The Baghdad court trying Saddam Hussein handed down its sentence overnight, just three days before the U.S. elections. Who could have predicted it? I mean, other than anyone paying attention?
Some Iraqis are dancing in the streets; other Iraqis are shooting at them:
Celebratory gunfire rang out over Baghdad as jubilant Iraqis expressed their happiness with the outcome by racing to rooftops, front yards and windows to fire into the air. National television showed smiling Iraqis dancing in the streets of cities around the country, including in the Sadr City neighborhood of Baghdad, which technically was under an all-day curfew.
In the Tikrit, Saddam's home town, thousands of people reportedly took to the street in defiance of the curfew, many crying and screaming and firing guns into the air in anger. "With the soul and blood we sacrifice for you Saddam!" some protestors screamed. Protestors in Tikrit attacked the local Iraqi army base with light weapons. No casualties were reported.
We've heard many reports of Hussein's antics during the trial; but there were American antics as well:
Today's session began with the eviction of former U.S. attorney general Ramsey Clark for insulting the tribunal as "a mockery of justice" in a memo he sent to Chief Judge Abdel-Rahman, a no-nonsense jurist with a perpetual scowl who ran a tight courtroom. "This statement presented by the American lawyer Ramsey Clarke -- how would I describe it? I don't know. He presented a statement ridiculing himself, not the country. He's a laughing stock. Get him out of the court."
I can't wait to hear what the Sabbath Gasbags have to say.
From the Houston Chronicle this morning:
Early voters in the heart of the heated race to succeed former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay were greeted Wednesday with red and white signs that read: "Want more illegals? Vote Democrat" and "Encourage Terrorists. Vote Democrat."
Precinct 3 Fort Bend County Commissioner Andy Meyers acknowledged paying $2,800 to the Republican Victory Committee PAC for 75 signs that tied Democrats to terrorists, higher taxes and illegal immigration.
"All I am doing is repeating what the leadership of the Democratic Party's position is. So I am not sure why they would be upset about that," Meyers said.
Wow.
In today's FoxTrot strip, Jason reveals a truly scary Hallowe'en costume. (The strip is now shown as Flash so I can't steal post it here for you. I'll update the link tomorrow.)
Cintas, a uniform company (they make and launder uniforms for nurses, security guards, etc.), has decided to follow a DHS proposal—it doesn't have the force of law—that encourages employers to fire workers who have Social Security-number mismatches or in other ways fail to re-verify that they are authorized to work in the U.S. The effect of this action will be to intimidate immigrant workers, legal or not, and help them keep their payroll costs down.
The thing is, this is none of the company's business. The affected workers may have legal problems with the IRS or with ICE, but for all practical purposes this doesn't affect the company one way or the other. I don't think Cintas can make a straight-faced claim that the legal status of a minimum-wage seamstress or launderer threatens their business. On the other hand, if their workers worry that in addition to having an expensive and frightening experience with Immigration they also might lose their jobs, they'll be a lot less likely to agitate for a living wage or safe working conditions.
One of my long-standing clients, a labor-rights organization, has documented so many of Cintas' anti-worker policies (starting with poverty wages) that this is really only the latest, not the worst. So if you ever have to rent uniforms for your business, don't use Cintas.
The Greedy Old Party (Gay Old Party?) made a massive advertising buy yesterday, $8.5 million, almost all of it for negative advertisements. Tammy Duckworth is the "beneficiary" of the largest single expenditure: $870,000. That's how scared the Republicans are they're going to lose the district. They should be.
The Chicago Tribune has endorsed two suburban Democrats in one week. How unexpected. Imagine the Wall Street Journal endorsing Hillary Clinton or Maxine Waters, and you have some idea why I'm surprised. Today they've endorsed Melissa Bean:
Rep. Bean has recognized the need to listen very carefully to her constituents--she's a Democrat in a district that gave 56 percent of its vote to President Bush in 2004. She has charted a moderate, independent course and earned the support of Republicans and Democrats. She has been strong on national defense. She took a risk by voting for the Central America Free Trade Agreement. She knew that would anger some in organized labor—but that it would help businesses in her district expand and create jobs. She is an advocate for small business, gaining her the endorsement of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. She has the Tribune's endorsement for a second term in the 8th Congressional District
Of course, they managed to be flip and condescending in their endorsement, headlining it "Melissa Bean's Moxie," but still, it's a step. They go on to refuse, pointedly, to endorse my representative, Jan Schakowsky; but since no one knows who's running against her, and last time she won with 76% of the vote, I'm not too worried.
Rep. Sue Kelly (R-NY), dogged by questions about her involvement in the Mark Foley scandal, ran away from reporters and a debate with her Democratic challenger. This probably qualifies as "cut and run," don't you think?
Congressional candidate Tammy Duckworth (D, IL-06) is on WBEZ-Chicago's 848 right now, wiping the floor with her right-wing opponent, Peter Roskam. Tune in if you aren't already listening.
"Well, Peter, I've been to Iraq, where I had steak and lobster every night but I didn't have armor on the truck I drove that carried 5,000 gallons of aviation fuel."
Update: The show is available for download (.mp3, 26.2 MB).
Disclosure: I have contributed money to the Duckworth campaign.
Bruce Schneier writes today about a pernicious loss of privacy and our complacency about that:
Fewer conversations are ephemeral, and we’re losing control over the data. We trust our ISPs, employers and cellphone companies with our privacy, but again and again they’ve proven they can’t be trusted. Identity thieves routinely gain access to these repositories of our information. Paris Hilton and other celebrities have been the victims of hackers breaking into their cellphone providers’ networks. Google reads our Gmail and inserts context-dependent ads.
Here are three ways to help, right in TDP's back yard. You can contribute a few bucks to Melissa Bean, running for re-election to Congress from Illinois' 8th district, to Tammy Duckworth, running for Henry Hyde's seat in the Illinois 6th, or to Dan Seals in the Illinois 10th.
Duckworth is currently polling within the margin of error against her opponent, Peter Roskam, who continually sinks to new depths in his desperate campaign to keep the seat in Greedy Old Party hands. The GOP has just given almost half a million dollars to Roskam, all for negative ads attacking Duckworth. So her campaign might need a little more than the other two right now.
Update: Duckworth picked up the Chicago Tribune's endorsement today. The Tribune generally leans right of center, in much the same way that Ronald Reagan did; so their endorsement is notable.
Disclosure: I have contributed money to all three campaigns mentioned in this post, and I plan to volunteer for Duckworth on election day (19 days, 4 hours).