Morning Roundup: Nevada Taxes to Arizona Axes

* There’s a handy chart over at the Nevada View showing how the lowest income earners in the state of Nevada are paying about 10% of their income in taxes while the top 1% pay about 1.6%.  Drilling down into the Nevada Fact Sheet (pdf) yields further interesting information like the poorest among us pay 6.2% in sales taxes (the most regressive form) while that upper 1% pays about 0.7%.  There’s more information from other states at the ITEP website.

Meanwhile, it could be asked are some people unethical because they are rich, or rich because they are unethical?

“It’s not clear from the study if being rich increases unethical behavior or if such behavior is what allows people to become rich in the first place. The researchers suggest a number of reasons why upper-class individuals are more prone to unethical behavior, citing their relative independence from others and increased privacy in their professions, and the availability of resources to deal with the costs of unethical behavior. Previous research has found that feelings of entitlement, inattention to the consequences of one’s actions on others, and an increased focus on achieving goals also play a role.” [Atlantic]

* The President ask us to do a bit of soul searching concerning the Trayvon Martin case, and The Sin City Siren offers a sentient perspective from Las Vegas.

* The Gleaner/City Life comments on the Nevada District Three race: “But the plutocrats, who exploit the Tea Party’s useful idiots to win policies that favor corporations and the wealthy at the expense of working Americans, know exactly what the race is about. They couldn’t care less whether the winner is Joe Heck or a potted hydrangea, so long as the winner’s name is followed by an “R” and the radicals keep control of the House.” Amen.

* Want to take a quick look at just how radical the House Republicans have become?  Nevada Rural Democratic Caucus prints out a table of the 49 bills introduced in the 112th Congress that would repeal or decimate health care reform.  Oh, and by the way, that Individual Mandate thing that the GOP has now decided is unconstitutional?  It was originally a Republican idea, circa the George H.W. Bush Administration as a way to counter Democratic calls for a single payer system. [NPR] The Gavel also provides a retrospective to the bad old days when health care corporations had the final say on whether the policies they sold to employers and individuals would cover real medical expenses. Kyle Leighton has a good piece on “How To Run On Healthcare” that’s well worth the click and read.

* So, what IS the debate about contraception all about?  The GOP tried very hard to make this a “religious freedom” argument, albeit with the disclaimer that it was only the freedom of ultra-conservative denominations with which they were concerned, but the Americans for Prosperity (Koch Brothers) convention in Milwaukee featured brochures handed out to delegates that were explicitly anti-contraception. [TP for more]

* Matt Taibbi asks why “gangster banks” keep getting public business? There’s more at Huffington Post in “JP Morgan and the Largest U.S. Municipal Bankruptcy.”  Dealbreaker asks: Why can’t California find any underwriters who haven’t already defrauded the state?  And, it seems as though Greg Smith isn’t the only former Goldman Sachs employee who thinks of the firm as a giant vampire squid, now Marc Cohodes is blowing his whistle. [BusInsider]

* CBPP provides this graph of where the Ryan Budget makes its “savings:”

Ryan shaves some $2.4 trillion from Medicaid and other health care programs for low and moderate income Americans, $134 billion from SNAP food assistance, and $166 billion in cuts to education, training, and employment services, among other deep cuts.  The Good News? Millionaires and Billionaires would get at least a $187,000 tax cut. [TP]

* Evidently not content to merely take over women’s bodies, Republicans in the Arizona Legislature would now like to assume control over all federal public lands.  Governor Brewer has decided that forests in AZ need “trimming?” [AZ Republic]

* Oh my, “out of state operatives” are promoting a candidate in Wisconsin [MJS] including some education and union groups which spent $1.6 million on radio ad buys.  And, we should note the Koch Brothers gave Gov. Scott Walker $43,000 for his campaign, poured in $700,000 for anti-recall advertising, gave the RGA $1 million ($65,000 of which was immediately handed over to Walker), while the RGA spent a whopping $3.4 million on TV advertising and mailers attacking Walker’s opponent in the last election. [MJ]

>Ensign votes against Ethics Bill

>Perhaps Senator John Ensign (R-NV) has what he believes to be a cogent explanation for voting against cloture on S.1, to bring the conference bill on ethics and transparency to the Senate floor, but one could sincerely doubt that it would make much sense. Senator Ensign was one of only 17 members of the upper chamber to vote against cloture. [roll call 293] The cloture vote succeeded 80-17.

On the next vote Senator Ensign joined an even more exclusive group, Senators who found it “necessary” to vote against greater transparency in government and ethics reform provisions. He voted ‘no’ on the bill, one of only 14 to do so. [roll call 294]

Senator Ensign voted in favor of S.1 back on January 18, 2007, when it passed the Senate 96-2. [roll call 19] It might be very reasonable to speculate that Senator Ensign’s explanation will have something to do with the “perfect” bill having been “watered down by the House,” but that explanation doesn’t hold any more water than cheesecloth.

To vote against ‘the good’ in order to achieve ‘the perfect’ never works, only serving to highlight inane posturing rather than good politics, which is, after all is said and done “the art of the possible.” This specific form of posturing, “I was for it before I was against it,” is just exactly what puts a person at the top of the list for that smelly Sunday Deck Bass.

>Coffee and the Papers: Ethical Issues

>Ethics: The House of Representative passed the Ethics Reform package 411-8, and sent it on to the Senate wherein Sen. Ted Stevens (R-Veco) is threatening to place a hold on it. [TPMM] This, from a Senator whose home was raided by the FBI this past week in an ever widening probe into corruption in Alaskan politics. “Senate Democratic leaders nevertheless predicted victory. “This legislation will pass here in the Senate this week,” Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) told reporters. “It’s 107 pages of change — the most significant change in the history of our country in terms of lobbying and ethics.” [Roll Call sub req] Besides Stevens, Senators Lott (R-MS), Kyl (R-AZ), DeMint (R-SC), and possibly Craig (R-ID), are opposing the measure; well short of the 33 necessary to kill the bill on procedural moves — but enough to place holds on the proposal. Senator Lott is also leading the GOP senators in the PAC money raised department, collecting $1.5 million for his New Republican Majority Fund PAC, “more than 12 times the sum raised by Minority Leader Mitch McConnell.” [The Hill] This isn’t necessarily good news for NRSC chairman John Ensign (R-NV).

“Lott said he prefers to help Republican candidates through his leadership PAC instead of making phone calls to raise large contributions for the National Republican Senatorial Committee.”…”I have a lot of money in my account and I plan to distribute it.” [The Hill] Distribution, it seems, without necessarily collaborating with Nevada’s junior Senator.

And then there are ethics: The U.S. Attorney in Virginia found his name on the “firing list,” after refusing to slow down the case against OxyContin manufacturers. “Brownlee settled the case anyway. Eight days later, his name appeared on a list compiled by Elston of prosecutors that officials had suggested be fired. Brownlee ultimately kept his job. But as Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales confronts withering criticism over the dismissals, the episode in the OxyContin case provides fresh evidence of efforts by senior officials in the department’s headquarters to sway the work of U.S. attorneys’ offices.” [WaPo]

The investigation into the affairs of Senator Stevens (R-AK) may be examining funds he “steered to an Alaskan wildlife research center” that may have “enriched an aide.” “The SeaLife Center probe is in addition to an investigation by federal grand juries here and in Alaska into Stevens’ ties to an oil company executive convicted of bribing Alaska state legislators.” [WaPo] See also: Anchorage Daily News

This information about election officials in the U.S. isn’t all that comforting: “In recent years, top election officials in at least five states have moved from government posts directly into jobs as lobbyists for the voting machine industry, which itself grew immensely after Congress allocated billions of dollars to help states update equipment.” [NYT]

No Surprise? “The Bush administration’s chief intelligence official said yesterday that President Bush authorized a series of secret surveillance activities under a single executive order in late 2001. The disclosure makes clear that a controversial National Security Agency program was part of a much broader operation than the president previously described.” [WaPo] This really isn’t helping the Bush Administration. Either, the program was narrowly focused, as the President has claimed on several occasions –and therefore Gonzales is lying –or, the program did, in fact, have both an espionage element and a data mining component, and therefore the President has been prevaricating.

The Bush Administration is also having trouble keeping the message locked down on the main source of American problems in Iraq. “Despite President Bush’s recent insistence that al Qaida in Iraq is the principal cause of this country’s violence, senior American military officers here say Shiite Muslim militias are a bigger problem, and one that will persist even if al Qaida is defeated.” [McClatchy]

Absolutely No Surprise Department: OK, tell me that the lack of exploration and refinery capacity are the crux of the problem with energy prices? Then, explain why instead of re-investing in their industries Big Oil corporations are spending billions to buy back their shares and pump up their stock prices. [LAT]

If a person were thinking that it’s taking entirely too long for generic drugs to hit the market, he or she would be right. “Although the FDA gave the go-ahead to more than 500 generic drugs last year, the agency’s backlog of pending applications grew to 1,291 last month, from 780 at the end of 2005. The median approval time for new generic applications has been stalled at more than 16 months for several years, despite a statutory requirement that generic drugs be reviewed within 180 days.” And, what’s the reason? Predictably, “…Ira Loss, a senior pharmaceutical analyst for Washington Analysis, an investment research firm, said the Bush administration and Congress have shortchanged the FDA and consumers by not providing adequate revenue for the agency to do its job. “The simple answer is the FDA is underfunded, and part of underfunding is in the generic drug area, where application numbers are increasing,” Loss said. “This has the effect of not reducing the drug prices as quickly as otherwise might be the case.” [Newhouse]
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Update: See – “Nevada election laws could use revision?” Blue Sage Views

>Overnight Express News Roundup

>Another day, another veto threat, and yet another attempted stall by House GOP leadership. This time the President is threatening to veto the “Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2007.” As is becoming a common practice, House Republicans, including Nevada Representatives Heller (R-NV2) and Porter (R-NV3), attempted to block debate on the House floor. A motion to “move the previous question” and bring up H.R. 579 (to allow H.R. 2831 to the floor) for consideration carried 215 to 190. Both Representatives Heller and Porter voted “no.”[roll call 761] When that tactic failed, the House Republicans sought to block H.R. 2831 from consideration, but failed 215-187. [roll call 762] Yet again, Reps. Porter and Heller voted to block the bill from discussion. Rep. Berkley voted in favor of bringing H.R. 2831 up for discussion.

This legislation would restore fairness and comprehensibility to Title VII of the Civil Rights Act. Prior to the recent, and extremely narrow, opinion of the Supreme Court each paycheck that results from a discriminatory decision is in itself a discriminatory act. [Gavel] The bill would return the statutes to that concept.

This decision bears a remarkable resemblance to that of a federal court in the ACLU case regarding the President’s warrantless domestic spying operations. The court ruled that the ACLU did not have standing because it had no proof it had been spied on, even though there was a reasonable assumption its members might have been. The trick, of course, is that because the program is classified the ACLU can’t find out with any certainty its members were targeted.

In the Ledbetter decision the court ruled that even though corporate compensation is kept secret, the victim of discrimination must file a complaint within 180 of the inauguration of the discriminatory policy, not 180 days from the time he or she finds out about it. Unfortunately, the bottom line in both of these decisions is that “if you don’t know about it you can’t sue if it hurts you.” The Christian Science Monitor summarizes the reasons this legislation should pass.

The GOP talking point on the Ledbetter Bill is essentially that the legislation would allow people to “go back in time” and sue for all manner of things 50 years after the fact; in spite of language in this bill that does not allow “historic” cases.

And, finally, how did House Education and Labor Chairman react to the President’s latest veto threat? “The President has issued enough veto threats to paper the walls of the U.S. Capitol Building. But this legislation is going to pass with bipartisan support, and it is going to become law, because it is the right thing to do. It would be unconscionable for us to permit this discrimination to continue. Workers should not be treated differently from their colleagues on the basis of their gender, their skin color, or their religion. This is a basic value that Americans cherish, and it is a shame to see the President of the United States fight against it.” [Gavel]

Chairman George Miller (D-CA) is also calling for major revisions to the NCLB Act which he believes places too much emphasis on standardized testing. [WaPo]

The Roadblock Republicans in the Senate seem to have backed off their stalling on ethics and lobbying reform. An agreement with the House on the “Honest Leadership and Open Government Act” means that the House may take up the bill on Tuesday, and the Senate later in the week. [DemSen] One provision “requires that all earmarks included in bills and conference reports, and their sponsors, be identified on the internet at least 48 hours before Senate votes; subjects “dead of night” additions to conference reports to a 60-vote point of order; requires Senators to certify that they and their immediate family members have no financial interest in the earmark; ends the practice of secret Senate holds; makes conference reports available for public review on the internet 48 hours before the vote.” [DemSen]

Ultra-conservative members of the Senate, led by Tom Coburn (R-OK) and Jim DeMint (R-SC) are still trying to round up opponents based on their argument that the earmark provisions “don’t go far enough.” It is likely that Coburn and DeMint will attempt to defeat another cloture vote. “The House is expected to fast-track approval of the bill today under suspension of the rules. Then the Senate will vote on whether to limit the debate on the measure, with a vote on final passage expected Thursday. Since the bill includes changes to Senate rules, a two-thirds majority needs to approve the procedural motion to limit debate.” [Roll Call sub req] Coburn’s plan to utilize right wing talk shows, conservative blogs, and editorial boards may be a little late to the game because Democratic leaders are confident of being able to pass the bill this week. “Jim Manley, spokesman for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), said he had no worries whatsoever that the bill would pass. “For whatever reasons Sens. DeMint and Coburn can’t admit we gave them everything they wanted. If they want to vote against the landmark legislation, they’re more than welcome to do so,” Manley said.” [Roll Call sub req]

The Senate will also continue working on the SCHIP legislation, H.R. 976, on July 31. Republicans staged a “mini-filibuster” in the House Energy and Commerce Committee last week to hijack a planned markup. Roll Call reports that the bill will go to the House Rules Committee bypassing the Energy and Commerce Committee roadblock. [Roll Call sub req] Republicans are fighting the proposed tax hike for tobacco products to pay for an increase in the number of children served by the program.

Nemisis thy name is Waxman? House Oversight Committee Chairman Henry Waxman has scheduled a hearing on the apparent censorship of Surgeon General Richard Carmona’ report on global health. [Gavel] The report was blocked by William R. Steiger, a specialist in education and Latin American History, whose family has ties to the Bushes. Steiger has run the office of Global Health Affairs in the DHHS since 2001. “As far as the international office was concerned, it was a political office of the secretary. . . . What he was looking for, and in general what he was always looking for, was, ‘How do we promote the policies and the programs of the administration?’ This report didn’t focus on that.” [WaPo] It seems the Bush Administration would like to send the 37 year old god-son of former President G.H.W. Bush as far from D.C. as possible — he is now waiting for Senate confirmation as Bush’s ambassador to Mozambique.

The House Oversight Committee provides a comparison of the Carmona and Steiger drafts (pdf). In his letter to DHHS Secretary Michael Leavitt, Chairman Waxman discusses the contrasting drafts and concludes, “This comparison of the two draft reports is further evidence that Dr. Carmona’s global health report was blocked for political considerations, not scientific reasons.” [Waxman pdf] The Chairman requests that both Mr. Steiger and Mark Abdoo of his staff be made available to the Oversight Committee for depositions or transcribed interviews next month.

The Federal Communications Commission is scheduled to take action on the battle between traditional wireless providers and companies seeking to break into the market, including Google. “Google and Frontline also want the FCC to require the winner of the spectrum auction to be limited to selling it on a wholesale basis at “reasonably nondiscriminatory commercial terms.” This would prohibit whichever company won the auction from selling space on new networks to individual consumers and allow smaller carriers to buy bite-sized pieces of the wireless market.” [The Hill] See also: Cnet News “Google’s battle for wireless spectrum”

“MessO’Potamia” Glenn Greenwald eviscerates “The really smart, serious, credible Iraq experts O’Hanlon and Pollack” in a must read Salon piece. Frank Rich comments on the weight being given to the upcoming Petraeus report, which shouldn’t surprise anyone if it says “Surge Full Speed Ahead” Rich writes: “Mr. Bush has become so reckless in his own denials of reality that he seems to think he can get away with saying anything as long as he has his “main man” to front for him. The president now hammers in the false litany of a “merger” between Osama bin Laden’s Al Qaeda and what he calls “Al Qaeda in Iraq” as if he were following the Madison Avenue script declaring that “Cingular is now the new AT&T.” He doesn’t seem to know that nearly 40 other groups besides Al Qaeda in Mesopotamia have adopted Al Qaeda’s name or pledged allegiance to Osama bin Laden worldwide since 2003, by the count of the former C.I.A. counterterrorism official Michael Scheuer. They may follow us here well before any insurgents in Iraq do.” [NYT select]

Officials from the Pentagon and State Department will appear before the House Budget Committee on July 31 to explain why the war in Afghanistan and occupation of Iraq are costing $12 billion per month. [Army Times] Surprise, Surprise? No sooner does a bill raise the issue of R&R for members of the Army National Guard and Reserve on Capitol Hill than the commanders decide that the number of Guard and Reserve members on R&R can increase from 10% to 12%. Active Army units are still held to the 10% cap. [Army Times]

More than just the salmon are fishy in Alaska. The Anchorage Daily News is the best one-stop-shopping for updates using those Internet(s) tubes to get information on the Federal agents’ raids on property owned by Senator Ted “Incredible Hulk Tie” Stevens and his connections to Veco and other corrupt elements in Alaskan politics. The Washington Post is also on the story.

One could just string the headlines together and tell the story. “Gonzales’s truthfulness long disputed: claims of misstatements to shield Bush stretch back a decade.” [WaPo] “Cheney disputes Libby verdict, voices support for Gonzales” [WaPo]

>Coffee and the Papers

>
The Bush Administration rejected a demand by the Nevada State Engineer that it stop using Nevada’s water for drilling operations at the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste site. State Engineer Tracy Taylor responded to the “rejection letter” with re-instating a cease and desist order. The issue is headed to court. [LVRJ]

One more time about how those tax cuts for the top 1% of Americans helped the economy? Nevada’s 4.6 unemployment rate tops the U.S. [LVRJ]

The Chinese have closed some firms implicated in food and drug safety problems. [AJC] And, when is a labeling law not a labeling law? When you ship the meat to a restaurant? “Starting next fall, grocery shoppers could find out what countries their pork chops, steaks and ground beef came from, under a deal worked out by the meat industry. One possible result: Most beef in supermarkets will carry the American label, said John Lawrence, an agricultural economist at Iowa State University. Meatpackers may opt to send beef from cattle born in Mexico to restaurants, which are exempt from the labeling law, and reserve U.S. beef for supermarkets, he said.” [Des Moines Reg]

A person just can’t make this stuff up: Another GOP big wig, and “outspoken advocate for Christian groups,” has been charged with paying a prostitute for sex. [Charlotte Observer] l A Gop state representative in New Hampshire says he was just exercising his “free speech” when he cursed-out an Enfield man who sent his concerns about a multistate settlement with the Ameriquest mortgage firm. [BG]

The GOP stall tactics on the long stalled Congressional Ethics legislation may be over. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) are said to have decided to use the Old Fashioned way forward: Have the House and Senate vote on identical bills without amendment, and send the package to the White House. Expect another Republican filibuster. [Roll Call sub req] McClatchy notes that the Senate Republicans have used more filibuster threats than “ever before” and has the chart to demonstrate it, with 153 projected for the end of the term.

NCLB is getting an overhaul in the House Education and Labor Committee, including a possible name change. [Roll Call sub req]

The Senate approved its student loan reconciliation bill early yesterday 78-18 to increase the maximum Pell Grant and reducing subsidies to student loan companies. [The Hill]

If we can’t succeed with a “show of force” maybe we can re-brand out product? The Pentagon is listening to a marketing firm about launching it’s new and improved “We Will Help You” brand in Iraq. [WaPo] If the article “The Other War: Iraq Vets Bear Witness” is any indication, re-branding is a minor adjustment in comparison to the policy changes we need in the occupation of Iraq. The current informal military slogan appears to be “A dead Iraqi is just another dead Iraqi.” [Nation] A Lt. Col. has been relieved of his command during a probe of what may be the premeditated death of an Iraqi man. [Army Times]

The British military admits that it’s “Running out of Troops” “We now have almost no capability to react to the unexpected.” Reinforcements for emergencies or for operations in Iraq or Afghanistan were “now almost non-existent”. [Guardian UK] Note: The U.S. Army expanded its use of stop loss orders in 2004 to retain about 7,000 soldiers. [USAT] By 2006 such orders were used to keep 12,500 members of the U.S. Armed Forces on duty, and predictions were that the policy could be applied to more than 50,000 members of the military. [CSM] In August 2006, the US Marine Corps announced the involuntary activation of 2,500 reservists. [CSM] The U.S. Army had already called up 5,674 members of the Individual Ready Reserve in June 2004. [MSNBC]

The Washington, D.C. federal court of appeals ordered the Bush Administration to turn over nearly all of its information on Guantanamo detainees who are challenging their detentions to their defense attorneys. [NYT] Juxtaposing this article with Glenn Greenwald’s “Bush’s 2001 Condemnation of Russia’s human rights abuses” is un-nerving. [Salon]

Meanwhile back in the Good Old U.S.A. — The “System to Assess Risk” (STAR) initiative from the FBI isn’t quite operational yet but they’ll be looking for: Consumer complaints about identity theft; Health care fraud, including government and insurance claims databases; Internet pharmacy fraud complaints; Public source data on real estate transactions; and,Automobile accident insurance fraud charges. [eWeek] Think there won’t be some “overzealous” investigations like, say, those infamous National Security Letters?

Five years after the terrorist attacks of 2001, brought to our shores by Saudi extremists, the Department of Homeland Security has announced its “quick recovery plan” for an attack on the Port of Los Angeles. [LAT]

HealthSouth founder and convicted felon Richard Scrushy has been moved to the Beaumont Federal Prison Camp to serve his seven year sentence while his legal team continues to try to get his conviction overturned. [TBNews]

>Coffee and the Papers: Nevada and National News

>Home Sweet Home: The Citizenship Project, the only nonprofit organization in Las Vegas, Nevada, dedicated solely to assisting immigrants with the naturalization process, reports that it sent in 316 applications this June, compared to 105 in June 2006. [Las Vegas Sun]

An Iraqi family in Las Vegas, NV lives with the prospect of being “sent back” if “the situation gets better.” [LVSun] Even if the “situation” is one that would place them in harm’s way.

“Lawful and permanent: deportation battle — After 14 years, immigrant from Peru gains legal status to stay in U.S.” [LVRJ] Imagine what economic gains, and contributions, this couple could have made had they not had to “save money for the lawyers?” However, a Clinton, Iowa doctor wasn’t so lucky. “…I don’t know what’s in Manzar’s file that makes the government so nervous. Nobody I talk to in Iowa believes he’s a terrorist, a troublemaker or even a sourpuss.” [DesMReg] But, the government refused to give him clearance, and he’s now found work as a cardiologist in Saudi Arabia.

House Republicans used a procedural motion that added language to the Democratic housing bill to make recipients of housing assistance provide proof of legal residency. “When Republicans were in charge, leaders issued blanket orders that Republicans were to vote against all such procedural motions.” [The Hill] In the mean time, “Growing numbers of the nation’s poorest households are using more than half their earnings for rent while waiting years for federal housing assistance that may never come.” [McClatchy]

52% of the people receiving housing assistance are elderly or disabled. 52% are white, 43% African American, and 17% are Hispanic. [McClatchy] The House Financial Services Committee will conduct a hearing on a bill to establish an affordable housing/rehab plan next week. [CSM]

The NYT looks at the nation’s bankruptcy laws and opines: “Rising mortgage delinquencies are likely to be followed by rising consumer bankruptcies and, with them, the first big test of the federal bankruptcy reform law of 2005. Early indications are that low- to middle-income borrowers will be unduly punished.”

GOP blocks ethics legislation: Senator Jim DeMint (R-SC) is holding up conference talks on the ethics reform legislation in Congress until he gets his way on earmark reforms. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell “is standing idle while DeMint keeps a unanimously approved ethics bill in limbo, Democrats and watchdogs charge.” [The Hill] Republicans are blaming Senator Harry Reid (D-NV) for the impass because he has not accepted DeMint’s rule change. Public Citizen and others say what DeMint is doing is stalling the “revolving door” and “bundling provisions” while McConnell finds ways to bottle up the legislation using Senators who have “a particular axe to grind” to block it. [The Hill]

Stewardship: The Stebbins Village corporation is asserting its ownership of tribal land, and accusing a Yupik woman of undermining her community’s economy by fighting a gravel project which she believes will harm marine life and subsistence gathering. The Stebbins Native Corporation is warning its shareholders that they do not own the land. [AnchorageDN]

A Miami judge ordered a Florida rock mining operation halted in order to protect Miami-Dade drinking water. [MiamiHer]

California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger plans to cut a nationally lauded program to assist the mentally ill homeless in order to save $55 million toward reducing the state’s deficit. [LAT] A California Assembly bill to regulate health insurance premiums fell one vote short in the state Senate Health Committee this past week. [SFChron]

Doing Business: The Communist government of China has quite certainly picked up some essential lessons of American style corporate management: When faced with a problem (a) hire a Public Relations firm and lobbyists; and (b) retaliate against a third party (in this case American cattle producers.) [WaPo]

“MessO’Potamia:” “The Ever Changing Definition of ‘Mission’ in Iraq” Think Progress July 14, 2007, Think Progress provides a very helpful descriptive list of the President’s statements about the purpose of our invasion and occupation of Iraq. “Gaps in Training Iraqi Forces Worry Top U.S. Commanders” [NYT] Al-Maliki says Iraq can go it alone: “Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki said today that the Iraqi army and police are capable of keeping security in the country when American troops leave “any time they want,” though he acknowledged the forces need further weapons and training.” [HouChron]

A test examiner for the Office of Personnel Management accepted bribes to falsify ASVAB test results for applicants to the Arizona National Guard, and conspired with Guard recruiters between September 2000 and February 2002 when determining which test scores to manipulate. [Army Times]

Does the Pentagon still have plans to occupy four major bases in Iraq, including the massive Camp Victory? Something along the lines of: “...a long-term military relationship with the emerging government of Iraq, one that would grant the Pentagon access to…. perhaps four bases in Iraq that could be used in the future: one at the international airport just outside Baghdad; another at Tallil, near Nasiriya in the south; the third at an isolated airstrip called H-1 in the western desert, along the old oil pipeline that runs to Jordan; and the last at the Bashur air field in the Kurdish north.” [Mother Jones]

UN nuclear inspectors previously barred from inspections in Iran, will now be allowed to see a heavy water reactor, and the country agreed to answer questions about past experiments the UN believes could be linked to a weapons program. [IHT] There’s less cooperation from the Russians — Bush’s boating trip didn’t work? — Russia has suspended the application of a key Cold War arms control treaty. [BBC]

Mis-Administration: Mr. X. William Proenza lasted all of six months as the director of the National Hurricane Center before half his staff signed a letter asking that he be replaced. The chairman of the House Science and Energy Committee would like to know what happened. [The Gavel]

Glenn Greenwald concludes that there are only two options for dealing with the ever-increasing secrecy of the Cheney-Bush Administration: “As their behavior in the Tillman case amply demonstrates, the White House’s refusal to allow any light to be shined on what they do extends far beyond just the U.S. attorneys case. It is how they operate generally; it is but a prong in their overarching belief that they exist far beyond any checks and above the rule of law. The only two choices realistically available is to (1) allow this rampant lawlessness and tyrannical unchecked secrecy simply to continue or (2) take every step available to force it to stop. There is no third option.” [Salon]

Kevin Drum offers his assessment of a Wall Street Journal attempt to create a Laffer Curve for corporate taxation rates, “...A junior high school geometry student would be embarrassed to produce work like this. But not the Wall Street Journal editorial page. Or the American Enterprise Institute, which created it in the first place. They apparently think their readers are too dumb to see what they’re doing.” True.

“So much for religion in the public square” Carpetbagger Report offers some historical perspective on the radical right and Hindu prayer controversy. It seems that the meltdown on July 12, 2007 in the U.S. Senate wasn’t the first time this has happened. Operation Rescue/Operation Save America has planted its circus in Birmingham, Alabama this week for national anti-abortion demonstrations. The organization has permits, limited because of the Eric Rudolph 1998 bombing, but may not reach the numbers allowed. [TBirmNws] Update: When I pinged Technorati this morning, I noticed a reaction to the Washington Post article on OSA’s so-called protest, and a link to this blog attached to the contention that this is “one more brick in the pile” that anti-Christians will use to halt prayer in the Senate. Without gracing the fool with a link back, I can only say that I don’t share his extremist assumption that any attempt to accommodate the beliefs of others constitutes a retreat from ones own principles.

The Supreme Court of Argentina has ruled that the 1989 pardon of a general accused of crimes during the “Dirty War” was unconstitutional. Gen. Santiago Omar Riveros can now be tried for illegal abductions, torture, and killings of dissidents. [MiamiHer]

Agri-business: The Atlanta Journal Constitution has been running a series on U.S. cotton production, and opened with “How your tax dollars prop up big growers and squeeze the little guy.” Part Two Part Three

>Flag Flapping and Smoke Screening: Senate Republicans block major reforms

>
Almost unnoticed by the Beltway Pundits, and all but ignored by the Cheney-Bush Administration, is a small, but growing, Revolt of the Underlings. Even Nevada Governor Jim Gibbons, is playing his own small part. [LVRJ]

The most recent rebellion concerns lowering flags to honor men and women from certain states who have fallen during the occupation of Iraq. More than half the governors in the United States now order the flags lowered in their states. [USAT] Therefore, we have at least 25 states honoring what the Federal government will not — service and sacrifice. [NYT] The clock is still running on the bill to allow governors to lower the flag that is still sitting on the President’s desk. [Mil.com] Actually, one could ponder that if the bill didn’t have the word “flag” in the title if it would have made it through the Senate at all.

It’s actually a bit surprising that the Flag bill got to the Oval Office, given that of the 239 bills passed in the House of Representatives the GOP bloc, under the leadership of Senator Mitch McConnell (R-KY), has objected strenuously to all the major pieces. [Roll Call sub req] The Roll Call article also offers a hint at what might be the GOP strategy for the 110th: Diversion.

“One senior Senate GOP aide noted that any mileage Democrats hope to get out of their energy bill likely will be “vastly overshadowed by immigration.” [Roll Call sub req] Could it be that in the Beltway Backrooms the “immigration issue” is being fanned to a nice white hot heat for the purpose of taking the oxygen out of public discourse on — Iraq? Energy? Health care? or any of the other major issues about which Americans care deeply?

The “immigration issue” contributes, as well, to the masking of the Revolt of the Governors on energy policy, specifically that of California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. [Gov.CA] And, to the rebellion of the mayors, primarily those who have decided that their cities will abide by the Kyoto protocols. [PBS]

The flap over immigration also provides cover for the Cheney-Bush-GOP dithering over security policy. The House overwhelmingly passed an “anti-terror” bill (H.R. 1 Implementing the 9/11 Commission recommendations Act of 2007) in January 299-128 [USAT] (H.R. 1, Roll Call 15) The bill was referred to the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs on January 9th. [GovTrack] The related Senate bill, S.4, introduced by Nevada Senator Harry Reid (D-NV) was introduced on January 4, 2007, and since March 20, 2007 is still “held at the desk.” The House also passed H.R. 1401, the “Rail and Mass transit security act of 2007,” 299-124, requiring the Department of Homeland Security to develop a national plan to protect railways, mass transit, and inter-city buses from attacks. The House passed the bill on March 27, 2007; it’s been sitting in the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation since.

Security legislation isn’t the only thing stalled in the Senate, H.R. 2317, the Lobbying Transparency Act of 2007,” was passed by the House on May 24 [GovTrack] [roll call 420] and now sits idly on the Senate Legislative Calendar no. 183.

H.R. 2316 “Honest Leadership and Open Government Act of 2007″ passed the House with a hefty 396-22 margin [roll call 423] on May 24th, and a month later abides on Senate Legislative Calendar under general orders, no. 182. H.R. 1309, the FOIA reform legislation to enhance open government, is being blocked by a single U.S. Senator, Jon Kyl (R-AZ), who objects (on behalf of the Gonzales’ Department of Justice) to the provisions of H.R. 1309 and its companion S. 849. Kyl is emerging as a major champion of government secrecy. [AAN]

Even if legislation concerning security and ethics weren’t considered sufficiently imperative to warrant immediate consideration, bills attempting to improve the lives of veterans and members of the Armed Forces, should have enough “flag” to them to get through the morass in the Senate. Not so. H.R. 2199 to provide for treatment of persons with traumatic brain injuries (the signature wound in the Iraq occupation) was passed by the House last May, and referred to the Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs — it hasn’t moved since. H.R. 2239 to provide for early access to Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment Benefits, also passed the House in May, and it, too, is going nowhere fast in the Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs.

Imagine, for a moment, what the right wing talkers on the air waves would be saying right now if the Democrats in the Senate were blocking passage of bills on national security, ethics reform, and veterans’ benefits and programs? However, it appears that the right wing would rather pound the drums of xenophobia at the moment hoping that the noise will drown out the Silence in the Senate. It’s little wonder that the Underlings are getting restless.