Tom Schaller is a very bright political observer who has ignited some controversy with his book "Whistling Past Dixie," which discusses the Democratic majority and how the South is NOT a part of it. Today, it becomes Topic A as Markos described.

To me, Schaller's empirical point is self evident, and I thought so and argued so since November 2004. But I think it is time to look forward and discuss how we can absorb the evidence Schaller provides, win now in the Democratic majority part of the country while continuing to work hard to win in all 50 states. Yes, the 50 State Strategy holds the answer:

Devolution of power in the Democratic Party is inextricably tied to Dean's 50 state strategy. . . . [T]he idea of a 50 state Democratic Party is sound, even essential, to its continued relevance. It is no secret that I am a proponent of a politics of contrast for Dems. I am also a proponent of a Big Tent Dem Party. Are these two ideas mutually exclusive? I think not. For example, while I am skeptical of a short term strategy that can deliver significant wins for Dems in the South, the medium and long term offer opportunities. But I think they come from the devolution strategy that Howard Dean is trying to execute, creating strong state Democratic parties that control their own local message. National branding still requires a national message and, more importantly, negative branding of the Republicans.

Republican fundraiser and coin dealer Tom Noe got a heavy jolt today in an Ohio courtroom. 18 years in state prison. Ouch.

Tom Noe, convicted last week on 29 charges for stealing from Ohio’s $50 million rare-coin fund, was sentenced to 18 years in state prison and ordered to pay fines and restitution by Judge Thomas Osowik this morning in Lucas County Courthouse.

The sentence will begin after Noe completes a 27-month federal sentence imposed in September for illegal laundering more than $45,000 to President Bush’s campaign, Judge Osowik ruled.

I'm in court today, so here's an open thread for you.

The Washington Post has a historical review of truth serum. It concludes:

In the 21st century, however, the answer appears to be: No. There is no pharmaceutical compound today whose proven effect is the consistent or predictable enhancement of truth-telling.

It traces the modern day concept of truth serum to the drug scopalamine, and says:

Can we win in Iraq? Not according to Henry Kissinger.

If you mean by military victory, an Iraqi government that can be established and whose writ runs across the whole country, that gets the civil war under control and sectarian violence under control in a time period that the political processes of the democracies will support, I don't believe that is possible,'' he told the British Broadcasting Corp. on Sunday.

If it's for world peace, it would be rude to say "no."

The Global Orgasm for Peace was conceived by Donna Sheehan, 76, and Paul Reffell, 55, whose immodest goal is for everyone in the world to have an orgasm Dec. 22 while focusing on world peace.

Good for Rich:

ELECTIONS may come and go, but Washington remains incorrigible. Not even voters delivering a clear message can topple the town’s conventional wisdom once it has been set in the stone of punditry.

Right now the capital is entranced by a fictional story line about the Democrats. As this narrative goes, the party’s sweep of Congress was more or less an accident. . . . [N]ow the party is deeply divided as its old liberals and new conservatives converge on Capitol Hill to slug it out.

The only problem with this version of events is that it’s not true. The overwhelming majority of the Democratic winners, including Jon Tester of Montana, are to the left of most Republicans, whether on economic policy or abortion.

As Rich notes, this narrative distracts from Iraq:

[D]isengagement from Iraq is the patriotic thing to do. Diverting as “divided Democrats” has been, it’s escapist entertainment. The Washington story that will matter most going forward is the fate of the divided Republicans. Only if they heroically come together can the country be saved from a president who, for all his professed pipe dreams about democracy in the Middle East, refuses to surrender to democracy’s verdict at home.

For all you naysayers who thought we were crazy when we wrote about bringing back the draft, here it is, Charlie Rangel, obviously having a deranged moment, is introducing a bill to reinstate the draft.

Rangel mistakenly thinks that a draft would have prevented the war in Iraq.

"There's no question in my mind that this president and this administration would never have invaded Iraq, especially on the flimsy evidence that was presented to the Congress, if indeed we had a draft and members of Congress and the administration thought that their kids from their communities would be placed in harm's way," Rangel said.

A draft would not have prevented Iraq any more than it prevented Vietnam. I cannot support risking the lives of this country's youth to make a political point. They should not be used as pawns in the war debate.

Let's hope Rangel's bill dies as swift a death this year as it did in 2004.

I'm still busy at work so here's an open thread. There's also some good diaries this weekend:

• November 19, 2006 - Cheney Says Dems Can't Stop Bush's War With Iran
• November 17, 2006 - Keisler must be blocked.
• November 17, 2006 - New Report Finds Bush Banned Rights Before Military Tribunal Law Enacted By Congress
• November 16, 2006 What Do Hunger & Torture Have In Common? No Pain Equals No Existence.

Expecting the executive branch to obey the law and respect civil rights is "shortsighted," according to Attorney General Alberto Gonzales. "Overreaching" is a good description of the president's asserted power to wiretap the conversations of American citizens on American soil without a warrant, but Gonzales accused a court of "overrreaching" when it declared the administration's warrantless surveillance program unconstitutional.

Gonzales and Cheney's attacks on the court order came as the administration was urging the lame-duck Congress to approve legislation authorizing the warrantless surveillance. The bill's chances are in doubt, however, because of Democratic opposition in the Senate, where 60 votes are required to end debate and vote.

Gonzales wouldn't "speculate" about the administration's response if Congress doesn't give the president the power he craves. Of course he wouldn't. He knows that the administration will continue the surveillance program with or without congressional approval -- and will probably ignore "overreaching" court decisions that attempt to stifle the president's lust for power.

The president's father claimed to see "a thousand points of light" in the charitable organizations "that are spread like stars throughout the Nation." The current administration praises private efforts to help the unfortunate while it harasses Muslim charities. One victim of the administration's double standard is Dr. Rafil Dhafir, whose arrest TalkLeft discussed here.

In direct response to the humanitarian catastrophe created by brutal sanctions on Iraq, Dhafir, a man of Iraqi descent and Muslim faith, and an American citizen for almost thirty years, started the charity Help the Needy (HTN). ... When the deaths of children over the age of five and adults are added, the number killed as a direct result of the sanctions rises to between 1.5 and 2 million dead civilians. ...

For the crime of breaking the U.S. and U.K. sponsored UN sanctions on Iraq and sending humanitarian aid to sick and starving civilians, Dhafir was held without bail for thirty-one months and then sentenced to twenty-two years in prison.

The linked article recaps the case against Dr. Dhafir, a case that ran on twin tracks: a fraud prosecution for activities that, according to its prosecutors, had no link to terrorism; and contradictory claims by federal authorities that Dr. Dhafir's charitable activities assisted terrorism.

Law Prof Mark Denbeaux and team have completed their report on the review hearings (pdf) undertaken at Guantanamo:

In the wake of the Supreme Court’s decision that the United States Government must provide adequate procedures to assess the appropriateness of continued detention of individuals held by the Government at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, the Department of Defense established the Combatant Status Review Tribunals (“CSRT”) to perform this mission.