++ Carl Hiaason of the Miami Herald and novelist covers the Florida business stories about the Donald and his business. One so-called Trump Tower was being planned and financed by a contractor linked to the mob . The man got nailed in a massive security Fraud and the Donald had to take his name off the development and the investors had to sue to get their money back. Hiaason reassures us the Trump chances of being president are "Nada","Zilch".
++The Imperial Post attended the Donald's 70-minute rant in Phoenix where he drew supporters among the elderly white who moved for retirement to Arizona. The Donald attacked the JEB!,Marco Rubio, ISIS, Hillary Clinton and Caroline Kennedy (!). Is Caroline Kennedy going to become the new George Soros,a bogey-woman of the Right?
++Meanwhile John Lewis stole ComCon in San Diego. The civil rights hero and star of Selma appeared in his trademark trench coat and backpack to promote his book "The March" to young people. It looks like he outdrew the reunion of the Star Wars cast, who showed trailers, which looked terrific.
Showing posts with label John Lewis. Show all posts
Showing posts with label John Lewis. Show all posts
Sunday, July 12, 2015
Friday, March 6, 2015
Afternoon Coffee At Misha's
++Bob Menendez will face corruption charges for assisting a friend and a donor get government business, according to the DOJ.
++The House Democrats promised to save John Boehner's job in case the right stages a coup d'etat.
++Secretary of the Treasury Lew said that the government's borrowing power ends March 15th and he wants Congress to raise the debt ceiling. He said they will use their "emergency powers", which could bring the real debt ceiling in October or November, when Congress debates the new budget.
++Josh Marshall tells us the third poll since Bibi's speech hasn't shown much change. Zionist Union/Labor still holds a two seat lead over Likud. He suggests we won't know whether Bibi got a bounce until the end of the weekend.
++The White House is trying to stay out of the Hillary e-mail flap. But Gawker did say State did not have one email sent to Hillary from Sid Blumenthal, the man who created the term "right-wing conspiracy".
++The Daily Beast has a piece on how the Thatcher government hid a VIP Pedophile ring.
++The great redhead Rebekah Brooks got hired again by Rupert Murdoch for News Corp operations in the United States.
++Edward Snowden isn't coming back to the United States because he says he can't get a fair trial. But he is interested in settling in Geneva, Switzerland.
++Rand Paul was criticized for not being enthusiastic enough for Bibi's speech so he dined with GOP Jewish donors who claimed the American Jewish community would be voting Republican this coming election.
++John Lewis criticized the GOP leadership for not attending the Selma anniversary celebrations. He should have said that Pettis Bridge is named for a KKK leader and gotten them to come.
++The House Democrats promised to save John Boehner's job in case the right stages a coup d'etat.
++Secretary of the Treasury Lew said that the government's borrowing power ends March 15th and he wants Congress to raise the debt ceiling. He said they will use their "emergency powers", which could bring the real debt ceiling in October or November, when Congress debates the new budget.
++Josh Marshall tells us the third poll since Bibi's speech hasn't shown much change. Zionist Union/Labor still holds a two seat lead over Likud. He suggests we won't know whether Bibi got a bounce until the end of the weekend.
++The White House is trying to stay out of the Hillary e-mail flap. But Gawker did say State did not have one email sent to Hillary from Sid Blumenthal, the man who created the term "right-wing conspiracy".
++The Daily Beast has a piece on how the Thatcher government hid a VIP Pedophile ring.
++The great redhead Rebekah Brooks got hired again by Rupert Murdoch for News Corp operations in the United States.
++Edward Snowden isn't coming back to the United States because he says he can't get a fair trial. But he is interested in settling in Geneva, Switzerland.
++Rand Paul was criticized for not being enthusiastic enough for Bibi's speech so he dined with GOP Jewish donors who claimed the American Jewish community would be voting Republican this coming election.
++John Lewis criticized the GOP leadership for not attending the Selma anniversary celebrations. He should have said that Pettis Bridge is named for a KKK leader and gotten them to come.
Thursday, February 5, 2015
More Bibi
++The Israeli consul in Philadelphia noted that the people who were most in favor of Bibi Netanyahu's speech were the right-wing of the Jewish community, Christian Zionists and the evangelical right. He candidly said, "they want to humiliate President Obama and this has nothing to do with Iran."
++Nancy Pelosi went on national television to say she hoped that the speech would be delayed.
++Every Israeli newspaper I've read today--and there were a few--covered the flap over the speech and the chaos it has caused among Democratic congressmen and women.
++One Israeli rabbi wrote an op-ed saying that Bibi is delusional if he thinks Republicans are going to be tougher on Iran than the Democrats.
++Civil rights icon and the lead in Selma, Congressman John Lewis said he was not attending the speech.
++I thought the Democrats were in disarray today over how to play the speech. Most said they would attend but didn't like it.
++Nancy Pelosi went on national television to say she hoped that the speech would be delayed.
++Every Israeli newspaper I've read today--and there were a few--covered the flap over the speech and the chaos it has caused among Democratic congressmen and women.
++One Israeli rabbi wrote an op-ed saying that Bibi is delusional if he thinks Republicans are going to be tougher on Iran than the Democrats.
++Civil rights icon and the lead in Selma, Congressman John Lewis said he was not attending the speech.
++I thought the Democrats were in disarray today over how to play the speech. Most said they would attend but didn't like it.
Wednesday, January 29, 2014
That's Why He's President and You're Not
++Andrew Sullivan called it his True Grit speech and cited Obama's eloquent ending about Cory Remsberg's difficult recovery from his tragic wounds from Afghanistan as a metaphor for the struggle of America and the President today. Josh Marshall liked the speech and thought the President had a snap and an upbeat message well delivered. Eugene Robinson said it was Obama's finest State of the Union. Ed Kilgore at Washington Monthly thought it resembled some of Clinton's laundry list speeches but caught himself and noted that Stan Greenberg for Democracy Corps had a focus group on the speech and that Obama's support of women in the work place made the dials go off the charts in favorables. Kilgore's point was that Obama needed to bring back single women for the 2014 elections.
++Josh Marshall was right, the speechwriting was first-rate. The Libretto did become an opera with Obama's delivery and pacing.
++The Charlie Rose who had Doris Kearns, James Fellows and Mark Halperin on to respond. All thought it was an excellent speech and Fellow called it Reaganesque.
++The speech had clearly been poll-tested. All Obama's proposals have overwhelming support of the American people. Some writers think he outlined clearly the direction for the Democrats in 2014 and afterwards the Democrats showed unusual unity in support. John Lewis said the President still stood tall and had the courage to fight on.
++David Corn said he should have explained why he was going to take executive action and lay the blame on Republicans. A commentator wrote that the lack of strong partisanship except with an occasional jab was what was needed because the country is fed up with political rhetoric.
++The most interesting effect was that in a town of total bummers the President reminded us of optimism and positive thinking. The contrast between him and Congress is shocking. This is a man who had a bounce in his step and a clear vision about how to move the country along. It was actually refreshing to see that he wasn't dragged down into the snake pit like everyone else. Yes, there were many things he has said before but ,in Andrew Sullivan's words, you have to admire his persistence. If the United States recovers from its doldrums by the end of his term,President Obama is going to reap the lion's share of the credit.
++CNN has 76% responding positive to the speech with the usual 22% believing it is negative.
++Democratic Underground had 69% give the President an A and 23% a B.
++The Daily Kos had 49% give him an A and 33% a B for the speech.
++Joan Welsh at Salon said we all missed the story. The story last night was the utter disarray in the GOP. Ms. Morris didn't flop it and Sweeney Todd like her response. But she claimed the GOP had lots of plans for the economy but never mentioned on concrete idea. She prayed for all of us. Rand Paul gave a libertarian response which basically called for the elimination of government, lowering taxes and ending the social welfare net as the solution to the country's problems. Mike Lee said that a new generation of "reformers" aka the Tea Party are in Washington but failed to say how they would reform the town.
++Brian Beutler at Salon basically said the Right was now reviled and offers up nothing.
++As with most things Obama,the bland ideas if taken together and adopted would profoundly alter the country for the better. In the next year, it will be interesting to see where the most mundane ideas go.
++The Obama Derangement Syndrom continued last night. Steven Stockman, the missing congressman from Texas, showed up only to walk out in protest of Obama violating the constitution aka using executive orders. Rand Paul said he would sue Obama again like they did for recess appointments. A Tennesee congress critter tweeted he was the socialist Commander in Chief. A Kansas congressman lamented there was no mention of Benghazi and that Obama used the military--aka Corey Remsberg--for political purposes and is weakening the military by withdrawing from Afghanistan and trying to close Gitmo. The GOP congresscritters took the time to be photographed with Father Duck of the Duck Dynasty.
++Ms. Lindsey Graham responded that Obama was not aware that the earth is going to blow up.
++There were many highlights from the President's speech which I may get around to. But he was the only adult in the room last night and it was good to see he hasn't been worn down by the Bummers.
++Josh Marshall was right, the speechwriting was first-rate. The Libretto did become an opera with Obama's delivery and pacing.
++The Charlie Rose who had Doris Kearns, James Fellows and Mark Halperin on to respond. All thought it was an excellent speech and Fellow called it Reaganesque.
++The speech had clearly been poll-tested. All Obama's proposals have overwhelming support of the American people. Some writers think he outlined clearly the direction for the Democrats in 2014 and afterwards the Democrats showed unusual unity in support. John Lewis said the President still stood tall and had the courage to fight on.
++David Corn said he should have explained why he was going to take executive action and lay the blame on Republicans. A commentator wrote that the lack of strong partisanship except with an occasional jab was what was needed because the country is fed up with political rhetoric.
++The most interesting effect was that in a town of total bummers the President reminded us of optimism and positive thinking. The contrast between him and Congress is shocking. This is a man who had a bounce in his step and a clear vision about how to move the country along. It was actually refreshing to see that he wasn't dragged down into the snake pit like everyone else. Yes, there were many things he has said before but ,in Andrew Sullivan's words, you have to admire his persistence. If the United States recovers from its doldrums by the end of his term,President Obama is going to reap the lion's share of the credit.
++CNN has 76% responding positive to the speech with the usual 22% believing it is negative.
++Democratic Underground had 69% give the President an A and 23% a B.
++The Daily Kos had 49% give him an A and 33% a B for the speech.
++Joan Welsh at Salon said we all missed the story. The story last night was the utter disarray in the GOP. Ms. Morris didn't flop it and Sweeney Todd like her response. But she claimed the GOP had lots of plans for the economy but never mentioned on concrete idea. She prayed for all of us. Rand Paul gave a libertarian response which basically called for the elimination of government, lowering taxes and ending the social welfare net as the solution to the country's problems. Mike Lee said that a new generation of "reformers" aka the Tea Party are in Washington but failed to say how they would reform the town.
++Brian Beutler at Salon basically said the Right was now reviled and offers up nothing.
++As with most things Obama,the bland ideas if taken together and adopted would profoundly alter the country for the better. In the next year, it will be interesting to see where the most mundane ideas go.
++The Obama Derangement Syndrom continued last night. Steven Stockman, the missing congressman from Texas, showed up only to walk out in protest of Obama violating the constitution aka using executive orders. Rand Paul said he would sue Obama again like they did for recess appointments. A Tennesee congress critter tweeted he was the socialist Commander in Chief. A Kansas congressman lamented there was no mention of Benghazi and that Obama used the military--aka Corey Remsberg--for political purposes and is weakening the military by withdrawing from Afghanistan and trying to close Gitmo. The GOP congresscritters took the time to be photographed with Father Duck of the Duck Dynasty.
++Ms. Lindsey Graham responded that Obama was not aware that the earth is going to blow up.
++There were many highlights from the President's speech which I may get around to. But he was the only adult in the room last night and it was good to see he hasn't been worn down by the Bummers.
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
Happy Bastille Day
Bruce Fein, the former Solicitor General under Reagan and constitutional scholar, appeared this morning on NPR to discuss his new book American Empire Before The Fall. He decried the massive expansion of presidential power and the fact that the use of military forces abroad no longer requires congressional approval. He pointed to the recent confirmation of General Petraeus, noting that no Senator asked him why we were in Afghanistan and when we were coming home. He quoted the Founding Fathers' about the dangers of perpetual war. On the show as a Georgetown University professor who claimed that the real dangers facing our constitutional order occurred under George W. Bush and that Fein was reacting to the election of President Obama. That's not fair to Fein, who testified before Kucinich's committee urging the impeachment of George W. Bush on the abuse of power. David Frum also appeared and made very rational arguments about why the United States really can't be called an Empire and insisted that the ppowers of the presidency are nothing like they were during the Cold War. David's arguments really need research because he argued that Cold War Presidents could wire-tap anyone without a court order and had almost total power when it came to war. He says that only with George W and Obama have the powers of the presidency come back close to their Cold War situation. Fein countered that the rule of law was being subverted by the powers being acquired by the post-2001 presidency and the insistence we are at war against a tactic--terrorism--than any nation-state. Therefore, since there is no standards for victory, we are committed to a perpetual war and even American citizens are targeted for assassination by the President without due process. He was referring to the American Muslim in Yemen.
In the afternoon, I moderated a panel on encouraging democratic change in Iran. Some of the discussion raised issues I posted before concerning pro-democracy programs. Members of Congress spoke about the need for Americans to speak out on human rights issues in Iran and to express solidarity with Iranians trying to change the nature of the government. One member recalled the efforts of the United States to support democratic change within the East Bloc and the Soviet Union. What struck me about the remarks was how ad-lib the efforts were to encourage democratic change then. Organizations used the kitchen sink approach with considerably less money than allocated to democracy assistance programs today and the local groups and civil society organizations controlled their own agenda when receiving this assistance. In other words, they owned the process more than emerging democrats do in the many efforts made over the last 10 years. The general conclusion was that negotiation, engagement are not incompatible with efforts to support Iranian democrats within the country.
The best moment for me was introducing civil rights legend John Lewis, who gave a rousing speech for human rights activism and the need for solidarity with all those oppressed in the world today. Lewis recited the various beatings and jailings he endured during our civil rights movement and urged the audience, "Never Give Up! Never Give Up!"
On that note, there is one positive development on our political landscape--the creation of the coalition of 175 groups under the umbrella name of "One Nation". After several months of internal negotiations, trade unions, civil rights groups, Hispanic advocacy organizations and other progressive movements finally recognized that there was too much at stake in this year's elections and beyond to allow the teahadists to dominate the discussion. Whether they can make the difference this year remains to be seen. But what makes them distinct from the teahadists, the coalition represents organizations and groups with vast grass-roots and community constituencies. It is the progressive answer to Obama's Coalition for America, which also has re-invented itself for the struggle in November. This is the way politics has to be done if one's ideas are going to succeed.
The NAACP passed a resolution asking that the teahadists remove the racists from their midst. You'll recall the teabaggers spitting at John Lewis and calling him racial epithets during the healthcare debate. The racist undertone of the tea party rallies has been obvious to any sane observer. What the NAACP asked is what any organization does--expel and denounce the extremists. This happened when the Republican Party was forced to denounce David Duke when he re-invented himself from Klansman and white supremacist to a conservative Republican. It also happened when yesteryear's conservatives booted out the John Birch Society from iits midst. But the NAACP resolution was met by Sarah Palin demanding an apology to the tea party. Right Wing radio has been non-stop racist rants from just prior to the election of Barack Obama and even yesterday Rush Limbaugh denounced the late George Steinbrenner for making African Americans millionaires. Apparently, it's now OK to be a racist.
Bruce Fein said something this morning that even if a majority voted away due process, that doesn't make it right. The Founding Fathers were deeply concerned about the majority oppression of the minority.
Meanwhile Senate Republicans continue to play little games with the Kagan nomination to the Supreme Court. Now they want her to pledge to recuse herself from any case having to do with the healthcare bill. Maybe Clarence Thomas should recuse himself because his wife runs a teabagger foundation with two large donors footing the bill.
A CBS poll says that only 13% of Americans believe Obama's policies have done anything for them. I am one of them. I got a tax cut this year--most who received a tax cut claim their taxes increased. Through streamling the FACSA process for applying for college aid, I got grants and loans equivalent of 20% of my son's education. With the Credit Card reform bill, my credit cards no longer have been jacking up my percentages as they did almost every month in 2008 and now they have to send me a bill giving me about 3 weeks to pay, instead of the 2 weeks of 2008 and 2009. This helps cash flow. I could refinance my house at rock bottom interest rates. The lost equity in my house has come back by 2/3rds. Under healthcare, I can cover my son until he is 26. If the full healthcare bill is implemented, I can't be denied coverage for pre-existing conditions and I will not go bankrupt if I have any serious illness. And, for my personal enjoyment, President Obama made the largest government grant for scientific research and development in the history of the world. So, thank you President Obama!
Another poll came out today that shows that the top priorities of the American People are 20% the economy, 20% jobs and only 5% the deficit. American people support tax hikes on the rich, and adopting the McColm plan of raising the cap on social security taxes. From the pundits and the media, you would think Americans are obsessively concerned about the deficit and the national debt.
A University of Michigan study just came out that showed that it really doesn't matter what the facts are--people will continue to believe what they want to believe. One example used was a question asked of Americans after Reagan severely cut the inflation of the Carter years. People were asked whether inflation has gone down or risen. The supermajority believed it had risen, despite this being one of the headline issues of the day. The Michigan study also showed that people who are shown to be wrong factually will double down on their original beliefs. So much for honest debate.
And with that we leave you with Mitch McConnell's insistance that tax cuts to the rich brought in vast government revenues during the Bush years. Ezra Klein debunked this myth as has the OMB. Challenged with the OMB findings, McConnell insisted on his original statement. Michigan researchers were right.
In the afternoon, I moderated a panel on encouraging democratic change in Iran. Some of the discussion raised issues I posted before concerning pro-democracy programs. Members of Congress spoke about the need for Americans to speak out on human rights issues in Iran and to express solidarity with Iranians trying to change the nature of the government. One member recalled the efforts of the United States to support democratic change within the East Bloc and the Soviet Union. What struck me about the remarks was how ad-lib the efforts were to encourage democratic change then. Organizations used the kitchen sink approach with considerably less money than allocated to democracy assistance programs today and the local groups and civil society organizations controlled their own agenda when receiving this assistance. In other words, they owned the process more than emerging democrats do in the many efforts made over the last 10 years. The general conclusion was that negotiation, engagement are not incompatible with efforts to support Iranian democrats within the country.
The best moment for me was introducing civil rights legend John Lewis, who gave a rousing speech for human rights activism and the need for solidarity with all those oppressed in the world today. Lewis recited the various beatings and jailings he endured during our civil rights movement and urged the audience, "Never Give Up! Never Give Up!"
On that note, there is one positive development on our political landscape--the creation of the coalition of 175 groups under the umbrella name of "One Nation". After several months of internal negotiations, trade unions, civil rights groups, Hispanic advocacy organizations and other progressive movements finally recognized that there was too much at stake in this year's elections and beyond to allow the teahadists to dominate the discussion. Whether they can make the difference this year remains to be seen. But what makes them distinct from the teahadists, the coalition represents organizations and groups with vast grass-roots and community constituencies. It is the progressive answer to Obama's Coalition for America, which also has re-invented itself for the struggle in November. This is the way politics has to be done if one's ideas are going to succeed.
The NAACP passed a resolution asking that the teahadists remove the racists from their midst. You'll recall the teabaggers spitting at John Lewis and calling him racial epithets during the healthcare debate. The racist undertone of the tea party rallies has been obvious to any sane observer. What the NAACP asked is what any organization does--expel and denounce the extremists. This happened when the Republican Party was forced to denounce David Duke when he re-invented himself from Klansman and white supremacist to a conservative Republican. It also happened when yesteryear's conservatives booted out the John Birch Society from iits midst. But the NAACP resolution was met by Sarah Palin demanding an apology to the tea party. Right Wing radio has been non-stop racist rants from just prior to the election of Barack Obama and even yesterday Rush Limbaugh denounced the late George Steinbrenner for making African Americans millionaires. Apparently, it's now OK to be a racist.
Bruce Fein said something this morning that even if a majority voted away due process, that doesn't make it right. The Founding Fathers were deeply concerned about the majority oppression of the minority.
Meanwhile Senate Republicans continue to play little games with the Kagan nomination to the Supreme Court. Now they want her to pledge to recuse herself from any case having to do with the healthcare bill. Maybe Clarence Thomas should recuse himself because his wife runs a teabagger foundation with two large donors footing the bill.
A CBS poll says that only 13% of Americans believe Obama's policies have done anything for them. I am one of them. I got a tax cut this year--most who received a tax cut claim their taxes increased. Through streamling the FACSA process for applying for college aid, I got grants and loans equivalent of 20% of my son's education. With the Credit Card reform bill, my credit cards no longer have been jacking up my percentages as they did almost every month in 2008 and now they have to send me a bill giving me about 3 weeks to pay, instead of the 2 weeks of 2008 and 2009. This helps cash flow. I could refinance my house at rock bottom interest rates. The lost equity in my house has come back by 2/3rds. Under healthcare, I can cover my son until he is 26. If the full healthcare bill is implemented, I can't be denied coverage for pre-existing conditions and I will not go bankrupt if I have any serious illness. And, for my personal enjoyment, President Obama made the largest government grant for scientific research and development in the history of the world. So, thank you President Obama!
Another poll came out today that shows that the top priorities of the American People are 20% the economy, 20% jobs and only 5% the deficit. American people support tax hikes on the rich, and adopting the McColm plan of raising the cap on social security taxes. From the pundits and the media, you would think Americans are obsessively concerned about the deficit and the national debt.
A University of Michigan study just came out that showed that it really doesn't matter what the facts are--people will continue to believe what they want to believe. One example used was a question asked of Americans after Reagan severely cut the inflation of the Carter years. People were asked whether inflation has gone down or risen. The supermajority believed it had risen, despite this being one of the headline issues of the day. The Michigan study also showed that people who are shown to be wrong factually will double down on their original beliefs. So much for honest debate.
And with that we leave you with Mitch McConnell's insistance that tax cuts to the rich brought in vast government revenues during the Bush years. Ezra Klein debunked this myth as has the OMB. Challenged with the OMB findings, McConnell insisted on his original statement. Michigan researchers were right.
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