Can't decide what to be most mad about this week.

I'm not only referring to Obama's capitulation on Social Security, either. Socratic Gadfly has that topic well-managed. No, this...

We've covered how President Obama needs the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) to justify detention powers he has used for the past four years, but there's another reason he needs it: drones.

At the heart of both issues is the Authorization for the Use of Military Force (AUMF), which gives the president authority "to use all necessary and appropriate force against those ... [who] aided the terrorist attacks that occurred on September 11, 2001 or harbored such organizations or persons."

Just go read it. But this development is equally pathetic.

Congress stripped a provision Tuesday from a defense bill that aimed to shield Americans from the possibility of being imprisoned indefinitely without trial by the military. The provision was replaced with a passage that appears to give citizens little protection from indefinite detention.

The amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act of 2013 was added by Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), but there was no similar language in the version of the bill that passed the House, and it was dumped from the final bill released Tuesday after a conference committee from both chambers worked out a unified measure.

Maybe you got that email this morning from Feinstein asking for your help on the assault weapons ban? If you needed a coup de grace, here it is:

According to the new HuffPost/YouGov survey, only 25 percent of Americans said that torture of suspected terrorists who may know details about future attacks is never justified. Nineteen percent said it is always justified, 28 percent said it is sometimes justified, and 16 percent said it is rarely justified. The 41 percent of respondents who said torture is rarely or never justified are outnumbered by the 47 percent who said it is always or sometimes justified.

That "sometimes justified" number will go up after the public gets a few views of Zero Dark Thirty under its belt. Note how Feinstein gets mentioned again there.

So, to recap, my options for outrage are: a) Obama -- and Pelosi -- raising the eligibility age reducing benefits for Social Security; b) Obama signing off on NDAA so that he has legal justification for using drones on Americans; and c) Obama signing NDAA in order to have legal justification to indefinitely detain American citizens.

It would be simple to lament living in a state that already arms teachers at elementary schools, has a populace that chooses to fault Hollywood, video games, and/or the lack of prayer in public schools for shooting massacres -- instead of the obvious proliferation of assault weapons combined with the lowest expenditures in mental health treatment --, finds an easy rationalization for torture at the movies (Hollywood redeemed!), and has a state police force with no qualms about performing body cavity searches of women on the side of the road. But that would be a little too comfortable.

Maybe I'll just wait until the NRA holds its press conference tomorrow and see what fresh bullshit falls out of Wayne LaPierre's mouth. That might very well be the Conservative Douchbaggery of the Week.

Yeah, that's the ticket. I'll just watch Republicans play "Top THIS" for outrageous ignorance. You know that nobody is going to just let Louie Gohmert win for last Sunday.

Fuck the NRA

You might think that “spokesman for the National Rifle Association” is the toughest job in PR. You might be wrong. At least once a year, and several times in bad years, reporters reach out to the NRA’s Andrew Arulanandam and ask him whether the gun lobby has anything to say about the latest massacre. Arulanandam says basically the same thing, every time.

After the April 16, 2007, Virginia Tech shootings that killed 32 people: “The NRA joins the entire country in expressing our deepest condolences to the families of Virginia Tech University and everyone else affected by this horrible tragedy. Our thoughts and prayers are with the families.”

After the Feb. 14, 2008, shootings at Northern Illinois University that killed six: “We think it is poor form for a politician or a special interest group to try to push a legislative agenda on the back of any tragedy. Now is the time for the Northern Illinois University community to grieve and to heal. We believe there is adequate time down the road to debate policy and politics."

After the April 3, 2009, massacre at a Binghamton, N.Y., immigration center that killed 13: “Now is not the time to debate politics or discuss policy. It's time for the families and communities to grieve.”

After the Jan. 8, 2011, shooting spree that wounded Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and killed six: “At this time, anything other than prayers for the victims and their families would be inappropriate.”

After the July 20, 2012, massacre at an Aurora, Colo., theater that left 12 dead and 58 wounded: “We believe that now is the time for families to grieve and for the community to heal. There will be an appropriate time down the road to engage in political and policy discussions.”

The “appropriate time” never arrives. It’s an ingenious communications strategy, one that removes the NRA from stories about the latest national outrages. When the outrage fades, the NRA returns in full flush. Just a week before the Newtown, Conn., shootings, Arulanandam told a reporter that the NRA was “planning for the worst” and had “told people to plan for gun bans and a Supreme Court stacked with anti-gun judges.”

So the NRA says publicly "pray for the victims" ...and privately whispers to its members: "Obama's gon' come fer yer guns". What bravery.

Clue to the clueless: when even NRA members like Joe Manchin and Joe Scarborough say that it's time... it's time.

Sadly, the White House is still pussy-footing around.

When asked at Monday's press briefing about the gun lobby's influence on potential action, White House spokesman Jay Carney responded, without specifically mentioning that lobby, "I think we all recognize that this is a complex problem and there are obstacles to taking action coming from a variety of places. What the president hopes is that everyone steps back and looks at the situation that has to be addressed and thinks broadly and thoughtfully about how we can move forward."

Jay Carney, you will recall, parroted the NRA's "now is not the time" line in the immediate wake of the tragedy.  With fiscal incline talks at a delicate point, I doubt whether Obama is going to be using his bully pulpit half as effectively as James Dobson. Even after Gabby Giffords was nearly killed -- as several others were, including a member of her staff, a 9-year-old girl, and a federal judge -- the DOJ did not follow through on tightening up the loopholes associated with background checks because the 2012 election was coming.

The Giffords massacre happened in early 2011, almost two years before last month... and in the wake of the Tea Party shellacking in 2010. So there was no courage to be summoned for gun control no matter what.

That's despite the fact that much of the worst gun carnage in this country has occurred on Obama's watch. From this fascinating list of twelve, here's #4: of the 11 deadliest shootings in the US, five have happened since 2007. And that doesn’t include last Friday’s shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary. The death toll stands at 28, including the shooter and his mother, making it the second-deadliest mass shooting in US history.

And the NRA responds by taking its Facebook page down. Their response to Newtown -- just like their fellow travelers at Fox and elsewhere across the country -- is to hunker down. Ride the storm out. Wait to fight another day.

Fuck all of these cowardly so-called leaders. Every last one of them that refuses to take action to stop this bloodshed. If Australia can do it, why can't we?

Are the people of this great nation as worthy of brave politicians as the Aussies, or not?

The NRA is a pasty-faced domestic terror network -- you can't call them a cell when their cells are all over the country --  operating out in the open and thoroughly corrupting our legislative process. They need to be classified as domestic terrorists, and they need to be prosecuted as such.

Too bad nobody has the stones to do that, though.

The Weekly Wrangle

The Texas Progressive Alliance sends its deepest condolences to the people of Newtown as it brings you this week's roundup.

Off the Kuff says that the voters have done a pretty good job of imposing term limits on the Legislature.  

BossKitty at TruthHugger asks when is enough enough? What is it with sick white boys?

Governor "Fetal Pain" finally called the special election in SD-6, and some candidates jumped in and some are staying out. PDiddie at Brains and Eggs has the latest.

It's unlikely that the candidate of the"middle of the road" business/corporate interests for Texas House Speaker, aka Joe Straus, will lose. But Democrats should have some fun with the contest anyway: In race for Speaker, Democrats should stir the pot, says WCNews at Eye on Williamson.  

CouldBeTrue of South Texas Chisme was surprised to find out that RedState hates Texans for Lawsuit Reform, too.

Neil at Texas Liberal wrote about the real St. Nicholas. He might have had a hard time in Texas as he was against the death penalty.

You can end Rick Perry's land grab.

As mentioned previously by BlueDaze...

Every twelve years, most Texas state agencies undergo a process called the sunset review, during which the public can weigh in on the performance of the agencies under review.

The Texas agency tasked with pipeline oversight -- the Texas Railroad Commission -- is currently under review, and Tar Sands Blockade is calling upon the Sunset Advisory Commission to demand the 83rd Texas Legislature provide immediate relief to property owners who have been bullied and defrauded by TransCanada and other pipeline companies through the Railroad Commission’s nonexistent oversight.

Tar Sands Blockade is collecting signatories to our statement below regarding Eminent Domain Abuse and Tar Sands Fraud to deliver them in person to the Sunset Advisory Commission’s Public Testimony hearing on Wednesday, December 19 in Austin, TX.

Please sign on to the following statement by filling out the short form here. 

Because as it stands, Rick Perry is coming after your land. The last time it was a giant toll road, this time it's a dirty-fuel pipeline, next time it will be one of those or maybe something else.

But he's coming for it. Unless you stop him, and you don't need a gun to do so.

Sunday As-Funny-as-Possible-Given-the-Circumstances

Now is not the time.

It's too soon since the assassination of Abraham Lincoln to have a rational discussion about gun control in this country.

(H/T to Top Conservative Cat)

Please note that Nick Anderson's cartoon below was drawn almost two years ago. Here is his most recent, in response to yesterday's atrocity.

Why is it that conservatives don't believe that restricting handguns will deter killing, but restricting abortion will deter abortions? (H/T)

Governor finally calls SD-6 special election

For Saturday, January 26, with the filing deadline on December 27 and the early voting period from January 9-22, per Harvey. The Chron reveals another contestant...

A fourth potential candidate, Rodolfo "Rudy" Reyes, said he intends to announce his candidacy on Friday.

That embedded link tells little about Reyes, but a cursory Google search turns up his website and curriculum vitae including a stint on the League City council. Reyes has no obvious political party affiliation that I can find. I suspicion he is a Democrat, which is going to make it even more likely that RW Bray -- who got 30% of the vote against Mario Gallegos a month ago -- and one of Sylvia Garcia, Carol Alvarado, Reyes, and Maria Selva make it to a runoff election. Tea Party Republican Bray may well lead the primary field, but there's no chance he wins a runoff.

Garcia laments in her response to this news that the seat will be vacant for "10% of the session", but I don't understand her math. It seems more like two months, or roughly a third of the 2013 legislative session (a runoff election can't occur, by my calendar, before the end of February or first of March).

That's a legitimate concern with the Senate having one less Democratic vote, giving Republicans a two-thirds majority. So until someone gets sworn in, the Senate can pass whatever it likes -- vouchers, "fetal pain", etc. That one vote (previously regarded as Wendy Davis of Fort Worth) barely kept the 2011 session from being more egregious than it already was.

If you wondered why Rick Perry slow-walked this, that's why.

Susan Rice, John Kerry, and Chuck Hagel

Rice withdraws.

"If nominated, I am now convinced that the confirmation process would be lengthy, disruptive and costly—to you and to our most pressing national and international priorities," Rice wrote in a letter to President Barack Obama, NBC News first reported.

Good. The hell with that crony capitalist.

But the new Secretary of State won't be John Kerry, and not because Democrats don't want Scott Brown 2.0. It's probably because Kerry would be unlikely to sign off on Keystone XL.

“No senator since Al Gore knows as much about the science and diplomacy of climate change as Kerry,” said David Goldwyn, an international energy consultant who served as Clinton’s special envoy and coordinator for international energy affairs. “He would not only put climate change in the top five issues he raises with every country, but he would probably rethink our entire diplomatic approach to the issue.”

When I saw Kerry speak here in 2007 on his book tour for This Moment on Earth, it was obvious that he gets it with respect to climate change. He and Obama do not agree that "all of the above" is necessary for what is no longer being called energy independence but energy security.

Nope, the FNG is going to be ... another Republican. Because, you know, Democrats are doves and shit.

Former Republican Senator Chuck Hagel has emerged as the leading candidate to become Obama’s next Secretary of Defense and may be nominated as soon as this month, according to two people familiar with the matter. 

==========

Update: Yes, I know the difference between Defense and State... and yes, conflated the two here. But since John Kerry is going to get the job, and he's the guy I wanted all along... I still win. But I'll leave the following grafs in so you can read them and and know that I occasionally get something wrong. Hey, you already know not to believe everything you read on the internet, right?

==========

So what if Obama looks like a pussy? No, seriously. I don't care how weak Obama appears, as if he folded to the conservative attacks on Rice or how much the Republicans gloat about it. The bad part is that Hagel is no friend of the environment.

To me, this deal has always been more about KXL and less about who might be best with their diplomatic skills to keep us out of another war. Hagel is a small bone to throw to the rabid-dog GOP who will look like hypocrites if they oppose one of their own.

Oh, wait...

Putting the 'con' in conservative

I thought I was over being fascinated with the blindingly ignorant state that is today's conservative specifically, and conservatism in general. I was mistaken.

For Democrats, the 2012 presidential campaign has produced some delicious ironies. For starters, Mitt Romney's share of the final vote will come in at a memorable 47 percent, the same figure he used to disparage half the electorate as self-described "victims" bought off by "free stuff" and "gifts" from President Obama.

But for pure schadenfreude, nothing approaches the cosmic payback of the Republicans' self-delusion on Election Day. That is, while most polling analysts predicted a comfortable Electoral College triumph for Barack Obama on Nov. 6, by all indications Team Romney and the GOP brain trust truly believed their own cooked-up numbers. That's what makes their subsequent shock and awe at Romney's crushing defeat all the more fitting. Because after years of slandering President Obama and misleading voters with myths about taxes, debt, health care, Iraq and so much else, on Election Day Republicans duped only themselves.

What follows is a not-too-lengthy treatise on the self-delusion, also known as the 'bubble', that burst on the night of November 6, 2012. (Personally, I prefer Reality Derangement Syndrome, because it's quite obvious that they have not learned anything from their beating.)

Yes, we know all this, and we're also aware that the corporate media mostly ignored the story of the lies and the cons and the scams the GOP perpetrated on the nation as well as itself, but that's still a story all its own.

"I can't recall a campaign where I've seen more lying going on -- and it wasn't symmetric," said (Norman) Ornstein, a scholar at the conservative American Enterprise Institute who's been tracking Congress with Mann since 1978.

Democrats were hardly innocent, he said, "but it seemed pretty clear to me that the Republican campaign was just far more over the top."

Lies from Republicans generally and standard bearer Mitt Romney in particular weren't limited to the occasional TV ads, either; the party's most central campaign principles -- that federal spending doesn't create jobs, that reducing taxes on the rich could create jobs and lower the deficit -- willfully disregarded the truth.

"It's the great unreported big story of American politics," Ornstein said. "If voters are going to be able to hold accountable political figures, they've got to know what's going on ... And if the story that you're telling repeatedly is that they're all to blame -- they're all equally to blame -- then you're really doing a disservice to voters, and not doing what journalism is supposed to do."

So what's really new here? Why, it's the realization that the Republicans really are only in it for the money, even when the scam is being run on their own. That -- going all the way back to folks like Richard Viguerie and Ralph Reed and especially Pat Robertson -- the conservative movement has never actually been about running government but owning a profitable franchise based on fleecing the gullible. And the most gullible have in recent years trended toward the older, the poorly informed... in other words, the average Fox viewer.

You have to watch the following segment from Rachel Maddow to pull it all together.

 

Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

The only peoples' lives the conservative elite have ever wanted to help improve is their own, even -- perhaps especially -- at the expense of their political base. Disaster capitalism is practiced on their own kind, with efforts likely to intensify in the wake of their November shellacking. Even the industry that is cancer research is not immune to the maximization of profit for one's cronies.

The con jobs are prevalent and rapacious; the coming Texas legislative initiative to privatize public education -- coordinated by Dan Patrick and Michael Williams -- looks like child's play in comparison. Well, almost.

There will simply be no end to the greed and corruption of Republicans and conservatives using government for their own personal financial gain until enough people who vote for them begin to either wise up... or die off.

That, after all, is what's happening with the opponents of gay marriage and marijuana decriminalization, so there's hope for the future.

Update: Eye on Williamson with more, including some historical perspective on the phenomenon of conservative chain email fever dreams, running right up to the present day. Those bizarre conspiracy theories your uncle forwards you? A proud legacy that goes all the way back to the time when it was mostly dirty jokes that filled up your inbox.

No Noriega(s) for SD-6 *updated

The Colonel has opted out.

Rick Noriega, the former East Side state representative and 2008 Democratic nominee for U.S. Senator, has announced he will not seek the District 6 state senate seat left vacant by the posthumous reelection of Mario Gallegos.

In a letter dated Saturday, Noriega writes that after discussing the opportunity with his family, “the time is not right to take on this race, and the fundraising needed, for the Noriega family.” His wife, Melissa Noriega, is serving her final term on Houston City Council.

Though Noriega did not join the battle between former Harris County Commissioner Sylvia Garcia and State Rep. Carol Alvarado, he did not refrain from commenting on the tone of the campaign. (Republican R.W. Bray, who took 29 percent of the November vote, also is running again.) 

I'll excerpt a smaller bit of Noriega's letter than the Chron did.

Senate District 6 needs leadership, not a bitter battle for a plum elected office. You, as leaders, need to challenge the candidates to rise above self interest and put forth plans that create real change, real opportunity in SD6. 

That's a most interesting challenge. It could be in response to Marc Campos, who has a poll from Bob Stein at Rice indicating his client, Carol Alvarado, is leading a head-to-head matchup with a certain former Harris County commissioner. I'm hearing that there's a lot of back-channel rumor mongering and sniping, but haven't heard any directly.

Update (Tuesday 12/11): So much for that. Despite Noriega's call for civility, the gloves are off. Garcia fired this salvo and Alvarado promptly threw this counterpunch.

Charles had this letter last Friday Saturday, and Robert Miller weighed in today with his prediction on the date of the special election: Saturday, January 26. We'll see if the governor goes along.

There is also a Green candidate running in the special: Maria Selva, who stood against US Rep. Gene Green of CD-29 in the last cycle and garnered just under 9%.

I lunched Friday before last with Sylvia Garcia and her team and a few other bloggers and will have a post about that later. Big Jolly and Stace have some additional thoughts that include the word 'negative'.

More developments to follow in the next few weeks.