++Governor John Kasich tried to channel "normal" during the debate and he spoke at length about the war on drugs, which he favors--among the many other wars.
++Roger Stone was quick out of the box to say that he,Stone fired Kasich from the Reagan campaign because he sold drugs to younger staffers.
++People forget how many stoners and coke heads were in they conservative movement at that time. And just for your information, JEB was my brother-in-law's dealer at Andover.They were both on the tennis team.
Showing posts with label Jeb Bush. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Jeb Bush. Show all posts
Saturday, October 31, 2015
Friday, October 30, 2015
Peggy Noonan Doesn't Want To be Rude but
++she refers to the Bush campaign in the past tense saying he never had a broad base in the party and has never been a national figure. She argues that question was raised about Walker, now it is time to raise it about Bush. He doesn't like the rough and tumble of politics and has only been a state figure. He believes he should be better known because he's from a national political family. But it is not to be.
++Harry Etten at Nate Silver's FiveThirtyEight argues along a similar line saying that the problem with Bush's campaign is ,in effect, Jeb himself. His campaign can't make voters like him any better. Etten points out that JEB!'s favorables sink the further he campaigns. He's at Rand Paul levels now.
++Ed Kilgore, while playing the best hits of Grace Slick today,points out that the leaked memo about Rubio made a revealing statement about Jeb's Iowa campaign. Only 1,200 supporters is bad enough but Ed points out that they could only get 7 volunteers from 70,000 calls in a state where you must have organization.
++Jeb! says he feels fantastic and that his campaign is the best thing for someone like himself to grow intellectually,spiritually and morally. A Far cry from his I "have cooler things to do."
++But by mid-afternoon the campaign's CO was fired.
++Harry Etten at Nate Silver's FiveThirtyEight argues along a similar line saying that the problem with Bush's campaign is ,in effect, Jeb himself. His campaign can't make voters like him any better. Etten points out that JEB!'s favorables sink the further he campaigns. He's at Rand Paul levels now.
++Ed Kilgore, while playing the best hits of Grace Slick today,points out that the leaked memo about Rubio made a revealing statement about Jeb's Iowa campaign. Only 1,200 supporters is bad enough but Ed points out that they could only get 7 volunteers from 70,000 calls in a state where you must have organization.
++Jeb! says he feels fantastic and that his campaign is the best thing for someone like himself to grow intellectually,spiritually and morally. A Far cry from his I "have cooler things to do."
++But by mid-afternoon the campaign's CO was fired.
Monday, May 11, 2015
Day Dreaming
++There doesn't seem much going on. The GOP debated in South Carolina at the Freedom Summit. All the candidates openly advocated war.
++The King of Saudi Arabia isn't coming to Washington and other Gulf State heads of state aren't either. For some reason the media claims this makes it harder for Obama to make an Iran nuclear deal.
++Sy Hersh published a blockbuster on the raid that killed Bin Laden. The White House denies the story because Sy says Obama lied about the thing. But if truthy,the article in the London Review of Books makes it more embarrassing for the Pakistanis and Saudis.
++Remember how Dick Cheney and Marc "Torture" Thiessen said that Enhanced Interrogation produced the valuable clues to finding Bin Laden? The Obama administration said that a courier led them to the location. Remember how the CIA created a vaccination program in the area to smoke Bin Laden out?
++Well, Sy Hersh claims that's all rubbish. Bin Laden lived a half a mile from Pakistan's West Point because the Pakistan intelligence service had him under house arrest. By that time he was a crippled. Remember his sickness' and his need for dialysis. The fact he was under house arrest was the reason there were not Al Qaeda bodyguards around.
++Hersh claims the Saudis were paying through the nose to keep him detained and unknown.
++Hersh also claims that Bin Laden could not have put up any resistance and we shot him in cold blood.
++Then the White House put the spin to the story.
++True or false? Who knows but it is an example of how the American people really don't know what's going on in foreign affairs and maybe that is a reason we should avoid wars whenever possible. The truth gets obscured in the fog of war.
++But meanwhile,in the longest continuous hearing since Iran-Contra and the Kennedy Assassination, Trey Gowdy's #Benghazi! Drudge Siren investigation has delayed Hillary Clinton's testimony until Trey is convinced that the State Department and Hillary have given the committee everything about Benghazi.
++President Obama is responsible for the riots in Baltimore. I'm sure he's responsible for alot of things but maybe it's just Prince playing there.
++The Republicans are no longer along in their replacement for Obamacare. If SCOTUS does--what the insane would--rule against subsidies on the federal exchange then 8 million Americans will not be able to afford health insurance.
++President Obama and Liz Warren are in a war of words in the TPP. The Wall Street Journal in their editorial today are beginning to panic, saying that AFTER OBAMA, THE UNITED STATES NEEDS AN EXTENSIVE JOB GROWTH ECONOMY THAT NEEDS THIS TRADE AGREEMENT. After Obama, really? Maybe Elizabeth Warren let the cat out of the bag when this weekend she reminded everyone that the next President of which ever party would have carte blanche on the TPP.
++Jeb Bush said he would have invaded Iraq like his brother, except that mistakes were made. Why doesn't anyone of these people pay any price for their mistakes? Jeb said his brother said his mistake was not focusing on the matter of security enough. Translator's Note: Paul Bremmer dissolved the Iraqi army while Gov. Garner had already persuaded them to return with their arms and get backpay.
++Ross Douhat pontificated yesterday in the New York Times about how the UK must remain united and that their politicians must remain those thorny Scots that they too made and died for the Empire.
++John Kerry is off to Moscow to meet with Putin on Syria.
++Sy Hersh had another story this weekend that Assad didn't bomb his own people with chemical weapons. Instead he argued it was Israeli-supported Al Nusra Front. I don't know. UN officials claim recently that some stay behind chemicals were used on Assad's opponents.
++The State Department claims it will take years to defeat ISIS. All the GOP Candidates in South Carolina said it would be best for us to be over there, then they come here. I heard that line before.
++Your Supreme Court will be wrapping up its session by the end of June. In my present state of mind, I would not hazard a guess about same-sex marriage and Obamacare. If anyone can screw a decision up,they can.
++The King of Saudi Arabia isn't coming to Washington and other Gulf State heads of state aren't either. For some reason the media claims this makes it harder for Obama to make an Iran nuclear deal.
++Sy Hersh published a blockbuster on the raid that killed Bin Laden. The White House denies the story because Sy says Obama lied about the thing. But if truthy,the article in the London Review of Books makes it more embarrassing for the Pakistanis and Saudis.
++Remember how Dick Cheney and Marc "Torture" Thiessen said that Enhanced Interrogation produced the valuable clues to finding Bin Laden? The Obama administration said that a courier led them to the location. Remember how the CIA created a vaccination program in the area to smoke Bin Laden out?
++Well, Sy Hersh claims that's all rubbish. Bin Laden lived a half a mile from Pakistan's West Point because the Pakistan intelligence service had him under house arrest. By that time he was a crippled. Remember his sickness' and his need for dialysis. The fact he was under house arrest was the reason there were not Al Qaeda bodyguards around.
++Hersh claims the Saudis were paying through the nose to keep him detained and unknown.
++Hersh also claims that Bin Laden could not have put up any resistance and we shot him in cold blood.
++Then the White House put the spin to the story.
++True or false? Who knows but it is an example of how the American people really don't know what's going on in foreign affairs and maybe that is a reason we should avoid wars whenever possible. The truth gets obscured in the fog of war.
++But meanwhile,in the longest continuous hearing since Iran-Contra and the Kennedy Assassination, Trey Gowdy's #Benghazi! Drudge Siren investigation has delayed Hillary Clinton's testimony until Trey is convinced that the State Department and Hillary have given the committee everything about Benghazi.
++President Obama is responsible for the riots in Baltimore. I'm sure he's responsible for alot of things but maybe it's just Prince playing there.
++The Republicans are no longer along in their replacement for Obamacare. If SCOTUS does--what the insane would--rule against subsidies on the federal exchange then 8 million Americans will not be able to afford health insurance.
++President Obama and Liz Warren are in a war of words in the TPP. The Wall Street Journal in their editorial today are beginning to panic, saying that AFTER OBAMA, THE UNITED STATES NEEDS AN EXTENSIVE JOB GROWTH ECONOMY THAT NEEDS THIS TRADE AGREEMENT. After Obama, really? Maybe Elizabeth Warren let the cat out of the bag when this weekend she reminded everyone that the next President of which ever party would have carte blanche on the TPP.
++Jeb Bush said he would have invaded Iraq like his brother, except that mistakes were made. Why doesn't anyone of these people pay any price for their mistakes? Jeb said his brother said his mistake was not focusing on the matter of security enough. Translator's Note: Paul Bremmer dissolved the Iraqi army while Gov. Garner had already persuaded them to return with their arms and get backpay.
++Ross Douhat pontificated yesterday in the New York Times about how the UK must remain united and that their politicians must remain those thorny Scots that they too made and died for the Empire.
++John Kerry is off to Moscow to meet with Putin on Syria.
++Sy Hersh had another story this weekend that Assad didn't bomb his own people with chemical weapons. Instead he argued it was Israeli-supported Al Nusra Front. I don't know. UN officials claim recently that some stay behind chemicals were used on Assad's opponents.
++The State Department claims it will take years to defeat ISIS. All the GOP Candidates in South Carolina said it would be best for us to be over there, then they come here. I heard that line before.
++Your Supreme Court will be wrapping up its session by the end of June. In my present state of mind, I would not hazard a guess about same-sex marriage and Obamacare. If anyone can screw a decision up,they can.
Thursday, April 30, 2015
As The Month Fades
++Reading Oliver Sacks's memoir. And, lo and behold,who is he related to and actually had a seder with. A distant cousin,who had characteristics they both shared. Also, this person was related to Isaac Herzog of the Zionist Union. The great Abba Eban. Eban claimed they shared characteristics and mannerisms because of Sacks' grandfather who acted the same way. Sacks is also related to Al Capp, the cartoonist of Lil' Abner fame and later a bitter speaker on the college circuit.
++John Boehner found himself trying to save the Export-Import Bank, which has become some type of conservative cause.
++Tom Cotton and Marco Rubio have paralyzed the Senate Republican caucus over the Corker-Carden Bill. They have added amendments which will kill the bill. Somehow they don't understand this.
++Jeb Bush lost the Adelson primary because of James Baker, one of his advisers speaking to J Street. Jeb says he admires Clarence Thomas and thinks Anthony Scalia's opinions are marvelous reads. Please remember that remark. 2016 is about the Supreme Court.
++The House Republicans are trying to figure out some legislative formula for saving Obamacare subsidies until 2017. They really don't want to debate it during the general election.
++Harvard did a poll of the millenials, which found that that they favor Democrats 55 to 40 and that Hillary is the preferred candidate. 47% would vote for her tomorrow.
++Thinking of Baltimore,I've been reading Bryan Burrough's Day of Rage about America's radical underground and the Black Liberation Army and wonder when and if it will come back.
++John Boehner found himself trying to save the Export-Import Bank, which has become some type of conservative cause.
++Tom Cotton and Marco Rubio have paralyzed the Senate Republican caucus over the Corker-Carden Bill. They have added amendments which will kill the bill. Somehow they don't understand this.
++Jeb Bush lost the Adelson primary because of James Baker, one of his advisers speaking to J Street. Jeb says he admires Clarence Thomas and thinks Anthony Scalia's opinions are marvelous reads. Please remember that remark. 2016 is about the Supreme Court.
++The House Republicans are trying to figure out some legislative formula for saving Obamacare subsidies until 2017. They really don't want to debate it during the general election.
++Harvard did a poll of the millenials, which found that that they favor Democrats 55 to 40 and that Hillary is the preferred candidate. 47% would vote for her tomorrow.
++Thinking of Baltimore,I've been reading Bryan Burrough's Day of Rage about America's radical underground and the Black Liberation Army and wonder when and if it will come back.
Tuesday, March 10, 2015
#47 Traitors picking up speed
++The hashtag named after the Daily News headline has been picking up speed all day.
++Jeb Bush said that the Senators only reacted to what they perceived a "bad deal" and that President Obama is to blame because he didn't consult with them more.
++Point of Fact--a bad deal is what Bibi referred to which doesn't exist.
++Bobby Jindal thinks all presidential aspirants must emphasize Iran is negotiating with a lame duck.
++Tehran Tom appeared on the Morning Joe to emphasize he only wanted the Iranian leaders to realize the nature of our system. This is not going well for Tehran Tom.
++Thom Hartman on his show said this just followed the Republican history of interfering with the Vietnam talks and the hostage negotiations with Iran under Reagan. He was joined by the chairman of the New York State Republican Party. It's worth listening to for the GOP rant about the nature of the deal and the alleged opposition by America to it.
++The problem is that the deal could unravel because of many factors no one is discussing. The question --after Tehran Tom's stunt--is how can President Obama increase sanctions if the United States is perceived as killing the deal. The Asian countries will just take a walk, Russia and China will end their cooperation and the US will be left with one big shitshow.
++Then factor in Iraq and Syria and try and game out the scenarios there. If the GOP had any strategic thinkers still around,they might realize they have created a worse monster than the one they left us with. The reason neo-conservatives are so mad with Obama is that they thought after Iraq, they would head on to Iran. The big except is that we do not need an energy empire like they envisioned and Iraq is so splintered on the ground that the only commitment you could get is from Republicans who really thought we should be there forever. Their dreams of empire have vanished in the sands.
++Even the extension of Iranian influence is a burden for Tehran, although they haven't admitted as such. It is unlikely they can subdue Iraq, defeat ISIS and preserve Assad. They have already lost several generals of the Revolutionary Guard. And the Arab states are now contemplating a unified military force to combat ISIS but to a larger extent Iran.
++Strangely the Iranian nuclear deal would take a minor issue away from the scene.
++Meanwhile Salon is counting chickens before they hatch. They speculate that within a week Zionist United will be able to form a coalition of 58 seats and oust Bibi. Bibi's problems right now are security related. Former heads of Mossad have been blasting him for the re-appearance of Hamas' tunnels,the Islamic Jihad and real threats on the Golan Heights, which have not appeared in years. Mr. Security doesn't look so good.
++Jeb Bush said that the Senators only reacted to what they perceived a "bad deal" and that President Obama is to blame because he didn't consult with them more.
++Point of Fact--a bad deal is what Bibi referred to which doesn't exist.
++Bobby Jindal thinks all presidential aspirants must emphasize Iran is negotiating with a lame duck.
++Tehran Tom appeared on the Morning Joe to emphasize he only wanted the Iranian leaders to realize the nature of our system. This is not going well for Tehran Tom.
++Thom Hartman on his show said this just followed the Republican history of interfering with the Vietnam talks and the hostage negotiations with Iran under Reagan. He was joined by the chairman of the New York State Republican Party. It's worth listening to for the GOP rant about the nature of the deal and the alleged opposition by America to it.
++The problem is that the deal could unravel because of many factors no one is discussing. The question --after Tehran Tom's stunt--is how can President Obama increase sanctions if the United States is perceived as killing the deal. The Asian countries will just take a walk, Russia and China will end their cooperation and the US will be left with one big shitshow.
++Then factor in Iraq and Syria and try and game out the scenarios there. If the GOP had any strategic thinkers still around,they might realize they have created a worse monster than the one they left us with. The reason neo-conservatives are so mad with Obama is that they thought after Iraq, they would head on to Iran. The big except is that we do not need an energy empire like they envisioned and Iraq is so splintered on the ground that the only commitment you could get is from Republicans who really thought we should be there forever. Their dreams of empire have vanished in the sands.
++Even the extension of Iranian influence is a burden for Tehran, although they haven't admitted as such. It is unlikely they can subdue Iraq, defeat ISIS and preserve Assad. They have already lost several generals of the Revolutionary Guard. And the Arab states are now contemplating a unified military force to combat ISIS but to a larger extent Iran.
++Strangely the Iranian nuclear deal would take a minor issue away from the scene.
++Meanwhile Salon is counting chickens before they hatch. They speculate that within a week Zionist United will be able to form a coalition of 58 seats and oust Bibi. Bibi's problems right now are security related. Former heads of Mossad have been blasting him for the re-appearance of Hamas' tunnels,the Islamic Jihad and real threats on the Golan Heights, which have not appeared in years. Mr. Security doesn't look so good.
Thursday, January 1, 2015
Be Forewarned
++The good news is that this blog is in its 7th year. So that will be my New Year's Resolution--to add up the numbers for this quirky diary of the Obama years.
++Having said that, Jennifer Rubin writes in today's Imperial Post that we should feel optimistic because 9 seasoned conservatives won Senate seats,the elections were a rebuke against the President on every policy issue,that Americans now realize America is the indispensable nation, the economy is coming back without government intervention (Cough) and that there is a strong conservative reform movement. The latter got trashed last year and Paul Krugman could teach you about Keynes. It is true that the Obama recovery lacks the significant public sector investment of all others. But none of the politics makes one feel any bit optimistic. Oh and by the way she thinks the Presidential field of candidates for the GOP is refreshing. P.S. Marco Rubio is supposed to tell us about his plans within a month.
++Jeb has left all his boards and non-profits to clean the slate for 2016. He now has a core 23% support and he is maneuvering to make a move to put a lock on the nomination by Iowa.
++The AP wrote the story everything has been wondering "What if Hillary doesn't run?" Draft Jerry Brown. But it would open a hole so big no one on the horizon could fill. I think the Democrats need a Western flare. I really think the self-destruction of Gary Hart wounded the Democrats' possibilities.
++We will have more demographic speculation about the fate of the parties this year. It is true the Democrats start the electoral college with 247 votes. But look at the state houses and the legislatures the GOP controls. Watch for more debates on splitting electoral votes to give the GOP a chance.
++Jennifer Rubin who annoys me no end is like a less literate David Brooks who refuses to recognize how extreme the GOP has become. Jennifer likes to show that the acceptance of gays demonstrates how more inclusive the country has become. Like the GOP on immigration and on its abortion platform.
++Another person who annoys me these days is my old Harvard Divinity Schoolmate Chris Hedges. I have seen more of Noam Chomsky the last two years than in all my previous life. See Hedges interview Chomsky on democraticunderground today. Chomsky has evolved into the nice,wise Jewish grandfather recounting real history in nice coherent chunks. But Chris as he does with other academic heroes won't let the guy the time to unwind his thoughts. Chris, he will get there. He just interrupts Chomsky's thoughts by driving his pet hobby horses--that the service industry workers are the new working class and that this country will experience Revolution just like Central Europe where both us saw the incredible democratic revolutions in the 80s and 90s. Chomsky is more interesting.The riff that got cut off was Chomsky explaining that the United States until Woodrow Wilson was strongly pacifist. It was Wilson's Red Scare that ended pacifism as a national trait. It also ended authentically Left-wing politics.
++ I saw the trailer for the new Terminator. Arnold is back! Looking a bit ragged but he is in full force.
++The New York Times mimicked the Imperial Post with a long article about how the racism of David Duke has become mainstreamed in Louisiana politics.The Southern Poverty Law Center says Scalise's statements proclaiming ignorance about the group he spoke to was nonsense. The Hotel itself and even a minor league baseball team tried to avoid the venue. David Duke has invited every extreme right party to Louisiana to form an alliance. The British National Party showed up in force. By the way their American headquarters is in Arlington, Virginia.
++But the Washington Monthly asks why are we surprised by the embrace of racism. South Carolina's Governor Haley spoke to the Republican Governor's Association about how corporations aren't avoiding the state because of the confederate flag. Our soon to be jailed Governor Bob McDonnell tried to proclaim a Southern Heritage day. There is a long list of such incidents in the past few years.
++Thom Hartman had a panel on his show discussing the David Duke flap. Hartman ran a clip of Lee Atwater explaining how to encode race-baiting in campaign speak to the point that "cutting taxes" is the easier pitch because southerners know that African-Americans will bear the brunt. One of Jennifer Rubin's new conservative reformers piped up that Scalise's speaking to an extreme right white supremacist conclave is just like Barack Obama knowing Bill Ayres. I guess--sort of.This movement has a lot of mental firepower.
++President Obama keeps slipping detainees out of Gitmo. Even the Hill has noticed that he was repatriated more since the mid-terms than in the previous two years.
++Mahmoud Abbas wants Palestine to be a member of the International Criminal Court so he can press Israel on war crimes. The United States strenuously objects. But remember the United States had refused to join even though the court has made exceptions for our military personnel. So how can we in good conscience block such a move. Well, we are threatening to hold up aid to the Palestinian Authority.
++Palestine lost its bid to be recognized by the Security Council by only 1 vote. They thought they were going to win with 9 or 10 and only gathered 8 as the United States pressured countries to either vote no or abstain.
++The Huffington Post today had an article about the rise of anti-semiticism around the globe. They attribute this to the global media covering the Palestinian situation.
++I think this will become a larger problem in 2015 because the rise of extreme right parties in Europe have a large component of the old fashion WWII anti-semiticism. Palestine is an excuse because these parties are also anti-Muslim immigrants.
++Having said that, Jennifer Rubin writes in today's Imperial Post that we should feel optimistic because 9 seasoned conservatives won Senate seats,the elections were a rebuke against the President on every policy issue,that Americans now realize America is the indispensable nation, the economy is coming back without government intervention (Cough) and that there is a strong conservative reform movement. The latter got trashed last year and Paul Krugman could teach you about Keynes. It is true that the Obama recovery lacks the significant public sector investment of all others. But none of the politics makes one feel any bit optimistic. Oh and by the way she thinks the Presidential field of candidates for the GOP is refreshing. P.S. Marco Rubio is supposed to tell us about his plans within a month.
++Jeb has left all his boards and non-profits to clean the slate for 2016. He now has a core 23% support and he is maneuvering to make a move to put a lock on the nomination by Iowa.
++The AP wrote the story everything has been wondering "What if Hillary doesn't run?" Draft Jerry Brown. But it would open a hole so big no one on the horizon could fill. I think the Democrats need a Western flare. I really think the self-destruction of Gary Hart wounded the Democrats' possibilities.
++We will have more demographic speculation about the fate of the parties this year. It is true the Democrats start the electoral college with 247 votes. But look at the state houses and the legislatures the GOP controls. Watch for more debates on splitting electoral votes to give the GOP a chance.
++Jennifer Rubin who annoys me no end is like a less literate David Brooks who refuses to recognize how extreme the GOP has become. Jennifer likes to show that the acceptance of gays demonstrates how more inclusive the country has become. Like the GOP on immigration and on its abortion platform.
++Another person who annoys me these days is my old Harvard Divinity Schoolmate Chris Hedges. I have seen more of Noam Chomsky the last two years than in all my previous life. See Hedges interview Chomsky on democraticunderground today. Chomsky has evolved into the nice,wise Jewish grandfather recounting real history in nice coherent chunks. But Chris as he does with other academic heroes won't let the guy the time to unwind his thoughts. Chris, he will get there. He just interrupts Chomsky's thoughts by driving his pet hobby horses--that the service industry workers are the new working class and that this country will experience Revolution just like Central Europe where both us saw the incredible democratic revolutions in the 80s and 90s. Chomsky is more interesting.The riff that got cut off was Chomsky explaining that the United States until Woodrow Wilson was strongly pacifist. It was Wilson's Red Scare that ended pacifism as a national trait. It also ended authentically Left-wing politics.
++ I saw the trailer for the new Terminator. Arnold is back! Looking a bit ragged but he is in full force.
++The New York Times mimicked the Imperial Post with a long article about how the racism of David Duke has become mainstreamed in Louisiana politics.The Southern Poverty Law Center says Scalise's statements proclaiming ignorance about the group he spoke to was nonsense. The Hotel itself and even a minor league baseball team tried to avoid the venue. David Duke has invited every extreme right party to Louisiana to form an alliance. The British National Party showed up in force. By the way their American headquarters is in Arlington, Virginia.
++But the Washington Monthly asks why are we surprised by the embrace of racism. South Carolina's Governor Haley spoke to the Republican Governor's Association about how corporations aren't avoiding the state because of the confederate flag. Our soon to be jailed Governor Bob McDonnell tried to proclaim a Southern Heritage day. There is a long list of such incidents in the past few years.
++Thom Hartman had a panel on his show discussing the David Duke flap. Hartman ran a clip of Lee Atwater explaining how to encode race-baiting in campaign speak to the point that "cutting taxes" is the easier pitch because southerners know that African-Americans will bear the brunt. One of Jennifer Rubin's new conservative reformers piped up that Scalise's speaking to an extreme right white supremacist conclave is just like Barack Obama knowing Bill Ayres. I guess--sort of.This movement has a lot of mental firepower.
++President Obama keeps slipping detainees out of Gitmo. Even the Hill has noticed that he was repatriated more since the mid-terms than in the previous two years.
++Mahmoud Abbas wants Palestine to be a member of the International Criminal Court so he can press Israel on war crimes. The United States strenuously objects. But remember the United States had refused to join even though the court has made exceptions for our military personnel. So how can we in good conscience block such a move. Well, we are threatening to hold up aid to the Palestinian Authority.
++Palestine lost its bid to be recognized by the Security Council by only 1 vote. They thought they were going to win with 9 or 10 and only gathered 8 as the United States pressured countries to either vote no or abstain.
++The Huffington Post today had an article about the rise of anti-semiticism around the globe. They attribute this to the global media covering the Palestinian situation.
++I think this will become a larger problem in 2015 because the rise of extreme right parties in Europe have a large component of the old fashion WWII anti-semiticism. Palestine is an excuse because these parties are also anti-Muslim immigrants.
Thursday, January 20, 2011
HU ARE YOU?
Spending the day in the Senate office buildings gives you a different perspective on Washington. The reason no one thinks there are problems with Congress is that people come to work, they get paid and the service crews maintain the buildings and the restaurants. So what's the problem?
Every office now has large flat screen televisions. When I visited Democratic offices, there was CNN covering Hu's visit to the United States. You watched the welcoming ceremonies at Andrews, then at the White House and the press conference. There was even some but little discussion of the heavy agenda of economic issues. When I visited the Republican offices, there was FOX providing wall-to-wall coverage of the House repealing the Healthcare Bill. Then you have Ricky Cantor challenging Harry Reid to hold a straight up and down vote on the healthcare bill. Whatever happened to the GOP filibusters? Never mind.
Since the Senate samurai warlords had not come in town yet,there were murmurs that Kent Conrad, Joe Lieberman and Kay Baily Hutchinson were not going to run again. In fact, I got the sense that the GOP was gearing in 2012 to take-over the Senate and are writing off the White House.
But the two different media realities present all day suggests that we can actually have a political world basically divided in half. Even though the GOP only controls the House,through Fox News they can convey to the public what they do is actually reality. Obamacare is repealed. Even though it's not true, does it matter? Americans will believe it has been and then as the good stuff in Healthcare Bill takes hold,the GOP can claim that it would have been worse if they hadn't repealed it. And don't think that's not going to happen. Basically,the American public have been very slow in picking up the positive effect of the bill on their daily lives.
Gentleman John Boehner refused to attend the White House dinner for Hu. I guess this is to establish the dual reality. While the Obama Administration worked through a lengthy agenda with the Chinese, a bipartisan Congress attacked the Chinese for everything from human rights violations to its over-priced currency. I got the impression they were protesting too much. Even though President Obama pointed out that our economy is still three times bigger than China with fewer people,there is an anxiety about America's decline and that's showing up in the political rhetoric on both sides. John Bolton blasted HU as logical successor to Mao. That's worth a college seminar right there.
It's clear Hu knows to cosy up to President Obama and try to ignore the rest of Americans.
President Obama's presidency continues to go down in flames. His approval rate is now 53%, only 18 points higher than Ronald Reagan's at this point in his presidency. Obama has also overtaken congressional Republicans in terms of trust by 46-39. The majority of Americans now believe we are in an economic recovery. The majority now believe we will be better off in five years, a dramatic turnaround. But a plurality still believe we are in decline as a country. By 46-28% the American people believe that Obama's policies are helping the economy. A majority now believe that Obama has the right balance in reaching out to Republicans; while a majority feel that Republicans do not have the right attitute toward working with President Obama. 80% of Americans believe President Obama struck the right tone after Tucson. In short, President Obama has the wind at his back right now.
He's going to need it because the House will basically be trying his Administration for every policy. The health insurance industry and Big Pharma sat out the repeal of the healthcare. Maybe it's because they desparately need the individual mandate in order to remain in business. A Washington Post poll shows that only 18% of Americans supported a full repeal of healthreform. The Republican strategy of "Repeal and Replace" has been sidelined for now since the House GOP is fighting over the elements to be included in any replacement. Their problem is that they want to privatize everything--including Medicare--but do not want to pay any political price for this. I wager they will simply try to defund Obama's healthcare plan to show it failed and then propose something else in 2012.
Meanwhile "Grand Theft" Issa has begun his investigations into the Administration by focusing on the TARP program. Not only was this passed under George W, but the public never understood it but it sparked the teabagger revolt. Unfortunately, we aren't going to be able to understand anything from the investigation. By the time it concludes the program will have made money. So we have a reverse health bill, watch the sausage being unmade but then realizing the millions spent for the investigation was spent showing that Obama made a profit.
Since the GOP are depending on the House-Fox complex to determine political reality running up to the 2012 election,they should be warned that Fox News's credibility with independents has collapsed. So you can win a mid-term with your base but you can't win a general President election that way. The House-Fox complex emboldens the absolute crazies, who will now dominate the discussion in this alternate reality.
I'll give you an example. Who's a "race-baiter", an advocate of affirmative action,a person who doesn't have the least understanding of the principles underlying our Constitution and the Declaration of Independence? Sounds like an attack on President Obama from the Right. Wrong. It is Jeb Bush. Mark Levin attacked Jeb Bush for his speech--a normal, vanilla talk on why Republicans should engage in outreach to the Hispanic community. Former Canadian Mark Levin, reknown expert on American constitutional principles,decides to launch an offense against immigrants, who, I guess, are unlike himself. Then we have Rush Limbaugh launch a Yellow Peril attack on Hu and make fun of Chinese accents. Meanwhile Yo-Yo Ma is entering the White House for dinner. Watch for a full-scale purge of Republicans not towing the Radical Right line.
So pick your reality. Because we are the empire, we make up our own reality. It's not an accident that the World Health Organization found that the United States had the highest percentage of people with mental disorders in the world. We're Number 1. U.S.A! U.S.A! Nearly 26% of us suffer from some mental disorder. That's roughly the number who have a high opinion of Sarah Palin and who believe Barack Obama is a Muslim. Slightly more people believe that children played with dinosaurs, which is a primary requirement for a GOP presidential contender these days.
The Washington Post/ABC has a new poll on the leading GOP contenders for President. Mike Huckabee leads with 21%, Sarah Palin has 19%, Mitt Romney 17%, Newt Gingrich is at 9% and Christie 8%. PPP has a poll out showing Obama tops all of them. Obama is even ahead in all the swing states that went Republican in the last election.
After the State of the Union, President Obama is heading out to Wisconsin to unofficially start his own re-election campaign. Basically the calculus remains the same for Obama as 2008. The decisive line is from Wisconsin to Pennsylvania.
Most observers think unemployment has to be down to 8% in 2012 to ensure Obama re-election. That may be a tough road to hoe. However, almost everything he is doing now is geared at generating jobs. As I wrote the other day, he is on target to surpass the job creation records of George W. Bush and G.H.W Bush--4 years out performing 12 years. Even still, that doesn't assure his re-election.
I don't get any sense that the big Republican operatives believe they can take Obama in 2012. Instead, they sense they can take the senate because so many Democrats are up for re-election. However, they claim among themselves that the teabaggers cost them the Senate this time. They blame Christine O'Donnell in Delaware and Sharron Angle in Nevada and Ken Buck in Colorado for their loss. But remember it was Karl Rove's job to win back the Senate. But he will never be blamed.
Every office now has large flat screen televisions. When I visited Democratic offices, there was CNN covering Hu's visit to the United States. You watched the welcoming ceremonies at Andrews, then at the White House and the press conference. There was even some but little discussion of the heavy agenda of economic issues. When I visited the Republican offices, there was FOX providing wall-to-wall coverage of the House repealing the Healthcare Bill. Then you have Ricky Cantor challenging Harry Reid to hold a straight up and down vote on the healthcare bill. Whatever happened to the GOP filibusters? Never mind.
Since the Senate samurai warlords had not come in town yet,there were murmurs that Kent Conrad, Joe Lieberman and Kay Baily Hutchinson were not going to run again. In fact, I got the sense that the GOP was gearing in 2012 to take-over the Senate and are writing off the White House.
But the two different media realities present all day suggests that we can actually have a political world basically divided in half. Even though the GOP only controls the House,through Fox News they can convey to the public what they do is actually reality. Obamacare is repealed. Even though it's not true, does it matter? Americans will believe it has been and then as the good stuff in Healthcare Bill takes hold,the GOP can claim that it would have been worse if they hadn't repealed it. And don't think that's not going to happen. Basically,the American public have been very slow in picking up the positive effect of the bill on their daily lives.
Gentleman John Boehner refused to attend the White House dinner for Hu. I guess this is to establish the dual reality. While the Obama Administration worked through a lengthy agenda with the Chinese, a bipartisan Congress attacked the Chinese for everything from human rights violations to its over-priced currency. I got the impression they were protesting too much. Even though President Obama pointed out that our economy is still three times bigger than China with fewer people,there is an anxiety about America's decline and that's showing up in the political rhetoric on both sides. John Bolton blasted HU as logical successor to Mao. That's worth a college seminar right there.
It's clear Hu knows to cosy up to President Obama and try to ignore the rest of Americans.
President Obama's presidency continues to go down in flames. His approval rate is now 53%, only 18 points higher than Ronald Reagan's at this point in his presidency. Obama has also overtaken congressional Republicans in terms of trust by 46-39. The majority of Americans now believe we are in an economic recovery. The majority now believe we will be better off in five years, a dramatic turnaround. But a plurality still believe we are in decline as a country. By 46-28% the American people believe that Obama's policies are helping the economy. A majority now believe that Obama has the right balance in reaching out to Republicans; while a majority feel that Republicans do not have the right attitute toward working with President Obama. 80% of Americans believe President Obama struck the right tone after Tucson. In short, President Obama has the wind at his back right now.
He's going to need it because the House will basically be trying his Administration for every policy. The health insurance industry and Big Pharma sat out the repeal of the healthcare. Maybe it's because they desparately need the individual mandate in order to remain in business. A Washington Post poll shows that only 18% of Americans supported a full repeal of healthreform. The Republican strategy of "Repeal and Replace" has been sidelined for now since the House GOP is fighting over the elements to be included in any replacement. Their problem is that they want to privatize everything--including Medicare--but do not want to pay any political price for this. I wager they will simply try to defund Obama's healthcare plan to show it failed and then propose something else in 2012.
Meanwhile "Grand Theft" Issa has begun his investigations into the Administration by focusing on the TARP program. Not only was this passed under George W, but the public never understood it but it sparked the teabagger revolt. Unfortunately, we aren't going to be able to understand anything from the investigation. By the time it concludes the program will have made money. So we have a reverse health bill, watch the sausage being unmade but then realizing the millions spent for the investigation was spent showing that Obama made a profit.
Since the GOP are depending on the House-Fox complex to determine political reality running up to the 2012 election,they should be warned that Fox News's credibility with independents has collapsed. So you can win a mid-term with your base but you can't win a general President election that way. The House-Fox complex emboldens the absolute crazies, who will now dominate the discussion in this alternate reality.
I'll give you an example. Who's a "race-baiter", an advocate of affirmative action,a person who doesn't have the least understanding of the principles underlying our Constitution and the Declaration of Independence? Sounds like an attack on President Obama from the Right. Wrong. It is Jeb Bush. Mark Levin attacked Jeb Bush for his speech--a normal, vanilla talk on why Republicans should engage in outreach to the Hispanic community. Former Canadian Mark Levin, reknown expert on American constitutional principles,decides to launch an offense against immigrants, who, I guess, are unlike himself. Then we have Rush Limbaugh launch a Yellow Peril attack on Hu and make fun of Chinese accents. Meanwhile Yo-Yo Ma is entering the White House for dinner. Watch for a full-scale purge of Republicans not towing the Radical Right line.
So pick your reality. Because we are the empire, we make up our own reality. It's not an accident that the World Health Organization found that the United States had the highest percentage of people with mental disorders in the world. We're Number 1. U.S.A! U.S.A! Nearly 26% of us suffer from some mental disorder. That's roughly the number who have a high opinion of Sarah Palin and who believe Barack Obama is a Muslim. Slightly more people believe that children played with dinosaurs, which is a primary requirement for a GOP presidential contender these days.
The Washington Post/ABC has a new poll on the leading GOP contenders for President. Mike Huckabee leads with 21%, Sarah Palin has 19%, Mitt Romney 17%, Newt Gingrich is at 9% and Christie 8%. PPP has a poll out showing Obama tops all of them. Obama is even ahead in all the swing states that went Republican in the last election.
After the State of the Union, President Obama is heading out to Wisconsin to unofficially start his own re-election campaign. Basically the calculus remains the same for Obama as 2008. The decisive line is from Wisconsin to Pennsylvania.
Most observers think unemployment has to be down to 8% in 2012 to ensure Obama re-election. That may be a tough road to hoe. However, almost everything he is doing now is geared at generating jobs. As I wrote the other day, he is on target to surpass the job creation records of George W. Bush and G.H.W Bush--4 years out performing 12 years. Even still, that doesn't assure his re-election.
I don't get any sense that the big Republican operatives believe they can take Obama in 2012. Instead, they sense they can take the senate because so many Democrats are up for re-election. However, they claim among themselves that the teabaggers cost them the Senate this time. They blame Christine O'Donnell in Delaware and Sharron Angle in Nevada and Ken Buck in Colorado for their loss. But remember it was Karl Rove's job to win back the Senate. But he will never be blamed.
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
And Now For Somethng Completely Different
The big loser today in the new House was Eleanor Holmes Norton, the representative from D.C. In the last Congress, she balked at the bill granting D.C. a vote in the House because the GOP had attached a number of restrictions on it having to do with gun rights. She should have taken it as I wrote then. Today, she as well as all representatives from D.C. and the American territories like the Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, Samoa,and Guam were stripped of their voting rights in committees by the Republican leadership.
The Heritage Foundation claims the new House is committed to cutting $100 billion from the budget this fiscal year. But the GOP is backing off that saying that half the fiscal year is already gone and that they will "aim" to bring down government spending to 2008 levels by 2012.
The House Republicans are planning on governing as if they have a mandate. The GOP did the same thing when they won in 2000 by one Supreme Court justice's vote. This is something Democrats have to learn--when you win, pretend it's a massive mandate. The House Republicans as well as the Senate Republicans are acting as if the 2010 mid-terms were a total repudiation of Barack Obama. This fits with their overall narrative that Obama was a mistake or ,as the base insists, the creature of ACORN.
But E.J. Dionne pointed out something in his column the other day that should make the GOP hesitate. He indicated that over 50 of the new GOP House members won in districts that Obama won in 2008. Not that Obama would win them again but the turnout of 41.5% in 2010 didn't match the 62% turnout in the presidential election. Even with redistricting, the GOP is very vulnerable if the Democrats come out in force.
Another columnist pointed out that the teabaggers didn't win any mandate--many of them didn't even receive a majority of votes. Instead, the tide was turned against the Democrats by massive amounts of money--particularly some $20 million from Hedge Fund managers--and a lack of turnout from key Democratic constituencies like the millenial voters.
The Chamber of Commerce should be delighted with the Congress they bought but they are uneasy because Republicans in the House are saying they are going to cut the funding for the highway fund and mass transportation. This was one area where the Chamber and President Obama agreed on and the Chamber thought they had Boehner on board. Infrastructure spending is key to some Chamber members and was seen as the next quiet economic stimulus.
The Republicans will be using the next 20 days to register symbolic votes to repeal everything President Obama has done. The object of this is to create the framework for the debate for the next two years. The White House would be stupid to fall for this. Republicans are emphasizing the need for austerity when the American people are not registering this in polls. If you take the GOP's two hobbyhorses--the deficit and terrorism, those are the last two concerns of the American people.
I would bet on President Obama coming up with a more realistic approach to budget cuts and reform of the entitlement programs. Unlike progressives, I feel that he will preserve Social Security and not undermine it as some have suggested. Meanwhile, Lindsey Graham and his sidekick John McCain are salivating to cut government spending and in particular social security--since both men are wealthy and have life-long pensions from the government while you don't.
The debate for the new RNC chair was disturbing to me because why would any grown person allow Grover Norquist and Tucker Carlson to moderate any debate for a major political position. What was particularly disturbing was that the RNC allowed Grover's outfit plus Maggie Gallagher's anti-gay marriage organization NOM to host the debate. With the RNC $20 million in debt, it doesn't look good for Michael Steele. Today, the money people weighed in with their objections to him. The debate demonstrated that all candidates loved Ronald Reagan, want a litmus test for the party,are against gay rights and same-sex marriage,some own many guns, and are for tax cuts. The debate was embarrassing. They should go back to smoke-filled rooms.
Meanwhile Jeb Bush says he is thinking about running for President in 2016, which should be enough time for the American people to forget his brother. PPP polling has shown that the most viable GOP candidate against Barack Obama is Mike Huckabee because he has the religious base and has high favorabilities. Mitt Romney does well and has a better organization but he faces problems with the base, which are evaneglicals, and the fact he is the father of Obamacare. GOP pundits are now weighing in with criticism of Sarah Palin, trying to head disaster off at the pass.
Frank Gaffney of the Center for Strategic Policies alerts us to the problem posed by the infiltration of CPAC by the Muslim Brotherhood. He blames Grover Norquist, the foremost apologist for Wahabhism in the United States as being the culprit. He claims that CPAC now supports Sharia Law--as opposed to Elena Kagan and Harold Koh. Frank has finally located the enemy on the Right.
It looks like Carl Hiaasen of "Strip Tease" fame has a new political target in Florida. But it looks like his bosses at the Miami Herald may want a monopoly of their own covering Governor Rick Scott, who unlike other newly elected Governors, hired former Bush event managers to throw a gala affair at his inaugural, which was considered by the Floridians as grotesque. People shouted "criminal" at him during what was seen as a failure of a speech. As Hiassen wrote previously, the highlight of Scott's resume was that he didn't go to jail. Scott vowed to cut 19% off property taxes, which will devastate local communities, but he says "It will be fun."
The Guardian (U.K.) covered the festivities today on the Hill and noted that the new Republicans were far-right, dullards, and corporate tools. The writer felt nostalgic for Newt Gingrich ,who at his swearing in spoke longingly of FDR. I personally recall talking to Newt about his love of dinosaurs. In those days, he didn't believe children played with them. The writer said that at least Newt enterained thinking out of the box. That was before the sex scandals and his mismanagement of the House.
We have to give Gentleman John Boehner credit for some savvy internal politics. Michelle Bachman wanted a leadership position but was denied, then she wanted a post on Ways and Means and was denied. Instead, Boehner put her on the Intelligence Committee, which is ironic and humorous. But his point was that she takes up the space in the room and makes all Republicans look crazier than they really are. At intelligence, she just can not talk about the subject. Boehner was hoping Bachmann's media exposure would be diminished. Good move.
The constitutional stunt wasn't a great success as the new members were on television ineptly trying to explain how Obama's policies were unconstitutional. They simply couldn't.
James Fallows at the Atlantic commented on the Jon Huntsman for president trial balloon. He preceptively said that Huntsman could not become a viable nominee because of being part of the Obama Administration. He thinks this was all a clever move to enhance Huntsman's cache as the United States enters a period of intense negotiations with China about a host of issues. The Chinese Premier will be meeting President Obama in about a month. Fallows quite cleverly says that rumors about a Huntsman's presidential drive makes him more serious in the eyes of the Chinese. He thinks Obama and Huntsman dreamt this up together.
Look for President Obama to sideswipe the Republicans with a number of dramatic budget cuts. Already Bob Gates is preparing for proposals to cut the Pentagon budget this year by $200 million.
Republicans are in a budget box of their own. Yes, the ideologues would love to completely dismantle the federal government. But they have vowed not to cut defense spending and all the entitlement programs--Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid--this year. So without additional government revenues, they are down to a budget of less than $400 billion for everything else the federal government does. A 25% cut of all this would be crippling and more so because it would have an immediate negative impact on the public. That's why you are only hearing vague noises about specific cuts. The two I have heard--cutting spending for Public Broadcasting in retaliation for their firing of Juan Williams and cutting Planned Parenthood. Now they are trying to sell their repeal of the healthcare bill as a cut in spending--when it means a rise in the deficit.
One Democratic congressman summed up the new Republican approach as "Enron-style economics." This puts the Hoodoo in the Voodoo Economics. You can't get more bizarre in economic thinking than the current House Republicans. They make George W's policies seem plausible.
The Heritage Foundation claims the new House is committed to cutting $100 billion from the budget this fiscal year. But the GOP is backing off that saying that half the fiscal year is already gone and that they will "aim" to bring down government spending to 2008 levels by 2012.
The House Republicans are planning on governing as if they have a mandate. The GOP did the same thing when they won in 2000 by one Supreme Court justice's vote. This is something Democrats have to learn--when you win, pretend it's a massive mandate. The House Republicans as well as the Senate Republicans are acting as if the 2010 mid-terms were a total repudiation of Barack Obama. This fits with their overall narrative that Obama was a mistake or ,as the base insists, the creature of ACORN.
But E.J. Dionne pointed out something in his column the other day that should make the GOP hesitate. He indicated that over 50 of the new GOP House members won in districts that Obama won in 2008. Not that Obama would win them again but the turnout of 41.5% in 2010 didn't match the 62% turnout in the presidential election. Even with redistricting, the GOP is very vulnerable if the Democrats come out in force.
Another columnist pointed out that the teabaggers didn't win any mandate--many of them didn't even receive a majority of votes. Instead, the tide was turned against the Democrats by massive amounts of money--particularly some $20 million from Hedge Fund managers--and a lack of turnout from key Democratic constituencies like the millenial voters.
The Chamber of Commerce should be delighted with the Congress they bought but they are uneasy because Republicans in the House are saying they are going to cut the funding for the highway fund and mass transportation. This was one area where the Chamber and President Obama agreed on and the Chamber thought they had Boehner on board. Infrastructure spending is key to some Chamber members and was seen as the next quiet economic stimulus.
The Republicans will be using the next 20 days to register symbolic votes to repeal everything President Obama has done. The object of this is to create the framework for the debate for the next two years. The White House would be stupid to fall for this. Republicans are emphasizing the need for austerity when the American people are not registering this in polls. If you take the GOP's two hobbyhorses--the deficit and terrorism, those are the last two concerns of the American people.
I would bet on President Obama coming up with a more realistic approach to budget cuts and reform of the entitlement programs. Unlike progressives, I feel that he will preserve Social Security and not undermine it as some have suggested. Meanwhile, Lindsey Graham and his sidekick John McCain are salivating to cut government spending and in particular social security--since both men are wealthy and have life-long pensions from the government while you don't.
The debate for the new RNC chair was disturbing to me because why would any grown person allow Grover Norquist and Tucker Carlson to moderate any debate for a major political position. What was particularly disturbing was that the RNC allowed Grover's outfit plus Maggie Gallagher's anti-gay marriage organization NOM to host the debate. With the RNC $20 million in debt, it doesn't look good for Michael Steele. Today, the money people weighed in with their objections to him. The debate demonstrated that all candidates loved Ronald Reagan, want a litmus test for the party,are against gay rights and same-sex marriage,some own many guns, and are for tax cuts. The debate was embarrassing. They should go back to smoke-filled rooms.
Meanwhile Jeb Bush says he is thinking about running for President in 2016, which should be enough time for the American people to forget his brother. PPP polling has shown that the most viable GOP candidate against Barack Obama is Mike Huckabee because he has the religious base and has high favorabilities. Mitt Romney does well and has a better organization but he faces problems with the base, which are evaneglicals, and the fact he is the father of Obamacare. GOP pundits are now weighing in with criticism of Sarah Palin, trying to head disaster off at the pass.
Frank Gaffney of the Center for Strategic Policies alerts us to the problem posed by the infiltration of CPAC by the Muslim Brotherhood. He blames Grover Norquist, the foremost apologist for Wahabhism in the United States as being the culprit. He claims that CPAC now supports Sharia Law--as opposed to Elena Kagan and Harold Koh. Frank has finally located the enemy on the Right.
It looks like Carl Hiaasen of "Strip Tease" fame has a new political target in Florida. But it looks like his bosses at the Miami Herald may want a monopoly of their own covering Governor Rick Scott, who unlike other newly elected Governors, hired former Bush event managers to throw a gala affair at his inaugural, which was considered by the Floridians as grotesque. People shouted "criminal" at him during what was seen as a failure of a speech. As Hiassen wrote previously, the highlight of Scott's resume was that he didn't go to jail. Scott vowed to cut 19% off property taxes, which will devastate local communities, but he says "It will be fun."
The Guardian (U.K.) covered the festivities today on the Hill and noted that the new Republicans were far-right, dullards, and corporate tools. The writer felt nostalgic for Newt Gingrich ,who at his swearing in spoke longingly of FDR. I personally recall talking to Newt about his love of dinosaurs. In those days, he didn't believe children played with them. The writer said that at least Newt enterained thinking out of the box. That was before the sex scandals and his mismanagement of the House.
We have to give Gentleman John Boehner credit for some savvy internal politics. Michelle Bachman wanted a leadership position but was denied, then she wanted a post on Ways and Means and was denied. Instead, Boehner put her on the Intelligence Committee, which is ironic and humorous. But his point was that she takes up the space in the room and makes all Republicans look crazier than they really are. At intelligence, she just can not talk about the subject. Boehner was hoping Bachmann's media exposure would be diminished. Good move.
The constitutional stunt wasn't a great success as the new members were on television ineptly trying to explain how Obama's policies were unconstitutional. They simply couldn't.
James Fallows at the Atlantic commented on the Jon Huntsman for president trial balloon. He preceptively said that Huntsman could not become a viable nominee because of being part of the Obama Administration. He thinks this was all a clever move to enhance Huntsman's cache as the United States enters a period of intense negotiations with China about a host of issues. The Chinese Premier will be meeting President Obama in about a month. Fallows quite cleverly says that rumors about a Huntsman's presidential drive makes him more serious in the eyes of the Chinese. He thinks Obama and Huntsman dreamt this up together.
Look for President Obama to sideswipe the Republicans with a number of dramatic budget cuts. Already Bob Gates is preparing for proposals to cut the Pentagon budget this year by $200 million.
Republicans are in a budget box of their own. Yes, the ideologues would love to completely dismantle the federal government. But they have vowed not to cut defense spending and all the entitlement programs--Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid--this year. So without additional government revenues, they are down to a budget of less than $400 billion for everything else the federal government does. A 25% cut of all this would be crippling and more so because it would have an immediate negative impact on the public. That's why you are only hearing vague noises about specific cuts. The two I have heard--cutting spending for Public Broadcasting in retaliation for their firing of Juan Williams and cutting Planned Parenthood. Now they are trying to sell their repeal of the healthcare bill as a cut in spending--when it means a rise in the deficit.
One Democratic congressman summed up the new Republican approach as "Enron-style economics." This puts the Hoodoo in the Voodoo Economics. You can't get more bizarre in economic thinking than the current House Republicans. They make George W's policies seem plausible.
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
Iced Harrar at the Last Manatee Cafe
The hits keep coming. Tan Man Boehner claims his miscues with the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review were really part of the strategy to win back the House. I'm sure he didn't figure on fellow Republicans accusing him of being a lazy drunk and recalling his days partying at The Tunnel in Manhattan during the Republican Convention. I think he underestimates the fact that Cantor will pull a coup de grace on him if the GOP regains the House. For some reason, Boehner actually thinks it's a great idea to pick a fight with President Obama like...say, Newt Gingrich stopping the Government during Clinton.
Miichael is the man of Steele. After calling Afghanistan "Obama's War" and saying we shouldn't be there, little Billy Kristol called for his resignation and even Liz Cheney. Having Liz Cheney call for someone's resignation is like Paris Hilton or Lindsey Lohan making a political statement. President Obama's favorite Republican, Lindsey Graham criticized Steele statement and John McCain openly asked Steele to consider whether he was up to leading. He's staying because Republicans can't afford mayhem four months out from the election.
Sharon Angle, the teajihadist candidate in Nevada, has sent Harry Byrd a "cease and desist" letter demanding he not refer to her past political positions because they are insane.
Meg Whitman has gone over the $100 million mark in the California election and Jerry Brown hasn't spent anything. But Democrats are worrying about Brown, who still leads by 3-4 points, because he is not mobilizing the party yet. They worry that Whitman will continue to up the ante and blow by Brown in the end. Boxer still leads Fiorina. That's generally good news because Boxer always polls lower than her eventual tally.
PPP has a poll out today that shows the Jack Conway-Rand Paul race as dead even. That's great news for Conway because over 40% of the voters don't have a clue as to who he is.
PPP has another poll that shows Elaine Marshall only 6 behind Burr in the Senate race. That's good news for her. Republicans are still wondering what Burr does for a living. Marshall is banging him for filibustering the jobs and unemployment bill. This seems to be working. Wisconsin's Senator Feingold appears to be in a tight race against teajihadist Tim Johnson, a mega-millionaire. He's running ads touting his support from right-wing Republican groups, claiming he is a fiscal conservative.
The Democratic Party seems to have adopted Nate Silver's regressive logarithms in projecting the political races this year. At this stage, they claim they will hold the House by only 6 seats and will only lose 4 in the Senate. Republicans aim to pick up considerably more Governor's seats. Why I don't discount this projection is that Mark Plotkin has reached a very similar conclusion about the House with the Democrats holding it by eight. Charlie Cook still says a Republican hurricane is coming.
No surprise, Gallup has a poll of teabaggers that showed 79% were Republicans and they represented the extremes of the party if anyone else is left.
26% of Americans can't name the country from whom we gained our independence. That's roughly the same percentage as those who have favorable opinions of George W. Bush and Sarah Palin.
Prophetess Janet Porter has been continuing the Religious Right's refrain that the BP oil disaster is the judgment of God on Obama's abandonment of Israel. I guess God is touchy. But no matter, Bibi and President Obama sat down today and said everything is hunky-dory between the United States and Israel. Pundits said that this was vital for the Democrats' chances in the mid-terms because Republicans have been making hay on Obama dissing Israel, our most dependable ally in the Middle East. Bibi has slightly adjusted the Gaza embargo and is prosecuting 3 soldiers for gunning down Palestinians.
Prior to this meeting, AIPAC flooded the town with visiting Israeli military experts, who had meetings with everyone relevant to the issues at hand. One of the themes was to trash Turkey, Israel's longest standing ally in the Middle East.
Dominionist churches are seeking financial damages from BP for loss of revenues. The Assemblies of God, Sarah Palin's church, claims their collection plates are hurting because of the devastation to local Gulf families.
Eric Holder is finally suing the state of Arizona to prevent its immigration law going into effect by the end of this month. The federal government is asking for an injunction to stop it. John McCain fighting for his life in the primary there, said that he thinks all illegals should be deported to where they came from. This from the champion of immigration reform. Jeb Bush, on the other hand, weighed in with an op-ed for immigration reform, pointing out what solid citizens Latinos became. Other bloggers have noted that the United States really has never wanted to do anything about our porous borders because illegal immigrants are the source of cheaper labor for our businesses and agriculture.
Fareed Zakaria gave a devastating critique of our Afghanistan policy. He singled out Leon Panetta's opinion that there are only 50-100 Al Qaeda members left in the country. General Petraeus testified there were maybe double digits with another 300+ in Pakistan. Zakaria mentioned that over $1 billion a year is leaving the country as far as we know from their own customs declarations. So, why are we fighting a major war there?
No problem. There exists a new synergy of terrorist groups ,which have formed a "fusion" that represents a greater threat to the United States than even Al Qaeda during 9-11. I just get the feeling that we are creating an endless feedback of terrorist threats the longer we stay.
Jolting Joe Biden travelled to Iraq to say everything is on track for us to leave in August, even though they are still at a stalemate over forming a new government.
Mitt Romney appeared today to write an op-ed piece in the Washington Post condemning the New Start Treaty. While it was detailed to demonstrate his alleged knowledge, it was wildly wrong on a number of points, particularly about missile defense systems and the treaty's applicability to the situations in Iran and North Korea. Mitt is only visiting the territory of his Heritage Foundation speech where he called for an increase in the Defense Budget, which only equals the defense spending of all the entire earth combined. Mitt argued we were threatened by military buildups in China, Russia and conflict in the Middle East. The reason the Chinese budget was lower was because they don't have to pay their soldiers much. Of course, it really doesn't matter that we are in a Depression and that somehow the Republicans have become deficit hawks to stop Democratic social programs.
A point about Chinese military spending. While the G-20 believe that China can carry the global economy, it's growing clearer that they deeply fear the prospects of instability. Their military and their policies on internet censorship show there is more concern there than meets the eye. Last year, the country experienced several thousand mass rallies protesting all sorts of issues. Currently, we have been learning about labor strikes in plants of overseas companies.
Finally, China Mieville's Kraken is out and is fantastic both literally and metaphorically. London is beseiged by an "epidemic of eschatologies" and the special branch of their police that have to deal with cults must find whether the end-time is really occurring. To flush all the dissident Gods out, they stage a simultaneous apocalypse for two competing sects. Each has their apocalypse on the same date. This spells trouble. They don't want to be upstaged. We are treated to Chaos Nazis, Jesus Buddhists, who are actually a quite violent syncretistic religion, and worshippers of a Giant Squid. One of the investigators is a fundamentalist Christian who has lost his faith because of evolution. The worshippers of the Great Flood play a key role in persuading the Sea to intervene for justice. As always, Mieville creates a fantastic London as he did in City and City.
Miichael is the man of Steele. After calling Afghanistan "Obama's War" and saying we shouldn't be there, little Billy Kristol called for his resignation and even Liz Cheney. Having Liz Cheney call for someone's resignation is like Paris Hilton or Lindsey Lohan making a political statement. President Obama's favorite Republican, Lindsey Graham criticized Steele statement and John McCain openly asked Steele to consider whether he was up to leading. He's staying because Republicans can't afford mayhem four months out from the election.
Sharon Angle, the teajihadist candidate in Nevada, has sent Harry Byrd a "cease and desist" letter demanding he not refer to her past political positions because they are insane.
Meg Whitman has gone over the $100 million mark in the California election and Jerry Brown hasn't spent anything. But Democrats are worrying about Brown, who still leads by 3-4 points, because he is not mobilizing the party yet. They worry that Whitman will continue to up the ante and blow by Brown in the end. Boxer still leads Fiorina. That's generally good news because Boxer always polls lower than her eventual tally.
PPP has a poll out today that shows the Jack Conway-Rand Paul race as dead even. That's great news for Conway because over 40% of the voters don't have a clue as to who he is.
PPP has another poll that shows Elaine Marshall only 6 behind Burr in the Senate race. That's good news for her. Republicans are still wondering what Burr does for a living. Marshall is banging him for filibustering the jobs and unemployment bill. This seems to be working. Wisconsin's Senator Feingold appears to be in a tight race against teajihadist Tim Johnson, a mega-millionaire. He's running ads touting his support from right-wing Republican groups, claiming he is a fiscal conservative.
The Democratic Party seems to have adopted Nate Silver's regressive logarithms in projecting the political races this year. At this stage, they claim they will hold the House by only 6 seats and will only lose 4 in the Senate. Republicans aim to pick up considerably more Governor's seats. Why I don't discount this projection is that Mark Plotkin has reached a very similar conclusion about the House with the Democrats holding it by eight. Charlie Cook still says a Republican hurricane is coming.
No surprise, Gallup has a poll of teabaggers that showed 79% were Republicans and they represented the extremes of the party if anyone else is left.
26% of Americans can't name the country from whom we gained our independence. That's roughly the same percentage as those who have favorable opinions of George W. Bush and Sarah Palin.
Prophetess Janet Porter has been continuing the Religious Right's refrain that the BP oil disaster is the judgment of God on Obama's abandonment of Israel. I guess God is touchy. But no matter, Bibi and President Obama sat down today and said everything is hunky-dory between the United States and Israel. Pundits said that this was vital for the Democrats' chances in the mid-terms because Republicans have been making hay on Obama dissing Israel, our most dependable ally in the Middle East. Bibi has slightly adjusted the Gaza embargo and is prosecuting 3 soldiers for gunning down Palestinians.
Prior to this meeting, AIPAC flooded the town with visiting Israeli military experts, who had meetings with everyone relevant to the issues at hand. One of the themes was to trash Turkey, Israel's longest standing ally in the Middle East.
Dominionist churches are seeking financial damages from BP for loss of revenues. The Assemblies of God, Sarah Palin's church, claims their collection plates are hurting because of the devastation to local Gulf families.
Eric Holder is finally suing the state of Arizona to prevent its immigration law going into effect by the end of this month. The federal government is asking for an injunction to stop it. John McCain fighting for his life in the primary there, said that he thinks all illegals should be deported to where they came from. This from the champion of immigration reform. Jeb Bush, on the other hand, weighed in with an op-ed for immigration reform, pointing out what solid citizens Latinos became. Other bloggers have noted that the United States really has never wanted to do anything about our porous borders because illegal immigrants are the source of cheaper labor for our businesses and agriculture.
Fareed Zakaria gave a devastating critique of our Afghanistan policy. He singled out Leon Panetta's opinion that there are only 50-100 Al Qaeda members left in the country. General Petraeus testified there were maybe double digits with another 300+ in Pakistan. Zakaria mentioned that over $1 billion a year is leaving the country as far as we know from their own customs declarations. So, why are we fighting a major war there?
No problem. There exists a new synergy of terrorist groups ,which have formed a "fusion" that represents a greater threat to the United States than even Al Qaeda during 9-11. I just get the feeling that we are creating an endless feedback of terrorist threats the longer we stay.
Jolting Joe Biden travelled to Iraq to say everything is on track for us to leave in August, even though they are still at a stalemate over forming a new government.
Mitt Romney appeared today to write an op-ed piece in the Washington Post condemning the New Start Treaty. While it was detailed to demonstrate his alleged knowledge, it was wildly wrong on a number of points, particularly about missile defense systems and the treaty's applicability to the situations in Iran and North Korea. Mitt is only visiting the territory of his Heritage Foundation speech where he called for an increase in the Defense Budget, which only equals the defense spending of all the entire earth combined. Mitt argued we were threatened by military buildups in China, Russia and conflict in the Middle East. The reason the Chinese budget was lower was because they don't have to pay their soldiers much. Of course, it really doesn't matter that we are in a Depression and that somehow the Republicans have become deficit hawks to stop Democratic social programs.
A point about Chinese military spending. While the G-20 believe that China can carry the global economy, it's growing clearer that they deeply fear the prospects of instability. Their military and their policies on internet censorship show there is more concern there than meets the eye. Last year, the country experienced several thousand mass rallies protesting all sorts of issues. Currently, we have been learning about labor strikes in plants of overseas companies.
Finally, China Mieville's Kraken is out and is fantastic both literally and metaphorically. London is beseiged by an "epidemic of eschatologies" and the special branch of their police that have to deal with cults must find whether the end-time is really occurring. To flush all the dissident Gods out, they stage a simultaneous apocalypse for two competing sects. Each has their apocalypse on the same date. This spells trouble. They don't want to be upstaged. We are treated to Chaos Nazis, Jesus Buddhists, who are actually a quite violent syncretistic religion, and worshippers of a Giant Squid. One of the investigators is a fundamentalist Christian who has lost his faith because of evolution. The worshippers of the Great Flood play a key role in persuading the Sea to intervene for justice. As always, Mieville creates a fantastic London as he did in City and City.
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