Amazing quote from Sidney Blumenthal

TPMCafe has a recurring feature, their Book Club, where they invite the authors of selected books to come post for a week and invite their regular writers to offer their thoughts as well. It’s a great idea, and it’s implemented well, as the authors and regular writers respond to each other and expand upon topics in the book as well as topics that each individual brings up. This weeks book is Sidney Blumenthal’s How Bush rules: Chronicles of a Radical Regime. In one of the posts Mr. Blumenthal has made this week, he offers the following quote to describe our fearful leader:

But Bush’s temperament is an essential part of the dynamics. His stubbornness, lack of curiosity, shallow reservoir of knowledge, Manichean division of the world, and contempt for “nuance” are parts of a personality that key members of his administration play upon to get their ways. They carefully restrict the flow of information to him and flatter him as a great historical figure misunderstood by the mere mortals of his age. Their constant manipulation of Bush is an important part of the decision-making within the White House…

Just an amazing, dead-on description of Dubya.

Why can’t more elected Democrats say things like this?

From Senator Mary Landrieu, D-Louisiana (h/t atrios):

“In light of the rantings that went on for 30 minutes by two colleagues from the other side, I’d like to state for the record that America is not tired of fighting terrorism; America is tired of the wrongheaded and boneheaded leadership of the Republican party that has sent six and a half billion a month to Iraq while the front line was Afghanistan and Saudi Arabia. That led this country to attack Saddam Hussein, when we were attacked by Osama bin Laden. Who captured a man who did not attack the country and let loose a man that did. Americans are tired of boneheaded Republican leadership that alienates our allies when we need them the most. Americans are most certainly tired of leadership that despite documenting mistake after mistake after mistake, even of their own party admitting mistakes, never admit they do anything wrong. That’s the kind of leadership Americans are tired of.”

She concluded,

“I’m not going to sit here as a Democrat and let the Republican leadership come to the floor and talk about Democrats not making us safe. They’re the ones in charge and Osama bin Laden is still at loose.”

Sen. Landrieu isn’t perfect, but this statement was about as perfect an encapsulation of reality as you can get.

The importance of voting and getting out the vote (GOTV)

The San Francisco Chronicle’s website has just published an article which demonstrates how important it is to get everyone registered and voting (h/t this article at Sepia Mutiny). Basically, a new study shows that California’s growing diversity is not showing up at the ballot box; those doing the voting are predominantly more likely to be white and more well off than those who are not voting.

Why is this important?

A different 9/11 anniversary

Yesterday was the 5th anniversary of one of the darkest days in US history; the terrorist attacks against the World Trade Center and Pentagon, as well as the presumed aborted attempt that caused the downing of United Flight 93 in Pennsylvania. As someone geographically removed from the events of 9/11/2001, I don’t know what I can add to all the words that have been written. Some great diaries can be seen at Sepia Mutiny, DailyKos, Firedoglake, and others (some that painted a different picture that I particularly liked were this one at dailykos; this one by Steve Gilliard at firedoglake, which points out how different 9/11 was for a native New Yorker than someone like me, also an American but far removed from New York; and a short but great one by Nathan Newman at TPMCafe).

However, taz at Sepia Mutiny reminds us that yesterday was the anniversary of a different event as well. September 11, 1906 was the inception of the satyagraha (literally “obtaining truth”) movement, given birth in thought by Mohandas K. Gandhi, also known as Mahatma (literally “great soul”). Taz also points to a great article by Nelson Mandela which details some of what Gandhi went through in South Africa and how it was similar to what Mandela himself experienced. There is also a dailykos diary on the subject.

When the pain of the terrorist attacks is so near, maybe it might help to remember that there was a 9/11 in history that produced something positive, one that helped bring independence to a nation unjustly ruled by a foreign power, and also was an inspiration to the Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr., so influential in the Civil Rights movement here in the US.