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“If we invested one tenth of the amount of time, money, and effort that we do on the war on terrorism on these food safety poisonings, we would reduce, probably by a factor of ten, the poisonings of Americans, which are in the tens of thousands every year. I would suggest in this hearing if we think of this threat in these terms, then we will respond accordingly.”

That was Congressman Jay Inslee at today’s House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations’ hearing on “Diminished Capacity: Can the FDA Assure the Safety and Security of the Nation’s Food Supply?” (Itchmo has thorough coverage of the hearing.) And in fact, the situation is much worse than even Rep. Inslee describes. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control:

An estimated 76 million cases of foodborne disease occur each year in the United States. The great majority of these cases are mild and cause symptoms for only a day or two. Some cases are more serious, and CDC estimates that there are 325,000 hospitalizations and 5,000 deaths related to foodborne diseases each year.

I conclude my piece in The Nation by highlighting that in the six years since 9/11, ten times as many Americans have died from foodborne illness than died in the terrorist attacks. Rep. Inslee rightly points out that had Osama bin Laden been responsible for the E-Coli, melamine and other poisonings, we would do something about it, and at only a fraction of the cost of Bush’s “war on terror.”

But of course, that would require an administration that actually believes that ensuring the safety of our domestic food supply is a legitimate role of government.

PROGRAMMING NOTE:
I’m filling in for Frank Shiers tonight on 710-KIRO, and Ben from Itchmo will be my guest in the 11PM hour, talking about today’s food safety hearing.

Join us at the Seattle chapter of Drinking Liberally for another exciting evening of politics under the influence. We meet at 8PM at the Montlake Ale House, 2307 24th Avenue E.

Our Seattle hosts are Nick Beaudrot of Electoral Math and HorsesAss contributer TheHim (also at Blog Reload and EFFin’ Unsound).

If you find yourself in the Tri-Cities area this evening, check out McCranium for the local Drinking Liberally. Otherwise, check out the Drinking Liberally web site for dates and times at a chapter near you.

NOTE (from Goldy):
I’m filling in for Frank Shiers tonight from 9PM to 1AM on 710-KIRO, so while I’ll be stopping by early, I won’t be hanging out. FYI, my guests tonight will be former KIRO host Allan Prell at 9PM and KC Prosecutor candidate Bill Sherman at 10PM.

(Apparently, Dan noticed the empty page first.)

What the Seattle Times said:

Legislation that passed the House last week would begin redeploying troops within 120 days and complete transition to a limited military presence by April 1.

Republican Congressman Dave Reichert of Washington voted with the president, and missed a big opportunity to distinguish himself. This is the direction our country has to take.

[…] There is no good time to get out of Iraq, but once we know we must leave, there is no excuse to put off the decision. Delay is also a decision, the wrong one with enormous costs in human life.

From now until November 2008, Darcy Burner will be relentlessly attacked as lacking the experience necessary to serve this region in Congress, but there should be little doubt how Burner would have voted on the House redeployment bill. She would have exercised the judgment to vote against the president, and with the values of her district. She would have displayed the leadership necessary to start bringing our troops home now, not months from now, and only when political expediency makes it absolutely necessary.

I hope the Times’ editors remember this before they sit down to write their next Reichert endorsement.

UPDATE:
Postman interviews Reichert on Iraq:

Reichert still firmly supports President Bush. The congressman is a former sheriff. When he talks about the war he frequently relates it to police work. And in this case he sees parallels between the criticism aimed at Bush and his most famous case, the hunt for the Green River Killer.

“During Green River we were just hammered on by the press and the community and I got hammered by people and criticized and I just feel some of the same pressures are being applied to the president.”

It should be noted that it took 18 years to catch the Green River Killer, even though they had enough evidence to make Gary Ridgeway a prime suspect early on.

That Reichert references his law enforcement career in response to every question is pathetic. That once again people are dying while he hamfistedly continues his investigation is a tragedy. Why do voters constantly reward such mediocrity?

Delayed a bit because Goldy was filling in for Frank Shires, edition. Let’s start nationally:

* My favorite bullshit this week comes from Michael Chertoff’s gut. I don’t even understand the point of mentioning his gut feeling that, “OHMYGOD!!!!1!!!!! We;re all goinna diez!” But, I for one hope that future presidents at least consider not hiring crazy people to secure the homeland.

* A little bit away from the homeland, remember Republicans, supporting the war in Iraq is the means to victory at the polls. Especially when your argument for the war is reduced to we don’t want to make a general sad. And of course, it helps to be able to put words into the troops’ mouths.

* But never fear, Mitt Romney is projecting the goodness that can only come of attacking Iran.

Locally, a lot of the good bullshit has already been mentioned here on HA. Including by me. Still, there’s other bullshit:

* Eric Earling is concern trolling Darcy Burner.

* And finally this week, Forbes Magazine calls bullshit on the state Republicans. Apparently, since the Dems took total control of the reigns of government, the state has gone up to 5th best business climate. I would avoid thinking that business climate is the most important measure of the health of the state but still, it kind of puts a kink into the Republican claim that they are the best people for business.

Dino Rossi’s idea man warns us in a new video that if we don’t tackle the gambling epidemic now, we could become another Nevada.

Enjoy

I’ll be filling in for Frank Shiers tonight on 710-KIRO from 9PM to 1AM. At 10PM will be talking impeachment with Linda Boyd of the Eastside Fellowship of Reconciliation, and I’m sure we’ll be discussing the Iraq filibuster ongoing tonight in the U.S. Senate.

One of the things that jumps out at me from Darryl’s post on the final Q2 fundraising numbers in the Burner/Reichert race is the disparity between the contribution total that Real Clear Politics reports ($192,000) and the number that Dave Reichert’s staff recently gave the Seattle Times’ David Postman ($245,000). Huh.

The difference is mostly explained by a $64,000 transfer from ROMP, the NRCC’s “Retain Our Majority Program”. (Note to NRCC: you’re in the minority.) Apparently, the folks who cover these sort of things for a living don’t consider committee transfers like these as “contributions” when comparing dollars raised. In fact, Real Clear Politics points out that of the 19 “vulnerable House incumbents” on the Republicans’ ROMP list, only one raised less money than Reichert during the second quarter: NY Congressman Randy Kuhl, who pulled in a paltry $68,000.

And when you delve a little deeper into Reichert’s numbers they look even worse, especially as an early measure of his relative organizational strength and grassroots support. Of the $257,000 he ultimately reported, only $70,800 came from 86 individual contributors in Washington state — the rest came from PACs, out-of-state residents and outside committees. Compare that to Burner, whose $199,000 haul included $156,675 from 120 individual Washington residents.

I’m just sayin’.

UPDATE:
In the comment thread, RonK suggests that I might have missed Reichert’s small, unitemized donations. I’m about to go on air, so don’t have the time to go back to my spreadsheet, but if so, the point remains the same, even if the numbers above aren’t exact: the bulk of Reichert’s money comes from PACs, out-of-state contributors and ROMP, whereas the bulk of Darcy’s money comes from individual, Washington state contributors.

UPDATE, UPDATE:
I’m certainly no FEC expert, but after further review of the FEC filings, my original post appears technically accurate as an apple-to-apple comparison of in-state individual contributions. In addition, Reichert raised $25,052 in unitemized, individual contributions, while Burner raised $21,286. But since these are “unitemized,” they do not provide the information necessary to evaluate in-state support. Even if one were to assume that most of these unitemized contributions came from in-state, that would not change the premise of this post.

The FEC reports for the second quarter (1 Apr–30 Jun) are in. The result: Darcy Burner has raised more money than Dave Reichert (R-WA-08). She has also spent less money, and has more cash on hand.

Here is how Real Clear Politics describes it:

The NRCC may be concerned about three of their incumbents who raised less than $200,000 for the quarter. Washington Congressman Dave Reichert (R-WA 08) raised $192,000, while his 2006 opponent, businesswoman Darcy Burner (D), raised $199,000. Burner held on to $185,000, while Reichert retains $162,000.

The reason the NRCC should be concerned is because of Reichert’s anemic performance. The 19 Republicans enrolled in the NRCC’s (erronously titled) Retain Our Majority Program for vulnerable incumbents raised an average of $316,000 with an average of $455,000 in hand. It seems that Reichert’s fundraising prowess and fiscal management are not quite up to snuff.

Burner not only out-fundraised Reichert, but her campaign spent only 38% of what Reichert’s campaign spent (Reichert: $140,000; Burner: $53,000).

The contribution profile differs between the two candidates. Darcy raised $183,500 from individual contributions compared to Reichert’s $99,600. Nearly half of Reichert’s contributions ($92,800) came from political action committees; whereas, Burner took in only $16,000 in PAC contributions.

Reichert’s anemic fundraising is likely a symptom of voter dissatisfaction with the continued military operations in Iraq. That is, Reichert’s 100% support for Bush on Iraq is causing him the same difficulties that Presidential hopeful John McCain has. As Goldy pointed out earlier, Daniel Kirkdorffer at On the Road to 2008 predicts a Reichert flip-flop on the Iraq issue this coming September, right after the Petraeus report.

That might help his fundraising a bit. On the other hand, a Reichert flip-flop will highlight Reichert’s blind loyalty to Bush for three years in which thousands of U.S. soldiers died and tens of thousands were wounded.

I suspect voters will be ready for a change.

Daniel Kirkdoffer is demonstrating his eerie psychic powers over at On The Road to 2008:

Congressman Reichert has a tendency to flip. Sometimes he’ll simply flop. Often, he’ll change his position on an issue during the time it is being considered by the U.S. House.

We saw him flip on stem cell research.

We saw him flop on raising the minimum wage, before finally supporting a Democratic bill that did just that.

We saw him vote for ANWR drilling, while simultaneously stating his was against it.

Sometimes we’re not sure what exactly is driving his votes, as he has stated that he often votes how his party tells him to vote.

So I’m here to predict that later this year, Dave Reichert will once again flip, but this time on an issue he has voted with the Bush administration 100% of the time: the Iraq occupation.

Of course Reichert will eventually flip-flop on the Iraq war occupation. He’ll have to… at least, if he wants to win reelection. With a 100-percent Bush/Cheney voting record on Iraq in the face of a rising sentiment to bring our troops home, Reichert must either flop where he once flipped, or follow the President’s lead in flipping the bird to public opinion. I’m betting his handlers will convince him to choose the former.

So let’s start a betting pool. Post in the comment thread your prediction of when Reichert will flip-flop on Iraq — that is vote, or make a public statement in opposition to Bush administration policy — and the person who comes closest will win a pitcher of beer (or the cash equivalent) courtesy of HA.

Bob Geiger reports on the…

…status of cosponsorship on the Habeas Corpus Restoration Act of 2007, a bill by Senator Arlen Specter (R-PA) that would “…restore habeas corpus for those detained by the United States.” At that point, the legislation had 23 cosponsors — 22 Democrats and Independent Bernie Sanders of Vermont — and I thought I would check back in today and see who has stepped up to show leadership on this issue since then.

The current list of sponsors includes Washington state’s junior Senator, Maria Cantwell. But, surprisingly, Sen. Patty Murray is absent from the list.

That means it is time for a letter….

Dear Sen. Murray,

One of the worst pieces of legislation in the history of America was the Military Commissions Act of 2006 that removed the right of habeas corpus from millions. There is now a bill introduced by Sen. Specter called the Habeas Corpus Restoration Act of 2007 that will reverse this abomination.

This is an extremely important piece of legislation. It restores habeas corpus to non-citizens (including some 12 million permanent residents who, under the current law, can be held indefinitely and with no legal recourse), and allows them to challenge arbitrary detention in the U.S. court system.

I was surprised to see that you are not a cosponsor of this bill.

Please cosponsor this legislation, and do whatever it takes to enact it into law. Lets minimize this ugly blemish on American history.

Yours,

Darryl
HominidViews

Click here to send your own letter to Sen. Murray. Or call the toll-free number at the U.S. Capitol at (800) 862-5530, or Sen. Murray’s office directly at (202) 224-2621, or send a Fax to (202) 224-0238.

(Crossposted.)

Tonight on “The David Goldstein Show”, 7PM to 10PM on Newsradio 710-KIRO:

7PM: Open lines with Rep. Adam Smith
Congressman Adam Smith represents Washington’s 9th Congressional District, and he’ll be joining me for the hour to take your calls. This week he demanded that “We must change course in Iraq to protect our country.” This is your chance to give him your support or a piece of your mind on this and other pressing issues.

8PM: Politics and Music
Tom Morello, best known as the guitarist for Rage Against the Machine and Audioslave, is playing his acoustic protest songs as The Night Watchman, July 18th at Seattle’s Crocodile Cafe. I had a chance to interview him earlier this week about the intersection between politics and music. We’ll play the tape, and then come back in the second half of the hour to continue the conversation with Howie Klein, a former president of Reprise Records, who is now one of the nation’s leading progressive bloggers. (Down With Tyranny and Firedoglake.)

9PM: Um… is the right crazy?
Are they nuts? You know, stuff like this, and especially, this. I mean, really.

Tune in tonight (or listen to the live stream) and give me a call: 1-877-710-KIRO (5476).

PROGRAMMING NOTE:
All you Frank Shiers fans, watch out! I’ll be filling in for Frank Monday and Tuesday from 9PM to 1AM. And all you Allan Prell fans, tune in! He’ll be my guest in the 9PM hour on Tuesday night.

From Wikipedia:

Saddam Hussein (28 April 1937 – 30 December 2006) was the fifth President of Iraq and Chairman of the Iraqi Revolutionary Command Council from 1979 until his overthrow by US forces in 2003. He was executed after being found guilty of war crimes at his trial in 2006.

And you know what else? He’s a registered voter.

I blame Dean Logan, of course.

I was going to cross-post this, but it’s a bit long. Over at EffU, I’ve found a local hero who recently saved us all from impending peril.

Tonight on “The David Goldstein Show”, 7PM to 10PM on Newsradio 710-KIRO:

7PM: The Stranger Hour with Josh & Erica
The Stranger’s Josh Feit and Erica Barnett join me for the hour for a round-up of the week in state and local politics, including Dino Rossi’s “idea” man, the continuing saga of the OPARBRBRBRB, and the latest on Seattle’s weird war on nightlife. Also, Erica plans to set me straight on something or other.

8PM: Can a godless atheist like me be a patriot?
In following the news of the “Christians and patriots” who loudly protested when a Hindu clergyman gave the US Senate’s morning prayer, I came across a quote from George H. W. Bush, (the President’s father,) given while he was running for president in 1987: “No, I don’t know that atheists should be considered as citizens, nor should they be considered patriots. This is one nation under God.” I’m an atheist. Can I be considered a patriot or even a citizen?

9PM: What’s going on south of the border?
TJ from Loaded Orygun joins me for our monthly round-up of what’s going on south of the Washington border.

Tune in tonight (or listen to the live stream) and give me a call: 1-877-710-KIRO (5476).

PROGRAMMING NOTE:
Tune in tomorrow at 7PM for a live call-in with US Rep. Adam Smith. At 8PM, Tom Morello (from Rage Against the Machine and Audioslave), blogger and former recording industry executive Howie Klein and I will talk about the intersection between politics and music.