The Liberal Coalition

Cross-posted from Bark Bark Woof Woof.

Well, we made it through January and the SOTU without too much loss of blood. But we at The Liberal Coalition are still on alert.

Natalie at All Facts and Opinions has a playlist of good music to listen to.

In honor of his new blog Carnival of Bad History, archy debunks some history himself.

Bark Bark Woof Woof on the Right's dissing of rights.

BlogAmy has her own blogaround.

bloggg has a response to the Democratic response.

Chris has had a rough week.

Collective Sigh on fearing the fear from the fearmonger.

RDF at Corrente on another address - the State of the Indian Nation.

NTodd has the roll of the senators with a conscience.

Echidne is on vacation, but she left some wonderful posts for us.

edwardpig on the shame of the junior senator from Florida.

First Draft has an interview with a soldier of conscience.

The Gamer's Nook has a new invention that's perfect for technically-minded paranoids.

Happy Furry rocks the 80's.

iddybud writes about the immorality of the Bush foreign policy.

Keith is a little under the weather.

Peter at Kick the Leftist on war games and toys.

Left Is Right on a not-so-new idea for our own elections.

Bryant picks over Michelle Malkin.

Michael is Musing (and spamming) over Secretary Spellings and her attack on cute bunnies.

Pen-Elayne on self-important journalists.

This week's Republican Sinner is J. Grant Swank. Who? Read and find out.

Ugarte at Rick's proves that some people will sell anything.

Rook's Rant lets it all out.

Upyernoz is off to Las Vegas. I assume by the post that he means the one in Nevada, not the one in New Mexico.

Scrutiny Hooligans finds a cool site.

SoonerThought on the real meaning of "pro-life."

Speedkill has fund with fundies.

Steve Gilliard on blazing paths.

T. Rex responds to the SOTU.

Trish Wilson is writing erotic supernatural fiction.

Wanda joins in on the Save the Buster Bunny brigade.

WTF Is It Now reports Citizens Project wants to have the IRS investigate James Dobson.

The Yellow Doggerel Democrat on Texas politics.

As Speedkill notes below, quite a few TLC bloggers are up for Koufax Awards. Go vote for your favorites.

posted by Mustang Bobby @ 7:51 AM |

The LCers in the semi-final Koufax nomination round:

Best Commenter:
NTodd

Best Post (part 1):
Corrente

Best Post (part two):
Respectful of Otters

Most Humorous Post:
Corrente (twice)

Best Series:
Bark Bark Woof Woof
Happy Furry Puppy Story Time with Norbizness
Pen-Elayne on the Web
Steve Gilliard

Most Deserving of Wider Recognition:
And Then
Archy
Bark Bark Woof Woof
Collective Sigh
Dohiyi Mir
Echidne of the Snakes
Happy Furry Puppy Story Time
Iddybud
Pen-Elayne on the Web
Respectful of Otters
Yellow Doggerel Democrat

Best New Blog:
Musing's musings
Scrutiny Hooligans

Best Writing:
Corrente
Respectful of Otters
Steve Gilliard

Best Single Issue Blog:
Echidne of the Snakes
Trish Wilson

Most Humorous Blog:
Happy Furry Puppy Story Time with Norbizness
WTF is it now!

Best Group Blog:
Corrente
Scrutiny Hooligans

Best Blog:
Corrente
Dohiyi Mir
Steve Gilliard

Vote!

[Edited to include links to BBWW and Musing's musings. I'd add Bryan of Why Now? except that after I posted the comment I remembered he's not formally a member of the Coalition, though I think a lot of us read his site and like his stuff. --Michael]

posted by Speedkill @ 10:48 PM |

I spent an hour watching Shrubbie on the tube. Who can blame me for being snarky?

---

Mr. Speaker, Vice President Cheney, Members of Congress, fellow citizens:

[Comrade, Co-conspirator, Minions, and Dupes]

As a new Congress gathers, all of us in the elected branches of government share a great privilege: We have been placed in office by the votes of the people we serve. [Guffaw.] And tonight that is a privilege we share with newly elected leaders of Afghanistan, the Palestinian territories, Ukraine, and a free and sovereign Iraq.

Two weeks ago, I stood on the steps of this Capitol and renewed the commitment of our nation to the guiding ideal of liberty for all. This evening I will set forth policies to advance that ideal at home and around the world.

Tonight, with a healthy, growing economy [for some], with more Americans going back to work [often at McJobs and at wages lower than required to maintain their standard of living -- or make ends meet], with our nation an active force for good in the world [so long as one defines "good" as what works for GwB], the state of our union is confident and strong [arrogant and divided]. Our generation has been blessed by the expansion of opportunity [for some], by advances in medicine [some of which we will fight like blazes so that you can't benefit from them], and by the security purchased by our parents' sacrifice [or beaten into people by US thugs inspired by Alberto Gonzales]. Now, as we see a little gray in the mirror or a lot of gray and we watch our children moving into adulthood, we ask the question: What will be the state of their union? [It won't be a civil one, if I have anything to say about it.]

Members of Congress, the choices we make together will answer that question. Over the next several months, on issue after issue, let us do what Americans have always done [or promised to do], and build a better world for our children and grandchildren [the peons' children and grandchildren can take care of themselves].

More of the Annotated SOTU at All Facts and Opinions

posted by nr davis @ 6:21 AM |

DC's Inside Scoop: Republicans Going Purple Tonight?

posted by maru @ 5:58 PM |

1. Sure, Gonzales approves of beating, chaining, sodomizing and raping prisoners, but he doesn't approve of torture.
2. His life story is a manifestation of the American dream including, apparently, his willingness to apply a veneer of legality to anything Bush, Rumsfeld and Cheney might want to do.
3. Did we mention he's Hispanic?  That totally negates the torture thing.

Refresh your memory about Abu Ghraib.  Recall that at least 60% of the detainees were innocent of any wrongdoing.  And remember that when Bush, Cheney and Rumsfeld came to Gonzales to find out what the legal restrictions are for interrogation of prisoners, Gonzales told them:

We further conclude that certain acts may be cruel, inhuman or degrading, but still not produce pain and suffering of the requisite intensity to fall within Section 2340A's proscription against torture.

(snip)

Physical pain amounting to torture must be equivalent in intensity to the pain accompanying serious physical injury, such as organ failure, impairment of bodily function, or even death.

The vote is coming in the next day or two.  Contact your senators, both of them, if you haven't already.  And then call their office.  Make it clear to Republicans that they are placing party loyalty over the moral values which they hold so dear.  Make it clear to Democrats that if they can't oppose Bush on an issue where right and wrong are as starkly defined as they are here, they might as well give up calling themselves an opposition party.

In fact, if one of your senators is a Democrat who voted against John Ashcroft's nomination, ask him or her why the man who let Abu Ghraib happen is better qualified to be AG than Ashcroft.  For your convenience, those Democrats are:

Akaka (HI)	Baucus (MT)	Bayh (IN)	Biden (DE)
Bingaman (NM)	Boxer (CA)	Cantwell (WA)	Carper (DE)
Clinton (NY)	Corzine (NJ)	Dayton (MN)	Durbin (IL)
Feinstein (CA)	Harkin (IA)	Inouye (HI)	Johnson (SD)
Kennedy (MA)	Kerry (MA)	Kohl (WI)	Landrieu (LA)
Leahy (VT)	Levin (MI)	Lieberman (CT)	Lincoln (AR)
Mikulski (MD)	Murray (WA)	Nelson (FL)	Reed (RI)
Reid (NV)	Rockefeller (WV)	Sarbanes (MD)	Schumer (NY)
Stabenow (MI)	Wyden (OR)

Update: A (sort-of) real time list of Dem senators and their declared voting intentions is available here.  Readers who are extra-motivated can contact Ken Salazaar (202 224-5852), the only Dem who has declared a definite intention to vote yes.

(Cross-posted from edwardpig)

posted by David Bailey @ 10:03 PM |

The Liberal Coalition opposes the nomination of Alberto Gonzales as Attorney General. As individual bloggers, many of us have written our own statements against the nomination; links to those posts are below. Promoting the man who authorized the use of torture to the nation's highest law enforcement position makes a mockery of that position and the notion that the U.S. is a nation of laws. His confirmation will signal that the United States can no longer be viewed as a champion for human rights and will diminish its ever-shrinking credibility on human rights issues.

Presidents are traditionally given a lot of leeway when it comes to their attorney general nominees. But extraordinary times call for extraordinary measures. If authorizing torture does not cross that line, nothing will. We urge the Senate to vote no on Gonzales.

Archy
Bark Bark Woof Woof
BlogAmy*
Dohiyi Mir
Echidne of the Snakes
EdwardPig
First Draft
Iddybud
Left is Right
Make Me a Commentator
Musing's musings**
Rook's Rant
rubber hose
Scrutiny Hooligans
Steve Gillard (link is to the original statement on Kos to which Steve is a signatory)
T-Rex's Guide to Life**
Words on a Page
Yellow Doggerel Democrat

This post has been submitted to the no to Gonzales site.

________________________________
* Added to the list on 1/31/05
** Added to the list on 2/1/05

posted by upyernoz @ 6:58 PM |

Yep, I finally did another blogaround. Have fun, y'all.

posted by Elayne @ 2:20 PM |