text:
Tuesday Mashup (6/24/14)
John Lott is back, opining on his favorite topic (here)…
(President) Obama also claimed: "The idea, for example, that we couldn't even get a background check bill in to make sure that if you are going to buy a weapon you have to go through a fairly rigorous process so that we know who you are so that you can't just walk up to a store and buy a semi-automatic weapon makes no sense."
Obama ought to try purchasing a gun himself. He will realize it is not as easy as he thinks to buy a gun. No store in the entire United States can legally sell a semi-automatic gun without conducting a background check. Indeed, That (sic) has been the federal law for two decades now, since 1994.
Interesting (though not surprising) that Lott has nothing to say about background checks at gun shows – probably because there basically is no such thing for most of the states in this country (take a look at all of the red on the map shown here).
Also, as noted from here…
…when you compare the United States to nations like Britain and Japan, it becomes clear that firearm ownership contributes to America's murder problem. The American firearm homicide rate is about 20 times the average among Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development countries (excluding Mexico).
Harvard researchers Daniel Hemenway and Matthew Miller examined 26 developed countries, and checked whether gun ownership correlated with murder rates. They found that "a highly significant positive correlation between total homicide rates and both proxies for gun availability." They also didn't find much evidence that a higher rate of gun murders led to lower rates of other kinds of murder (i.e., stabbings).
Interestingly, these results tended to hold true even when you exclude the United States and its super-high homicide and gun-ownership rates. "More guns are associated with more homicides across industrialized countries," Hemenway and Miller conclude.
Data from inside the United States suggests the same thing. A recent, highly sophisticated study found that, once you control for general crime rates and other confounding factors, "each 1 percentage point increase in proportion of household gun ownership" translated to a 0.9 percent increase in homicides. A meta-analysis — study of studies — found a strong consensus among researchers that access to guns correlated with higher homicide rates in the United States.
In another screed at Fix Noise (here), Lott complains about that danged "li-bu-ruul media" once again for not reporting that, according to Lott, the trend in this country is that school shootings are going down.
In response, here is a list from 2012 of school shootings in 36 other countries versus the U.S. – can't imagine how even a life form as delusional as Lott could think that we have anything to brag about on that front.
Most recently, Lott launched a cowardly attack against the group Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America here.
Next, I posted a little while ago about the dustup between former Philly Pops artistic director Peter Nero (synonymous with Philly Pops for 33 years, as noted here) and Philly Pops president and chief executive Frank Giordano (who dumped Nero because he supposedly cost too much, even though Giordano ended up with a salary bump to $91K in the bargain as noted here – second bullet).
Well, it turns out that Nero let a little verbal faux pas slip out recently here, saying that "crooks dressed in $3,000 suits came in who didn't know a thing about the music business" led to Nero's departure.
Please note that Nero did not make personal reference to Giordano above, even though Nero later apologized for his remarks.
However, Giordano is suing Nero anyway for hurt fee fees, to the tune of $75,000 in compensatory damages and $1 million in punitive damages.
Giordano is yet another CEO type who managed to finagle his way to a position of influence over an artistic and cultural institution and pick whatever bones remained before it finally dies or very nearly succumbs (see Bill Marrazzo and WHYY, whichever millionaire owns it now and the Philadelphia Inquirer/Daily News, etc.). And in this case, yelling "lawsuit" is the act of a desperate, despicable person who, while he seems to know the price of everything, truly knows the value of nothing, as the saying goes.
Further, I give you Larry Kudlow, who I admit has been busy lately (here)…
"Reinvigorating the leadership" is how one senior House staffer described the ascendency of Steve Scalise, the Louisiana Republican who won a first-ballot victory for the position of GOP whip. The staffer went on to portray Scalise as not a member of the Washington establishment. Indeed, Scalise is a former chair of the Republican Study Committee (RSC), the conservative caucus in the U.S. House. He has had a meteoric rise, and he is someone to be reckoned with.
…make no mistake about it, Steve Scalise is a genuine conservative. He was one of only 15 Republican House members to get a 100 percent voting designation by the American Conservative Union.
National Review contributor Quin Hillyer put it this way: "Scalise will be the most conservative GOP leadership member since Dick Armey."
I'm sure Kudlow is right in those latter two sentences, by the way, which definitely isn't positive as far as I'm concerned (I should note that the former whip was Kevin McCarthy, who will become majority leader upon Eric Cantor's primary election loss).
In response, it should be noted that Scalise is buds with Darth Cheney (here), wants to fully "repeal and replace" "Obamacare" (here…no surprise either I realize), and thinks climate change is a hoax (of course – here). Also (and which is also predictable, I'm sure), Scalise has a bit of a "Koch" problem (here).
Yep, Not Your Father's Republican Party continues to march Forward Into The Past (will the last GOP "moderate" to leave please turn out the lights?).
Continuing with unhinged U.S. House Republicans, I give you the following from Ed Whitfield (here)…
In 2009, President Obama traveled to the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen and announced at the Climate Change Conference that the United States would reduce our CO2 emissions 17 percent below 2005 levels by 2020 and 83 percent below 2005 levels by 2050.
The president did not consult with the Congress or any other job creating groups, but committed the citizens of America to his arbitrary goals. Acting unilaterally, by regulation and executive orders, has become commonplace with this administration.
Well, didn't Dubya act "unilaterally" too here (and correctly, shocking as that sounds), when he "order(ed) EPA to use its authority under the Clean Air Act to regulate greenhouse gases (GHGs) from mobile sources, working in coordination with several other federal agencies" after The Supremes ruled that GHGs were indeed a pollutant and subject to regulation under the Clean Air Act (and yes, I'm sure I've pointed this out before)?
And as noted from here, on the positive economic impact of pursuing a common-sense energy agenda de-emphasizing fossil fuels…
• Climate mitigation investments will have huge economic returns on that investment ranging from energy efficiency reducing total energy bills to new economic activity surrounding the new technologies and businesses seeking to reduce our climate impact.
• Climate mitigation investments will have huge corollary benefits — such as improved human health (from reduced allergy risks to reduced emergency room visits with asthma attacks to reduced deaths due to fossil fuel pollution), improved visibility at national parks
• Climate mitigation will reduce the huge risks associated with climate change and will provide an insurance against the potential that climate change implications could be far worse than standard projections suggest (e.g., the risk that the modeling is erring on the too optimistic side).
• Climate mitigation is an investment that will provide huge returns — across a spectrum of economic, social, and environmental fronts.
It should also be noted that Whitfield and U.S. Senate Dem (and clean energy traitor) Joe Manchin came up with something called H.R. 3826/S. 1905, the Electricity Security and Affordability Act (here). It would repeal the Environmental Protection Agency's authority to curtail greenhouse gas emissions, authority the agency was accorded under the Clean Air Act, authority affirmed by two decisions of the U.S. Supreme Court.
Of course, as noted here, Whitfield has received about $900,000 in donations from the oil and gas industry, so I would say that this is a handsome return on investment by those cretins, if nothing else.
One more thing – on the issue of climate, this tells us that we just experienced the hottest May on record…just sayin'.
Also, leave it to Matt Bai to find a high-profile Dem who opposes teachers unions (here)…
So you're a liberal member of the 1 percent, and you've decided to wrest control of the Democratic agenda from change-averse insiders. You want to free the capital from the grip of powerful interest groups. You want to inspire a new set of policies to help America meet the challenges of a fast-transforming economy. Where do you turn for leadership and innovation?
To the teachers union, of course!
At least that's how it seems to have played out at the Democracy Alliance, the group of superrich Democrats who have funneled more than half a billion dollars into liberal groups over the past decade. Earlier this month, the alliance announced that John Stocks, executive director of the National Education Association, would become the chairman of its board.
The move went largely unnoticed by the Washington media and even most Democrats, who could think of nothing at that moment other than the Memoir That Ate Everything in Its Path. But it tells you something — more than Hillary Clinton's book does, certainly — about the direction of Democratic politics right now.
(For the record, let it be known that I don't give a damn about Hillary Clinton's memoir. And by the way, CNN, staying with HRC, when it comes to politicians and wealth, how come this is news in 2014, but this wasn't news in 2000?)
Bai then uses the recent travesty of Judge Rolf Treu's ruling on teacher tenure in California (a decision based on a totally made-up claim, as noted here) to attack teachers unions in general.
Having created this straw man, he then inflicts the following…
Heed the words of Nick Hanauer, a Seattle-based venture capitalist and school reform advocate, who wrote in a 2012 email that subsequently became public: "It is impossible to escape the painful reality that we Democrats are now on the wrong side of every education reform issue. … There can be no doubt in any reasonable person's mind that the leadership of our party and most of its elected members are stooges for the teachers union, the ring leaders in all this nonsense."
I don't want to get too "lost in the woods" here, so I'll try to sum up by saying that Bai opposes the direction taken by the group Democracy Alliance now that John Stocks, executive director of the National Education Association (and someone opposed by Hanauer) will become chairman of the board. Even though, as Bai puts it, "the problem here has nothing to do with Stocks personally, whom I've never met, and who has been described to me as a thoughtful and open-minded guy. It also has nothing to do with teachers generally, many of whom are nothing short of heroic, and who are struggling to adapt to the turmoil in their industry, same as the rest of us."
Gee, wouldn't it have been worth Bai's time to try and reach out to Stocks and get a quote or two for this column?
Oh sorry, silly me – I forgot that it's more important for Bai to push the "Dems caught in the grip of a supposedly hopelessly compromised teachers union" narrative in a column full of supposedly high-minded corporate media Beltway puffery than it is to write about real people and real issues.
And speaking of real people and real issues, I thought this letter was a good response to Hanauer, including the following…
…you say that it's not the hard-working, dedicated teachers who are ruining education but rather their nasty, child-hating union. I grew up as an upper middle class white boy in the American South, where all of the white grownups had their favorite Black people—the cook, the person who looked after the kids, the guy who took care of the cattle for a share of the corn crop. But God forbid that one of those favorites be seen gathering on a street corner with Black people from out of town, or at an NAACP meeting, or having coffee with a union representative. At the first hint of any organized activity, our grownups would turn on their favorite Black people faster than a summer squall could dump an inch of rain on the pasture. Suddenly the individuals who had been so tender, wise, and trustworthy were scary, too stupid to know better, and not to be let into the house. Everybody loved the solitary black person, nobody liked it when they started to bunch up and talk crazy.
That's kind of the way it is with teachers. Everybody loves a teacher, nobody likes the big, bad teachers' union. As long as they're staying after school to give the extra help to the kids who need it or reaching into their own pockets to pay for the supplies that the state doesn't anymore, teachers are saints. But when they collectively advocate for decent wages, adequate health care, and working conditions that don't erode by the minute they're a threat to the moral fabric of the state.
And as long as I'm on the subject of education, I thought this was a good post about the battle in the Philadelphia school district between public and charter schools (yes, I'm sure there are excesses in public schools, but after just having paid for the education of a parochial school student who recently graduated, I can tell you that that's hardly a panacea either).
Finally, this tells us that we recently observed the 50th anniversary of the disappearance of James Chaney, Andrew Goodman and Michael Schwerner, three civil rights workers were trying to register African Americans to vote in Mississippi; their bodies were found 44 days later (the incident helped to propel the Civil Rights Act to passage – Klan leader Edgar Ray Killen was convicted of the crime in 2005).
And though this event wasn't as awful as the murders, it was still a defining moment that tried to legitimize, if not actually whitewash, that tragedy (and as noted here, past is definitely prologue from the party of The Sainted Ronnie R when it comes to race).
Leave a Comment »	| Activism, Barack Obama, Congress, Education, Energy, Environment, Fox "News", George W. Bush, Guns, Health Care, Hillary Clinton, Koch Brothers, Philly Stuff, Pundit Ponderings (Bad), Race, Teahadists	| Tagged: Andrew Goodman, background checks, Barack Obama, climate change, Daniel Hemenway, Democracy Alliance, Dick Armey, Dick Cheney, Ed Whitfield, Edgar Ray Killen, Electricity Security and Affordability Act, Eric Cantor, Frank Giordano, greenhouse gases, gun shows, Guns, Hillary Clinton, James Chaney, John Lott, John Stocks, Judge Rolf Treu, Kevin McCarthy, Koch Brothers, Larry Kudlow, Matt Bai, Matthew Miller, Michael Schwerner, Moms Demand Action For Gun Sense, Nick Hanauer, OECD, Peter Nero, Philadelphia charter schools, Philly Pops, Ronald Reagan, semi-automatic, Steve Scalise, U.S. House of Representatives, UN Climate Change Conference	| Permalink
This from about 10 days ago tells us about the 7 U.S. House Republicans named to the BENGHAZI!!! Clown Show Committee.
So, in no particular order, allow me to introduce them to you…
Susan Brooks (IN – 05)
Brooks seems to be a little smarter than some of the other numbskulls here; she's been operating "below the radar" as far as I can see. All I could find was this item where she criticized the U.S. Senate Dems for supposedly not passing a budget, a popular talking point at the time echoed by Mikey the Beloved among others (more on him later)…in response, I give you this (and by the way…).
Jim Jordan (OH – 04)
Supported the shut down? Check. Supported the sequester? Check.
However, that doesn't come close to telling Jordan's story. As head of the Republican Study Committee, he has marshaled forces to oppose anything that looks even remotely like GOP compromise or deal-making with Number 44, being a perpetual thorn in the side of "Man Tan" Boehner, to the point where Jordan even scuttled the deal on the sequester and forced last year's aforementioned government shut down (which was definitely the electoral "gift that keeps on giving" for the Dems, and even prevented a deal in which President Hopey Changey would have given away the proverbial store). All of this is noted in Tim Dickinson's excellent Rolling Stone article here.
Mike Pompeo (KS – 04)
I already discussed Pompeo here, pointing out that, among other things, he's utterly bought and paid for by Chuck and Dave Koch.
Martha Roby (AL – 02)
I predict (for whatever it's worth) that, of the 7 Republicans participating in this farce, Roby will be the one who ends up with the most TV "face time" of the bunch and ends up getting talked about the most on the cable "news" channels.
That's because, with the departure of "Moon Unit" Bachmann, the Teahadists are looking for a new "lightning rod" to congregate around and practice their faux indignation every chance they get. And had Marsha Blackburn been named to this cluster instead, then she would have solidified her own wingnut bona fides. But she wasn't.
And Roby brings her own brand of "crazy, to wit…
She didn't push back against a "birther" calling Obama a "communist despot" here.
"Stockholm Syndrome" Roby voted against the Violence Against Women Act here.
She introduced bill to eliminate overtime pay here.
And as we all know, more gun laws won't solve the problem (here – removing my tongue from my cheek).
Update 10/22/14: Not sure how I forgot about this from Roby, but I did somehow (bullet #4).
Peter Roskam (IL – 06)
This guy might end up getting more face time than he deserves too…
Here, he basically lied about whether or not he knew former House Speaker Tom DeLay, aka, The Bugman (not a crime I realize, but I think it sends a message).
As of 2008, he's received over $100 grand in oil money and has fought against clean energy, of course (here).
Roskam was under investigation for a $750,000 (!) trip to Taiwan in 2011 (also noted here that he failed to report about $103,000 in fundraising expenditures in '05).
Here, Roskam co-introduced a bill to block federal funding of universities "engaging in a boycott of Israeli academic institutions or scholars." (um, let me see here, where is that dictionary? "Free speech"…what exactly is that definition again?). And yes, Dan Lipinski definitely should know better.
Lynn Westmoreland (GA – 03)
Here, Dem U.S. House Rep John Lewis recently called on Westmoreland to step down since Westmoreland is in charge of the political strategy wing of the party, and Lewis sees a conflict of interest (with all due respect to Rep. Lewis, is there anything involved with this nonsense that isn't all about "political strategy"?).
Here, Westmoreland sponsored a bill to post the Ten Commandments without actually knowing what they are (just say "oops," and get out, you dweeb).
He was perfectly happy over setting up "faux" Democratic candidate web sites, which is a really chicken way to support your own party here.
He said a shutdown would be worth it because the government is full of "gangrene" here (real nice).
Westmoreland also said that NSA spying foiled 54 terrorist plots here (of course, Westmoreland supposedly couldn't produce anything to verify that since it's "classified" – why does this sound like the dinner scene with Angela Lansbury and James Gregory with the ketchup bottle in "The Manchurian Candidate"?).
And last but certainly least, I give you the chairman…
Trey Gowdy (SC – 04)
I guess it's inevitable that I point this out (though Gowdy gets accidental honesty points here).
And let's not forget how Gowdy and company are using BENGHAZI!!! to raise money, despite their faux protestations to the contrary (here).
And lest anyone wonder about whether or not they'll be beating this proverbial dead horse for 2016, I give you this (here).
Also, Gowdy is apparently known for theatrics, as noted here (perfect for the Repugs).
In conclusion, in the question of whether or not the House should proceed with this, I give you career ambassador Thomas Pickering here (a welcome voice of sanity).
Next, I know I mentioned the sequester previously concerning Jim Jordan, but do you know that, according to Tom Coburn and the GAO, the sequester resulted in exactly one layoff (here)?
Notice there's no discussion of the difference between a layoff and a furlough, to say nothing of a cut in services needed by millions of people in this country (this provides more information, and a rather lengthy list of agencies that would have been impacted by a prolonged shut down is here…not surprised that the wingnuts are trying to deflect blame on the shutdown considering this).
Further, I need to catch up on the latest with our wet noodle PA-08 U.S. House Rep (here)…
The numbers are eye-popping.
Congressman Michael Fitzpatrick, R-8, used them and some close-to-home examples Monday afternoon to drive home the importance of reducing the national debt to 150 eighth-graders at Council Rock's Newtown Middle School.
The students of social studies teacher Joe Fabrizio are looking at debt and other issues as part of their studies in American history class.
The federal government debt is $17.5 trillion — which the congressman said is about $55,000 for every one of the 315 million people who live in the United States. The thought of passing on that debt to future generations is very troubling, he told students at the Newtown Township School.
"Spending money today and then handing it off is like going down to the Goodnoe Ice Cream Bar here in Newtown, buying a bunch of ice cream, and then handing the bill to the person next to you and walking out," Fitzpatrick said. "You deserve to inherit a country with debt that, if not gone, is manageable and a future that is bright."
Gosh, how courageous of Mikey to trumpet his conservative "cred" before a bunch of eighth graders. Talk about the "line of fire"…
In response, this tells us that the Treasury Department of the Obama Administration will pay down a portion of the national debt this quarter for the first time in six years.
And for the eleventy zillionth time, the main issue is JOBS! not debt. And Dean Baker and Jared Bernstein wrote a column here last November about the trade deficit, which is the one that truly matters, since easing it would both increase employment ultimately and reduce the budget deficit.
Also, Mikey recently informed us that he supports something called HR 4438, the American Research and Competitiveness Act, which (shockingly) was also supported by 62 House Democrats. The problem is that this makes a research and development tax credit for business permanent without the "offset" in spending that Mikey's same-party pals clamor for when we're talking about SNAP, an unemployment benefits extension, Medicare doctor's reimbursements, the sequester overall, etc. (here and here).
One more thing…apparently (based on what I found at his web site), Fitzpatrick wrote a letter to Speaker "Man Tan" Boehner and Dem Leader Nancy Pelosi saying we should have a BENGHAZI!!! committee (again, stunning bravery to side so definitively with the overall consensus). Given that, I wonder if Mikey was one of the 206 Repug U.S. House reps who asked to be on the committee?
And what does that tell you about who he truly thinks he represents if the answer is Yes?
Finally, it needs to be emphasized that tomorrow is primary day in PA, and that means that, if you live in our beloved commonwealth, you need to vote early and often for Allyson Schwartz, running against the crowded Dem field of Tom Wolf, Rob McCord, and Katie McGinty (and running uphill, apparently, which makes it even more critical that Schwartz receive our support). Also, if you live in PA-13, Daylin Leach deserves your support in the primary for Schwartz's seat.
Turning to PA-08, I've supported Kevin Strouse in the Dem primary all along, for what it's worth, because I believe that he's the best Democrat to go up against Mikey the Beloved in the fall.
I'm not going to tell you that I've spent equal amounts of time reading up on both Kevin and his primary opponent Shaughnessy Naughton. I do find much in common with many of their positions, though, which is good. However, it concerns me that Naughton, as nearly as I can tell, was the first to question whether or not Strouse is beholden to gas drilling interests in PA, as well as bringing up family campaign donations that, even if they were somehow illegal (and who knows?), are relatively piddling sums regardless (10 grand here, 10 grand there…). This forced Strouse to play defense kind of late in the game.
Is there anything inherently wrong with that? No. Politics ain't beanbag, as somebody said. But let's just say that it creates a perception for yours truly (along with endorsements for Naughton by the Philadelphia Inquirer – which, as far as I'm concerned, only cares about who they view as the weaker Dem winning the nod to make it easier for Mikey to win another term – and corpora-Dem Ed "Fix The Debt" Rendell…and yes, I would have the same concerns if Strouse received those endorsements).
To be perfectly honest with you, neither one has thus far run in a way that I would consider to be the way a progressive Democrat should run his or her campaign (again, Leach fits that template to a "T" as far as I'm concerned). Hopefully the winner will do something about that in the general election.
But I'm sticking with Kevin Strouse since I believe that he'll do a better job of fighting for the causes that matter (economy/infrastructure, environment, common sense legislation from the U.S. House, etc.). And I hope you do also (to do what you can to help, click here).
Leave a Comment »	| "Culture Wars", 8th District, Congress, Energy, Financial, Guns, Koch Brothers, PA State Politics, Politics (General), Sequester, Stupid Voting Tricks, Teahadists, World Stuff	| Tagged: "Birther", Allyson Schwartz, BENGHAZI! Committee, Dan Lipinski, Daylin Leach, Dean Baker, debt, GAO, Guns, HR 4438, Jared Bernstein, Jim Jordan, John Lewis, Kevin Strouse, Koch Brothers, Lynn Westmoreland, Martha Roby, Mike Fitzpatrick, Mike Pompeo, PA-08, Peter Roskam, Research and Competitiveness Act, Sequester, Shut Down, Susan Brooks, Ten Commandments, Thomas Pickering, Tom Coburn, Tom DeLay, Trey Gowdy, U.S. House of Representatives, U.S. Senate, VAWA	| Permalink
Friday Mashup (5/9/14)
This from clownhall.com tells us the following (with the understated headline of "Guns Don't Cause Gang Violence – Democrats Do")…
Between Friday night, and Sunday evening, 28 people had been shot in Rahm Emanuel's gun control utopia (Chicago). Which, unbelievably, shows an improvement over the previous weekend, which tacked on more than 40 gunshot victims to the city's climbing statistics. And, heck, with the CPD's recent scandal surrounding how they classify various crimes, it almost makes you wonder if these numbers are more "ballpark" figures than actual stats.
I mean, heck, (gun control) hasn't exactly worked out that well so far, but why not double down? Right? The fact is, the failure of Liberalism has brought the city to its current state of deterioration. The Chicago model of unconstitutional restrictions on keeping and bearing arms has done little more than add fuel to the fire. Politicians, meanwhile, have been more than happy to ignore the easily identifiable, but politically tricky, origins of gang violence, and criminal activity.
Yeah, well, this is part and parcel of the wingnut caterwauling on guns I realize. However, did you know that the state of Illinois recently passed a concealed carry law, as noted here?
Well then, isn't the Michael Schaus post proof, then, that concealed carry leads to more crime?
And as noted here, the NRA is pushing for a national concealed carry law that would override other more sensible state laws (the party of "state's rights" strikes again, considering how "simpatico" the NRA is with the "party of Lincoln"). Which is all part and parcel of this (and by the way, Politifact strikes again on the whole "half true" thing – the U.S. has the highest gun casualty rate among "other affluent nations on a per capita basis," so that settles it as far as I'm concerned).
Next, "The Pericles of Petticoat Junction" is back to inflict the following (here)…
The qualifications of a Tommy "Dude" Vietor or Ben Rhodes that placed them in the Situation Room during Obama-administration crises were not years of distinguished public service, military service, prior elected office, a string of impressive publications, an academic career, previous diplomatic postings, or any of the usual criteria that have placed others at the nerve center of America in times of crisis. Their trajectory was based on yeoman partisan PR work, and largely on being young, hip, and well-connected politically. I don't think either of these operatives has a particular worldview or competency that would promote the interests of the United States. But they do talk well, know the right people, and are hip. Again, they have no real expertise or even ideology other than that.
(The "Dude" reference, for the uninitiated, has to do with Vietor pretty much laughing off more BENGHAZI!!! idiocy from Bret Baier of Fix Noise, which I think was definitely the correct response.)
So a certain V.D. Hanson is criticizing Vietor and Rhodes because of their ascent in the Obama Administration from a background of "yeoman partisan PR work."
Well then, let's take a look at Obama's ruinous predecessor, as long as Hanson has opened that "can of worms":
Longtime Bushie Karen Hughes was a "communications strategist" who, as a member of the White House Iraq Group, helped to sell Number 43's Not-So-Excellent Adventure in Iraq (here).
And speaking of the quagmire in Mesopotamia, former PR flak Dan Bartlett once said that his boss "never had a 'stay the course' strategy" here (liar).
When it comes to PR and marketing, though, I don't think either Hughes or Bartlett can top Andrew Card, who rose to Chief of Staff and notoriously said here that "From a marketing point of view, you don't introduce new products in August" in response to the question of why Bushco started beating the drums for war in Iraq in earnest in September 2002.
Given this, I would say that, when it comes to "yeoman partisan PR work," Vietor and Rhodes are chumps by comparison (and speaking of Iraq, more "fun" with Hanson is here).
Further, I think it's time to take a look at some true revisionist wingnuttery on The Sainted Ronnie R, first from Michael Barone here…
Second-term presidents over the last generation have tried, with varying results, to achieve breakthroughs. Ronald Reagan, after cutting tax rates in his first term, called for further cuts combined with elimination of tax preferences that had encrusted the tax code.
House Ways and Means chairman Dan Rostenkowski and Senate Finance chairman Bob Packwood — a Democrat and a Republican — achieved a historic breakthrough with the tax-reform legislation of 1986, thanks in part to intensive coaching from Treasury Secretary James Baker.
See, the point of Barone's screed is that Obama isn't being "bipartisan" enough for his liking, with Barone's definition of "bipartisan" being, apparently, to get beaten up and let the Republicans do whatever they want (Barone lists other examples of supposed "bipartisanship" that got things done in Washington).
I guess that, living in the world of reality, it may not be necessary to point out at every opportunity to you, dear reader, that Number 40 raised taxes a dozen times, as noted here. However, since the other side is constantly trying to form reality to their twisted worldview, I believe that I must engage in this exercise.
And sticking with the decade in which Reagan took up space in An Oval Office, this post from The Daily Tucker discusses a TV program called "The Americans," which I guess has to do with Soviet-era spies living in this country.
So what is this show about, exactly…
In one recent scene, for example, KGB agent Elizabeth goes off on a standard 80s liberal spiel about the Nicaragua war, complete with hypocritical sympathy for Catholic nuns and dissident journalists.
Well OK then – it looks like this Will Rahn person isn't a big fan of '80s-era political activism in particular.
I first confronted this pattern while covering Reagan's hard-line policies toward Central America. The lies started just weeks after Reagan's 1980 election, when four American churchwomen were raped and murdered by government security forces in rightist-ruled El Salvador.
On the night of Dec. 2, 1980, two of the women, Dorothy Kazel and Jean Donovan, drove a white mini-van to the international airport outside San Salvador. There, they picked up Ita Ford and Maura Clarke who had attended a conference in Nicaragua.
Leaving the airport, the van turned onto the road that heads into the capital city. At a roadblock, a squad of soldiers stopped the van and took the women into custody. After a phone call apparently to a superior officer, the sergeant in charge said the orders were to kill the women. The soldiers raped them first and then executed the women with high-powered rifles.
The atrocity was only one of hundreds committed each month by the Salvadoran security forces in a "dirty war" against leftists and their suspected supporters, a conflict that was more mass murder than a war, a butchery that would eventually claim some 70,000 lives. The Dec. 2 atrocity stood out only because Americans were the victims.
The proper response from U.S. officials would have seemed obvious: to join U.S. Ambassador Robert White in denouncing the brutal rape and murder of four American citizens. But the incoming Reagan foreign policy team didn't see it that way; Reagan was on the side of the rightist Salvadoran military.
So, the rape-murder was treated like a public relations problem, best handled by shifting blame onto the victims. Jeane Kirkpatrick, Reagan's choice for United Nations ambassador, depicted the victims as "not just nuns. The nuns were political activists – on behalf of the [leftist opposition] Frente."
Kirkpatrick's implication was that it wasn't all that bad to rape and murder "political activists."
And as far as the "Fourth Estate" is concerned (here)…
To conceal the truth about the war crimes of Central America, Reagan also authorized a systematic program of distorting information and intimidating American journalists.
Called "public diplomacy" or "perception management," the project was run by a CIA propaganda veteran, Walter Raymond Jr., who was assigned to the National Security Council staff. The explicit goal of the operation was to manage U.S. "perceptions" of the wars in Central America.
The project's key operatives developed propaganda "themes," selected "hot buttons" to excite the American people, cultivated pliable journalists who would cooperate and bullied reporters who wouldn't go along.
The best-known attacks were directed against New York Times correspondent Raymond Bonner for disclosing Salvadoran army massacres of civilians, including the slaughter of more than 800 men, women and children in El Mozote in December 1981.
But Bonner was not alone. Reagan's operatives pressured scores of reporters and their editors in an ultimately successful campaign to minimize information about these human rights crimes reaching the American people. [For details, see Robert Parry's Lost History.]
The tamed reporters, in turn, gave the administration a far freer hand to pursue its anticommunist operations throughout Central America.
Despite the tens of thousands of civilian deaths and now-corroborated accounts of massacres and genocide, not a single senior military officer in Central America was held accountable for the bloodshed.
The U.S. officials who sponsored and encouraged these war crimes not only escaped any legal judgment, but remained highly respected figures in Washington. Reagan has been honored as few recent presidents have.
The journalists who played along by playing down the atrocities — the likes of Fred Barnes and Charles Krauthammer — saw their careers skyrocket, while those who told the truth suffered severe consequences.
And given the BENGHAZI!!! fever currently sweeping the "leadership" of the U.S. House, I think this is a timely article.
Continuing, it looks like VA head Eric Shinseki (who, once again, is a huge improvement over his Bushco counterpart) is in hot water, as noted here…
(Reuters) – Two Republican senators on Tuesday joined veterans groups in calling for Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki to resign amid claims that up to 40 people died while waiting for treatment in the U.S. veterans' healthcare system.
Senator Jerry Moran of Kansas, said the Veterans Affairs Department needed a "true transformation … from top to bottom."
"I ask the secretary to submit his resignation and I ask President (Barack) Obama to accept that resignation," Moran said on the Senate floor.
Assistant Senate Republican leader John Cornyn said: "The president needs to find a new leader to lead this organization out of the wilderness, and back to providing the service our veterans deserve."
As noted here, Cornyn voted against a bill to provide $12 billion in medical, educational and job-training benefits for our veterans returning from the wars (to be fair, Moran voted Yes as noted here).
However, it's not as if the Kansas senator doesn't have his own baggage in these matters. He gave conditional-at-best support here to the military sexual assault bill sponsored by Dem Senator Kirsten Gillibrand of New York. Moran also voted against the Veterans with Disabilities Act (here), despite the request from former Kansas Sen. (and WWII-disabled vet, of course) Bob Dole that Moran and everyone else in the U.S. Senate support it.
The Reuters story also tells us the following…
The American Legion, the biggest U.S. veterans' group, and Concerned Veterans for America called on Monday for Shinseki, a former Army general twice wounded in Vietnam, to step down.
I'm not going to take issue with The American Legion, but Concerned Veterans for America…hmmm…
Oh yeah – as noted here, that's another "dark money" front group for Chuck and Dave Koch (kind of like "Concerned Women of America" who are apparently trying to torpedo a women's history museum sponsored by Dem Carolyn Maloney and Repug Marsha Blackburn (!), as noted here, with "Moon Unit" Bachmann opposing it even though the plan is for her to be featured in an exhibit – way too funny).
Returning to the main topic, I don't know if Gen. Shinseki should resign as head of the VA or not. However, I think it's more than a bit hypocritical to blame only him for trying to clean up a mess originated by our prior ruling cabal (which he, among a very select few – and more's the pity on that – actually stood up to, as noted here).
Finally (and speaking of war), I give you former Bushco U.N. rep John "Blow 'Em Up" Bolton (here, with what you might call some "crackpot history" in concert with his claim that President Obama's recent far east tour didn't go well since Obama looked tired, or something)…
In 1932, Secretary of State Henry Stimson declared his "non-recognition" doctrine regarding Japanese aggression in China and subsequent annexations. Although politically symbolic, Stimson's high-collared moralisms did nothing to deter further Japanese expansionism.
Years later, when President Roosevelt finally imposed sanctions that could actually inhibit Japan's military, the increasing likelihood of war against the Nazis was apparent. Pearl Harbor followed, but one can ask if stronger U.S. Asia policies in the 1930's might have caused a different result.
Yes, "one" can ask indeed if "one" were a total moron, I suppose. As noted from here…
In 1933, President (Franklin D.) Roosevelt proposed a Congressional measure that would have granted him the right to consult with other nations to place pressure on aggressors in international conflicts. The bill ran into strong opposition from the leading isolationists in Congress, including progressive politicians such as Senators Hiram Johnson of California, William Borah of Idaho, and Robert La Follette of Wisconsin. In 1935, controversy over U.S. participation in the World Court elicited similar opposition. As tensions rose in Europe over Nazi Germany's aggressive maneuvers, Congress pushed through a series of Neutrality Acts, which served to prevent American ships and citizens from becoming entangled in outside conflicts. Roosevelt lamented the restrictive nature of the acts, but because he still required Congressional support for his domestic New Deal policies, he reluctantly acquiesced.
The isolationists were a diverse group, including progressives and conservatives, business owners and peace activists, but because they faced no consistent, organized opposition from internationalists, their ideology triumphed time and again. Roosevelt appeared to accept the strength of the isolationist elements in Congress until 1937. In that year, as the situation in Europe continued to grow worse and the Second Sino-Japanese War began in Asia, the President gave a speech in which he likened international aggression to a disease that other nations must work to "quarantine." At that time, however, Americans were still not prepared to risk their lives and livelihoods for peace abroad. Even the outbreak of war in Europe in 1939 did not suddenly diffuse popular desire to avoid international entanglements. Instead, public opinion shifted from favoring complete neutrality to supporting limited U.S. aid to the Allies short of actual intervention in the war. The surprise Japanese attack on the U.S. Navy at Pearl Harbor in December of 1941 served to convince the majority of Americans that the United States should enter the war on the side of the Allies.
By 1940, the (Second Sino-Japanese) war descended into stalemate. The Japanese seemed unable to force victory, nor the Chinese to evict the Japanese from the territory they had conquered. But western intervention in the form of economic sanctions (most importantly oil) against Japan would transform the nature of the war. It was in response to these sanctions that Japan decided to attack America at Pearl Harbor, and so initiate World War II in the Far East.
OK, so, to review:
Sanctions against Japan were probably necessary in hindsight, but to try and make the argument that Roosevelt sought them too late and Pearl Harbor might have been prevented is ridiculous. If anything, if sanctions had been imposed earlier, an attack might have happened earlier (again, not saying that sanctions were wrong) when we would have been less adequately prepared to fight it than we were.
As the article states above, there was not enough of a "push back" against the isolationist sentiment Roosevelt faced across the political spectrum at home after World War I. And he needed those same senators opposing military action to support the New Deal.
I'm not a bit surprised, however, to find out that Bolton knows nothing about that period of history, given that he finished his column with the following (again, using this totally inaccurate reading to justify another attack on Number 44)…
In December, 1937, British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain of all people observed that, "It is always best and safest to count on nothing from the Americans but words."
And the fact that Bolton would say that without a single word of acknowledgment of the price this country paid to defeat the Axis Powers in World War II (particularly repugnant as we approach Memorial Day) tells you how callow and ignorant he truly is.
Leave a Comment »	| Barack Obama, Bushco Agency Abuse, Congress, Crackpot History, Dubya Legacy Lies, Faith, Financial, Fox "News", George W. Bush, Guns, Human Rights, Iraq, Koch Brothers, Military, News Biz, Politics (General), Pundit Ponderings (Bad), World Stuff	| Tagged: "The Americans", Alexander Haig, Andrew Card, Barack Obama, Ben Rhodes, Benghazi, Bob Dole, Bret Baier, Carolyn Maloney, Charles Krauthammer, concealed carry, Concerned Veterans for America, Concerned Women for America, Dan Bartlett, El Salvador, Eric Shinseki, FDR, Fox "News", Fred Barnes, George W. Bush, Guns, Iraq War, Jeane Kirkpatrick, Jerry Moran, John Bolton, John Cornyn, Karen Hughes, Kirsten Gillibrand, Koch Brothers, Marsha Blackburn, Michael Barone, Michele Bachmann, Neville Chamberlain, NRA, nuns, Rahm Emanuel, Robert Parry, Ronald Reagan, Taxes, Tommy Vietor, U.S. Senate, VA, Veterans with Disabilities Act, Victor Davis Hanson, Walter Raymond Jr., World War II	| Permalink
Tuesday Mashup (3/4/14)
This doesn't matter to our corporate media (hell, they're his cheerleaders, as we know).
Neither does this.
Nor does this.
Nor this.
Nope, our dear cousins at the news networks with initials for names (not counting the media wing of the Republican Party, of course) will ALWAYS "ride the tire swing" on behalf of you-know-who, as noted below ("EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW WITH JOHN McCAIN!!! WHAT PEARLS OF WISDOM WILL HE EMPART NEXT???).
At this point in his career in public life, the senior Republican U.S. senator from Arizona is nothing but a pitiable shill for the warmongers and the "one percent" (seeing as how we live in the era of angry millionaires). And he will be forever bitter that a Democrat resides in An Oval Office as a result of the 2008 election instead of he and Caribou Barbie (perish the thought).
And regardless of what he ever says, he will NEVER be called out by the Beltway political-media-industrial complex for it.
Update 3/6/14: Shocked? Not me.
Next, it's time for a trip through the looking glass again, as noted here…
(Last month), Oregon's Ellen Rosenblum became the latest AG to abdicate her duty to defend (a state ban on gay marriage). And earlier (in February), a federal judge struck down Virginia's traditional definition of marriage after Attorney General Mark Herring refused to defend it.
Herring's defense of his abdication was typical of these attorneys general. He said he was putting Virginia "on the right side of history." But the job of an attorney general is law not history, and Herring and the other AGs have failed at that job.
Herring put himself on the wrong side of the Virginia constitution, which bans same-sex marriage, the wrong side of recent Supreme Court rulings and most importantly, on the wrong side of his sworn duty to defend Virginia's laws.
While he was at it, Herring also violated his ethical obligation to zealously represent his clients — the people of Virginia — who enacted the gay marriage ban through a 2006 ballot initiative.
And by the way, you can include PA's Attorney General Kathleen Kane on the list of attorneys general choosing not to defend the indefensible (IMHO) DOMA for their state/commonwealth.
The author of this piece is Curt Levey, and I believe he has a rather interesting interpretation of what laws the Supreme Court should defend and which ones they shouldn't (don't worry – I'm being sarcastic). For, as noted here, The Supremes have already ruled against the so-called Defense of Marriage Act, which predicates the actions of attorneys general like Herring and Kane. Also, Levey tried to argue that the High Court should overturn the Affordable Care Law, and, in the process, ignored the fact that it has to do with interstate commerce (the Court of Hangin' Judge JR has observed throughout that such a law is covered under the so-called "commerce clause" of the Constitution – if nothing else, this shows that Levey doesn't truly have the understanding of the law that he claims to have…here).
As noted here from about four years ago, though, there really is no need to give Curt Levey the time of day at a reputable news site anyway.
Further, Repug U.S. Senator Rand "Fake Ophthalmologist" Paul of Kentucky, in pursuit of another way to try and burnish his wingnut bona fides, is opposing Dr. Vivek Murthy's nomination as the next Surgeon General (here)…
Citing his work in political advocacy pushing for gun control and Obamacare, (Paul) threatened…to place a hold on President Obama's Surgeon General Nominee.
In a letter to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, Paul explained his objection to Dr. Vivek Murthy, Obama's choice for the position.
According to Paul, Murthy's "primary policy goals" have been pushing stricter gun control laws and Obamacare, and that Murthy refers to "guns as a public health issue on par with heart disease and has diminished the role of mental health in gun violence."
I'm not going to deal with Paul's typically idiotic claim that Dr. Murthy "diminished the role of mental health in gun violence." Instead, I'll ask the following question; I wonder if Paul knows that Dr. C. Everett Koop, former Surgeon General under The Sainted Ronnie R, thought gun violence was a public health issue also (here)?
And in defense of Dr. Murthy, I give you the following (here, from Dr. Georges C. Benjamin, Executive Director of the American Public Health Association)…
We know that Dr. Murthy values prevention. As a member of the Advisory Group on Prevention, Health Promotion, and Integrative and Public Health, he is already working to give sound advice that brings together every facet of government — from education and defense to housing and transportation — to ensure health is considered across the full spectrum of national programs and policies.
He has demonstrated that he is a mature leader of men and women. As co-founder and president of Doctors for America, he brought together 16,000 physicians and medical students to advocate for quality, affordable health care for all. He has also been a leader in HIV prevention and education as president of Visions Worldwide. And finally, we know that Dr. Murthy has the bright mind to take the latest science and turn it into better health outcomes. He is well trained and as an instructor at Harvard Medical School and a physician at Brigham and Women's Hospital, he's successfully practiced at some of our nation's most prestigious health care institutions.
Dr. Murthy has accomplished much in his 37 years. Because of his young age, however, some might question his readiness for such an important position. However, our nation has been privileged to have had many such successful young health innovators over the years. For example, Dr. Vivien Thomas helped devise the procedure to correct the "blue baby syndrome"; Dr. Robert Jarvik invented one of the first artificial hearts; Dr. Joseph Murray performed the first human kidney transplant; and Françoise Barré-Sinoussi was one of the key discovers of HIV as the virus that causes AIDS.
These groundbreaking health advancements, which have saved millions of lives, were made possible by four leaders younger than Dr. Murthy. Competence, not age, should be the major criteria for this important position.
Oh, and by the way, can we please dispense with this fiction that "Dr." Paul is actually a certified ophthalmologist by a reputable board, OK (here)?
Continuing, did you know that "liberals are destroying the planet," according to Ed Rogers? Why, he says so here, in a column where he posits that there should be a category of individuals who believe or, more precisely, don't believe in climate change called the "Prudent Rationals" (yep, it gets pretty thick here quickly, if you know what I mean)…
"The Prudent Rationals" would be comprised of those whose attitudes comport with something like the following: They are generally respectful of the scientific community and are eager to listen to mainstream scientists and researchers. They want to hear from legitimate experts who acknowledge the variables, the uncertainties and, importantly, the mistakes and errors of climate science so far. This group could support a prudent plan to produce measurable benefits, but only if the plan were truly global in scope and the cost seemed to be proportional to the outcome. The "Prudent Rationals" believe it is reasonable to accept that there are consequences for continually pumping gases into the atmosphere. And it seems right that one generation should leave the planet better than they found it for the next generation. But we need to be realistic about technical science and political science. If we can't act globally to limit these gases, we should be focusing on local pollution, not on plans that unilaterally wreck our economy and impoverish millions – if not billions – for nothing.
Laurence Lewis of Daily Kos answered all of this idiocy pretty well here, I thought (and for something that is supposed to be nothing more than some dastardly liberal plot, it should be noted that the CIA and the National Academy of the Sciences are going to spend about $630,000 to "study how humans might influence weather patterns, assess the potential dangers of messing with the climate, and investigate possible national security implications of geoengineering attempts" – here, so clearly, the "spooks" believe in the climate crisis, wouldn't you say?).
After reading the WaPo column, though (and managing to keep down my lunch in the process), I got a little curious about Ed Rogers, so I decided to do a bit of investigating. And it turns out that, along with former Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour, he runs the uber-lobbying firm BGR (here). For more information, this tells us more about the lobbying activities of BGR (no big "get" here I know, but I still think it's interesting to see how wide their footprint is, as it were).
It should also be noted that Rogers is an old hand when it comes to taking shots at Democrats, trying to impugn then-Senator Barack Obama in his run for the White House in 2006 (here). And after peaking in revenue in '07, the firm apparently saw a 25 percent drop up to '10, blaming Obama for it of course, as noted here; however, I'm sure the item below didn't help with the firm's revenues either (here)…
This time around though, (Barbour, the "B" in BGR) is starting his new political and personal business projects at a sensitive moment. The former governor is also trying to put out a political firestorm in Mississippi that was sparked by 215 pardons — including 17 to convicted murders — he issued in his last days in office earlier this month.
The new GOP governor, Phil Bryant, has indicated he would back a constitutional amendment to limit the pardoning powers of the governor; and the state's Democratic attorney general, Jim Hood, called Barbour's sweeping pardons "an absolute tragedy for the victims involved in each of these cases."
The high-decibel attacks on Barbour in the Magnolia state have sent shock waves up and down K Street where Ed Rogers, one of his partners at BGR, last week scrambled to contain the fallout.
According to sources, Rogers urged Barbour to move quickly to tamp down the controversy by giving his own full account of what he did and why he did it, lest it hurt Barbour's effectiveness and image — and perhaps the firm's lucrative bottom line.
But not to worry – I'm sure Rogers will end up just fine; he apparently "landed on his feet" in the manner noted below (here)…
TRENTON — A Washington lobbyist whose firm represents the Florida company that won the lion's share of New Jersey's debris removal work after Hurricane Sandy will host a fundraiser for Gov. Chris Christie's re-election later this month.
The event will take place at the Virginia mansion of Ed Rogers, chairman of BGR Group, which lobbies members of Congress on behalf of AshBritt Inc. — a firm that has come under scrutiny because of a lucrative no-bid emergency contract it was awarded in the days after the hurricane.
The lobbying company was co-founded by Republican Haley Barbour, the former Mississippi governor who helped shepherd Christie's career and was one of the people who recommended the state use AshBritt.
None of what I have cited here is illegal on the part of Rogers and his firm as far as I know. But I wouldn't complain that anybody is "destroying the planet" if their own activities don't exactly pass the smell test either.
Finally, I haven't checked up our wet noodle PA-08 U.S. House Rep for a little while, so I need to bring everyone up to date a bit on Mikey the Beloved's recent adventures (here, with a heaping helping of whining about supposedly "job-crushing" regulations, or something – I was tipped off to this when I received Mikey's Email newsletter)…
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman Mike Fitzpatrick (PA-8) delivered letters and copies of the film "Barrel of a Gun" to Senate offices in the nation's capital Friday in an effort to educate Senators regarding the circumstances and events surrounding the murder of Officer Daniel Faulkner by Mumia Abu Jamal. The president's nominee to head the Department of Justice's Civil Rights Division, Debo Adegbile, led efforts to recruit attorneys to pervert the justice system after Jamal's just conviction for his heinous crime.
Fitzpatrick has ardently opposed the nomination of Adgebile (sic) since its announcement in early January, writing to the president and members of the Senate Judiciary committee and calling the recommendation 'confounding.' Prior to the Senate Judiciary's 10-8 party-line approval of Adegbile's nomination, Fitzpatrick spoke with Senators and urged them to consider the Adegbile's involvement with the celebritization of Mumia through his legal representation.
Even by Mikey's low standards, this is pretty repulsive stuff (and nice typo, by the way). As noted here…
On behalf of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights and the 75 undersigned organizations, we are writing to indicate our strongest possible support for the nomination of Debo P. Adegbile to be Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division of the United States Department of Justice. Mr. Adegbile is a tireless advocate, a skilled litigator, and a well-respected member of the legal community who is extraordinarily qualified for and suited to this position.
Mr. Adegbile is one of the preeminent civil rights litigators of his generation. He is also a consensus builder. Mr. Adegbile has earned respect and admiration from a bipartisan set of colleagues, lawyers, and leaders, including former Solicitors General Paul Clement and Drew Days, because of his principled and measured approach to issues.
Throughout his career, Mr. Adegbile has distinguished himself as a highly effective and respected advocate who achieved successes both inside and outside the courtroom. The son of immigrants who worked his way from poverty to the top of the legal profession, Mr. Adegbile is a steadfast voice for equality and opportunity for all Americans. [Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, 1/7/14]
Also, while I will never defend Mumia Abu-Jamal, I think it's also pretty safe to say that he's still entitled to a legal defense, and I don't see how representing Abu-Jamal constitutes a "celebritization (word?) of Mumia through his representation" Besides, as the Media Matters post tells us…
When he was a partner at Hogan Lovells, the letter (cited above) noted, Chief Justice John Roberts Jr. helped represent Florida death row inmate John Ferguson, convicted in the murder of eight people.
On top of all of this, I thought this was a well-done editorial by the Inky (shocking, I know) about Debo Adegbile, in which the paper accused anyone trying to connect him with Abu-Jamal of "blatant demagoguery" which was quite rightly called "sickening" (Mikey wasn't mentioned, but Sen. Pat "No Corporate Tax" Toomey was).
In his newsletter, Fitzpatrick also tells us that about 11 million small business employees will see their premiums increase as a result of the Affordable Care Law. Of course, Fitzpatrick doesn't tell us that 6 million small business employees will see their premiums drop (as noted here – also, we don't know what kind of a percentage both of those numbers represent against everyone projected to enroll on the exchanges across the country).
And in conclusion, Mikey tells us with his typical whining petulance that "Congress makes the laws" here (I don't know who this Dr. Larry Kawa is, and I don't care – witness Mikey's laser-like focus on "jobs, jobs, jobs") and President Obama has no right to delay implementing the employer mandate in supposed unilateral executive fashion (sarcasm mode off).
However, as noted here from last August…
The strategy shifted again last month after the Obama administration announced a one-year delay of the law's employer mandate. Boehner seized on the move to argue that the White House was giving a break to businesses but not to individuals by delaying only one of the two major mandates. He and Cantor quickly scheduled votes to delay both the employer and individual mandates, and they cheered when more than 20 Democrats voted for each bill.
So, while Fitzpatrick has called for a delay in implementing the individual mandate (which I ALSO don't agree with, as noted here), he is having a typical hissy fit by accusing President Obama of trying to make his own law, or something, when in reality, Mikey's own House congressional "leadership" had scheduled a vote to delay the employer mandate MONTHS AGO!
With all of this is mind, I would ask that you click here to respond (and I would like to point out the following to the Kevin Strouse campaign – if you expect to have any hope of pulling away enough independent voters in PA-08 from the "trending R" column to win election in November, then you should start pointing out stuff like this instead of me…trying thinking about that before you hit me up again for a campaign donation).
Leave a Comment »	| "Culture Wars", 8th District, Barack Obama, Congress, Environment, Fox "News", Guns, Health Care, Human Rights, John McCain, Law, New Jersey Politics, News Biz, PA State Politics, Politics (General), Science, Supreme Court, World Stuff	| Tagged: "Prudent Rationals", Affordable Care Law, AshBritt, Barack Obama, BGR, C. Everett Koop, Chris Christie, climate change, Curt Levey, Debo Adegbile, DOMA, Dr. Georges C. Benjamin, Dr. Vivek Murthy, Ed Rogers, Ellen Rosenblum, Fox "News", Guns, Haley Barbour, Hurricane Sandy, Jim Hood, John Ferguson, John McCain, John Roberts, Kathleen Kane, Kevin Strouse, Mark Herring, Mike Fitzpatrick, Mumia Abu-Jamal, National Academy of Sciences, Ofc. Daniel Faulkner, PA-08, pardons, Pat Toomey, Phil Bryant, Rand Paul, same sex marriage, Supreme Court, Surgeon General, U.S. House of Representatives, U.S. Senate	| Permalink
I give you the following recent column on the whole Syria thing, including this excerpt…
Sen. Dan Coats (R-Ind.) said Monday that Congress would not be debating the use of U.S. military force against Syria if President Obama hadn't drawn a "red line."
"I have no doubt that if the president had not drawn his red line we would not be having this discussion," Coats said on the Senate floor. "It is the credibility issue that has brought us to this pass and it's a credibility issue that is [Obama's] own making."
Dan Coats has no room whatsoever to try and talk down to anyone on foreign policy issues (or most anything else when you get right down to it).
As noted from here concerning the run-up to Dubya's Not-So-Excellent Adventure in Mesopotamia (at which time Coats was our ambassador to Germany, giving that country the "old Europe" treatment a la Rummy I suppose)…
"The German Government still says it will not support a war. But its leaders say that war may no longer be avoidable. And the US is twisting their arms hard. The US Ambassador to Berlin, Daniel Coats, has made clear this is a crucial test of Germany's loyalty to the NATO alliance. The government's stance has raised "serious doubts" about Germany's reliability, Mr. Coats said.
(And on unrelated matters, I think it's interesting to note that Dubya chose Coats to try and "shepherd," more or less, the nomination of Harriet Miers to the Supreme Court, which of course failed. Also, Coats was one of 46 Senators to oppose the expansion of background checks for gun buyers, both of which are noted here.)
I also came across this article on Syria and its chemical weapons stockpiles, which of course are indefensible; that being said, it should be noted that, in addition to Syria, Israel and Egypt also didn't sign the Chemical Weapons Convention (interesting background at the very least); only 8 out of 193 countries are not party to the convention.
Also, in the matter of Syria, I was wondering what that Pulitzer Prize-winning (ugh) foreign affairs columnist at the Murdoch Street Journal, none other than Bret Stephens, had to say on the matter (here).
There's a lot I could respond to, but partly because I've covered this stuff repeatedly in the past along with many others, I'll stick to a couple of items (and yes, this stuff is completely predictable)…
In London the other day, Mr. Kerry invited the public to examine the administration's evidence of Assad's use of chemical weapons, posted on whitehouse.gov. The "dossier" consists of a 1,455-word document heavy on blanket assertions such as "we assess with high confidence" and "we have a body of information," and "we have identified one hundred videos."
By contrast, the Bush administration made a highly detailed case on Iraqi WMD, including show-and-tells by Colin Powell at the Security Council.
Lather, rinse, repeat (here)…
It also relied on the testimony of U.N. inspectors like Hans Blix, who reported in January 2003 that "there are strong indications that Iraq produced more anthrax than it declared," that his inspectors had found "indications that the [nerve agent VX] was weaponized," and that Iraq had "circumvented the restrictions" on the import of missile parts.
You mean the same Hans Blix who told CNN here that Bushco "chose to ignore" the fact that the case for the Iraq war was "rapidly falling apart"?
The case the Bush administration assembled on Iraqi WMD was far stronger than what the Obama administration has offered on Syria. And while I have few doubts that the case against Assad is solid, it shouldn't shock Democrats that the White House's "trust us" approach isn't winning converts. When you've spent years peddling the libel that the Bush administration lied about Iraq, don't be shocked when your goose gets cooked in the same foul sauce.
That's a truly hilarious comment to think about as you read this.
I'll tell you what – here is the Media Matters post where I got the CNN link; I'll let them take a well-earned last shot at "foul sauce" Stephens on this issue.
Update 1/2/14: A new year, but the same old Stephens wankery here (h/t Atrios)…
Next (and sticking with foreign policy), we also recently observed the one-year anniversary of the Benghazi attacks, a tragedy that has been politicized beyond all possible reason; here is another example…
Gregory Hicks is no stranger to regular readers. The State Department official, who was second-in-command to murdered Amb. Chris Stevens in Libya, was one of the star witnesses during the House Oversight Committee's Benghazi hearings this past spring. Visibly frustrated by the lack of accountability over last year's deadly attacks, Hicks appeared on ABC News to share his story. America Rising collected the highlights of his interview with George Stephanopolous, including Hicks' assertion that former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton assigned Stevens to man the under-protected diplomatic post, despite documented security risks. He also reiterated that he personally and "immediately" informed State brass that the raid was an act of terrorism:
And yet the White House deliberately trotted out and stuck to false talking points about the nature and cause of the attack for weeks. Internal emails have revealed that the counter-factual narrative was concocted by members of the State Department's "building leadership," who wanted to avoid political criticism for their security failures. Two of the players most responsible for perpetrating this fallacious storyline have been rewarded by President Obama with promotions. Hicks also says that he's been "shunted aside" because of his truth-telling:
O-kaaaayyyyy…
Meanwhile, from the world of reality, I give you this…
Hicks was not punished for speaking out. (Host of "This Week With George") Stephanopoulos read from a State Department letter which explained that "The State Department has not punished Mr. Hicks in any way" and his departure from Libya "was entirely unrelated to any statements" he made about Benghazi.
In fact, Hicks' claim about being punished contradicts his previous testimony about not returning to his assignment in Libya. During his testimony at a May 8 House Oversight Committee hearing, Hicks explained that "my family really didn't want me to go back. … So I voluntarily curtailed" returning to Libya.
I think the real tragedy of BENGHAZI! BENGHAZI! BENGHAZI! BENGHAZI! BENGHAZI!!! is the fact that we really should have an intelligent investigation into exactly what happened, as opposed to an exercise in trying to score political points. Maybe we could have done a better job of providing an adequate level of embassy security, but if the State Department is going to take a hit, then so should the wretched "leadership" in the U.S. House, which didn't provide adequate funding for security to begin with, as noted here.
Continuing, I thought this was an interesting little historical item…
A commission looking into the death of former United Nations Secretary General Dag Hammarskjold has recommended that the UN reopen its investigation.
Mr Hammarskjold's plane was travelling to Congo on a peace mission in 1961 when it crashed in Zambia.
A UN investigation in 1962 failed to find the cause of the mysterious crash.
The commission said there were significant new findings, and that the US National Security Agency might hold crucial evidence.
In a statement, the UN thanked the commission and said the UN secretariat would study its findings closely.
And as noted here…
In Congo, one issue was who should control the southern province of Katanga, rich in copper, uranium and tin. Belgium, the ex-colonial power, backed a secessionist movement led by Moise Tshombe, as did the UK and US who had mining interests in the region.
But Mr Hammarskjold from the start backed Congo's elected central authorities – the Soviet-backed government of prime minister Patrice Lumumba, and later, after Mr Lumumba was deposed and murdered, Prime Minister Cyrille Adoula.
Mr Hammarskjold wanted to pursue a negotiated solution between Mr Tshombe and the central government, a goal that became even more urgent after UN peacekeepers found themselves outgunned during an aggressive operation to drive foreign mercenaries from Katanga.
Mr Tshombe was waiting to talk to him in Ndola on the night he died.
Some 30 years after the crash, in 1992, two men who had served as UN representatives in Katanga just before and just after Hammarskjold's death – Conor Cruise O'Brien and George Ivan Smith – wrote a letter to the Guardian claiming to have evidence that the plane was shot down accidentally, by mercenaries. In their view, a warning shot intended to divert the plane to alternative talks with industrialists in Katanga, in fact hit the plane and caused it to crash.
In 1998 South Africa's Truth and Reconciliation Commission, led by Desmond Tutu, published eight letters that suggested CIA, MI5 and South African intelligence were involved in sabotage of the aircraft. British officials responded that these were likely to be Soviet forgeries.
In 2005, the head of UN military information in Congo in 1961, Bjorn Egge, told the Aftenposten newspaper he had noticed a round hole in Hammarskjold's forehead when he saw the body in the mortuary. It could have been a bullet hole, he said, and it had been mysteriously airbrushed out of official photographs.
Over the past four years, Swedish aid worker Goran Bjorkdahl has carried out extensive research and British academic Susan Williams published a book on Thursday – Who Killed Hammarskjold? Both conclude that it is likely the plane was brought down.
So it's possible that there was some kind of a conspiracy between the U.S. and the UK (and Belgium) to get their hands on the copper, uranium, and tin, and to keep it out of the hands of the then-Soviet Union, and Hammarskjold was in the way (though he had also planned to meet apparently with Tshombe, who was backed by the three countries not including the U.S.S.R. Curious, as is the Ace of Spades card supposedly found in Hammarskjold's collar when you consider this).
Further, I have to say that I honestly don't understand the right-wing attack on anything whatsoever related to clean or renewable energy, unless of course you just want to chalk it up to funding from oil-based energy interests and nothing more, and I'm sure there's more than a bit of truth to that.
I'm thinking of all of this, though, in response to this item…
After only about one month of production, the Obama-backed maker of batteries for the Chevy Volt will delay production again.
Oh, of course, how stupid of me not to realize that an attack on anything whatsoever to do with clean energy is also an attack on that Kenyan Marxist Socialist pre-zee-dint of ours.
Autoblog rep0orts that the South Korea-based LG Chem plant in Holland, Michigan that started making Chevy Volt batteries about one month ago — about a year behind schedule — will pause work for six weeks until the Environmental Protection Agency confirms the registration status of an "unspecified, low-volume ingredient" used in their battery production.
"We discovered the possibility that this material may not be properly registered and made the decision to pause our production until we have that question resolved," LG Chem said in a statement. "We are currently reviewing the registration status and will work with the EPA to resolve the issue quickly. In the meanwhile, we are delaying production activities for approximately six weeks until we have confirmed the registration status or otherwise obtain approval from EPA."
The Daily Tucker also tells us the following…
An Energy Department audit found that LG Chem's workers were paid $842,000 to essentially do nothing, as some played video games, watched movies or played cards. Other workers even took the time to volunteer at charities.
Of course, far be it for Tucker Carlson's Crayon Scribble Page to tell us that we're talking about 400 workers here, according to this linked story.
Sooo, while I'm no math whiz, I should point out that $842,000 divided by about 400 workers comes out to about $2,100. And while I'm not a fan of sloth on the job or not doing what you're paid to do, I should note that that amount probably reflects a small portion of their actual salaries (like to see comparable figures for businesses that actually don't take government funds).
Meanwhile, it looks now that the Chevy Volt has set a monthly sales record (here), so I'm sure there'll be a need for more batteries (as I said, though, attacking hybrids like this is something the wingnutosphere is inclined to do anyway, as noted here).
Finally, I didn't want the week to end without some commentary on the elections in Colorado recently, where state senate head John Morse and state senator Angela Giron were ousted.
Michael Sargent, Exec. Director of the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee, put it this way…
There's a reason why Republicans chose recalls instead of waiting for next year's election: Hand-picked targets, odd timing, and extremely low turnout – made lower by 100-year-old recall rules that gutted early voting – created ideal conditions for the GOP, and because of it, they won two seats they otherwise wouldn't have.
Right wing groups also ran hundreds of thousands of dollars' worth of attack ads, but with help from thousands of grassroots Democrats…we fought back hard. You left it all on the field; so did Sens. Morse and Giron, and so did we.
I think that's largely true, particularly in the case of Morse, who lost by only 343 votes. You can't tell me he would've lost a similar campaign in a regular election cycle with early voting (not so sure about Giron, but I probably have to do more research on that).
For more on this, a Daily Kos post is here, a Media Matters post is here, and an article from The Hill is here. I think these are the following "takeaways":
As Media Matters points out, even though Morse and Giron both lost, their positions on common-sense gun laws remain hugely popular in this country.
As the article from The Hill tells us, DNC chairwoman Debbie Wasserman-Schultz blamed the Republican wins on "voter suppression, pure and simple" (I think that's most of the argument, but not all of it).
As the Daily Kos post tells us, it's going to be awfully hard for any Democrat to win any election where the turnout rate is 21 percent (and yes, the suppression tactics had a lot to do with that, I'll admit; the post also tells us that, maybe next time, our side should take some money spent on TV ads and put it into a stronger "ground game" instead).
We know that, as the Republican Party gets pulled more and more to the right, their chances of winning the White House get exponentially harder also, a problem totally of their own making (though we can never assume anything – I thought Dubya had no chance against Al Gore in 2000, and he mostly didn't, but we know what happened). However, the other side of that coin, as it were, is that, in perpetually energizing their base, they remain revved up for the off-year and special elections (even though Dems have won their share of the latter).
I see a bit of that in the results from Colorado. And I definitely see that in the campaigns in my locality, including Kevin Strouse running for the U.S. House against Mikey the Beloved (here), Allyson Schwartz (assuming she's the Dem nominee) running against Tom "Space Cadet" Corbett for PA guv (here), and John Lewis and Mark Moffa running for Lower Makefield Township, Bucks County supervisors (here).
(Oh, and by the way, I have a request for the Strouse campaign; try writing a Letter to the Editor or an Op-Ed of some type for the Bucks County Courier Times introducing yourself. That rag published that editorial weeks ago saying that they didn't trust you, or something, and I never saw a response from the campaign. And stop sending me so many Emails about John Boehner – he isn't the PA-08 rep!).
We know that all elections are ultimately local, and the Repugs do too. And we need more involvement in the off-year contests if we're going to effect change for real in this country, whether it's on any of the vital issues we face.
I don't want to hear anyone else ask the question "why can't we have common-sense gun laws?," or "why can't we have more of a commitment in this country to clean energy?," or "why can't we have serious infrastructure investment and job creation." We saw the reason why earlier this week.
We have to have an answer for the off-year election base energy of the other side, and it doesn't matter what election we're talking about. Unless we do, nothing will substantially change.
That being said, I should note that I think this is pretty cool – this, from the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee, is a map of everyone in this country who donated on behalf of Morse and Giron.
There's still much to do, but that's a good start.
Leave a Comment »	| Activism, Barack Obama, Congress, Energy, Environment, George W. Bush, Guns, Hillary Clinton, Iraq, Pundit Ponderings (Bad), World Stuff	| Tagged: Ace of Spades, Allyson Schwartz, Angela Giron, Barack Obama, Belgium, Benghazi, Bret Stephens, Chemical Weapons Convention, Chevy Volt, Chris Stevens, Colin Powell, Colorado, Congo, Dag Hammarskjold, Dan Coats, George Stephanopolous, George W. Bush, Gregory Hicks, Guns, Hans Blix, Harriet Miers, Hillary Clinton, Iraq, John Kerry, John Lewis, John Morse, Kevin Strouse, LG Chem, LMT Supervisors, Mark Moffa, Patrice Lumumba, Security Council, Soviet Union, State Department, Syria, U.S., UK, UN	| Permalink
Wednesday Mashup (4/17/13)
Someone named Wayne Allyn Root over at Fix Noise opined as follows here…
There are no new jobs. There will be no new jobs. Creating jobs in Obama's America is like trying to grow healthy plants in a nuclear blast zone. Obama has turned the U.S. economy into a "Hostile Work Environment." I call it Obamageddon.
And of course, there are zero citations for anything in this screed, which is totally typical from the media wing of the Republican Party.
Yes, I'm sure there are smatterings of truth somewhere from Root (and at the very end of his column, he sneaks in a plug for his anti-Obama book, the latest from the right-wing outrage factory), such as payroll taxes going up (an expiration of the payroll tax cut not renewed by Congress, as noted here) and health insurance premiums going up (which has not one damn thing to do with "Obama Care," since the exchanges aren't due to go into effect until next year and the individual mandate, creating a whole bunch of new subscribers for the health insurance behemoths in this country, was upheld by The Supremes last year, as noted here).
The inescapable fact is that the ultimate "power of the purse" in our government rests with the U.S. House, currently run by "Orange Man" Boehner and that sleazy weasel Eric Cantor, not Obama. And as noted here, Boehner couldn't keep his own caucus together to get a deal even on his laughable "Plan B" on the economy, punting the decision back to Obama and the Senate, as Kevin Drum tells us (which ties back to Boehner's practice of keeping our economy in perpetual crisis, which is bound to drag down job growth, as noted here). And as noted here, Boehner and his pals continue to sit on Obama's American Jobs Act.
And I'm tired of hearing about how "austerity" supposedly is the answer to our problems on the economy, including job growth (the latest debunking is here). And do you want to know where deficit reduction has come from so far? As noted here, 70 percent came from cuts in government programs, which are stimulative to one degree or another, and only 30 percent came from increased revenue (and for good measure, this omnibus post from Jon Perr of Daily Kos gives us all kinds of information on who does a better job of managing the economy between Democrats and Republicans).
But of course this is typical for Root, who called Obama the "Marxist-in-chief" who has "declared war on capitalism" here (really?).
Next, Thomas Sowell at clownhall.com tells us the following (here)…
Amid all the heated, emotional advocacy of gun control, have you ever heard even one person present convincing hard evidence that tighter gun control laws have in fact reduced murders?
Actually, yes. And here it is, from here…
Last year, economist Richard Florida dove deep into the correlations between gun deaths and other kinds of social indicators. Some of what he found was, perhaps, unexpected: Higher populations, more stress, more immigrants, and more mental illness were not correlated with more deaths from gun violence. But one thing he found was, perhaps, perfectly predictable: States with tighter gun control laws appear to have fewer gun-related deaths. The disclaimer here is that correlation is not causation. But correlations can be suggestive:
Also, here is more related info:
This tells us that states with looser gun laws have higher rates of gun violence.
This tells us that gun homicides in Missouri increased by 25 percent after the state repealed its background check law.
This tells us that members of law enforcement are more likely to be killed in states with weaker gun laws (as I've said I don't know how many times, why the #@!$ can't we make the discussion about guns start from the point of view of what works best for the police? And yes, I know the answer.).
And by the way, I'm going to switch gears here, as it were, and add the following graphic concerning the trial of Philadelphia abortion doctor Kermit Gosnell (courtesy of Media Matters…I'm sick of reading and listening to wingnut caterwauling over a supposed "liberal bias" cover up on this truly horrific story, as noted here – truly sickening stuff, and Gosnell could quite rightly IMHO face the death penalty if convicted…more is here).
Update 4/18/13: If Marsha Blackburn is involved, then the stoo-pid is thick enough to cut with a knife (here).
From our area, Pancake Joe Pitts, Scott Garrett and Mike Kelly signed; go to Blackburn's web site if you want to experience this idiocy first hand (the last thing I'm going to do is link to it myself – a good response is here).
Continuing, it should be pointed out that, while one of Rupert Murdoch's highest profile vanity rags is quite rightly getting excoriated for journalistic malpractice while reporting the horrific bombings at the Boston Marathon (here), it shouldn't be forgotten that they also committed another affront to decency here…
Fifty years ago (on 4/16), Martin Luther King Jr. penned one of the most enduring documents of the civil-rights struggle while locked in a jail cell in Birmingham, Ala.
His Letter From Birmingham Jail was a clarion call for the right to civil disobedience. Though first requested by an editor for The New York Times, it was in the pages of The New York Post that these words would first be printed.
This week, the Times published a very different kind of prison letter. Yesterday its op-ed pages carried an article titled "Gitmo Is Killing Me." It was written by Samir Naji al Hasan Moqbel, whom the Times identifies only as "a prisoner at Guantanamo Bay since 2002."
Pity the Times didn't take a look at its own Web site before publishing. There, under a project called "The Guantanamo Docket," is a Defense Department memo identifying the Yemeni national as "a member of al Qaeda who served on Osama bin Laden's security detail."
The Post also points out that, as noted from here, Moqbel was indeed labeled as "A HIGH RISK . . . as he is likely to pose a threat to US interests."
However, when you read Page 3 of the 10-page "jacket" on Moqbel; you find out the following…
Detainee traveled to Afghanistan, and stayed at a house in the Wazir Akbar Khan District of Kabul. Detainee left his passport at the house in Kabul before going to the frontlines to fight the Northern Alliance. He fought at the front lines north of Kabul as a fighter in the Sadiq Combat Unit, which consisted of approximately 15 or 16 fighters. Detainee received some pay as a fighter which enabled him to purchase needed items such as food and clothing. Detainee denied knowing (Osama bin Laden). After the US and Coalition bombing campaign initiated in Afghanistan, detainee believed it was too dangerous to be an Arab in Afghanistan; therefore, he fled the front-lines in December 2001 and stopped in Kabul. Detainee continued on to Khowst, AF, where he stayed for two weeks while he attempted to flee from Afghanistan.
So basically, not only did Moqbel not fight against our troops, he was trying to get the hell out of Afghanistan after we invaded.
And this guy is labeled "A HIGH RISK"? Am I missing something here? And as The Raw Story points out here, Moqbel was never even charged with a crime.
Turning to Glenn Greenwald on this, we learn the following here (along with the fact that Moqbel is currently in the midst of a hunger strike to protest conditions in Guantanamo, which, when you learn more about it, is a national shame in and of itself, in particular the painful forced feedings endured by the inmates)…
Moqbel…is Yemeni. More than half of the remaining 166 detainees at the camp are Yemeni. Dozens of those Yemenis (along with dozens of other detainees) have long ago been cleared for release by the US government on the ground that there is no evidence to believe they are a threat to anyone. A total of 87 of the remaining detainees – roughly half – have been cleared for release, of which 58 are Yemeni. Not even the US government at this point claims they are guilty or pose a threat to anyone.
The Yemeni government not only is willing to take them, but is now demanding their release, using language notably harsh for a US puppet regime:
"Even Yemen's president, Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi, who generally enjoys close relations with the United States, has directed rare criticism at the Obama administration.
"'We believe that keeping someone in prison for over 10 years without due process is clear-cut tyranny,' Hadi said in a recent interview broadcast over the Arabic language channel of Russia Today. 'The United States is fond of talking democracy and human rights. But when we were discussing the prisoner issue with the American attorney general, he had nothing to say.'"
"Clear-cut tyranny", says Yemen's president. But in January, 2010, Obama – not Congress, but Obama – announced a moratorium on the release of any Yemeni detainees, even ones cleared for release. As Amnesty International put it at the beginning of this year:
"But President Obama adopted the USA's unilateral and flawed 'global war' paradigm and accepted indefinite detentions under this framework.
"Then, in 2010, his administration announced that it had decided that four dozen of the Guantánamo detainees could neither be prosecuted nor released, but should remain in indefinite military detention without charge or criminal trial. The administration also imposed a moratorium on repatriation of Yemeni detainees. and said that 30 such detainees would be held in 'conditional' detention based on 'current security conditions in Yemen'. This moratorium is still in place."
I realize that Obama tried to close Guantanamo, but received push-back from Congress (and Greenwald has some interesting commentary on that also from his post). However, the matter of either charging the Guantanamo prisoners or releasing them to their countries of origin (as much as that is feasible considering whether or not they can return) is worthy of something I once heard referred to as "the fierce urgency of now" as opposed to "the somewhat tepid need to address this matter by whoever follows in office sometime after 2016."
Finally, I should note from here that the Pulitzer Prizes in journalism were recently awarded; the New York Times won 4, including a team reporting award for some of the worker abuses at the Apple Foxconn facility in China. Others went to the Washington Post, the Sun-Sentinel in Fort Lauderdale, FLA, the Denver Post, and the Minneapolis Star Tribune.Oh, and Bret Stephens of the Murdoch Street Journal won an award for editorial writing.
OK, I'll give you a minute to pick yourself up off the floor; no doubt that you experienced a convulsion of laughter over that last sentence that sent you falling out of your chair.
There's one problem, though – it's true.
Yes, really.
As the story puts it…
The Pulitzer citation said Stephens' columns on American foreign policy and politics are incisive and "often enlivened by a contrarian twist."
Editorial Page Editor Paul Gigot said in a statement, "We're delighted to see our colleague Bret Stephens recognized for his influential and popular columns on foreign affairs and politics."
So, in the spirit of the occasion, here are some examples of Stephens with his "contrarian twist" at work…
Here, he lamented the supposed foreign policy failures of the Obama Administration, even though Number 44 had only been sworn into office a month ago.
Here, he rather disgustingly compared John Lennon to the former Communist Party strongman who shared most of his last name.
Here, he misrepresented the Bush Doctrine and criticized Obama for stepping up a bit on the Darfur crisis, as opposed to Former President Numbskull.
Here, he defended "the surge" in Iraq and criticized Obama for not giving Dubya enough credit for it (typical wingnut mythology – any gains experienced as a result had to do more with the so-called "Sunni Awakening" and "Saint Petraeus" handing out bribes like cards from a deck of poker).
Here, he criticized other countries for swine flu preparedness (that seems to be a particular sticking point for conservatives for some reason – guess they want unnecessary wholesale casualties to "decrease the surplus population," as somebody once wrote).
Stephens once wrote that "Consistency, principled or foolish, has never been a hobgoblin of the liberal mind." in a column where he tried to equate the outing of covert U.S. agent Valerie Plame, who made a living tracking loose nukes before Bushco blew her cover, with Eric Holder's investigation of interrogators who "threatened to kill the children and sexually assault the mother of a key terror suspect," as noted here (some apples with your oranges, Bret?).
Here (as K.O. tells us), he said that those who acknowledged the reality of global warming were "Stalinists" (and why the hell isn't that man back on the air by now – Keith, I mean?).
Here, Stephens decided to look into the future in an effort to try and imagine more scenarios of failure for President Obama.
I cannot imagine what persuaded the committee awarding the Pulitzers into such an utterly laughable act as giving an award to this conservative hack (the fourth estate in this country continues to die a slow and inexorable death).
If Bret Stephens can win a Pulitzer, then Dick Cheney can win the Nobel Peace Prize.
Update 4/18/13: And as long as I'm discussing the Journal, I should point out that writer Peter Nicholas wrote this "news" story about Obama now choosing to lead, or whatever, in light of the fact that it took him three days to respond to the attempted Christmas plane bombing in 2009 by the guy who nearly blew up his junk instead. That appears to be accurate reporting, though.
However, I don't recall reading similar columns from the Journal about Obama's wretched predecessor now choosing to lead or whatever after he waited six days to respond to the attemped plane attack by would-be show bomber Richard Reid, as noted here (see Myth 3).
Lather, rinse, repeat…
Update 4/22/13: And I somehow missed this earlier "gem" from Stephens.
Update 4/14/17: Stephens recently won a gig as a columnist at The Old Gray Lady, where he no doubt will challenge BoBo as the leading white male practitioner of talking down to women, people of color and LGBTQ gender preferences – I think this is a good column to link to as a rejoinder of sorts (h/t Atrios).
Leave a Comment »	| "Culture Wars", Afghanistan, Barack Obama, Congress, Financial, Fox "News", George W. Bush, Guns, Health Care, Iraq, News Biz, Philly Stuff, Pundit Ponderings (Bad), Race, Sequester, Terrorism	| Tagged: "Obama Care", Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi, Afghanistan, American Jobs Act, austerity, Barack Obama, Boston Marathon, Bret Stephens, Eric Cantor, Fox "News", Glenn Greenwald, Guantanamo, Guns, John Boehner, John Lennon, Kermit Gosnell, Media Matters, New York Post, Plan B, Pulitzer Prize, Richard Florida, Samir Naji al Hasan Moqbel, Thomas Sowell, U. S. House, Wall Street Journal, Wayne Allyn Root	| Permalink
It's been a little while since I checked in with former Laura Bush employee Andrew Malcolm of Investor's Business Daily, but, kind of like the dull toothache you experience when you bite down a little too hard on a freezer pop, he has returned, Obama-baiting rhetoric and "Democrat" Party references in tow (here, and as is almost always the case accompanied by polling numbers that don't come close to telling the whole story)…
Predictably perhaps, the nation's economy, which President Obama has vowed to repair even more often than he golfs, earns the least satisfaction from Americans, according to the new Gallup survey. Only one-in-five Americans (20%), presumably among those still employed, are somewhat or very satisfied with the economy. That's down 27 points since the same 2005 Gallup survey.
Inquiring minds giving Malcolm more attention than he deserves would be wondering I'm sure why the Dubya loyalist would go back to 2005. Why, that was at the peak of our last economic bubble under Former President Highest Disapproval Rating in Gallup Poll History, of course (you know, so Malcolm could skew the numbers as much as he could).
And let me note also that, while only 20 percent of this country is satisfied with the economy, Gallup also tells us here that 14 percent approve of our wretched U.S. Congress.
So with an economic approval of only 20 percent, Obama's actual approval number would be about that or near Congressional approval if Malcolm were correct to blame Number 44 exclusively, right?
Uh, no (48 percent, to be exact).
Next, Repug U.S. Senator Orrin Hatch tells us here that upgrading our system of background checks in this country prior to approving to gun purchases would lead to a "reduction in liberty," or something.
To get an idea of why Hatch said that, you need only read this; basically, like all Repugs in Congress, Hatch is worried about saying or doing anything whatsoever that could bite him in the ass from the Limbaugh-Hannity-Drudge faction that was once the fringe, but pretty much calls the shots now in his party (Hatch easily won re-election last year, but the fundraising pretty much never stops any more in the absence of public-money-only campaign financing).
Hatch also doesn't want to do anything whatsoever to shut off that flow of dough from the NRA, which has graced him with about $136 grand to date, as noted here.
Continuing, I give you the latest from Stu Bykofsky at philly.com on immigration (here)…
If we fail to get enforcement – not just at the border, but in the workplace – we will "invite" millions more "guests" to arrive illegally, and we will repeat the same drama again.
That's a recipe for disaster.
In response, this tells us that, after about 30-40 years of steadily increasing immigration to this country from Mexico (legal and otherwise), the pace has slowed down. Also, this tells us that PA Repug U.S. House Rep Lou Barletta (who I discussed here) said recently that there basically was no point to pursuing immigration reform for unskilled workers since, well, they'll just become Democrats anyway (nice guy).
Think Progress has the nonsense from Barletta and a lot more important stuff on this issue from here (and on the question of Obama and enforcement, the following should be noted from here).
Update 2/3/13: More "epic fail" from Barletta is here – voters in his district who supported this clown must be so proud (I'm sure Barletta needs special protection from an would-be assailant brandishing a spoon).
And speaking of policies from the Obama Administration, I give you this…
Smith & Nephew eliminated nearly 100 jobs in Memphis and Andover, Mass., on Thursday, Jan. 31, as the medical device company cuts expenses in an effort to offset tax hikes included in the Affordable Care Act.
The Affordable Care Act includes a 2.3 percent medical device tax, which took effect Jan. 1.
The London-based company, which employs about 1,800 people in Memphis, said the new tax will cost the industry about $30 billion over 10 years.
"(The tax) has impacted a number of companies across the U.S.," said Joe Metzger, senior vice president of corporate communications. "Smith & Nephew is not immune from this added expense burden."
Smith & Nephew announced in February 2012 that it would reduce its global workforce by 7 percent over the next three years. Several other companies announced similar plans, including Stryker and Medtronic.
I'm sorry about the Smith & Nephew workers in this country who are now out of a job, of course. However, the company still was able to pursue a deal worth about $782 million in cash last year to acquire Healthpoint Biotherapeutics, a "big name" among bio-pharma companies (here). Didn't they anticipate what they thought would be the "rainy day" of more medical device taxes to protect their workers?
And I wonder if a $22 million settlement in a bribery case had anything to do with their sudden financial hardship (here and here)?
Finally, with the return of a new Congressional session last month, that marked a return of the old Repug U.S. House wingnut extraordinaire Steve King of Iowa (here, among other idiocies)…
Mr. Obama's executive elimination of all work requirements of "welfare to work" violated the 1996 welfare reform work legislation, which was signed by President Clinton. Mr. Obama violated the Constitution by waiving provisions that the law specifically stated could not be waived by the president.
It should be noted that Politifact had something to say about that urban legend of sorts here when it was uttered by Former Senator Man-On-Dog during the Repug presidential primary last year (just add this to the ever-growing catalog of King wingnuttia, much of which is chronicled here).
Leave a Comment »	| Barack Obama, Congress, Crackpot History, Financial, Guns, Health Care, Immigration, Politics (General), Pundit Ponderings (Bad)	| Tagged: Affordable Care Act, Andrew Malcolm, background checks, Barack Obama, Guns, Healthpoint Biotherapeutics, immigration, Lou Barletta, NRA, Orrin Hatch, Rick Santorum, Smith & Nephew, Steve King, Stu Bykofsky, U.S. House of Representatives, U.S. Senate, welfare-to-work	| Permalink