what about Eliza?

with the recent wins in the US House and Senate, CO Governor seat, and the two local races I cared about, i find this continuous running through my head:

Pickering Tonight, old man, you did it!
You did it! You did it! You said that you would do it,
And indeed you did. I thought that you would rue it;
I doubted you'd do it. But now I must admit it
That succeed you did. You should get a medal
Or be even made a knight. Henry It was nothing.
Really nothing. Pickering All alone you hurdled
Ev'ry obstacle in sight. Henry Now, wait! Now, wait!
Give credit where it's due, A lot of the glory goes to you.
Pickering But you're the one who did it,
Who did it, who did it! As sturdy as Gibraltar,
Not a second did you falter. There's no doubt about it,
You did it! I must have aged a year tonight.
At times I thought I'd die of fright.

first because it is silly and jubilant, but now more consistently because i see the mainsteam politicos and progressive blogoshere vying for credit.

the self-trumpetting vindicatory talk on the blogosphere is the greater disappointment, because it sends a message of superiority that may alienate the new young progressives that generally refuse to label themselves 'liberals' because of the connotation of preachy self-righteousness. these individuals are a big part of the great victory and their alienation could have disastrous consequences in '08. they are, to a large degree, the Eliza of this story.

ah well. hopefully my concerns are just the result of overcautiousness because this victory has been so very long in coming.

the big black time suck of political volunteering

since i took on the Webmaster gig for my house district candidate, it has been remarkable how little time i have left for writing. this mainly reflects the challenges of a local campaign where everyone also must tend to 'day jobs' and the cost-effective (read free) solutions to problems often require MacGyvering. it has been an amazing experience though, at the same time, a depressing one. over the last 8 plus months, close scrutiny of the new and baffling ways candidates (mine excluded of course) have found to decivilize our society has led to an almost unavoidable funk. now, thankfully, the torture has ended (at least until i next take leave of my senses and volunteer for a campaign).

happily, not only has the darkness ended, it has been replaced by a beautiful, shiny day. the US House has been retaken with a margin so wide as to classify as a mandate. the AP reports that Tester's and Webb's leads will hold and Dems gain control of the US Senate. Rumsfeld has resigned. Hastert has announced he's tucked his tail firmly between his legs. in my personal House District, McClusckey-the incumbent Republican who went centrist last cycle after narrowly escaping defeat to John Kefalas- was defeated by the John Kefales by three times the margin last year. Kefalas, proving himself to be who he promised, sent this message out:

I would also like to thank State Representative Bob McCluskey for his public service. I know that almost half the voters preferred the incumbent, and I hope to win their trust and support in the coming months. I will strive to represent all of House District 52, not just those who voted for me.

This is not my victory alone. It is our victory. It shows you can still get elected to the people's house without big money, pollsters, consultants, spin-doctors or focus groups, and without going negative.

the wait last night was almost intolerable, as the results slowly slipped across the ticker on the bottom of the page. eventually, i 'broke' into the Business Center and essentially became the the 'ready room.' it was the first time i have been referred to as a wonk, and by more than one person mind you! i was terribly entertained.

in the end, my candidate - whose fate i am sure you are anxiously awaiting - handily outstripped his opponent by over a twenty point margin! we were all very proud as you can imagine.

so it has been a good day, a very good day.

"After Pat's Birthday"

Below follows an article written by Kevin Tillman and originally posted here. be prepared to shed many tears.

---

It is Pat’s birthday on November 6, and elections are the day after. It gets me thinking about a conversation I had with Pat before we joined the military. He spoke about the risks with signing the papers. How once we committed, we were at the mercy of the American leadership and the American people. How we could be thrown in a direction not of our volition. How fighting as a soldier would leave us without a voice… until we got out.

Much has happened since we handed over our voice:

Somehow we were sent to invade a nation because it was a direct threat to the American people, or to the world, or harbored terrorists, or was involved in the September 11 attacks, or received weapons-grade uranium from Niger, or had mobile weapons labs, or WMD, or had a need to be liberated, or we needed to establish a democracy, or stop an insurgency, or stop a civil war we created that can’t be called a civil war even though it is. Something like that.

Somehow America has become a country that projects everything that it is not and condemns everything that it is.

Somehow our elected leaders were subverting international law and humanity by setting up secret prisons around the world, secretly kidnapping people, secretly holding them indefinitely, secretly not charging them with anything, secretly torturing them. Somehow that overt policy of torture became the fault of a few “bad apples” in the military.

Somehow back at home, support for the soldiers meant having a five-year-old kindergartener scribble a picture with crayons and send it overseas, or slapping stickers on cars, or lobbying Congress for an extra pad in a helmet. It’s interesting that a soldier on his third or fourth tour should care about a drawing from a five-year-old; or a faded sticker on a car as his friends die around him; or an extra pad in a helmet, as if it will protect him when an IED throws his vehicle 50 feet into the air as his body comes apart and his skin melts to the seat.

Somehow the more soldiers that die, the more legitimate the illegal invasion becomes.

Somehow American leadership, whose only credit is lying to its people and illegally invading a nation, has been allowed to steal the courage, virtue and honor of its soldiers on the ground.

Somehow those afraid to fight an illegal invasion decades ago are allowed to send soldiers to die for an illegal invasion they started.

Somehow faking character, virtue and strength is tolerated.

Somehow profiting from tragedy and horror is tolerated.

Somehow the death of tens, if not hundreds, of thousands of people is tolerated.

Somehow subversion of the Bill of Rights and The Constitution is tolerated.

Somehow suspension of Habeas Corpus is supposed to keep this country safe.

Somehow torture is tolerated.

Somehow lying is tolerated.

Somehow reason is being discarded for faith, dogma, and nonsense.

Somehow American leadership managed to create a more dangerous world.

Somehow a narrative is more important than reality.

Somehow America has become a country that projects everything that it is not and condemns everything that it is.

Somehow the most reasonable, trusted and respected country in the world has become one of the most irrational, belligerent, feared, and distrusted countries in the world.

Somehow being politically informed, diligent, and skeptical has been replaced by apathy through active ignorance.

Somehow the same incompetent, narcissistic, virtueless, vacuous, malicious criminals are still in charge of this country.

Somehow this is tolerated.

Somehow nobody is accountable for this.

In a democracy, the policy of the leaders is the policy of the people. So don’t be shocked when our grandkids bury much of this generation as traitors to the nation, to the world and to humanity. Most likely, they will come to know that “somehow” was nurtured by fear, insecurity and indifference, leaving the country vulnerable to unchecked, unchallenged parasites.

Luckily this country is still a democracy. People still have a voice. People still can take action. It can start after Pat’s birthday.


Brother and Friend of Pat Tillman,
Kevin Tillman

things to know...

Jon Kyl Rick Renzi J.D. Hayworth John Doolittle Richard Pombo Brian Bilbray Marilyn Musgrave Doug Lamborn Rick O'Donnell Christopher Shays Vernon Buchanan Joe Negron Clay Shaw Bill Sali Mark Kirk Dennis Hastert Chris Chocola John Hostettler Mike Whalen Jim Ryun Anne Northup Geoff Davis Michael Steele Gil Gutknecht Michele Bachmann Jim Talent Conrad Burns Jon Porter Charlie Bass Mike Ferguson Heather Wilson Peter King John Sweeney Tom Reynolds Randy Kuhl Robin Hayes Charles Taylor Steve Chabot Jean Schmidt Deborah Pryce Joy Padgett Melissa Hart Curt Weldon Mike Fitzpatrick Don Sherwood Lincoln Chafee Bob Corker George Allen Frank Wolf Mike McGavick Dave Reichert Ned Lamont Ben Cardin Debbie Stabenow Claire McCaskill Jon Tester Bob Menendez Harold Ford James Webb John Salazar Jim Marshall John Barrow Leonard Boswell Melissa Bean Phil Hare Julia Carson Brad Miller John Murtha Alan Mollohan Gabrielle Giffords Diane Farrell Chris Murphy Ed Perlmutter Bruce Braley Tammy Duckworth Joe Donnelly Brad Ellsworth Baron Hill Christine Jennings Tim Mahoney Ron Klein John Yarmuth Heath Shuler Patty Wetterling Patricia Madrid Kirsten Gillibrand Michael Arcuri Jack Davis Mary Jo Kilroy Zack Space Lois Murphy Patrick Murphy Joe Sestak Chris Carney Phil Kellam Steve Kagen

But, if I said something that was truly offensive, please let me know what it was so I can retract it and use it on someone I want to offend (you sonsofbitches know who you are!)
--democommie | 10.22.05 - 10:53 am

GOP plays hardball, DCCC rolls over and pees on self

DCCC Fundraising Video: A New Direction for America

the DCCC finally did something right and made a good ad. of course the GOP throws a fit. proving even a monkey can type Shakespeare by chance once, the DCCC pulled the ad.

if the rest of the world worked this way, ie. speaking the truth is just spin, ads campaigning against smoking by the AMA for example would have to be pulled for highlighting images of lung cancer because the doctors were using 'these horrible deaths' to benefit their cause ...

our young activism will frag your old elitism

(cross-posted from a comment i made on MyDD)

i am a young voter working on a local campaign where young voters may turn the race. although my people recognize that they are NOT young voters and have placed me on point for mobilizing young voter turnout, i find it incomprehensible how few people overall have bothered to learn about us.

repeatedly i have found myself biting my tongue as Baby Boomers lecture me on how i don't know anything about young voters, that all the research performed at Harvard is bunk and that the only way to get young voters to turn out is to rent limos to drive them to the polls. in spite of the level of debate one can easily find on MyS, in chat rooms and at coffeeshops about important legislation, i am told that young voters aren't informed, don't care and will only turn out if there is some immediate payoff (like a limo ride) in it for them. and i find myself thinking...

'It will serve you right if we don't turn out if this is the way you are going to view and treat us.'

'Apparently, activism in the iPod generation doesn't count the way it did in the LP age,' my cynical side snarks, 'or at least not as much given the persistence of self-righteous dismissal by Baby Boomers and the MSM even when it occurs at remarkable levels, across partisan divides, and changes the political landscape.'

traditional political bodies continue to speak down to young voters - when they bother to speak to them at all - and drive them further away with polemic rhetoric. contemporary attempts to improve things using the 'old' protest system generally fail, and an insidious hopelessness pervades young voter consciousness.

so now we begin a new approach...

young activists have begun to move away from traditional protests and toward more organized yet non-partisan activism through groups like The League of Pissed-off Voters. they speak among themselves, investigate issues on their own, spurn traditional and untrusted news sources, and make their own organizing decisions more and more outside the framework of partisanship.

if they want to keep their issues on the table long-term, Baby Boomers had best take note because we are mobilizing our roommates, turning up at the polls in increasing numbers, and voting our issues, and as much as i hate to quote Mayer, he is right,

"one day our generation is gonna rule the population."

why Ken Gordon rocks...

from his most recent newsletter (i'll link to it as soon as it is up on their webpage):

Petition in support of Fair Elections: Tom Vilsack, the Governor of Iowa, recognizes the critical role that Secretaries of State sometimes play in shaping the outcome of important elections. To highlight the importance of having fair, honest and impartial election officers, his organization is delivering a "VOTES Declaration" petition to all 50 current Secretaries of State. (VOTES stands for Verifiable, Objective, Tough, Equal and Secure.)

If you care about free, fair and honest elections go to http://www.heartlandpac.org/page/s/VOTES to read and sign the petition. It doesn't cost anything.

---

The current administration in Washington has done nothing to provide access to affordable health care for people. It has done nothing to help people who are not wealthy or in the pharmaceutical or oil industry. It can either face the justified wrath of the people in the next election or it can divert the attention of the people to some "other," for instance illegal immigrants, which they tell you are the source of your problems.

"Don't let them trick you either here or in Washington.

Smite them with your votes."

go ahead. do it. smite them. all it takes is registering to vote. heck, if you get an absentee ballot, you can even smite them from your home while the Chromehounds server is resetting.

Salazar supports something besides the erosion of civil liberties

"Finally, this week also saw the National Park Service unveil new proposed management rules which restore the 90-year-old management principle to “First, do no harm” and abandon efforts to institute a less protective approach to park management. Over the past year and a half, I have repeatedly pushed former Interior Secretary Gale Norton, current Interior Secretary Kempthorne, National Parks Service Director Fran Mainella, and others in the Administration to re-think their proposed rules which would have decreased protections for National Parks. I am delighted that they have done so."

immigration and the living wage

i spent most of the night on the phone with my lil brother, a very smart, wonderful man. he is a general contractor in Iowa, owns his own business with 4 guys working for him. he does excellent work and looks out for his guys, no one would argue that, but he hasn't worked in 5 weeks.

now, that isn't to say he hasn't been working. he has been working his butt off trying to land a contract but to no avail.he has called everyone he knows, but no luck. the funny thing is there are $300,000 condos going up all over the area, yet no one has anything corporate to offer.

just last week, he had this bid on a big project that he thought was really going to bail things out. insulation work at 65 ft for a big facility. his bid came in at $28,000. that comes out to $115/sq ft plus soffit cost, or $25 over market cost. the next lowest bid was 35K and the one above that 52K. at the last minute, a bid came in at 17K and he lost the contract. here is what my brother says:

almost half. that is almost half our bid. at 65 feet mind you. there is no way anyone could do that unless there ain't a guy on the project that speaks a lick of English. i'm not passing judgment or nothin'-i mean everyone has got to eat-but there is just no way to beat that.

besides breaking my heart, because he is after all my baby brother and i cannot protect him, two things stood out.
1. my brother may not be able to hold his business together much longer given the unfair market pressures of an illegal workforce, but he has the sense not to blame the immigrants for also just trying to put food on the table.
2. no one should be risking their lives/welfare working for so little.

these to me are the talking points of immigration reform:
1. we need to crack down and hard on employers to give US workers a fighting chance and decrease the incentive for illegal immigration.
2. if we don't make a living wage a priority for all workers, there will always be someone more desperate for food and more willing to sacrifice safety and quality.

i <3 Ken Gordon

i thought i was pretty sold on Ken when he walked all the way across the state to save Colorado, decided he was without doubt the bee's knees when he jumped out of the airplane, and declared i couldn't be more sold when he reported in his newsletter about his son's struggle over whether cookies are leavened or not.

i was wrong.

NEWS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Ken Gordon
720-209-5784
Thursday, April 20,
2006

DENVER-Secretary of State candidate Ken Gordon announced today that he will make himself available to assist the Republican Party in the counting of votes at their May 20th convention.

The Associated Press reported Wednesday that Republican Gubernatorial candidate Marc Holtzman is considering circumventing the convention process, citing "too many unanswered questions" and "a potential for widespread fraud and manipulation" in the handling and counting of ballots. Holtzman faces Congressman Bob Beauprez in the Republican primary.

In a news report in the Rocky Mountain News, Dick Leggitt, Holtzman campaign manager, pointed out that at the 2004 Republican convention, 400 more people voted than attended.

"The Holtzman-Spradley campaign appears to have legitimate concerns about the ability of the Republicans to accurately count the votes in their own preference poll," said Gordon. "In the interest of bipartisan cooperation, I am glad to offer the Republican candidates my assistance in the counting of votes at their convention."

"I am completely neutral in the race between Mr. Holtzman and Congressman Beauprez. I think that neither candidate is any better than the other," Gordon added.

Ken Gordon kicks heiny.

this cautionary reminder courtesy of the Colorado walk website...



hat tip: johne at soapblox colorado

always room for one more

believing firmly that there is always room for more insanity, i have signed up to arrange a Fort Collins canvass as part of the 50 States Campaign. this probably doesn't sound that bad, if you don't know that i am leaving town on a 15 hour road trip with two cats three hours before the canvass is to occur. still, i have never stuck with the easy way and would hate to start now. (don't worry-i have an onsite partner in crime. i do the planning, she does the execution.)

so far, i have contacted all the local candidates for the mid-term election about getting their campaign literature plus/minus their participation in the event. efforts to involve the LarimerDems and CSU Young Dems continue semi-successfully. there still remains much to do and many materials to collect. it continues to astound me how much data is not centralized and how hard it can be to bring like-minded people from multiple organizations together. in any event, i would encourage all of you to find and assist with a 50 States Event near you!

fox, meet henhouse...

is it just me or is this a bad idea?:

One proposal calls for scrapping the current system of accreditation, which has been done largely by private regional bodies, in favor of a National Accreditation Foundation that would be created by Congress and the president.

for a moment, let's leave aside the obvious problems with having an agency put together by politicians (e.g., people with political science backgrounds and with many priorities besides education) mandating standards for all types of undergraduate training in addition to overseeing the specialized fields of medicine, dentistry, law, and business (just to name a few). on the face of it, this would centralize accreditation and more closely tie the carrot (government funding) to the stick (loss of accreditation).

on the simplest level, accreditation is about assuring a minimum standard of quality and accountability for students and for future employers. how much havoc can politicians really wreak with regard to student achievement? oh wait. that isn't the only area evaluated by accreditation (bolding mine):

While each accrediting organization establishes its own standards by which institutions and programs are accredited, these standards all address similar areas, such as expected student achievement, curriculum, faculty, services and academic support for students, and financial capacity.

the FDA is mandated to address the safety of drugs and make decisions based on available science and yet emergency contraception continues to be held hostage to the Administration's stance on abortion.

by creating a National Accreditation Foundation, the Administration would essentially gain the ability to mandate all American education or lack thereof. subjects judged contentious by a politically-controlled body could be barred from the curricula (evolution, stem cell research and abortion) or forcibly introduced (creationism into the science classroom). standards limiting the ability for faculty to espouse views dissenting from the Administration's could be easily introduced.

the real surprise on this issue is how little press the potential ramifications have gotten. university presidents remain more focused on trading barbs with business recruiters (who gripe about underqualification in American graduates while continuing to lay off qualified professionals in the relentless quest to outsource all skilled labor positions to other countries).

anergy

this article brings up some interesting questions/points. unlike many in the blogoshere, i wasn't particularly shocked by this:

while 28% say he did nothing wrong.

the things i found more interesting and important are:

3 in 10 Republicans also find that Bush did something illegal or unethical.

The more closely people are following the issue, the more likely they are to say he did something illegal rather than merely unethical.

The poll, conducted April 7-9, 2006, shows that just 25% of Americans are following the matter "very" closely, while another 39% are following the issue "somewhat" closely.

to me, this is interesting/important because it shows that:

1. the stalwart unquestioning GOP base is eroding in the face of multiple scandals.
2. people aren't tuning in, possibility because the overload of 'politics as usual'/white noise has caused anergy.
3. if we can get them to tune in, Bush's support may bottom out, clearing the way for legal proceedings and 'healing.'

so the big question to me is what can be done to get people tuned back in? with the importance of the impending November elections, this no longer is an 'intellectual exercise.' given poll data on Bush and stories like this continuing to hatch, the GOP are very unlikely to maintain control if only we can get voters to plug in and turn out.

the ratings game

the new Pew Report evaluating G W Bush is out... the dissection of data is elegant and leaves one wondering only how it is possible that he is still in command. my favorite section is fairly far down the document- titled In a Word...Incompetent. here, the poll asks people to describe the president in one word. the shift since '03 is incredible.

things have gotten so bleak for the Republicans that they now believe their best chance to maintain control in the fall election is by invoking the spectre of impreachment:

The threat of impeachment, Mr. Weyrich suggested, was one of the only factors that could inspire the Republican Party's demoralized base to go to the polls. With "impeachment on the horizon," he wrote, "maybe, just maybe, conservatives would not stay at home after all."

most baffling at the end of the day is the realization that more Americans feel neutral or positively about Simon Cowell than about their commander-in-chief...

Abbie Hoffman–your cautions resonate louder than ever

This week Republican Senator Wayne Allard of Colorado, in an interview with Fox News radio, said in response to Feingold's action that he has "time and time again [sided] with the terrorists".

Shame on Allard for peddling fear and discouraging dissent. To paraphrase Abbie Hoffman, the strength of a democracy is reflected in the support it gives its dissidents. What is the future of America's democracy if his response reflects this country's treatment of dissidents?

two things of note

in spite of all his actions, Alito seems certain to be confirmed. but there are small things to give hope that America will not quietly slide into the sea. props to Rodney for emailing me this-it is a brilliant reminder of the true basis for American pride at this most concerning time.

in other news, Nicole had her baby! little Conor was born yesterday. he weighed in at 6 lb 9 oz, 20 inches in length. i hear Nicole presented to the hospital 8 cm dilated and Conor was delivered after 45 minutes of labor. all i can say is 'watch out taxidrivers!' if Nicole holds to form with future chitlins, there may not be another one born in hospital. both mom and babe are healthy and whole.

those who can go hug your mommies in thanks!

peace and joy to you all-

j

NOT about R or D

yeah yeah, i know. i am NY and should be out playing, not writing you all. unfortunately, i do still have to ice my ankle to keep it in check so i am stuck for a few in the hotel room.

so.

you know how drugs companies like to say over and again that drugs are expensive because they have to pass on all the expense they incur on R&D?

well, for the eight people in the world who actually believe that hooey, here is your first lesson in Pharmacia 101:

We were informed today by our drug rep that a new company has purchased drug rights to Cosmogen and Mustargen. The new company is Ovation Pharmaceuticals- phone number is 847-282-1000 and the contact person is Barbara Jackson.
They have implemented a HUGE price increase which will price out all my current rescue lymphoma patients.
New prices for Cosmogen 0.5 mg vial- $513.75 from < $30.00 vial,
Mustargen $589 from $69 for a 10 mg vial.
Ms. Jackson was unable to allow my veterinary patients to be classified as indigent and at this time will not discuss compassoniate usage for veterinarians.
Please contact Ovation Pharmaceutical and request help for our patients.

these are drugs that were already developed and on the market, drugs that had already recovered their expense. drugs that were saving lives. Ovation cannot claim to be recooping expenses for R&D on these drugs and should not morally or legally be allowed to raise prices 800-1700%, condemning animals (and probably some humans) to death from their price-gouging.

shockingly, this behavior is allowed to continue. could it have something to do with the fact that the same lawmakers who sold out Medicare to the drug lobbyists remain in Washington, policing pharmacy companies?

post-pubescent breast

today the WP reports on attempts by the Administration to further invade the privacy of American citizens in the name of resurrecting an anti-pornography law that the Supreme Court has already overruled.

Adam Felber made a good case for fear about this apparent paradox:

I guess the least-interesting and most-important thing here is that the government wants to view information about our online habits, and they’re not even trying to prosecute a crime. They just want to shore up their case for re-passing that bill that the Supreme Court already called, ironically, a violation of privacy.

in addition, this vigorous pursuit against free speech, ahem i mean online pornography, involves materials defined as:

(6) Material that is harmful to minors.--The term
`material that is harmful to minors' means any communication,
picture, image, graphic image file, article, recording,
writing, or other matter of any kind that is obscene or
that--

``(A) the average person, applying contemporary community
standards, would find, taking the material as a whole and
with respect to minors, is designed to appeal to, or is
designed to pander to, the prurient interest;

``(B) depicts, describes, or represents, in a manner
patently offensive with respect to minors, an actual or
simulated sexual act or sexual contact, an actual or
simulated normal or perverted sexual act, or a lewd
exhibition of the genitals or post-pubescent female breast;
and

``(C) taken as a whole, lacks serious literary, artistic,
political, or scientific value for minors.

i don't know about you but, given the sex drive of teenage males, i think that pretty much makes any picture of any female breast count as porn, including this article on WebMD. (Office Space fans will recognize that this phenomenon may not be limited to teenagers.) if applied, one would be required to provide credit card information or another tracable identifier to visit WebMD, thus eliminating any privacy regarding personal health issues.

let's see. they already tap your phones without demonstrable cause, sell your phone records, redistrict so your vote won't count, and institute poll taxes while ostensibly supporting the VRA when redistricting can't cut it. definitely it is time for the Administration to push harder to close the citizen surveillance loop.

so.



Bubbles by Zoë Mozert (1907 - 1993)

join me in joining Felber in becoming illegal! get your own pin-up here.

good news for Choice

today Senator Salazar issued a press release pledging to vote against the Alito nomination. there is no hope of swaying Allard but Senator Salazar's commitment is good news indeed.

in addition, the Supreme Court has unanimously supported the right to 'medically necessary' abortions. unfortunately, the more hairy issue still looms on the horizon and will not come to court until after O'Connor's retirement. as Justice O'Connor has been very important in decisions on Choice, this makes the potential confirmation fo Alito terrifying indeed.

if you have not done so already, please call your senators and urge them to oppose Alito's confirmation!

better watch out, better not cry

Big Brother is here, he doesn't care who knows it, and he says we can't do anything about it:

Last month Goodman, an 81-year-old retired University of Kansas history professor, received a letter from his friend in the Philippines that had been opened and resealed with a strip of dark green tape bearing the words “by Border Protection” and carrying the official Homeland Security seal...

A spokesman for the Customs and Border Protection division said he couldn’t speak directly to Goodman’s case but acknowledged that the agency can, will and does open mail coming to U.S. citizens that originates from a foreign country whenever it’s deemed necessary...

However, Mohan declined to outline what criteria are used to determine when a piece of personal correspondence should be opened, but said, “obviously it’s a security-related criteria.”

via Crooks and Liars.