistance to Law Enforcement Act (CALEA), which mandated that telephone companies rework their networks to be wiretap-ready. The administration’s proposal, however, differs from CALEA as it would require reconfiguring of the Internet to provide easier access to online communications. This is particularly problematic because many of the privacy protections that governed the government’s wiretapping powers when CALEA passed in 1994 no longer exist or have been significantly weakened.

For example, Congress has granted the executive branch virtually unchecked power to conduct dragnet collection of Americans’ international e-mails and telephone calls without a warrant or suspicion of any kind under the FISA Amendments Act of 2008 (FAA). The ACLU and the New York Civil Liberties Union filed a lawsuit in July 2008 challenging the unconstitutional law, and the case is currently on appeal before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. Today’s reported proposal would provide the apparatus for the government to implement its overbroad surveillance authority.

The following can be attributed to Christopher Calabrese, ACLU Legislative Counsel:

“Under the guise of a technical fix, the government looks to be taking one more step toward conducting easy dragnet collection of Americans’ most private communications. Mandating that all communications software be accessible to the government is a huge privacy invasion. With concern over cybersecurity at an all-time high, this proposal will create even more security risks by mandating that our communications have a ‘backdoor’ for government use and will make our online interactions even more vulnerable.

“Congress must reject the Obama administration’s proposal to make the Internet wiretap ready.”

For more information about the ACLU’s legal challenge to the FAA, go to: www.aclu.org/faa.

(emphasis mine)

Monday Business Edition

Republican Economics as Social Darwinism

by Robert Reich

Sunday, September 26, 2010

In the late 19th century it was called Social Darwinism. Only the fittest should survive, and any effort to save the less fit will undermine the moral fiber of society.

Republicans have wanted to destroy Social Security since it was invented… Remember George W. Bush’s proposal to privatize it? Had America agreed with him, millions of retirees would have been impoverished in 2008 when the stock market imploded.

Of course Republicans don’t talk openly about destroying Social Security, because it’s so popular. The new Republican “pledge” promises only to put it on a “fiscally responsible footing.” Translated: we’ll privatize it.

…

Republicans also hate unemployment insurance. They’ve voted against every extension because, they say, it coddles the unemployed and keeps them from taking available jobs.

That’s absurd. There are still 5 job seekers for every job opening, and unemployment insurance in most states pays only a small fraction of the full-time wage.

…

Finally, like Hoover and Mellon, Republicans want to cut the deficit and balance the budget at a time when a large portion of the workforce is idle.

This defies economic logic. When consumers aren’t spending, businesses aren’t investing and exports can’t possibly fill the gap, and when state governments are slashing their budgets, the federal government has to spend more. Otherwise, the Great Recession will turn into exactly what Hoover and Mellon ushered in – a seemingly endless Great Depression.

What are the results of Hoover/Mellon policies?

The Super Rich Get Richer, Everyone Else Gets Poorer, and the Democrats Punt

by Robert Reich

Friday, September 24, 2010

The super-rich got even wealthier this year, and yet most of them are paying even fewer taxes to support the eduction, job training, and job creation of the rest of us. According to Forbes magazine’s annual survey, just released, the combined net worth of the 400 richest Americans climbed 8% this year…

…

From another survey we learn that the 25 top hedge-fund managers got an average of $1 billion each, but paid an average of 17 percent in taxes (because so much of their income is considered capital gains, taxed at 15 percent thanks to the Bush tax cuts).

The rest of America got poorer, of course. The number in poverty rose to a post-war high. The median wage continues to deteriorate. And some 20 million Americans don’t have work.

Only twice before in American history has so much been held by so few, and the gap between them and the great majority been a chasm – the late 1920s, and the era of the robber barons in the 1880s.

Structure of Excuses

By PAUL KRUGMAN, The New York Times

Published: September 26, 2010

What can be done about mass unemployment? All the wise heads agree: there are no quick or easy answers. There is work to be done, but workers aren’t ready to do it – they’re in the wrong places, or they have the wrong skills. Our problems are “structural,” and will take many years to solve.

But don’t bother asking for evidence that justifies this bleak view. There isn’t any. On the contrary, all the facts suggest that high unemployment in America is the result of inadequate demand – full stop.  …

…

After all, what should we be seeing if statements like those of Mr. Kocherlakota or Mr. Clinton were true? The answer is, there should be significant labor shortages somewhere in America – major industries that are trying to expand but are having trouble hiring, major classes of workers who find their skills in great demand, major parts of the country with low unemployment even as the rest of the nation suffers.

None of these things exist. Job openings have plunged in every major sector, while the number of workers forced into part-time employment in almost all industries has soared. Unemployment has surged in every major occupational category. Only three states, with a combined population not much larger than that of Brooklyn, have unemployment rates below 5 percent.

Oh, and where are these firms that “can’t find appropriate workers”? … (T)he percentage citing problems with labor quality is now at an all-time low, reflecting the reality that these days even highly skilled workers are desperate for employment.

So all the evidence contradicts the claim that we’re mainly suffering from structural unemployment. Why, then, has this claim become so popular?

…

I’ve been looking at what self-proclaimed experts were saying about unemployment during the Great Depression; it was almost identical to what Very Serious People are saying now. Unemployment cannot be brought down rapidly, declared one 1935 analysis, because the work force is “unadaptable and untrained. It cannot respond to the opportunities which industry may offer.” A few years later, a large defense buildup finally provided a fiscal stimulus adequate to the economy’s needs – and suddenly industry was eager to employ those “unadaptable and untrained” workers.

But now, as then, powerful forces are ideologically opposed to the whole idea of government action on a sufficient scale to jump-start the economy. And that, fundamentally, is why claims that we face huge structural problems have been proliferating: they offer a reason to do nothing about the mass unemployment that is crippling our economy and our society.

So what you need to know is that there is no evidence whatsoever to back these claims. We aren’t suffering from a shortage of needed skills; we’re suffering from a lack of policy resolve. As I said, structural unemployment isn’t a real problem, it’s an excuse – a reason not to act on America’s problems at a time when action is desperately needed.

And for all their ‘Galtian’ Social Darwinist self reliance, what is the richest woman in the world doing?

Queen tried to use state poverty fund to heat Buckingham Palace

Ministers were asked if money earmarked for schools, hospitals and low-income families could be used to meet soaring fuel bills

By Robert Verkaik, The Independent

Friday, 24 September 2010

The Queen asked ministers for a poverty handout to help heat her palaces but was rebuffed because they feared it would be a public relations disaster, documents disclosed under the Freedom of Information Act reveal.

Royal aides were told that the £60m worth of energy-saving grants were aimed at families on low incomes and if the money was given to Buckingham Palace instead of housing associations or hospitals it could lead to “adverse publicity” for the Queen and the Government.

It seems our evil, greedy, immoral, hypocritical “betters” are all too willing to accept government handouts for “the right sort of people” and steal food out of the mouths of babies, the sick, and the elderly so they can line their pockets to impress others of their “class” with their conspicuous consumption and ‘flash cash’.

Business News below.

1 Russia, China fete completion of oil pipeline

by Anna Smolchenko, AFP

Mon Sep 27, 3:42 am ET

2 Anwar trial harms Malaysian investment: Branson

by M. Jegathesan, AFP

31 mins ago

3 Japan’s August export growth slowest this year

by Harumi Ozawa, AFP

2 hrs 41 mins ago

4 Spain braced for general strike, but impact may be limited

AFP

Sun Sep 26, 5:26 pm ET

5 Italian bank chief’s exit sparks concern

by Mathieu Gorse, AFP

Sun Sep 26, 3:43 am ET

6 Afghan govt reopens tender for giant iron ore mine

by Waheedullah Massoud, AFP

Sat Sep 25, 2:29 pm ET

7 Outgoing HSBC boss says ‘time for the next generation’

by Sam Reeves, AFP

Fri Sep 24, 10:32 pm ET

8 Corporate showdown looms at China’s GOME

by Peter Brieger, AFP

Sun Sep 26, 3:51 am ET

9 New Basel rules bring banks ‘back to basics’

by Hui Min Neo, AFP

Sun Sep 26, 3:40 am ET

10 Women entrepreneurs in China get a helping hand

by Allison Jackson, AFP

Sun Sep 26, 2:01 am ET

11 US Congress moves to punish China on currency

by Shaun Tandon, AFP

Fri Sep 24, 9:48 pm ET

12 Petrobras capitalization ‘biggest in history’: Lula

by Marc Burleigh, AFP

Fri Sep 24, 8:03 pm ET

13 Zucker to step down at NBC Universal, Klein out at CNN US

by Chris Lefkow, AFP

Fri Sep 24, 2:59 pm ET

14 Wal-Mart offers $4 billion for South Africa’s Massmart

By Tiisetso Motsoeneng and Mark Potter, Reuters

1 hr 48 mins ago

15 Unilever aims for big hair day with Alberto buy

By David Jones, Reuters

1 hr 25 mins ago

16 Global stock underwriting down 9 percent so far this year

By Clare Baldwin, Reuters

Sun Sep 26, 10:55 pm ET

17 Traders manipulating cheap stocks: market maker

By Jonathan Spicer, Reuters

Sun Sep 26, 6:40 pm ET

18 Deflation, inflation and the U.S. Fed

By Emily Kaiser, Reuters

Sun Sep 26, 3:03 pm ET

19 Russia wants to supply all of China’s gas needs

By GILLIAN WONG, Associated Press Writer

1 hr 9 mins ago

20 Comcast COO Burke takes top spot at NBC Universal

By EMILY FREDRIX, AP Business Writer

1 hr 22 mins ago

21 Sandcastles OK on Fla. beach; digging for oil not

By MELISSA NELSON, Associated Press Writer

1 hr 26 mins ago

22 Experts question BP’s take on Gulf oil spill

By DINA CAPPIELLO, Associated Press Writer

Sun Sep 26, 3:43 pm ET

23 Computer attacks linked to wealthy group or nation

By LOLITA C. BALDOR, Associated Press Writer

Sun Sep 26, 9:17 pm ET

24 Shippers say China slows handling of Japan goods

By JOE McDONALD, AP Business Writer

50 mins ago

25 Pass the pie: Canned pumpkin shortage is over

By SARAH SKIDMORE, AP Food Industry Writer

3 mins ago

(2 pm. – promoted by ek hornbeck)

Note: from Progressive Blue and cross-posted at DailyKos.

In the quest to maintain a Democrat majority it seems easy to overlook the race for New York State Attorney General. Considering a powerful social and economic justice policy position where the jurisdiction includes Wall Street and the traditional influence this office has had over media and talk shows it’s not about majority but justice vs. injustice.

Now Eric Schneiderman who is committed to “protecting homeowners and consumers from bad actors on Wall Street” faces a Republican who has suggested that he would “de-emphasize the high-profile securities fraud cases that defined the tenures of Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo and Eliot Spitzer.” In a nation where the banking lobbyist induced false claim that “sound economics means hands off Wall St.” is too often heard, think back the early 1990’s when nobody seemed interested in the big money crimes and Eliot Spitzer did much to change the national focus.

But Senator Schneiderman represents so much more that that. Not just a politician but a public servant with the energy and willpower to fight for the people. Looking at what this man has to offer in this high profile office with the power to steer the national debate, it seems obvious that a NY loss would be a setback for all Americans.

Once you consider what Eric Schneiderman has to offer a general election in a blue state like New York would seem like a cake walk. Sadly that is far from the reality of New York politics.

Two weeks ago in the Democratic primary State Senator Eric Schneiderman’s progressive issues narrowly won over a Long Island law and order candidate in a race that pretty much came down to New York City vs. New York State. That Long Island law and order candidate, Kathleen Rice, who focused most of her mud slinging on Senator Schneiderman and had much more in common with the present Republican opponent almost won in a Democrats only primary.

Now with a great Democrat coming out of a tough primary facing someone who ran unopposed for the Republican nomination, the race for Attorney General is the closest of the five statewide races in New York. Last week a Quinnipiac University survey “showed Democratic state Senator Eric Schneiderman of Manhattan with 37 percent support and Republican Staten Island District Attorney Daniel M. Donovan Jr. with 36 percent.” Better numbers can be found in a poll by the Siena Research Institute but “this campaign really hasn’t started to heat up yet” and the Republican holding a 33-25 percent advantage among those needed independent voters is alarming.

In a general election with Republican and independent voters having a say, facing a New York City Republican with several other forces already at work against Mr. Schneiderman’s NYC stronghold the simple choice will be blurred by New York politics as usual and a poorly focused media.

“The question is whether you’re going to have an activist attorney general who goes after not just street criminals but also white-collar crime, who is a consumer and environmental advocate, or a more traditional law-and-order enforcement person,” said Kenneth Sherrill, a professor of political science at Hunter College.

Who is Eric Schneiderman and what does he stand for? In the present political atmosphere, this man has led the life of a progressive leader that almost seems like fiction. For the past twelve years he has stood high above the crowd of bickering New York politicians and accomplished a great deal in progressive politics.

In 1998 the voters of northwest Manhattan and the Riverdale section of the Bronx sent Eric Schneiderman to Albany to represent the people of the 31st district of the New York State Senate. Even during the darkest era he managed to push through progressive legislature and in 2008 when Democrats captured the majority of the State Senate for the first time in more than four decades Senator Schneiderman went into overdrive.

In those twelve years his popularity with voters in a very blue district has never faltered. The fact that he received 89.97% of the votes in the previous general election says much about his service. It is not just his charming personality or the fact that most voters realize we actually have a representative in Albany working hard for New Yorkers. He is my representative and besides his good work he has been the most responsive to voters of any elected official I’ve ever encountered. He will call a voter back and no issue is too petty for him. I don’t think Eric Schneiderman ever sleeps.

For a better example of how this election could be a “Carpe Diem Moment for Progressives” consider Eric Schneiderman’s possible upcoming role in “transformational politics.” Back in 2008, sounding more like a progressive blogger that a sitting State Senator, Eric Schneiderman wrote about “transformational politics” in Transforming the Liberal Checklist in The Nation. Those words from 2008 made it hard not to think about Democratic Party leadership that can’t ever seem to get past “transactional politics,” grasp the concept of a “meaningful movement” or even identify with the word “liberal.”

I respectfully suggest that if we want to move beyond short- term efforts to slow down the bone-crushing machinery of the contemporary conservative movement and begin to build a meaningful movement of our own, we need to expand the job descriptions of our elected officials. To do this, we must consider the two distinct aspects of our work: transactional politics and transformational politics.

Transactional politics is pretty straightforward. What’s the best deal I can get on a gun-control or immigration-reform bill during this year’s legislative session? What do I have to do to elect a good progressive ally in November? Transactional politics requires us to be pragmatic about current realities and the state of public opinion. It’s all about getting the best result possible given the circumstances here and now.

Transformational politics is the work we do today to ensure that the deal we can get on gun control or immigration reform in a year–or five years, or twenty years–will be better than the deal we can get today. Transformational politics requires us to challenge the way people think about issues, opening their minds to better possibilities. It requires us to root out the assumptions about politics or economics or human nature that prevent us from embracing policies that will make our lives better. Transformational politics has been a critical element of American political life since Lincoln was advocating his “oft expressed belief that a leader should endeavor to transform, yet heed, public opinion.”

But talk is cheap without actions and Mr. Schneiderman did not go to Albany to hear himself talk. He rose above the fray of dysfunctional New York State politics to bring about real reform and push through an enormous amount of progressive laws for the people of New York.

His efforts were critical in passing the Clinic Access Bill, Hate Crimes legislation, the Women’s Health and Wellness Act, legislation to increase the minimum wage, and a host of anti-illegal gun, environmental and civil rights laws. He has been recognized for his work on legislation protecting freedom of choice, fair funding for public schools, ethics reform, and the expansion of affordable health care for all New Yorkers. Eric has also been a leading advocate for rational and effective gun laws, and serves as national co-chair of Legislators Against Illegal Guns.

When the Democrats took control of the Senate in January 2009, Eric became Chair of the Senate Codes Committee, which considers legislation related to the state’s criminal and civil justice systems. And just months after taking back the Senate, Eric shepherded through sweeping reforms to the notoriously unfair Rockefeller Drug laws. These reforms included an unprecedented expansion of drug treatment as an alternative to prison, gave judges more discretion to divert non-violent drug-addicts to treatment, and increased penalties for drug kingpins.

When you consider the number of decades that Democrats attempted to reform a law that has destroyed the lives of so many New Yorkers, Eric Schneiderman’s actions in being the chief sponsor of the Rockefeller Drug Law reforms was very impressive. Now treatment is a solution, judges are actually allowed to judge individuals convicted of drug offenses and the bill was made retroactive, allowing convicted drug offender to apply for rehabilitation treatment or a possibly release.

Even more impressive is a bill Senator Schneiderman sponsored to finally put an end to the Republican gerrymandering of prison populations. New York seems to be the first state to pass an equal rights bill addressing an unfairness that progressives and minority communities have been working to put an end across the nation since and he got it done. Now the 2010 Census will not be as much of an incentive to keep shoving urban residents into upstate prisons since prison economy rural communities will no longer profit politically from the physical presence of New Yorkers with no political voice. Putting an end to this skewing of political district lines and balancing the political power between poor urban communities and these upstate counties is also a step toward “one person, one vote” in the state.

There is also “Ian’s Law” to compliment federal health reform. A law that protect New Yorkers from losing insurance when they get sick and are no longer profitable to the insurance companies. By New York political standards it seemed like fast tracking for the people since Eric Schneiderman introduced the law in November of 2009 and David Paterson signed it into law in August.

“The practice of terminating an insurance policy line as a pretext to dropping coverage for individuals who need it most is not only unconscionable – it’s a matter of life and death,” said New York state Sen. Eric Schneiderman in a statement. “Ian’s Law holds the insurance industry accountable and protects patients like Ian – and other families who have played by the rules – from being thrown off when they get sick. This is a major breakthrough for patients’ rights.”

And recently while fighting a tough battle in the Democratic primary Senator Schneiderman still found time to push through an historic Anti-Fraud Taxpayer Protection Measure that is described as “false claims act on steroids.” This legislation not only cracks down on corrupt contractors but also protects New York State whisteblowers in significant ways.

Eric Schneiderman’s list of legislative accomplishments is amazing but where Eric Schneiderman came from and how he got there offers another convincing assessment of the character of this progressive leader. He has been working very hard for the people in a seemingly hostile environment for years and since long before voters sent him to Albany to bring about reform.

Eric Schneiderman is a lifelong progressive Democrat who has spent his whole life fighting for justice;  equal justice regardless of race, religion, gender, disability, sexual orientation or identity; Independent justice without regard to political or special interests; and progressive justice that takes an activist approach to protecting everyday New Yorkers.

After graduating from Amherst College, Eric served for two years as a Deputy Sheriff where he started the first comprehensive drug and alcohol treatment program at the local jail. He attended Harvard Law School and then clerked for two years in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. Eric later entered private practice and became a partner at the firm of Kirkpatrick and Lockhart.

Rising up through the very liberal Upper West Side Democratic Clubs, he abandoned a lucrative career in private practice to work as a public-interest lawyer. Eric Schneiderman served the public by building qualifications for Attorney General like working on community based crime prevention programs. Far different from the usual lock them up and throw away the key mentality that is so common here. Public service that was way above what many Democrats campaign on and ranged from advocating for the public financing of elections to suing the Metropolitan Transportation Authority over subway fare increases. “While in private practice, Eric served as counsel to a long list of advocacy and public interest organizations.”

For over 10 years he was counsel to the West Side Crime Prevention Program, using innovative legal tools to evict drug dealers and clean up crack dens. As a founder of the Attorney General’s Anti-Crime Advocates program and a member of the board of the Lawyer’s Committee on Violence, Eric recruited and trained private attorneys to represent community groups striving to protect their neighborhoods from crime.

He served as a legal adviser to the Clean Money, Clean Elections campaign for public financing of elections in 1998, and acted as lead attorney for the NYPIRG Straphangers campaign in a series of historic lawsuits against the MTA.

Albany politics has worked very hard to deserve the very bad reputation with New York voters but because of “his sound judgment, legal expertise, political independence and long history of fighting for government reform,” the editorial staff of The New York Times offered a strong endorsement.

Given the sump of Albany politics, we still thought long and hard about whether any member of the Legislature could be entrusted with this job. Mr. Schneiderman has demonstrated beyond a doubt his commitment to cleaner and more transparent government.

Thanks to him, New York now has laws that will make it easier to prosecute fraud in government contracts and end the cynical practice of prison gerrymandering. Other efforts – promoting transparency in Albany and curbing the power of dirty money – have been blocked by political leaders eager to protect the sleazy status quo. His willingness to keep pushing is crucial.

This year, he again bucked his own party leadership, and demonstrated his legal skills, by crafting and pressing the case to expel Hiram Monserrate from the State Senate after the Queens politician was convicted of domestic abuse. It was the first expulsion of an Albany lawmaker in 90 years.

With a proud upstanding history like that of Eric Schneiderman, a few enemies were made along the way. The Senate Republican leadership gerrymandered his district in 2002 in order to get rid of him but failed. There are even more that a few status quo Democrats who would prefer to see his Republican opponent elected with that Republican’s promise of of taking the focus elsewhere rather than a Democrat who has advocated for public campaign financing, sponsored the first meaningful Albany ethics overhaul in decades and promises strict enforcement against government corruption.

In Eric Schneiderman’s favor is his promise force banks and health insurance to play by the rules and advocate for consumer protection. Neither banks nor insurance companies are very popular in New York and consumers are fed up. “Schneidermans plans to place a public integrity officer in each regional office of the attorney general to root out local wrongdoing.” Few if any New Yorkers are going to buy his opponent’s sudden interest in sunlight when Eric has always stood for transparency in government. He has been a civil rights and civil liberties leader running against a Republican who could care less. Eric has thirty-plus years of work on behalf of women under his belt and is facing an opponent who wants abortions only in the case of rape and incest and otherwise could not be bothered with woman’s rights. Eric is a candidate who stands strong for marriage equity and has promised to use the attorney general post to advocate for same sex marriage who is facing a Republican that has been an outspoken opponent now claiming that equal rights has no place in the attorney general’s office. Eric Schneiderman has a long history of close association with organized labor with union workers and just about every progressive or progressive organization working for his election. And of course Eric gets a very strong endorsement from Ian Pearl.

Eric stands on a strong environmental record and worked hard to place a moratorium on “hydrofracking” near the New York City water supply. If NYC residents who drink unfiltered water are made more aware of this issue it would be a plus but upstate residents who are drinking or fear drinking tainted water might get the message. He has been a good friend to New York Teachers but it is hard to tell if a United Federation of Teachers endorsement will help or hurt him with almost every politician and the media trying to convince New Yorkers that the only problem with education is union teachers.  

Of the forces stacked against Eric Schneiderman, the present state of media is a big hurdle. Not that there is any hostility toward him and anyone who follows the news closely has seen his accomplishments but people like “The Four Amigos” sell newspapers. Politicians responsible for the the enthusiasm gap receive plenty of follow up stories and convince New Yorkers that there is no hope in politics.    

Possibly damaging to the Eric Schneiderman campaign was Crazy Carl beating Rick Lazio in the Republican gubernatorial primary. Insanity sells newspapers and Carl Paladino offers a whole lot of that.

It is a shame because Eric Schneiderman really does a great job of discussing issues with reporters and stood out in the Democratic debates. If there is any truth to the rumor that New York progressives are deflated and might not make it to the polls in November, with Eric Schneiderman being the anti-enthusiasm gap candidate, the media is already too focused on Andrew Coumo vs. Carl Palidino.

Now with Donovan refusing to debate, Rick Lazio would have been the better choice since the media was already over Lazio’s one issue “cut taxes but don’t say from where” while making the governor’s race all about Cordoba House. With the “empty barrels makes the most noise” candidate, precious newspaper copy is being lost and Carl Paladino scaring the hell out of New York Democrats could also draw away some much needed campaign contributions away from Eric Schneiderman and to Andrew Cuomo.

Another fact that might be damaging to the Eric Schneiderman’s NYC stronghold is that his opponent is not an upstate Republican but also from New York City. Dan Donovan is from Staten Island but still a familiar name in city newspapers and television news. The Republican has received the endorsement of the Wall Street protecting mayor Michale Bloomberg, probably also to garner some favor with Albany Republicans as he seeks favor with Democrats for his Andrew Cuomo endorsement. The Republican has also received a strong endorsement from former mayor Ed Koch who sadly many New York City residents have not realized is as far from a Democrat as anyone can ever be.

Eric Schneiderman is a dream candidate for progressives but in a general election progressive issues will get lost as so much of the focus will be on street crime and the media misses the message of this good man. Voters are going to hear a bunch of petty non issues and whatever it takes for a Republican to knock his brains out. This race is far from won.

Back in August when Katrina vanden Heuvel from The Nation wrote an Eric Schneiderman endorsement and recalled his words on “transformational politics,” the progressive opportunity offered by that sort of thinking getting elevated to the office of Attorney General in New York was undeniable.

In these times when political expedience too often trumps conviction, we need Schneiderman’s “transformational politics.” He is someone who will not try to win by changing his positions or rhetoric to move toward the voters, or base his positions on the latest polls. He wins by moving the voters closer to him, and setting a course toward a better future and better possibilities for the citizens of New York and this nation.

While the positive actions of Eliot Spitzer once did much to influence the national debate, think about Eric Schneiderman’s far more progressive values, his focus on change receiving media coverage and forcing discussions on Sunday morning talk shows. Americans and the Democratic Party leadership desperately need progressive actions and talk of transformation other than the Tea Party chatter?

There are so many reasons to go to Eric Schneiderman’s website and contribute. If you would like to see not just a “Newer Better Democrat” but a candidate who is liberal and proud of it in a powerful office that traditionally receives a great deal of media coverage, has the ability to steer the debate in Washington and across the nation, Eric Schneiderman is your man. If you can’t afford a campaign contribution that sign up to “join the team” and see what he has to offer. You will find a Democratic candidate who will do this nation proud and you may find Eric Schneiderman to be worth writing about yourself. Considering what is at stake here, you might even find the time to do some phone banking for Eric Schneiderman.