In her financial statements, Judge Sotomayor reveals she has $10,000 credit card debt and $15,000 debt for dental care. If she liquidated her cash accounts, the judge could wipe out her debt but be cash poor--this despite having a net worth of $1 million, almost exclusively her house. I'm very sympathetic to the dental debt since it is the one health area for which I constantly face financial ruin. Dental insurance simply does not pay for things like root canals, crowns, inplants, gum and bone treatments. Yet, in some ways, I can play a type of triage--letting the teeth go--which people with serious medical conditions can not. Over 60% of personal bankruptcy is the result of medical bills.
In a country where there is so much resistance to even teaching evolution, it still amazes me that our political economy elevates social darwinism as its ethos. The debate over health care reform is simply not going to deal with the root problem why the United States is number 37 in terms of health care in the world. Washington is already filled with armies of lobbyists to preserve the very lucrative status quo--which might at the end of the day get tweeked somewhat. But make no mistake when the debate begins in earnest, the fog of war will confuse voters in a way we have yet to see in all the plans submitted by the Obama Administration.
The New Republic printed an article that summarizes the problems. The Kaiser Foundation, which monitors closely attitudes to health care, reveals in its various surveys that there is a sharp discrepancy in the attitudes of health care professionals and the average voter. Universal coverage is widely endorsed by the professionals, but not so among Republicans and Independents. A majority of voters believe those who have no insurance should be able to go to the emergency room. Since all of us pay $1,000 per person already for the uninsured, it's worth examining this assumption.
Last year I had to be admitted to the emergency room because I felt I was having a heart attack. The hospital insisted on conducting a battery of tests, kept me in the hospital for two days because I was running a fever, and finally concluded there was nothing wrong. Great! However, when I finally got the bill, which was almost all covered by insurance, the cost for the uninsured would have been $12,000. Naturally, Blue Cross-Blue Shield pay a substantially lower negotiated rate. Consider the fees if a heart attack had really occurred and additional procedures would called for. The uninsured person would be facing catastrophic costs, which they would be unlikely to pay. Going bankrupt if you have a heart attack? Have we really sunk to such a low level?
The idea that a person should go bankrupt for one medical event should be intolerable to our society. With the D.C. Run Against Breast Cancer, we learn that 1 out of every 8 women will get breast cancer of some type. How many of all these women are uninsured and what are their options?Are these women faced with radical masectomies as the only cost-saving option? The lunacy of our medical system is directly linked to our view that it is another capitalist enterprise and not a public good.
It is ironic that Republicans are resisting any single payer option because, as Senator Grassley of Iowa was candid enough to admit, millions upon millions of Americans would desert their current insurer. The progressive caucus in the House, which consists of 80 members, is trying to educate their supporters that there is simply not enough votes, even in a Democratically controlled House to pass a public option. Bernie Sanders of Vermont has taken the time to try and educate progressives that the Senate is far, far more conservative than the House and that the way the Senate will try and kill the public option is by adopting Sen. Snowe's offer of putting a seven-year trigger in the bill, which would mean that if insurance companies didn't fulfill their obligations, then there would be a public option. In short, a Hail Mary pass, hoping that the political situation will change to prevent such an option. Bernie Sanders may be offering something eminently sensible--allowing for several states to implement the single-payer option as a pilot project. Apparently, this was how Canada gradually introduced their national health system. Hopefully, they'll start in Vermont and Maine so I can escape stoogeland.
When the real debate begins, expect to hear the calls that making health records electronic will be a massive invasion of privacy. Although no one barks about the NSA having all your bank and credit card information. 40% of health care costs in the United States are administrative. Ironically, this is one area where Medicare and Medicaid are more efficient than the private insurers. Republican senators have used the analogy that one wouldn't want to eat at the Senate cafeteria. But they neglect to mention they have the best health care courtesy of the government. We should really ask them to put their dollars where their mouths are--drop your congressional benefits and pay out of pocket for your private health insurance.
The noise level in this debate will be awesome and the deliberate misinformation put out by the private medical industry will dwarf any effort to date by the private sector. At the end of the day, there will be many face-saving gestures and some minor concessions whereby the Administration can claim victory. But be warned, the health industry is now close to the number one sector in our economy and it wants to remain that way.
Saturday, June 6, 2009
Friday, June 5, 2009
Friday Round-Up
A virtual grab bag of assorted items:
Congrats to Randy "The Big Unit" Johnson for winning his 300th game here over the Washington Nationals. The Nationals have now lost 17 out of 20 and must be seen as the official team of the Republicans.
In the last election I remarked that Republicans had to be in a sorry,sorry shape if they could not field a candidate to beat Frank Lautenberg for the Senate. Dittos if they can not beat Jon Corzine. But Chris Christie, the winner of the Republican primary, may just be the man to do it. Remember the hoopla about recruiting moderates to run in the GOP empty Northeast? Christie's campaign reads like a RNC field manual for losing. He's pro-life, anti-stimulus package, anti-enviromental regulations,anti-taxes, pro-reductions in health care benefits, and pro-reduction in the state govermnet's workforce. Boy, that's a winner. He's in a large lead against Corzine this moment except a whopping 50% do know what he stands for yet. When they do, watch that lead crumbles. Besides, he is one of the most physically unappealling candidates in a long time.
In Florida, Crist is cleaning up the mat against Rubio, who is backed by Jeb Bush's sons and the conservatives. Crist wins the Senate race walking away. Bill McCollum has a slight lead over the Democratic candidates for the governor's race.
Sarah Palin, who is mounting a rearguard campaign against Barack Obama, says that her idea of the war against terrorism is "We win, they lose", a parody of Reagan's comments on the Cold War. Imagine her giving a speech in Cairo!
Sonia Sotomayor has an approval rating higher than Rush Limbaugh in the ....South! Newt Gingrich's claims that Sotomayor is a "racist" don't go over well. The Fox News echo chamber hasn't found traction with this one. Only 8% of Americans believe Sonia Sotomayor is "racist". Another majority believe it's a good idea for judges to have empathy. By a margin of 54-26%, Americans believe she is qualified to sit on the Supreme Court. But only 15% of Republicans do.
Craigh Deeds is roaring back in the Virginia Democratic Primary against Brian Moran and Terry McAuliffe. It would be great if he won. Terry should move to New Jersey to run against Christie--the obnoxious election.
The South Carolina Supreme Court ordered Gov. Stamford to accept the stimulus funds.
Nate Silver started to have the funnies--he asked whether Michael Dukakis could have won the last election. No, Nate. Stop it. It's not even a good mind game.
Dr. Tiller's assassin is complaining he's being treated "like a criminal" and is worried about how his mother is taking this. Eric Holder announced the murder will be examined as a federal crime.
The Washington Times printed a front-page story the other day about a possible Al Qaeda bio attack from Mexico. The video of Kuwaiti dissident Abdullah al-Nafisi was broadcast on Al Jazeera in February. What's notable about the tape is that he claims that Al Qaeda would be interested in allying itself with white militia groups or any other anti-governmental organizations interested in mounting such an attack. Those of us who remember the Oklahoma City Bombing might recall Timothy McVeigh's connections with Middle East military types.
Still interested in proving that torture really did work, House Republicans on the Intelligence Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations decided to leak classified information to the press. This are probably the same guys who gloated that a Gallup poll had Dick Cheney a few points more popular than Nancy Pelosi.
Nancy Reagan came into town this week and was both graciously received by the Obamas and gracious in her remarks about them. At the unveiling of the Ronald Reagan statue in the Capital, Nancy Reagan went out of her way to praise Nancy Pelosi, even though "Tan Man" Boehner acted as her escort. her appearance at the Obama White House sparked distress on conservative websites.
Congrats to Randy "The Big Unit" Johnson for winning his 300th game here over the Washington Nationals. The Nationals have now lost 17 out of 20 and must be seen as the official team of the Republicans.
In the last election I remarked that Republicans had to be in a sorry,sorry shape if they could not field a candidate to beat Frank Lautenberg for the Senate. Dittos if they can not beat Jon Corzine. But Chris Christie, the winner of the Republican primary, may just be the man to do it. Remember the hoopla about recruiting moderates to run in the GOP empty Northeast? Christie's campaign reads like a RNC field manual for losing. He's pro-life, anti-stimulus package, anti-enviromental regulations,anti-taxes, pro-reductions in health care benefits, and pro-reduction in the state govermnet's workforce. Boy, that's a winner. He's in a large lead against Corzine this moment except a whopping 50% do know what he stands for yet. When they do, watch that lead crumbles. Besides, he is one of the most physically unappealling candidates in a long time.
In Florida, Crist is cleaning up the mat against Rubio, who is backed by Jeb Bush's sons and the conservatives. Crist wins the Senate race walking away. Bill McCollum has a slight lead over the Democratic candidates for the governor's race.
Sarah Palin, who is mounting a rearguard campaign against Barack Obama, says that her idea of the war against terrorism is "We win, they lose", a parody of Reagan's comments on the Cold War. Imagine her giving a speech in Cairo!
Sonia Sotomayor has an approval rating higher than Rush Limbaugh in the ....South! Newt Gingrich's claims that Sotomayor is a "racist" don't go over well. The Fox News echo chamber hasn't found traction with this one. Only 8% of Americans believe Sonia Sotomayor is "racist". Another majority believe it's a good idea for judges to have empathy. By a margin of 54-26%, Americans believe she is qualified to sit on the Supreme Court. But only 15% of Republicans do.
Craigh Deeds is roaring back in the Virginia Democratic Primary against Brian Moran and Terry McAuliffe. It would be great if he won. Terry should move to New Jersey to run against Christie--the obnoxious election.
The South Carolina Supreme Court ordered Gov. Stamford to accept the stimulus funds.
Nate Silver started to have the funnies--he asked whether Michael Dukakis could have won the last election. No, Nate. Stop it. It's not even a good mind game.
Dr. Tiller's assassin is complaining he's being treated "like a criminal" and is worried about how his mother is taking this. Eric Holder announced the murder will be examined as a federal crime.
The Washington Times printed a front-page story the other day about a possible Al Qaeda bio attack from Mexico. The video of Kuwaiti dissident Abdullah al-Nafisi was broadcast on Al Jazeera in February. What's notable about the tape is that he claims that Al Qaeda would be interested in allying itself with white militia groups or any other anti-governmental organizations interested in mounting such an attack. Those of us who remember the Oklahoma City Bombing might recall Timothy McVeigh's connections with Middle East military types.
Still interested in proving that torture really did work, House Republicans on the Intelligence Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations decided to leak classified information to the press. This are probably the same guys who gloated that a Gallup poll had Dick Cheney a few points more popular than Nancy Pelosi.
Nancy Reagan came into town this week and was both graciously received by the Obamas and gracious in her remarks about them. At the unveiling of the Ronald Reagan statue in the Capital, Nancy Reagan went out of her way to praise Nancy Pelosi, even though "Tan Man" Boehner acted as her escort. her appearance at the Obama White House sparked distress on conservative websites.
Reflections on Obama in Cairo
If one recalls the presidential campaign and the taunts about Obama not going to Iraq,then remember John McCain "offering"to accompany him and then recall Obama's success in winning agreement from the Iraqi government for his withdrawal timetable, you have to wonder why anyone is surprised anymore by Obama's overseas successes. He was taunted by the GOP for his speech before 200,000 in Germany, while McCain made his criticisms outside the German House restaurant in Ohio. The press claimed he would meet deep resistance at the G-8 meeting in London, when he was actually credited with mediating disputes between the Chinese and the Europeans.
Having promised during the campaign he would make a major speech in the Muslim world, he fulfilled it and more in the Cairo speech. We have been treated by an endless barrage from the right about why the Americans must live in perpetual fear and that Obama is dismantling the apparatus built by the Bush Administration for dealing with terrorists, opening him up to criticism America was being weakened. Mitt Romney, an aspirant for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination, chose to attack a seating President before he even went abroad for the speech. In many ways, the Republican condescension to Obama still exists, despite ample evidence that the American people overwhelmingly approve his policy on terrorism and in fact liked the Cairo speech.
If you look at the speech as a form of strategy, there are some obvious points. The field of America's stated enemies has become much more restricted for Obama than for the Bush Administration. The enemies in the speech were Al Qaeda, the Taliban and the danger of the Iranian nuclear program, but not the regime itself. The broadbrush of Islamofascists was not applied but narrowed to those who physically seek harm to the United States. While this makes eminent sense, it also helps push Muslims away from these extremes by not forcing an unnatural choice.
Few commentators point out that the last part of the speech focused on the aspirations of young Muslims and the need for different types of development, including women's rights. Since Bush spoiled the language of democracy, it was found throughout the speech in many ways--governments of the popular will,, who rule by the consent of the governed, the respect for minority religions such as the Copts in Egypt and the Marionite Christians in Lebanon, the need for employment opportunities for all. It is likely that this part of the speech will live longer in the hearts of the young than the discussion of the large political issues.
In many ways, it reminded me of a young President, who launched the Alliance for Progress. John F. Kennedy turned away from Eisenhower's policy such as overthrowing the Guatamala government of Arbenz in 1954 for the benefit of the banana companies to a broader notion of a Latin America based on democracy and economic development. This was then a region of virulent anti-Americanism, such as the attack in Caracas on Vice President Nixon's motorcade. Generations of younger Latin Americans revered Kennedy long after he had been assassinated and the Alliance of Progress was dismantled. His photograph was hung on the walls of many homes for decades to come. In many ways, the speech by a young President, who had lived for years in a Muslim country and who offered a different view from his predecessor, will be remembered long after his Administration ends. It too was made in a region now a hotbed of anti-Americanism.
President Obama had the courage to talk about issues generally left in private in the Middle East--the Holocaust, the 9/11 conspiracy folks, the CIA's overthrow of an elected government in Iran in 1954, Iraq being an elected war by the United States, and the fact that violence does not advance one's political agenda. Before the talking points were handed out, a Hamas spokesperson immediately said the speech was like "listening to Martin Luther King". The Israeli Government put a gag order on the cabinet until a press release could be manufactured that was essentially positive but neglected to address Obama's criticism of the settlements, his statements about the conditions of the Palestinians and the idea of a two-state solution.
American commentators were at their parochial best trying to analyze the speech and the reaction throughout the region. Some commented on the slow delivery, neglecting to understand it was being translated into 12 languages. Others deliberately neglected to notice all the ways Obama did bring up the issue of terrorism without resorting to Bush-speak. The conservatives barked that Obama was again apologizing for the United States and, of course, we have nothing to apologize for and this only makes us look weak. It was the Dick Cheney/Leonid Brezhnev view of world politics--it is better to be feared than respected. But for the United States, we only have leverage if we are respected as representing some higher standard. And naturally,both Democrats and Republicans who support Israel were concerned that Obama used a moral equivalence in talking about Israel and the Palestinians. Charles Krauthammer was appalled that Obama would criticize Israel's policy of criticising the extension of West Bank settlements. Jim Imhofe was the best,saying that the speech was anti-American. The Washington Times in its headline suggested that Obama was trying to compete with Osama Bin Laden for attention.
The two home boys--Bin Laden and Zawaheri--did pipe in to make their existence known. Zawaheri was particularly concerned about Obama's presence in his native Egypt. Bin Laden warned that Obama was spreading "the seeds of hate" in his counter-insurgency tactics in Pakistan and Afghanistan and vowed destructive acts in the future. Even Ayatollah Khamenei piped up with typical regime type rhetoric that will be measured against the eloquence of Obama's words.
In political parlance, Obama's Cairo speech had lift. The regional comments basically were enthusiastic with older cynics wondering about the specific acts to follow. An older Egyptian journalist, who also acts as a CNN stringer, called up his American counter-part saying in Arabic, "Yes, We Can". Let's put it another way the President of the United States received applause in over 30 parts of his speech and got a standing ovation at the end; the previous President got shoes thrown at him.
Having promised during the campaign he would make a major speech in the Muslim world, he fulfilled it and more in the Cairo speech. We have been treated by an endless barrage from the right about why the Americans must live in perpetual fear and that Obama is dismantling the apparatus built by the Bush Administration for dealing with terrorists, opening him up to criticism America was being weakened. Mitt Romney, an aspirant for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination, chose to attack a seating President before he even went abroad for the speech. In many ways, the Republican condescension to Obama still exists, despite ample evidence that the American people overwhelmingly approve his policy on terrorism and in fact liked the Cairo speech.
If you look at the speech as a form of strategy, there are some obvious points. The field of America's stated enemies has become much more restricted for Obama than for the Bush Administration. The enemies in the speech were Al Qaeda, the Taliban and the danger of the Iranian nuclear program, but not the regime itself. The broadbrush of Islamofascists was not applied but narrowed to those who physically seek harm to the United States. While this makes eminent sense, it also helps push Muslims away from these extremes by not forcing an unnatural choice.
Few commentators point out that the last part of the speech focused on the aspirations of young Muslims and the need for different types of development, including women's rights. Since Bush spoiled the language of democracy, it was found throughout the speech in many ways--governments of the popular will,, who rule by the consent of the governed, the respect for minority religions such as the Copts in Egypt and the Marionite Christians in Lebanon, the need for employment opportunities for all. It is likely that this part of the speech will live longer in the hearts of the young than the discussion of the large political issues.
In many ways, it reminded me of a young President, who launched the Alliance for Progress. John F. Kennedy turned away from Eisenhower's policy such as overthrowing the Guatamala government of Arbenz in 1954 for the benefit of the banana companies to a broader notion of a Latin America based on democracy and economic development. This was then a region of virulent anti-Americanism, such as the attack in Caracas on Vice President Nixon's motorcade. Generations of younger Latin Americans revered Kennedy long after he had been assassinated and the Alliance of Progress was dismantled. His photograph was hung on the walls of many homes for decades to come. In many ways, the speech by a young President, who had lived for years in a Muslim country and who offered a different view from his predecessor, will be remembered long after his Administration ends. It too was made in a region now a hotbed of anti-Americanism.
President Obama had the courage to talk about issues generally left in private in the Middle East--the Holocaust, the 9/11 conspiracy folks, the CIA's overthrow of an elected government in Iran in 1954, Iraq being an elected war by the United States, and the fact that violence does not advance one's political agenda. Before the talking points were handed out, a Hamas spokesperson immediately said the speech was like "listening to Martin Luther King". The Israeli Government put a gag order on the cabinet until a press release could be manufactured that was essentially positive but neglected to address Obama's criticism of the settlements, his statements about the conditions of the Palestinians and the idea of a two-state solution.
American commentators were at their parochial best trying to analyze the speech and the reaction throughout the region. Some commented on the slow delivery, neglecting to understand it was being translated into 12 languages. Others deliberately neglected to notice all the ways Obama did bring up the issue of terrorism without resorting to Bush-speak. The conservatives barked that Obama was again apologizing for the United States and, of course, we have nothing to apologize for and this only makes us look weak. It was the Dick Cheney/Leonid Brezhnev view of world politics--it is better to be feared than respected. But for the United States, we only have leverage if we are respected as representing some higher standard. And naturally,both Democrats and Republicans who support Israel were concerned that Obama used a moral equivalence in talking about Israel and the Palestinians. Charles Krauthammer was appalled that Obama would criticize Israel's policy of criticising the extension of West Bank settlements. Jim Imhofe was the best,saying that the speech was anti-American. The Washington Times in its headline suggested that Obama was trying to compete with Osama Bin Laden for attention.
The two home boys--Bin Laden and Zawaheri--did pipe in to make their existence known. Zawaheri was particularly concerned about Obama's presence in his native Egypt. Bin Laden warned that Obama was spreading "the seeds of hate" in his counter-insurgency tactics in Pakistan and Afghanistan and vowed destructive acts in the future. Even Ayatollah Khamenei piped up with typical regime type rhetoric that will be measured against the eloquence of Obama's words.
In political parlance, Obama's Cairo speech had lift. The regional comments basically were enthusiastic with older cynics wondering about the specific acts to follow. An older Egyptian journalist, who also acts as a CNN stringer, called up his American counter-part saying in Arabic, "Yes, We Can". Let's put it another way the President of the United States received applause in over 30 parts of his speech and got a standing ovation at the end; the previous President got shoes thrown at him.
Obama Time
Just a subjective view--but I think Obama has only until the end of the fall to pass any major domestic initiatives for his first term.
With the U6 unemployment rate teetering at 16.5% and auto industry layoffs to push that number further up, 20% unemployment represents a Depression. The American people will not blame Obama for any of the country's economic woes until next year but Republican concerns about deficits will begin to gain traction earlier. Now that Obama has put the public option back on the table for health insurance reform Republican resistance to a bipartisan solution has hardened. Obama is right, health care reform has to be implmented by fall or it will never happen. The lobby armies are out now in full force to preserve the interests of the health industry. Recent e-mails from the White House to the Obama internet army and his call for Democratic leaders to pow-wow at the White House on health care reform indicate the Administration is readying for the power move soon.
Polling data also suggests over 2/3rds of the public are very favorably disposed to immigration reform, with the numbers polling in the 80% if one includes tighter frontier controls and English-first programs. The Administration would be wise to move on this score as soon as possible since this is a big winner for the Democrats.
The Employee Choice Act, with tinkering, can and should be passed within the next six months or it too will no longer be possible.
The Administration has to be very careful about making any concessions on Social Security, one of the most successful programs ever embarked in the United States. Basically, the program with full benefits can be sustained with very modest tax hikes in the upper income brackets.
No doubt the economic powers-that-be would like the regulatory framework for the banks and the SEC to be put in place so the rules of the game are known. Whether this is politically possible given current trilateral issues between Republicans, Yellow Dog Democrats and more liberal Democrats remains to be seen.
But after that, the window for any significant changes will diminish as both parties look to the 2010 elections and the Obama Administration will have to make sure its policies are creating the employment numbers it promised. Remarkably for a near Depression situation, concerns about the deficit and funding the deficit will take centerstage next year. Could you imagine FDR in the depths of the Great Depression having to worry about such a thing?
With the U6 unemployment rate teetering at 16.5% and auto industry layoffs to push that number further up, 20% unemployment represents a Depression. The American people will not blame Obama for any of the country's economic woes until next year but Republican concerns about deficits will begin to gain traction earlier. Now that Obama has put the public option back on the table for health insurance reform Republican resistance to a bipartisan solution has hardened. Obama is right, health care reform has to be implmented by fall or it will never happen. The lobby armies are out now in full force to preserve the interests of the health industry. Recent e-mails from the White House to the Obama internet army and his call for Democratic leaders to pow-wow at the White House on health care reform indicate the Administration is readying for the power move soon.
Polling data also suggests over 2/3rds of the public are very favorably disposed to immigration reform, with the numbers polling in the 80% if one includes tighter frontier controls and English-first programs. The Administration would be wise to move on this score as soon as possible since this is a big winner for the Democrats.
The Employee Choice Act, with tinkering, can and should be passed within the next six months or it too will no longer be possible.
The Administration has to be very careful about making any concessions on Social Security, one of the most successful programs ever embarked in the United States. Basically, the program with full benefits can be sustained with very modest tax hikes in the upper income brackets.
No doubt the economic powers-that-be would like the regulatory framework for the banks and the SEC to be put in place so the rules of the game are known. Whether this is politically possible given current trilateral issues between Republicans, Yellow Dog Democrats and more liberal Democrats remains to be seen.
But after that, the window for any significant changes will diminish as both parties look to the 2010 elections and the Obama Administration will have to make sure its policies are creating the employment numbers it promised. Remarkably for a near Depression situation, concerns about the deficit and funding the deficit will take centerstage next year. Could you imagine FDR in the depths of the Great Depression having to worry about such a thing?
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
Cheney Death March Continues
Greta van Cistern looked absolutely destroyed when Dick Cheney told her there was absolutely no evidence that Iraq had anything to do with 9/11. He also reminded us there were no WMDs in Iraq but that was the fault of the intelligence comunity ( notice it's always "community" not the more menacing "services"). 9/11 itself was the result of failures by Richard Clarke and the same intelligence community because they didn't pound on his door enough. Well, the two memos that prove he was right all the time--well, they really talk about the success of the "interrogation program in general" like, I presume, the FBI agent who coaxed information out of an Al Qaeda operative by giving the diabetic man a sugar-free cookie. Apparently, the two memos are not the ode to torture Cheney had previously claimed. Now he says that invading Iraq has saved thousands of lives--torture is gone now from the lexicon and now the real life-saver is the Iraq War. So, is there anything else he would like to get off his chest? Today's papers report that Cheney was involved in the briefings on the Hill, where torture was ok'd.
Pat Buchanan is right,"White guys can't seem to catch a break." I believe it dates to the time the Lil' Rascals let Darla into their clubhouse. At least we had the Raccoons, while the "Honeymooners" was on television. Now it looks like seven men on the Supreme Court might be tied by the apron strings of two women. Lindsey Graham wants to know what Sotomayor thinks about "America". Where does he think she came from? Even the MSM refer to her parents migrated from Puerto Rico? If you move within the United States, does that make you an immigrant?
Mitt Romney has always been awkward. His speech on national security at the Heritage Foundation was an inopportune attack on President Obama as he departed the U.S. for his Middle Eastern tour. Mitt argues that Obama must spend more on defense--even though he's spending more than George W--because we face China, Russia and the jihadis as enemies. The bigger price tag is because China pays their army less and can make things cheaper than in the United States. Now that we spend more on defense than the entire earth combined, how much more? Are there any other enemies we can conjure so that as we re-militarize we can pay trillions in interest to the Chinese to foot the bill? To me the speech was a incoherent patchwork of the old, the used and the preposterous.
Pat Buchanan is right,"White guys can't seem to catch a break." I believe it dates to the time the Lil' Rascals let Darla into their clubhouse. At least we had the Raccoons, while the "Honeymooners" was on television. Now it looks like seven men on the Supreme Court might be tied by the apron strings of two women. Lindsey Graham wants to know what Sotomayor thinks about "America". Where does he think she came from? Even the MSM refer to her parents migrated from Puerto Rico? If you move within the United States, does that make you an immigrant?
Mitt Romney has always been awkward. His speech on national security at the Heritage Foundation was an inopportune attack on President Obama as he departed the U.S. for his Middle Eastern tour. Mitt argues that Obama must spend more on defense--even though he's spending more than George W--because we face China, Russia and the jihadis as enemies. The bigger price tag is because China pays their army less and can make things cheaper than in the United States. Now that we spend more on defense than the entire earth combined, how much more? Are there any other enemies we can conjure so that as we re-militarize we can pay trillions in interest to the Chinese to foot the bill? To me the speech was a incoherent patchwork of the old, the used and the preposterous.
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
Truth Commission, Please!
We have been treated to around the clock defenses and rebuttals about the Bush-Cheney torture policy and claims and counter-claims about who was informed about what when and who lied. The Obama Administration hasn't done anyone favors by trying to keep this issue narrowly defined to the ethics of a small bunch of Bush-era lawyers. We know torture occurred prior to the legal memos. We know the torture time-line implies that these techniques were used to produce false intelligence to legitimize a war we chose to fight. And we also know that Cheney apologists have tried to keep the debate focused on three detainees instead of the abuse and torture of the many. The reversal by President Obama on the release of the abuse photos has only led to more confusion. Are these the photos and videos that showed young men being sodomized and women raped? Now we are treated to a bewildering set of claims and counter-claims about the nature of these photos. And,finally,in another post 9/11 moment, Lindsey Graham and Joe Lieberman are sponsoring a law to prohibit the release of all these photos.
Dick Cheney claims two memos will vindicate his assessment that thousands if not millions of lives were saved by torturing detainees. Senators Levin and Feingold, who claim to have read the same memos, categorically deny they say any such thing. Who's right? And it really does matter.
If we are going to escalate the war in Afghanistan, I don't believe it is enough for the Obama Administration to pledge not to do it again. Before the Republicans start their campaign about the war in Afghanistan being Obama's war alone (and they will--remember Bob Dole speaking about Democratic wars), it's important for the American public to know the whys and wherefores of the policy debacles of the last eight years. This is certainly not Washington's way because while the Bush Administration executed, the Democratic leadership acquiesced. It's important for the country to know that.
We have heard calls for such an investigation from Generals Sanchez, Karpinski and Taguba, Col. Wilkinson and a host of military, FBI and CIA interrogators. Torture activists such as Dick and Liz Cheney demand the infamous memos be declassified as others call for the declassification of the CIA's 2004 report by the Inspector General saying the torture policy did not yield the appreciable results claimed by Cheney and company. And why have we not heard from George "It's a Slam Dunk" Tenet, who is constantly quoted as saying,"This program yielded more intelligence than the CIA,NSA and FBI had all together."
Since the United States willfully abandoned its treaty obligations, its own domestic law and its military traditions, it's extremely important to establish why, how and what were the results. Washington simply doesn't have the guts to do this type of things. Just look at the Chamber of Cowardice, the U.S. Senate in its overwhelming vote not to approve the funding to close Gitmo, despite the fact the American system holds about a equivalent number of terrorists in super-max prisons. The Senate has become the worlds' most deliberative retirement home and has abandoned all pretence of leadership.
Scholars like Jonathan Turley of George Washington University claim we are too advanced a democracy for a Truth Commission and that our age-old commitment to the rule of law will be better served if an Independent Prosecutor is appointed. I don't believe this. With the media echo chamber allowing people like Dick Cheney ample time to argue for torture without the rebuttal of his errors, there is an impression that somehow his position and that of the Bush Administration was legitimate. Since Washington fears prosecution of anyone for fear of people losing their dinner guests to prolonged periods of jail time, it's important a non-partisan Commission be established with the remains of people with any credibility left in this country. Call it a Danforth-Hamilton Commission if you will. But, it is more important in my opinion to have public education about this policy than even prosecutions.
The Bush-Cheney crowd argue that Al Qaeda represented a unique enemy in our history and for that reason they abandoned out strategic doctrine and launched pre-emptive wars. While waging these elective wars, the same Administration embarked on the largest warrantless wiretap campaign in our history, argued for unheard of powers for the presidency, and overrode the Constitution to embrace a policy of torture, hidden prisons and disappearances. It is vital for our health as a democracy and our alleged role as the standard bearer of the values of freedom to come clean and produce the real and false of the countless accusations floating around.
Dick Cheney claims two memos will vindicate his assessment that thousands if not millions of lives were saved by torturing detainees. Senators Levin and Feingold, who claim to have read the same memos, categorically deny they say any such thing. Who's right? And it really does matter.
If we are going to escalate the war in Afghanistan, I don't believe it is enough for the Obama Administration to pledge not to do it again. Before the Republicans start their campaign about the war in Afghanistan being Obama's war alone (and they will--remember Bob Dole speaking about Democratic wars), it's important for the American public to know the whys and wherefores of the policy debacles of the last eight years. This is certainly not Washington's way because while the Bush Administration executed, the Democratic leadership acquiesced. It's important for the country to know that.
We have heard calls for such an investigation from Generals Sanchez, Karpinski and Taguba, Col. Wilkinson and a host of military, FBI and CIA interrogators. Torture activists such as Dick and Liz Cheney demand the infamous memos be declassified as others call for the declassification of the CIA's 2004 report by the Inspector General saying the torture policy did not yield the appreciable results claimed by Cheney and company. And why have we not heard from George "It's a Slam Dunk" Tenet, who is constantly quoted as saying,"This program yielded more intelligence than the CIA,NSA and FBI had all together."
Since the United States willfully abandoned its treaty obligations, its own domestic law and its military traditions, it's extremely important to establish why, how and what were the results. Washington simply doesn't have the guts to do this type of things. Just look at the Chamber of Cowardice, the U.S. Senate in its overwhelming vote not to approve the funding to close Gitmo, despite the fact the American system holds about a equivalent number of terrorists in super-max prisons. The Senate has become the worlds' most deliberative retirement home and has abandoned all pretence of leadership.
Scholars like Jonathan Turley of George Washington University claim we are too advanced a democracy for a Truth Commission and that our age-old commitment to the rule of law will be better served if an Independent Prosecutor is appointed. I don't believe this. With the media echo chamber allowing people like Dick Cheney ample time to argue for torture without the rebuttal of his errors, there is an impression that somehow his position and that of the Bush Administration was legitimate. Since Washington fears prosecution of anyone for fear of people losing their dinner guests to prolonged periods of jail time, it's important a non-partisan Commission be established with the remains of people with any credibility left in this country. Call it a Danforth-Hamilton Commission if you will. But, it is more important in my opinion to have public education about this policy than even prosecutions.
The Bush-Cheney crowd argue that Al Qaeda represented a unique enemy in our history and for that reason they abandoned out strategic doctrine and launched pre-emptive wars. While waging these elective wars, the same Administration embarked on the largest warrantless wiretap campaign in our history, argued for unheard of powers for the presidency, and overrode the Constitution to embrace a policy of torture, hidden prisons and disappearances. It is vital for our health as a democracy and our alleged role as the standard bearer of the values of freedom to come clean and produce the real and false of the countless accusations floating around.
Mondo Americano--Tales from the Crypt
I've come back around to the idea of American exceptionalism. We're exceptionally crazy.
Counterpunch, the Young Turks and Daily Kos have all reported this piece of lunacy. In 2003, President Bush spoke to France's Jacques Chirac and in trying to win his support for the Iraq war Bush talked about how Gog and Magog were in war in the Middle East and how God wanted us to defeat them. Bush told a very secular Chirac,"This confrontation is willed by God, who wants to use this conflict to erase his people's enemies before a New Age begins".
Jean-Claude Maurice, a journalist for La Liberte, has published a book with the account of this encounter. Apparently, Chirac was so "stupefait"that he made inquiries to Lausanne in Switzerland to prevent any leak. Biblical scholar Thomas Romer, now at the College de France, had been contacted by the Elysee in 2003 to explain the significance of "Gog and Magog". This whole exchange inspired Jocelyn Rochat to publish in Allez Savoir, the magazine of the University of Lausanne, an article entitled "George W. Bush et le Code Ezechial".
With news that Donald Rumsfeld, an Episcopalian, put biblical passages on top of the President's military briefings during the run-up to the war in Iraq, one is left with the scene of Rumsfeld and Cheney laughing like hell about manipulating Junior. They must of known Poppy Bush's nickname at Cross and Bones was Magog, alluding to his sexual prowess.
Dick Cheney, Crusader Rabbit, is Free. He talks in public now like Richard Nixon did in private after a few martinis. Yesterday, he appeared at the National Press Club to suggest that if we close Gitmo down we have no choice but to kill the detainees--"but we don't operate like that." When he started speaking out, he said he do so to defend the little people. Yesterday, he blamed 9-11 on Richard Clarke and all the intelligence that there was some Al Qaeda-Iraq connection on George Tenet. He blamed the New York Times for leaking news about the Bush Administration's warrantless wiretape program--Terrorist Surveillance Program to use the euphemism. He has played this riff several times. But he didn't mention the New York Times real crime in all this-- waiting to publish until months after 2004 election. The Times was scared they would be blamed for influencing the election.
Dick Cheney probably set the cause of gay marriage back several years by backing it.
Col. Wilkinson continues to fire away at Cheney, likening him to Aaron Burr in a recent edition of the Daily Beast. I think the Colonel is having too much fun.
While Bill O'Reilly raves about the campaign against him by the Daily Kos, Democratic Underground, and Huffington Post. com, reporters in the heartland have dug up alot about the assassin of Dr. Tiller. On the Operation Rescue comment board before it was expunged, Roeder had used language about Tiller that was taken verbatim from one of O'Reilly's 48 shows against the man. It seems that the Wichita police chief was so P.O.ed about the murder, he may have been indiscreet by saying he would follow-up the leads on the internet. The Free Republic, who had inquiries from the Secret Service over anti-Obama hate language earlier this year, quickly purged the Roeder's posts but not before he had been identitied as user 2261860. Police found inside Roeder's car the phone number of the woman who had shot Dr. Tiller in both arms in the mid-1990s and a contact number with a Operation Rescue senior policy adviser, a woman who had been convicted in 1988 of conspiring to bomb an abortion clinic. Most interesting is Roeder's connection to the Freeman movement, which dissociates itself from all things having to do with the government from paying taxes to even having license plates on cars. According to a fellow Freeman in Shawnee, Roeder was just a Good Old Boy but "he got all excited about abortion". The FBI have followed Roeder path back to a house in Merriam where neighbors said there was a revolving door of men coming and staying there and described what appeared to be religious gatherings. The whole affair has the smell of an organized hit by anti-abortion people. Already the anti-abortion news services are putting out the line that Roeder has "a history of mental illness". Yet Randall Terry and others such as the Army of God made sure the public knew a good deed had been done.
Our previous guest lunatic Fred Phelps and his " church" abandoned their anti-semitic crusade momentarily to harass the family and friends of Dr Tiller who were holding a vigil in his memory. Classy, huh.
Counterpunch, the Young Turks and Daily Kos have all reported this piece of lunacy. In 2003, President Bush spoke to France's Jacques Chirac and in trying to win his support for the Iraq war Bush talked about how Gog and Magog were in war in the Middle East and how God wanted us to defeat them. Bush told a very secular Chirac,"This confrontation is willed by God, who wants to use this conflict to erase his people's enemies before a New Age begins".
Jean-Claude Maurice, a journalist for La Liberte, has published a book with the account of this encounter. Apparently, Chirac was so "stupefait"that he made inquiries to Lausanne in Switzerland to prevent any leak. Biblical scholar Thomas Romer, now at the College de France, had been contacted by the Elysee in 2003 to explain the significance of "Gog and Magog". This whole exchange inspired Jocelyn Rochat to publish in Allez Savoir, the magazine of the University of Lausanne, an article entitled "George W. Bush et le Code Ezechial".
With news that Donald Rumsfeld, an Episcopalian, put biblical passages on top of the President's military briefings during the run-up to the war in Iraq, one is left with the scene of Rumsfeld and Cheney laughing like hell about manipulating Junior. They must of known Poppy Bush's nickname at Cross and Bones was Magog, alluding to his sexual prowess.
Dick Cheney, Crusader Rabbit, is Free. He talks in public now like Richard Nixon did in private after a few martinis. Yesterday, he appeared at the National Press Club to suggest that if we close Gitmo down we have no choice but to kill the detainees--"but we don't operate like that." When he started speaking out, he said he do so to defend the little people. Yesterday, he blamed 9-11 on Richard Clarke and all the intelligence that there was some Al Qaeda-Iraq connection on George Tenet. He blamed the New York Times for leaking news about the Bush Administration's warrantless wiretape program--Terrorist Surveillance Program to use the euphemism. He has played this riff several times. But he didn't mention the New York Times real crime in all this-- waiting to publish until months after 2004 election. The Times was scared they would be blamed for influencing the election.
Dick Cheney probably set the cause of gay marriage back several years by backing it.
Col. Wilkinson continues to fire away at Cheney, likening him to Aaron Burr in a recent edition of the Daily Beast. I think the Colonel is having too much fun.
While Bill O'Reilly raves about the campaign against him by the Daily Kos, Democratic Underground, and Huffington Post. com, reporters in the heartland have dug up alot about the assassin of Dr. Tiller. On the Operation Rescue comment board before it was expunged, Roeder had used language about Tiller that was taken verbatim from one of O'Reilly's 48 shows against the man. It seems that the Wichita police chief was so P.O.ed about the murder, he may have been indiscreet by saying he would follow-up the leads on the internet. The Free Republic, who had inquiries from the Secret Service over anti-Obama hate language earlier this year, quickly purged the Roeder's posts but not before he had been identitied as user 2261860. Police found inside Roeder's car the phone number of the woman who had shot Dr. Tiller in both arms in the mid-1990s and a contact number with a Operation Rescue senior policy adviser, a woman who had been convicted in 1988 of conspiring to bomb an abortion clinic. Most interesting is Roeder's connection to the Freeman movement, which dissociates itself from all things having to do with the government from paying taxes to even having license plates on cars. According to a fellow Freeman in Shawnee, Roeder was just a Good Old Boy but "he got all excited about abortion". The FBI have followed Roeder path back to a house in Merriam where neighbors said there was a revolving door of men coming and staying there and described what appeared to be religious gatherings. The whole affair has the smell of an organized hit by anti-abortion people. Already the anti-abortion news services are putting out the line that Roeder has "a history of mental illness". Yet Randall Terry and others such as the Army of God made sure the public knew a good deed had been done.
Our previous guest lunatic Fred Phelps and his " church" abandoned their anti-semitic crusade momentarily to harass the family and friends of Dr Tiller who were holding a vigil in his memory. Classy, huh.
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