By instinct and necessity, daily newspaper reporters are democratic, inquisitive, and therefore easy to talk to. But there is, as they say, another side of the story, and, wow, was it ever on display last week in two big New York Times profiles of Ned Lamont and Joe Lieberman, both of which read as if written by Lieberman's Senate campaign. Lamont seems likely to lose on Tuesday, and since I'm a Lamont partisan, you’ll assume I’m writing this from sour grapes. But no. Good journalism and civic-republicanism matter more than the outcome of this one contest. Judge for yourself how they're doing in this one.

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Consumer Affairs reports this week on debt collection high jinks.  Following up on a complaint from a harassed consumer, the West Virginia Attorney General sued Pinnacle Credit Services for attempting to collect debts without a license.  As part of the settlement reached, Pinnacle cancelled more than $1 million worth of debt that it was trying to collect in West Virginia.  This disappearing debt looks mighty suspicious, especially in light of the fact that the complaining consumer had provided proof to a previous debt collector that the DEBT WAS NOT HERS.

The West Virginia Attorney General warned that: "Old debts are regularly shuffled from the original creditor to multiple collection agencies or sold to debt purchasers. Information regarding these debts is transmitted electronically and may be inaccurate. Moreover, the collection agency or debt purchaser may have added unlawful additional fees to the original debt."

It's time for Congress to tame the wild and wooly world of debt collection.  The difficulty consumers face in determining the legitimacy of a debt must be remedied. 

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One of the largest and most respected industrial Chairmen and CEOs says:

“I don’t think consultants should be involved. I don’t think they necessarily add value for anything other than just pure data.”

There's no good correlation between shareholder return and CEO pay, in fact, many highly paid CEOs and corporate leaders have been sentenced to prison. If there is a "race to the bottom" for industrial jobs, it is clear that in the area of executive pay, there has been a race to the top.

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[Note from Larry Johnson: My friend and colleague, Brent Budowsky, a contributing editor to the Fighting Dems, was first out of the gate reacting to the news that the Military Times newspapers are calling for Rumsfeld to go. Here is his piece.]

The Military Times speaks truth to power and to America with its call for Rumsfeld to go. This is the beginning of the end for the Republican policy of failure, arrogance, corruption, dishonesty and war partisanship.

On Monday Marine Corps Times, Army Times, Navy Times, and Air Force Times are taking the extraordinary and courageous step of calling for Rumsfeld to go.

The voice of commanders, the troops and their families will speak. This madness must end. This policy must change. Rumsfeld must go. Enough is enough.

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There is a tremendous amount of critical euphoria over the movie Borat, and rather obviously so – nothing works its magic on critics than a movie about how ordinary people are stupid cattle and media people are on the cocaine of their own confidence. Throw in stupid gross out humor and racially charged jokes, and you have the recipe for an Andy Kaufmanesque critical success combined with box office bonanza. But one of the most startling points of both the criticism and the movie itself is that neither "get" what they are really about, and that "it" is the real ur-topic of our moment.

The power of sadism and the necessity of torture.

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There are just a few things in these times that we can all be certain about. Paul McCartney and Heather Mills’ divorce will get nastier. It will snow in New England by the end of the year. I will eat about 1/3 of my kids’ Halloween candy. Oh, and yes, Saddam Hussein, the once vicious ruler of Iraq, will be found guilty of genocide against his people this weekend.

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I’m all for talking with our enemies, so it’s good to know that the six-party talks on Korea will soon resume.  “Jaw, jaw,” as Winston Churchill said, is better than “war, war.” But we have to be realistic about what talks with North Korea can now achieve. Even if the administration were willing to enter bilateral talks and offer a real deal of security guarantees as well as tangible political and economic benefits to the North — neither of which it is likely to do — the resumption of negotiations isn’t likely to achieve the ultimate goal of these talks, which is the denuclearization of the Korean peninsula.

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Nahum Barnea, Israel's top newspaper columnist, has a column rich with insight in today's Yediot Achranot [Israel's leading newspaper], his weekend column. He describes behind the scenes goings-on between the Israeli Prime Minister's office and the bureau of the Palestinian president, Abu Mazen--it's a glass half full-half empty sort of discussion, the kind that the Middle East revels in and precisely the type that is nuanced in a manner that consistently eludes the Bush Administration.

But there is a line in the article, a quote from an unnamed top Palestinian official, presumeably someone from Fatah, from Abu Mazen's wing of the political leadership, that I found chilling in its simple formulation: "everyone is hostage to everyone," this Palestinian official told Barnea.

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Yesterday a reporter called me to ask if I would analyze the effect that the issue of Israel has had on the campaign. I said it had none. The Middle East in general was a huge issue but that was Iraq, not Israel. I said that there was not a single campaign for the House and Senate in which American support for Israel played a part.

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Yesterday a reporter called me to ask if I would analyze the effect that the issue of Israel has had on the campaign. I said it had none. The Middle East in general was a huge issue but that was Iraq, not Israel. I said that, as far as I knew, there was not a single campaign for the House and Senate in which American support for Israel played a part.

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Scandals large and small have dogged the Republicans, and two more - one quite local, and the other national - have broken over the last week, showing that political markets, like economic ones, often correct all at once. One is about pink elephants, the other is about flying pork.

The Union Leader puts the hard rock in rock ribbed conservative. Which is why their challenge to Republican powerhouse Burton is such a shock:

And of course, there is the issue everyone wants to keep in the closet: Burton's sex offender problem. Ray Burton knowingly hid convicted sex offender Mark Seidensticker on his staff for years.

The Republican Party is shocked to find out that some of the 'phants pulling the train are pink. What matters to the voters, is that there is now a pervasive pattern of Republicans covering up for criminal activity - both personal and public - using the powers of the office to hide from the consequences.

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Nahum Barnea, Israel's top newspaper columnist, has a column rich with insight in today's Yediot Achranot [Israel's leading newspaper], his weekend column. He describes behind the scenes goings-on between the Israeli Prime Minister's office and the bureau of the Palestinian president, Abu Mazen--it's a glass half full-half empty sort of discussion, the kind that the Middle East revels in and precisely the type that is nuanced in a manner that consistently eludes the Bush Administration.

But there is a line in the article, a quote from an unnamed top Palestinian official, presumeably someone from Fatah, from Abu Mazen's wing of the political leadership, that I found chilling in its simple formulation: "everyone is hostage to everyone," this Palestinian official told Barnea.

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A curious noise emanates from the great Southwest (probably just the cat), the conservative blogosphere is quite sure it’s never heard of this Ted Haggard fellow, and THE BIG 3 is back to a round number! The Midterm Roundup has run out of ideas for the final sentence of its intro and there’s still 4 mornings left! Suggestions appreciated!

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A curious noise emanates from the great Southwest (probably just the cat), the conservative blogosphere is quite sure it’s never heard of this Ted Haggard fellow, and THE BIG 3 is back to a round number! The Midterm Roundup has run out of ideas for the final sentence of its intro and there’s still 4 mornings left! Suggestions appreciated!

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After scores of rounds of voting, neither Venezuela nor Guatemala will join the Security Council. Instead, the seat will go to a compromise candidate: Panama.

With Panama, the United States got what it wanted: keeping Venezuela off the Council. But though Venezuela lost, did the United States really win? I think this explains the dynamic quite nicely:

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It can't be good news that several private security companies are now withdrawing from their contracts in Iraq due to safety concerns. This will admittedly hurt our troops (these companies often provide support, logistics, etc.) but Iraq's reconstruction as well. But what has been shocking in the news reports is just how many private contractors have died in Iraq, a number not reflected in the overall casualty count. 

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Test

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For anyone just a tad bit angry about how the right has conflated national security with a war in Iraq that is hurting our national security, send some love to VoteVets and their new ad: "Because of Iraq."

The ad features three veterans of the war in Iraq saying: "Because of Iraq, Osama bin Laden is still a threat.... Because of Iraq, our military is spread too thin.... Because of Iraq, there are more terrorists in the world." The ad closes with Gen. Wesley Clark sending a shout out against some of the right's recent ads.

This is just one of their great, strong security ads . Then after November 7, let's remember that we must still sit down and hammer out the difficult solution for what to do to salvage a functioning country for Iraqis, and a functioning military for America, out of the wreckage of current policies.

What do the mid-term elections signal about the changing ideological tides in America? E.J. Dionne sees the rise of a radical center, and David Brooks sees the end of a conservative era. But painting in these usual broad strokes doesn't capture the schizophrenia of our politics and culture. The reality is that in some ways we are moving to the right, in others to the left, while in still others the center seems to be holding. More specifically, four different sets of developments have interacted to shape our political landscape: an ideological shift to the right on markets, a victory of the center on the welfare state, a social conservative shift to the right in the moral basis of our politics, and a cultural shift to the left on social norms. These trends have defined our politics since the late 1960s, and there is no reason to think this election marks a shift away from them.

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2008 is closer than it appears, and Obama's position as the "exciting unknown quantity" of the race has been confirmed by this morning's poll numbers which show him whacking 10% out of Hillary's support, plus bits and pieces out of the third tier. He nicks Gore, but otherwise does not touch Kerry and Edwards - whose cores of support are much more solid.

The risk for Hillary is clear - as is the advantage. Obama sucks the oxygen out of any other unHillary - one that, say, has a ground organization and national campaigning experience. On the other hand, Obama exposes the center of Hurricane Hillary to increasing amounts of shear, and exposed storms can disintegrate. Hillary at 40% is a foregone conclusion. Hillary at 35% is a prohibitive front runner. Hillary at 28% is a large target rich with votes.

Hillary's position is similar to LBJ's position going in to 1960. Everyone thinks he is inevitable. Everyone is looking for an alternative. Is Obama the JFK of this race?

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As the (not so proud) owner of a popular Citibank Mastercard, I recently made a costly error: I paid my bill late.  As someone who reviews and writes about credit card policies, I expected a hefty late fee.  What I didn’t anticipate was being caught in yet another well-hidden trap designed to squeeze money out of me.  Oh, sure, the fact that a credit card company would resort to a sneaky trap is not a surprise – but the fact that they disguise it from consumers by calling it a “grace period” is something worse than a regular trap.  What was the cost to me of Citibank’s trickery?  Nearly $80, and (most likely) a ding on my credit score.  One can only wonder how many of Citibank’s millions of customers have been caught by the same trap. 

Here’s my story…

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On Tuesday, voters in Arizona will consider an initiative to raise the minimum wage from $5.15 per hour to $6.75 per hour, with a provision that the state minimum wage would automatically increase to keep up with inflation rates. A report released this week by the Center for American Progress, details the extraordinary effects this initiative could have on individuals and families in Arizona.

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1. Mice love cabernet, although the occasional mouse prefers zinfandel.

2. Tip for politicians: dying is easy, comedy is hard.

3. Hint to White House: Even if you enjoy reprising SwiftBoat, any mention of Iraq is NOT GOOD for you.

So now the Kerry's apology is "Breaking News." Folks, this is what the Democrats are up against. This is not whining.

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(This is a cross-post from NewDonkey.com).

Lost amidst the manufactured outrage over John Kerry's study-hard-or-go-to-Iraq line has been the genuine outrage that Americans ought to feel about the president's and vice president's coordinated message two days ago that essentially said a vote for Democrats is a vote for terrorism.

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Imagine my suprise when I got home tonight to hear a message on my answering machine from Robert DeNiro. Who wouldn't hope for such a thing? Of course, the message was pre-recorded-and as I heard his slight New York accent toned in my phone, I also heard the actor make a pre-done plea for my vote for Hillary Clinton for re-election to the Senate. Being a New Yorker, quite frankly, I could forego the general election, especially this year, as Hillary and everyone else is going to landslide their way into the victory they already earned in the Democratic primary, but nonetheless, my phone (and email) is stock full of pleas to vote. And I must say, that I was intrigued not only that DeNiro would be used as a gotv ploy-but moreso by his pitch, which was incredibly unconvincing--and depressing, even, if one is to consider how the Dems need to state their case--and especially that of the presidential frontrunner otherwise known as the junior senator from NY--

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With the death toll for Americans and Iraqis at record highs, and a desparate Hadley trying to stem the violence from the Green Zone, I am actually curious whether anyone has heard from Sistani lately?

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Although mid-term elections are supposedly always about local politics, this election has morphed into a referendum on Iraq -- stay the course or leave in an orderly manner -- and the Bush Presidency -- grant the President continuing authority to act in his unfettered way, as a unitary executive, with all that entails, or clip his wings. The Democratic Party did not intend either of these two questions until about two months ago, but Lamont's victory in the Nutmeg State primary and ensuing polling across the country caused virtually all Dems in serious races (probably really no more than about 60, or no more than 15% of Congressional seats!) to run campaigns that linked the President's war and his general behavior to the local Republican.

In response the Republican Party has offered essentially no agenda of any kind, and instead tried to avoid the referendum by playing the race card in Tennessee, attacking fiction in Virginia, making fun of Michael J. Fox in Missouri (that got out of control in a hurry!),and so forth. But the two questions have nevertheless been put into nearly every contestable election, mostly because the people want them asked and answered. If the Supreme Court had done its job, the referendum would be much fairer, but because one man-one vote is no longer the law of the land, an answer against the Republicans will be delivered only if there is as much as a 13% margin in aggregate voting that translates into the switch of one of the Houses of Congress. Doubtlessly the MSM will declare that the President is vindicated in all respects, and we will stay the course in Iraq, unless that 13% margin is produced and at least one House switched. Indeed, I wouldn't be surprised to see the MSM declare Rove to be a genius and the President re-endorsed even if the R's lost both Houses, provided that the margins are small. Under this standard, namely, an election so gerrymandered that Rove cannot lose big, this genius label seems easy to win, but what do I know?

The AP reports that banks nationwide are jacking up the fees that they charge account holders who bounce checks or who use another bank's ATM in a pinch.  Meanwhile, the banks are also cutting the interest rates they pay (a third of a percent, on average, thank you very much) while increasing the minimium balance to qualify for interest whatsoever. 

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An unusual thing happened in Israeli politics today; a Labor Party minister in the Olmert government, Ophir Pines-Paz, actually resigned his seat as an act of principled opposition to the inclusion in the governing coalition and the cabinet of Avigdor Lieberman and his “Yisrael Beiteinu” (Israel Our Homeland) Party, which advocates among other things ridding Israel of as much of its Arab minority as possible. Lieberman has been associated with the pro-transfer far-right in Israel and has advocated bombing just about everything in Israel’s neighborhood, Egypt (which Israel is at peace with) included. This op-ed from today’s Haaretz decries the hypocrisy in Israel of opposing European far-right racists while embracing its own bigoted miscreants.

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Tyler Drumheller, the recently retired CIA Chief for the European Division during the build up for the war in Iraq is out with a great new book, On the Brink. Tyler's account takes you inside the CIA during the month before 9-11 and through the start of the war in Iraq. He was in charge of all U.S. clandestine operations in Europe, including Turkey. But beyond a look back at what went wrong with Iraq from an intelligence perspective, Tyler offers a devastating critique of how the Bush Administration has engaged in an unprecedented politicization of the CIA. In corrupting the intelligence community the Bush Administration has put the nation at greater risk and hobbled an important government resource.

Tyler's book is unique because it offers the first insider's account about the events surrounding the build up to the war in Iraq, including the backstory on Curveball (the Iraqi fabricator) and the interactions with our British and Turkish allies. (Although CIA censors prevented Tyler from naming specific countries, a careful reader can easily pick out who is who.) On the Brink is a perfect companion to the other books published this year recounting the fabrication and failure that is Iraq--Fiasco (by Tom Ricks), Hubris (by David Corn and Michael Isikoss), Cobra II (by Bernard Trainor and Michael Gordon), Imperial Life in the Emerald City (by Rajiv Chandrasekaran), The One Percent Doctrine (by Ron Suskind), and State of Denial (by Bob "late to the party" Woodward). Taken as a whole, these volumes tell a disturbing and horrifiying story of how our nation's security has been hijacked and squandered by the very people sworn to protect it. Tyler fleshes out the intelligence portion of the story.

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And for more timeless questions, that will last long after next Tuesday, I would also love to hear from readers about the interesting musings of Geoffrey Stone on What It Means to Be a Liberal .

Having spent the weekend reading Arthur Schlesinger Jr.s The Age of Jackson (which is fascinating but reads a tad too like what it likely was--his PhD dissertation) and pondering a series of essays commissioned on the history of the Democratic Party from Jefferson to the present, I'd love to get thoughts from you on the core values that define why we call ourselves liberals. After all, it was a rather hallowed term before O'Reilly and Gingrich got their paws on it.

Check out Jeremy Rosner's terrific op-ed in Stan Greenberg et al's new political journal Democratic Strategist on recent polling and how Democrats can benefit from the public's thoughts now on national security.

And while you're over there clicking around, we'd love your comments on the Truman Project's progressive battle plan for national security part of a roundtable with terrific comments from across the ideological spectrum (including America Abroad's Anne-Marie Slaughter), and a recent second round that just went up today.

The conservatives are trying to spin this year as the year of the conservative Democrat. However, other than Casey in Pennsylvania, this simply isn't the case. The people running for the pick up districts in the Northeast and upper-Midwest aren't conservative Democrats. In fact, the conservative Democrat in a progressive seat has peaked. It is true that conservative Democrats are running in Missouri, Tennessee and Virginia - but there is less here than meets the eye. The southern liberal is a species that has been endangered since the 1960's, and was gone by the 1970's. It has been half a generation since the South sent a progressive to the Senate.

Instead what is going on is the collapse of the political conversation of the last 30 years - where moderates and conservatives argued how far to the right to run, or perhaps to merely hold momentarily what seemed to be an inexorable march to plutocracy and theocracy.

The real news is that the conversation has shifted.

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Christopher Lee reviews Lou Dobbs’ War on the Middle Class: How the Government, Big Business, and Special Interest Groups Are Waging War on the American Dream and How to Fight Back in today’s Washington Post.

Two sobering articles today for any effort that still might be made at a reality-based Iraq policy.

One by Anthony Shadid in the Washington Post, who had covered Iraq before, on his return trip after a year. He recounts interview after interview of despair and desperation, including among Iraqis who earlier had been somewhat hopeful. "Call it what you will," one Iraqi said, "but it is a civil war." His conversation with another: “I asked him whether it would become worse if the American military withdrew. He looked at me for a moment without saying anything, as though he were a little confused. ‘What could be worse?’, he asked, knitting his brow.” And a Shiite mother of eight: “If they brought the Israelis, the Jews, and they ruled Iraq, it would be better." Some obvious hyperbole, but still quite a statement.

Another by Marie Colvin in the Sunday Times of London.

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The Republicans have decided that the Economy is a better issue to run from their record on than Iraq. This is partially because it is easier to spin headline numbers. The attempt to spin deaths in Iraq came off as callous and nasty - one respected military history sold out and tried to start the talking point that deaths, compared to World War II were small. But people have realized that Saddam, compared to Hilter, was small as well. Some how running on "your legs didn't matter to us" didn't seem to work very well. It's hard to spin a civil war, once you can't deny it any more. That they are doing this in the face of GDP figures which are even worse than they look, shows how much trouble the Republicans are in this election.

The economy, in part because the numbers are under the control of the Republicans, is easier to spin. It doesn't mean the economy is that much better, it's just that it's easier to put lipstick on this particular pig.

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