President Obama is sapping our bodily fluids again. Late last night the New York Times published a piece about his changing American nuclear doctrine. Then Drudge printed the red-headlines--" not even after a biological attack"--early this morning "not even in self-defense" and by 10 this morning "Is Obama Disarming the United States?". A more sober Pentagon analyst described why the current nuclear doctrine was an antique from the Cold War and that Obama inserting hesitation before retaliating stems from the looseness in the Russian arsenals. It is true we can't threaten first strike anymore to free South Ossetia but that should not deter those deliberately misinforming the public about another initiative by the Administration.
This is a big week for nukes. Thursday President Obama will sign the New Start Treaty in Prague and return to a summit of 40 world leaders here in Washington to discuss nuclear arms. Don't worry. You can be sure that our pundits will disgrace themselves with alot of fatuous talk based on little or no first-hand knowledge of the subject.
Marc Ambinder claims Justice Stevens will step down in a month. While several names have been floated to replace him, it's probable that the next nominee will have been approved by the Senate before for another post. That would put in the lead Elena Kagan , the Soliciter General. Senator Kyl has threatened to filibuster Obama's nominee. If it happens, that would only be the second time the Senate has filibustered a nominee to the Supreme Court. The last time happened when LBJ nominated Abe Fortis to become the Chief Justice.
There are conflicting reports about how ambitious the administration will be the rest of the year before Congress gets into the full-swing for the mid-terms. Finance Reform is next up, having past the House last year and now struggling in the Senate. When President Obama met with Hispanic leaders during the healthcare debate, he promised that immigration reform would happen within a year. As I've written before, Speaker Nancy Pelosi has already said that it's the Senate's turn to actually pass a law. The other piece of major business would be an Energy Bill. With Obama's embrace of nuclear plants and off-shore drilling, I can't imagine him passing up the remaining legislative session of Congress without some energy bill. He alienated his base by this move without getting anything in return.
So far the picture for mid-term elections appear rather murky. The Democratic House Campaign Committee has a wopping $20 to $6 million spread over the Republicans. And the RNC is simply bleeding to death with its multiple scandals and personnel leaving. Also, Republican incumbents are facing numerous primary challenges from tea party-backed candidates. This has brought glee to people like the Torture King Marc Thiessen, who wrote a column this morning about how Republican incumbents need to be alarmed. The Republicans are talking like this is 1994 again but they have no visible leader to mirror New Gingrich's role. Also, the Republicans could capitalize on Democratic scandals, the failed Hilarycare plan and Don't Ask, Don't Tell, which Clinton implemented. So right now, it's anyone's guess and anyone around here knows you can't tell anything until after Labor Day.
Meg Whitman is trying to do a Bloomberg in California, pumping another $20 million of her fortune into the race for Governor. What's strange about this is that she still only has a three-point lead over Jerry Brown who has not yet begun to campaign. I wouldn't be surpised to see the final race come in about 1/4 of a billion dollars. Meanwhile, Tom Campbell seems to be holding his own against Carly Fiorina, who also is dumping big bucks into the campaign for Senate.
All the national polls place Jobs as the number 1 issue ,far outstripping health reform. Virtually no foreign affairs issues are even in the top ten issues--terrorism has about 5% of Americans concerned. No doubt this can change in a moment's notice but the Democrats' fate hinges on the ability of the economy to produce jobs for the next several months with no perceptible lags. A wild card in all this is what the whole tea party thing really means electorally. Do these people even vote? They claim they do but so far there is no empirical evidence for this.
Al Sharpton and Rev. Jesse Jackson seem to be reverting to their old forms. They are meeting with the Second Amendment Foundation, which is one of the groups holding their gun rally in Washington. Their discussion centers around promoting gun ownership among black Americans. The logic escapes me.
When Congress gets back, expect to see movement to approve representation of Washington,D.C. in the House. This is in return for another seat for Utah. This issues has been moving under the radar for the last several years but has increasingly developed bi-partisan support.
There are reasons we root for underdogs--because the odds are long they will succeed. So, valiant Butler gave it a go but lost the NCAA to Duke.
For anyone reading this blog, you will understand why China is about to announce a trade deficit. Paul Krugman explained this in "A Country is not a Company" with his analysis of Mexico's development in the 1990s. But our financial press are shocked by this news. So I would look to China devaluing their currency soon, which will be good news for us.
Hamid Karzai is threatening to join the Taliban --again. Of course, the minute he would do this they would execute him--which he also knows. After closing Burger King in Kabul, Obama's biggest mistake in Afghanistan is actually developing a strategy to stabilize the central government. He would have been better off taking Joe Biden's advice--focus on the border areas of Afghanistan and Pakistan , do as much damage to Al Qaeda and the Taliban and leaving.
Iraq looks like it's in an endless wrestling match to form a new government after the elections. What is at stake is how influential Tehran will be in the future of the country. The Rand Corporation just issued a study that showed that the Iraq War actually stymied the democratization of neighboring Arab states, who were flirting with greater pluralism. The Sunnis were repulsed by the prospects of another Shi'ite country emerging on their borders.
Israel has threatened the Palestinians not to declare a state. This is getting old.
President Obama expects new sanctions against Iran in the next few weeks. Iran has enormous economic challenges with 20% unemployment and a similar rate of inflation and a serious balance of trade problem since they import most of the finished oil products. Top Iranian atomic scientists have defected to the United States and there are reports that the Israeli and CIA efforts to slow down the nuclear program have been successful. Israeli military officials have claimed they will strike before November, while Tehran has responded they will send a missile into Tel Aviv. Watch this ballet for the next few months. Our conservatives will be pressing for military action against Tehran in the next few months as they have already written off sanctions as unworkable.
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
Monday, April 5, 2010
Book A Mundo
The first series of shipments have arrived. There are two surprises from my trolling the book stores this weekend. The Stories of Ray Bradbury (Everyman, 2010) with an introduction by Christopher Buckley, and The Library of America's volume Marshall: The Writings. The reason we believe there could be a strong Supreme Court is because of John Marshall, who established its control and authority over interpreting the Constitution. Some of us look forward to the day we have one again which we can respect.
Most of today's shipment are oldies but goodies:
Chris Hedges American Fascists: The Christian Rights and the War on America (Free Press 2008). Some of Hedges analysis revolves around the religious right formed by Pat Robertson types, which now in the age of Obama have been surpassed by a more virulent strain. While not up to Hedges' standards, Leah Burton's Theo Palinism: The Face of Failed Extremism ( 2009) gives you a glimpse of how extreme are Sarah Palin's religious views and their political implications.
For a social scientific view of our current climate, Marc Hetherington and Jonathan D. Weiler have produced Authoritarianism & Polarization in American Politics (Cambridge, 2010).
Former conservative or maybe still an old-time conservative Kevin Phillips wrote American Theocracy : the Peril and Politics of Radical Religion, Oil, and Borrowed Money in the 21st Century in 2006 (Viking, 2006) to warn us about the changing face of the Republican Party and how it became dominated by the Religious Right. The book is dedicated to the millions of Republicans--present or lapsed--who opposed the Bush dynasty. In this book, he writes that this toxic combination would destroy the country. In Bad Money updated last year (Penguin, 2008) he writes about our overreach through the war in Iraq, a terrible energy policy, the housing bubble and how the crisis of American global capitalism might be our dance in the sunset.
Kevin Phillips' books forced me back to Bruce Bartlett's The New American Economy:The Failure of Reaganomics and a New Way Forward (Palgrave, 2009). Bruce Bartlett was one of the fathers of supply-side economics and was a treasury official under George H.W. Bush. His sharp criticisms of the conservative movement in the last few years led to his ostracism in a manner reminiscent of the recent episode involving David Frum. Barlett was one of the Republicans who agreed with Paul Krugman that the stimulus package was too small. Bruce Bartlett has his own blog and often you will see his writings discussed by Andrew Sullivan on his Daily Dish.
I was going to spend Easter writing about the religious fundamentalists studied by Bob Altemeyer but decided to spend my time thinking happier thoughts. His findings about religious fundamentalists explain such things as Diaper Dave Vitter, the Louisiana Senator caught as a customer of a Washington prostitute and in New Orleans as a cross-dresser, being able to still campaign on family values and be given a lead role by the Republicans in arguing against Healthreform. He was the clever man who introduced an amendment to prohibit funding to ACORN, another urban myth. Or the case of Promise Keeper Senator Ensign paying off his aide while he had an affair with his wife and yet moving on without missing a beat. It seems Senator Ensign will soon be indicted. Altemeyer explains alot of this by using Dietrich Bonhoffer's notion of "Grace on the Cheap" where someone declares him or herself born again and therefore able to continue to commit such acts. This also explains the degree to which such politicians will be forgiven and these egregious acts will be forgotten.
The sexytime RNC continues to meltdown with the resignation this afternoon of the leading fundraiser and the chief of staff. I have been bombarded by e-mails of Rasmussen polls showing everything from teabaggers having greater popularity than Obama and Republicans sweeping all the 2010 mid-term elections. I have trouble with all this. Even Nate Silver predicted great moves by the Republicans and Charles Cook predicts the Republicans will win back the House. But looking closely at www. swingstate. com and even the Cook polling data, you see that the Democrats probably bottomed out and that their losses in the House look to be in the neighborhood of 20-25 seats. But if things only marginally improve, they should even trim that number. That's why I find it hard to go as desparate as even Nate Silver, whom I deeply respect, or Charles Cook.
But I leave you today with this sobering thought, given the beliefs of the Republican base ,which I have written about before, if Republicans win back the House, I feel they will be compelled by their base to impeach President Obama. These are people without regard to the national interest or the affect such a move would make on the prestige of our country. If you are oblivious to the damage done to the country by the last administration and you really believe in American exceptionalism, then why would you care about our standing in the world?
Just a thought.
Most of today's shipment are oldies but goodies:
Chris Hedges American Fascists: The Christian Rights and the War on America (Free Press 2008). Some of Hedges analysis revolves around the religious right formed by Pat Robertson types, which now in the age of Obama have been surpassed by a more virulent strain. While not up to Hedges' standards, Leah Burton's Theo Palinism: The Face of Failed Extremism ( 2009) gives you a glimpse of how extreme are Sarah Palin's religious views and their political implications.
For a social scientific view of our current climate, Marc Hetherington and Jonathan D. Weiler have produced Authoritarianism & Polarization in American Politics (Cambridge, 2010).
Former conservative or maybe still an old-time conservative Kevin Phillips wrote American Theocracy : the Peril and Politics of Radical Religion, Oil, and Borrowed Money in the 21st Century in 2006 (Viking, 2006) to warn us about the changing face of the Republican Party and how it became dominated by the Religious Right. The book is dedicated to the millions of Republicans--present or lapsed--who opposed the Bush dynasty. In this book, he writes that this toxic combination would destroy the country. In Bad Money updated last year (Penguin, 2008) he writes about our overreach through the war in Iraq, a terrible energy policy, the housing bubble and how the crisis of American global capitalism might be our dance in the sunset.
Kevin Phillips' books forced me back to Bruce Bartlett's The New American Economy:The Failure of Reaganomics and a New Way Forward (Palgrave, 2009). Bruce Bartlett was one of the fathers of supply-side economics and was a treasury official under George H.W. Bush. His sharp criticisms of the conservative movement in the last few years led to his ostracism in a manner reminiscent of the recent episode involving David Frum. Barlett was one of the Republicans who agreed with Paul Krugman that the stimulus package was too small. Bruce Bartlett has his own blog and often you will see his writings discussed by Andrew Sullivan on his Daily Dish.
I was going to spend Easter writing about the religious fundamentalists studied by Bob Altemeyer but decided to spend my time thinking happier thoughts. His findings about religious fundamentalists explain such things as Diaper Dave Vitter, the Louisiana Senator caught as a customer of a Washington prostitute and in New Orleans as a cross-dresser, being able to still campaign on family values and be given a lead role by the Republicans in arguing against Healthreform. He was the clever man who introduced an amendment to prohibit funding to ACORN, another urban myth. Or the case of Promise Keeper Senator Ensign paying off his aide while he had an affair with his wife and yet moving on without missing a beat. It seems Senator Ensign will soon be indicted. Altemeyer explains alot of this by using Dietrich Bonhoffer's notion of "Grace on the Cheap" where someone declares him or herself born again and therefore able to continue to commit such acts. This also explains the degree to which such politicians will be forgiven and these egregious acts will be forgotten.
The sexytime RNC continues to meltdown with the resignation this afternoon of the leading fundraiser and the chief of staff. I have been bombarded by e-mails of Rasmussen polls showing everything from teabaggers having greater popularity than Obama and Republicans sweeping all the 2010 mid-term elections. I have trouble with all this. Even Nate Silver predicted great moves by the Republicans and Charles Cook predicts the Republicans will win back the House. But looking closely at www. swingstate. com and even the Cook polling data, you see that the Democrats probably bottomed out and that their losses in the House look to be in the neighborhood of 20-25 seats. But if things only marginally improve, they should even trim that number. That's why I find it hard to go as desparate as even Nate Silver, whom I deeply respect, or Charles Cook.
But I leave you today with this sobering thought, given the beliefs of the Republican base ,which I have written about before, if Republicans win back the House, I feel they will be compelled by their base to impeach President Obama. These are people without regard to the national interest or the affect such a move would make on the prestige of our country. If you are oblivious to the damage done to the country by the last administration and you really believe in American exceptionalism, then why would you care about our standing in the world?
Just a thought.
Saturday, April 3, 2010
Back From The Brink--Maybe
Stopped thinking of George Lincoln Rockwell for a moment, and surfed the net only to find that sociologists have found Americans are increasingly identifying Democracy with Socialism. Not great news unless you believe the country is about to embrace social democracy.
Ron Brownstein in the National Journal points out that Barack Obama has had the most successful run of legislative accomplishments since LBJ. The story is about two months late, considering it was reported in the wire services and noted by Norm Ornstein of AEI that Obama had the highest success rate of any President in terms of legislation passing. Consider this in the context of the Republicans doubling their number of filibusters last year and already approaching last year's record already. But at least Brownstein has it right.
Michelle Bachmann was back on the tube complaining about the census, which is mandated by the constitution for all rightwingers. She claims that FDR used the census to round up all the Japanese Americans for the internment camps. Haven't a clue if this is remotely true. I do know the FEMA camps Glenn Beck warned his listeners of were created by Ronald Reagan and ,yes, they were readied by George W. Bush.
But I have a complaint about the Census form. It didn't ask me about my pet cat, the number of toilets I had or how many televisions (none). So what's the beef? The conservative backlash against the census has been hurting Republican districts in Texas, where there seems to be a low return rate. Which only means that congressional districts get changed.
The Research 2000 poll has Obama dinged a point--down to 55%, while other polls show high 40s. He is mirroring Ronald Reagan's numbers at the beginning of his term. Reagan descended to 35% at the depth of the recession in the 1980s.
But the key numbers I felt were the improvements of ratings for Democrats in Congress and both Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid. All polls show the enthusiasm gap between the parties has disappeared. And I felt the most important number was that 40% believed the country was going in the right direction. If that number keeps improving, the mid-terms may well be tighter than pundits keep predicting.
The employment numbers were disappointing to me... until I realized that it was the first time since December 2007 that the American economy actually produced jobs. While some of this were temporary census jobs, manufacturing has picked up and numbers from that sector over the last quarter indicate that American manufacturing might not be completely dead.
The Democratic Party seems to be outraising the sexytime GOP. But we haven't seen the rush of corporate money yet. The first corporate-sponsored print ad for a candidate came out last week, promoting a Republican candidate in Texas. It was complete with corporate logo.
Judge Stevens is set to make his decision on when he will retire. Supposedly it will be sometime this month. The Obama Administration already has a full line-up of candidates. And, surprise, the Republicans vow to block it. They will never forgive what happened to Bob Bork and the humiliation suffered by Clarence "Tea Bag " Thomas. Elephants have long memories.
Rachel Maddow will be narrating a special on MSNBC on the Oklahoma City Bombing. I don;t know whether that's such a hot idea right now, given the open-gun rallies being held in my neughborhood for the event.
The militias are proud of their letters to the 50 governors, telling them to resign or else. Gov. Rendell was on Keith Olbermann saying that "if they tell you they're coming, they aren't". But militia networks are bragging that governors are forced to move around in hotels escorted by the FBI. I'm sure completely false but they promise that things are coming to a head.
A California judge made a devastating ruling in favor of ACORN, blasting the edited film footage by young conservative Jim O'Keefe. This is the third court that has ruled ACORN did nothing illegal.
I received a fund-raiser from Congressman Paul Ryan, which outlines his "Roadmap for America's Future". He urges us to donate to his PAC so that the Democrats don't create a European-style social welfare system. We're the greatest country the world has ever known and it isn't the federal government that got us there. It was me! He promises to preserve Medicare and Social Security for me but no one younger than 55 and only modestly increase the age I can collect. And, Thank God, he wants to eliminate the corporate tax and replace it with a consumption tax of 8.5%. And we will have only a 10% income tax on the first $100,000 one makes and then only 25% on amounts above that. So, I can pay more taxes than I do uunder Barack Obama with a plan that runs deficits that make the present ones look like child's play.
But I am reassured that his plan "ensures the opportunity for individuals to fulfill their human potential and enjoy the satisfaction of their own achievements--and it secures the distinctly American legacy of leaving the next generation better off"--better off dead.
For everyone living in California, some of Ryan's schemes may sound familiar. Carly Fiorina, putative Republican candidate and advisor to John McCain, during the 2008 Presidential campaign called for the same corporate tax cuts because of the shining example of "The Celtic Tiger". Barbara Boxer should ask her how that Celtic Tiger stuff turned out. It's doubtful Ireland will return to the modrn economy anytime soon. It's only a matter of time after the corporations looted her that a new potato famine will strike.
I'm not sure what this has to do with American Exceptionalism--getting rich as you want. Why not Saudi exceptionalism? Everywhere I've worked in the third world you can get as rich as you want and never pay any taxes. Failed states provide some of the greatest opportunities to get rich.
Off before I really start ranting.
Ron Brownstein in the National Journal points out that Barack Obama has had the most successful run of legislative accomplishments since LBJ. The story is about two months late, considering it was reported in the wire services and noted by Norm Ornstein of AEI that Obama had the highest success rate of any President in terms of legislation passing. Consider this in the context of the Republicans doubling their number of filibusters last year and already approaching last year's record already. But at least Brownstein has it right.
Michelle Bachmann was back on the tube complaining about the census, which is mandated by the constitution for all rightwingers. She claims that FDR used the census to round up all the Japanese Americans for the internment camps. Haven't a clue if this is remotely true. I do know the FEMA camps Glenn Beck warned his listeners of were created by Ronald Reagan and ,yes, they were readied by George W. Bush.
But I have a complaint about the Census form. It didn't ask me about my pet cat, the number of toilets I had or how many televisions (none). So what's the beef? The conservative backlash against the census has been hurting Republican districts in Texas, where there seems to be a low return rate. Which only means that congressional districts get changed.
The Research 2000 poll has Obama dinged a point--down to 55%, while other polls show high 40s. He is mirroring Ronald Reagan's numbers at the beginning of his term. Reagan descended to 35% at the depth of the recession in the 1980s.
But the key numbers I felt were the improvements of ratings for Democrats in Congress and both Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid. All polls show the enthusiasm gap between the parties has disappeared. And I felt the most important number was that 40% believed the country was going in the right direction. If that number keeps improving, the mid-terms may well be tighter than pundits keep predicting.
The employment numbers were disappointing to me... until I realized that it was the first time since December 2007 that the American economy actually produced jobs. While some of this were temporary census jobs, manufacturing has picked up and numbers from that sector over the last quarter indicate that American manufacturing might not be completely dead.
The Democratic Party seems to be outraising the sexytime GOP. But we haven't seen the rush of corporate money yet. The first corporate-sponsored print ad for a candidate came out last week, promoting a Republican candidate in Texas. It was complete with corporate logo.
Judge Stevens is set to make his decision on when he will retire. Supposedly it will be sometime this month. The Obama Administration already has a full line-up of candidates. And, surprise, the Republicans vow to block it. They will never forgive what happened to Bob Bork and the humiliation suffered by Clarence "Tea Bag " Thomas. Elephants have long memories.
Rachel Maddow will be narrating a special on MSNBC on the Oklahoma City Bombing. I don;t know whether that's such a hot idea right now, given the open-gun rallies being held in my neughborhood for the event.
The militias are proud of their letters to the 50 governors, telling them to resign or else. Gov. Rendell was on Keith Olbermann saying that "if they tell you they're coming, they aren't". But militia networks are bragging that governors are forced to move around in hotels escorted by the FBI. I'm sure completely false but they promise that things are coming to a head.
A California judge made a devastating ruling in favor of ACORN, blasting the edited film footage by young conservative Jim O'Keefe. This is the third court that has ruled ACORN did nothing illegal.
I received a fund-raiser from Congressman Paul Ryan, which outlines his "Roadmap for America's Future". He urges us to donate to his PAC so that the Democrats don't create a European-style social welfare system. We're the greatest country the world has ever known and it isn't the federal government that got us there. It was me! He promises to preserve Medicare and Social Security for me but no one younger than 55 and only modestly increase the age I can collect. And, Thank God, he wants to eliminate the corporate tax and replace it with a consumption tax of 8.5%. And we will have only a 10% income tax on the first $100,000 one makes and then only 25% on amounts above that. So, I can pay more taxes than I do uunder Barack Obama with a plan that runs deficits that make the present ones look like child's play.
But I am reassured that his plan "ensures the opportunity for individuals to fulfill their human potential and enjoy the satisfaction of their own achievements--and it secures the distinctly American legacy of leaving the next generation better off"--better off dead.
For everyone living in California, some of Ryan's schemes may sound familiar. Carly Fiorina, putative Republican candidate and advisor to John McCain, during the 2008 Presidential campaign called for the same corporate tax cuts because of the shining example of "The Celtic Tiger". Barbara Boxer should ask her how that Celtic Tiger stuff turned out. It's doubtful Ireland will return to the modrn economy anytime soon. It's only a matter of time after the corporations looted her that a new potato famine will strike.
I'm not sure what this has to do with American Exceptionalism--getting rich as you want. Why not Saudi exceptionalism? Everywhere I've worked in the third world you can get as rich as you want and never pay any taxes. Failed states provide some of the greatest opportunities to get rich.
Off before I really start ranting.
The Authoritarians
Bob Altemeyer is one academic I would love to meet. An American teaching at the University of Manitoba in Winnipeg, Canada. He has a casual style in his book and a great sense of humor for a grim subject. He was brought to the attention of the reading public because of John Dean,the former White House counsel to Richard Nixon, who wrote Conservatives without a Conscience to try and explain what happened to the Republican Party he used to know. For insight, Dean consulted the psychological studies of authoritarianism by Bob Altemeyer. Unfortunately, Altemeyer has been dragged into the political debate in this country over the last few years and feels he has to explain himself to the lay crowd. Working on authoritarianism since 1966, Altemeyer pledges he had no problems with his draft board before applying for his university position in Canada. He is not a liberal or leftist and he cites his wife who is a liberal as witness. He also claims not to have received any grant money from liberal or leftwing foundations for his research work. In fact, he claims he is so bad at writing proposals he's never received grants for his work. Academics would know his work in psychology from The Authoritarian Specter (Harvard University Press, 1996).
At that time, Altemeyer vowed that he had completed his last study of Right-Wing Authoritarianism and saw no reason to pursue it further. He notes that he considers Communist apparatchiks psychologically right-wing authoritarians so that the readers don't get confused and try and pigeon-hole his research.
If you're like me, you're curious what went wrong in the United States and why are these people emerging that seem so menacing. For me the moment when things crystallized was when I woke up and realized the Fourth Amendment was gone--and it was gone because of a secret bipartisan agreement on the Hill. Not that I have been obsessed by the Fourth Amendment, but I was fond of having it around and I woke up missing it. Another moment was reading the Patriot Act, which I did in its almost 1,000-page splendor, and found that any citizen could be stripped of their citizenship without due process. And that included me whose family has been sneaking around America since 1670. It's not simply because I am a beacon of civil libertarianism but rather I am motivated for self interest.
Bob Altemeyer got pulls back into his field because of events in the United States. "But mainly I am doing this because the six years have provided so many examples of authoritarian behavior in American government. There has never been a more obvious, appropriate and pressing time for this discussion. The threat that authoritarians poses to American democracy has probably never been clearer. It is just a coincidence, but human affairs have provided the foremost example of how badly authoritarianism can damage the United States at the same time as my work has come to an end and I am telling everyone what I've found. George W. Bush has been the most authoritarian president in my lifetime, as well as the worst. And that's not a coincidence. Assuming democracy prevails, future Americans should know how close we came to losing it in our day. "Those who do not learn from the past..."
It should be noted that Altemeyer does not contribute to political parties and is not a member of one. He even jokes he has never been a member of the Communist Party. Listen to his warnings about today. Remember this was printed in 2006 when the Democrats took back the Congress. He talks about why one should bother reading his book.
" First, if you are concerned about what has happened in America since a radical right-wing segment of the population began taking control of the government about a dozen years ago,I think you'll find a lot in this book that says your fears are well-founded. As many have pointed out, the Republic is once again passing through perilous times. The concept of constitutional democracy has been under attack--and by the American government no less! The mid-term elections of 2006 give hope that the best values and traditions of the country will ultimately prevail . But it could prove a huge mistake to think the enemies of freedom and equality have lost the war just because they were recently rebuffed in the polls. I'll be very much surprised if their leaders don't frame the setback as a test of the followers' faith, causing them to redouble their efforts. They came so close to getting what they want,they're not likely to pack up and go away without an all-out drive. But even if their leaders cannot find an acceptable presidential candidate for 2008, even if authoritarians play a much diminished role in the next election, even if they temporarily fade from view, they will still be there,aching for a dictatorship that will force their views on everyone. And they will surely be energized again, as they were in 1994, if a new administration infuriates them while carrying out its mandate. The country is not out of danger yet."
Yesterday, Sean Hannity told an adoring audience that "We won the (healthcare) debate, with you Tim McVeigh wannabes". They're BACK!
My quotes of Altemeyer don't do credit to his insightful and probing work on authoritarian followers. He said that an authoritarian leader is comical until he has millions fo followers. The book analyses political authoritarian followers as well as fundamentalist authoritarian religious followers. If you have wondered why tea party people complain about Obama and the constitution but never made a peep about the shredding of the constitution during the Bush-Cheney years, these studies answer that. At the end of the book, he deals with authoritarian leaders which match a different psychology and one that I found helpful in understanding what I perceived as cynical behavior and why and how this occurs. He has a delightful footnote at the end ranking the top Corrupt members in Congress in 2006 and their support from the Focus on the Family, the Christian Right lobbying group. We are now in politics that is beyond reason.
He cites approvingly Kevin Phillips 2006 book American Theology how religious conservatives have taken control of the Republican Party turning it into the first religious party in U.S. History and endangering everyone else's rights, the future of the country and that of the world. Kevin Phillips noted," By the end of the 1990s more than half of the fifty Republican state committees had been taken over by the religious right at least once."
If you recall my postings about Christian revisionist history, the leading Christian revisionist is a man named David Barton, who appeared again with Glenn Beck this week in Florida. Unbeknownst to me David Barton was the vice-chairman of the Texas Republican Party.
Altemeyer in examining both types of authoritarianism also discusses their forms of aggression and how they are most apt to attack "outsiders" (fill in the blank) in the dead of night or alone with a gang of like-minded people. This becomes particularly relevant for his section of how religious authoritarians view minorities and the gay community.
Next week I'll write more on his specific findings, which I found helpful in trying to make sense of the senseless. Next week also brings a motherload of books, which will help probe the whole issue of how did we get enthralled with the free market and let everything melt down. Stay tuned.
At that time, Altemeyer vowed that he had completed his last study of Right-Wing Authoritarianism and saw no reason to pursue it further. He notes that he considers Communist apparatchiks psychologically right-wing authoritarians so that the readers don't get confused and try and pigeon-hole his research.
If you're like me, you're curious what went wrong in the United States and why are these people emerging that seem so menacing. For me the moment when things crystallized was when I woke up and realized the Fourth Amendment was gone--and it was gone because of a secret bipartisan agreement on the Hill. Not that I have been obsessed by the Fourth Amendment, but I was fond of having it around and I woke up missing it. Another moment was reading the Patriot Act, which I did in its almost 1,000-page splendor, and found that any citizen could be stripped of their citizenship without due process. And that included me whose family has been sneaking around America since 1670. It's not simply because I am a beacon of civil libertarianism but rather I am motivated for self interest.
Bob Altemeyer got pulls back into his field because of events in the United States. "But mainly I am doing this because the six years have provided so many examples of authoritarian behavior in American government. There has never been a more obvious, appropriate and pressing time for this discussion. The threat that authoritarians poses to American democracy has probably never been clearer. It is just a coincidence, but human affairs have provided the foremost example of how badly authoritarianism can damage the United States at the same time as my work has come to an end and I am telling everyone what I've found. George W. Bush has been the most authoritarian president in my lifetime, as well as the worst. And that's not a coincidence. Assuming democracy prevails, future Americans should know how close we came to losing it in our day. "Those who do not learn from the past..."
It should be noted that Altemeyer does not contribute to political parties and is not a member of one. He even jokes he has never been a member of the Communist Party. Listen to his warnings about today. Remember this was printed in 2006 when the Democrats took back the Congress. He talks about why one should bother reading his book.
" First, if you are concerned about what has happened in America since a radical right-wing segment of the population began taking control of the government about a dozen years ago,I think you'll find a lot in this book that says your fears are well-founded. As many have pointed out, the Republic is once again passing through perilous times. The concept of constitutional democracy has been under attack--and by the American government no less! The mid-term elections of 2006 give hope that the best values and traditions of the country will ultimately prevail . But it could prove a huge mistake to think the enemies of freedom and equality have lost the war just because they were recently rebuffed in the polls. I'll be very much surprised if their leaders don't frame the setback as a test of the followers' faith, causing them to redouble their efforts. They came so close to getting what they want,they're not likely to pack up and go away without an all-out drive. But even if their leaders cannot find an acceptable presidential candidate for 2008, even if authoritarians play a much diminished role in the next election, even if they temporarily fade from view, they will still be there,aching for a dictatorship that will force their views on everyone. And they will surely be energized again, as they were in 1994, if a new administration infuriates them while carrying out its mandate. The country is not out of danger yet."
Yesterday, Sean Hannity told an adoring audience that "We won the (healthcare) debate, with you Tim McVeigh wannabes". They're BACK!
My quotes of Altemeyer don't do credit to his insightful and probing work on authoritarian followers. He said that an authoritarian leader is comical until he has millions fo followers. The book analyses political authoritarian followers as well as fundamentalist authoritarian religious followers. If you have wondered why tea party people complain about Obama and the constitution but never made a peep about the shredding of the constitution during the Bush-Cheney years, these studies answer that. At the end of the book, he deals with authoritarian leaders which match a different psychology and one that I found helpful in understanding what I perceived as cynical behavior and why and how this occurs. He has a delightful footnote at the end ranking the top Corrupt members in Congress in 2006 and their support from the Focus on the Family, the Christian Right lobbying group. We are now in politics that is beyond reason.
He cites approvingly Kevin Phillips 2006 book American Theology how religious conservatives have taken control of the Republican Party turning it into the first religious party in U.S. History and endangering everyone else's rights, the future of the country and that of the world. Kevin Phillips noted," By the end of the 1990s more than half of the fifty Republican state committees had been taken over by the religious right at least once."
If you recall my postings about Christian revisionist history, the leading Christian revisionist is a man named David Barton, who appeared again with Glenn Beck this week in Florida. Unbeknownst to me David Barton was the vice-chairman of the Texas Republican Party.
Altemeyer in examining both types of authoritarianism also discusses their forms of aggression and how they are most apt to attack "outsiders" (fill in the blank) in the dead of night or alone with a gang of like-minded people. This becomes particularly relevant for his section of how religious authoritarians view minorities and the gay community.
Next week I'll write more on his specific findings, which I found helpful in trying to make sense of the senseless. Next week also brings a motherload of books, which will help probe the whole issue of how did we get enthralled with the free market and let everything melt down. Stay tuned.
Friday, April 2, 2010
Good Friday Coffee--Just Give Me Some Truth--All I Want is The Truth
John Lennon asked but I don't know how he made out.
I received Bob Tyrrell's After The Hangover: The Conservatives' Road to Recovery (Thomas Nelson, 2010). I will report on this next week. I accept Bob's distortions of liberalism as necessary for his worldview but I expected to read a more honest appraisal of the George W. Bush Administration, which was stocked with more movement conservatives than any other administration in history. As Ronald Reagan said, "Personnel is policy."Somehow that doesn't make a difference in terms of how Bob sees the validity of "conservative ideas". He expects the revival of conservatism to come from the same think-tanks and a greater self-consciousness that conservatism is a movement and should not be strictly be confused with a political party. So far his litany of policy prescriptions reads like an old-worn manual of things that simply do not address the severe crises facing the country.
His analysis of the Obama Administration as "collectivist" simply doesn't mirror reality and his selective appraisal of Obama's foreign policy doesn't hold water. So far, I have not read any reservations about the performance and actions and morality of our private sector, which should inform any re-thinking of so-called conservative positions. Also, I have problems with his view that Obama is trying to over-regulate the economy, when we have not had any enforced regulation in over 10 years. Bob actually speaks well of the Mount Vernon Declaration, which I have written about, lamenting that there was no one under 65 in the whole bunch.
I was hoping for a recognition that the last Administration expanded the size and power of executive branch greater than at any time in our history, including during FDR. Also, I would like a conservative or Republican to admit that they took a surplus and ran it into a $12 trillion deficit. That is coveniently missing in the analysis, while Obama is criticized as the most profilgate President of our time. While Bob praises the greatest boom in job creation after 1980, he neglects to say how the economy has not grown any jobs since 2007. Luckily, this month it did produce some jobs but half of which are temporary.
Also in the mail came Bob Altemeyer The Authoritarians ( 2006), which is available free on-line at www.theauthoritarians.com . This is not what I had expected but it is rich in examining the attitudes of the evangelical movement, which detailed references to internal criticisms of the movement by evangelical theologians themselves. The findings of a rigid authoritarian mindset doesn't fit with the calls for the conservative resurgence mentioned above.
Not to beat up on Bob today but he says conservative ideas are supported by the majority of Americans. The Quinnipiac poll shows that 60% of both parties support raising income taxes over $250,000 to tame the deficit. 70% support making people who earn $1 million pay more taxes. 80% are against raising taxes on people earning less than $250,000 and these 80% are opposed to cutting Medicare and Social Security. Bob's policy perscriptions call for cuts in both programs.
A Washington Post poll on the anger in the country show that 94% of the angry crowd are white and 73% are conservative. One respondent affectionately mentioned the 1950s and how he grew up with Ozzie& Harriet, but he added something that I think is telling," No one was trying to get rich then." My hunch is that there has been a delayed reaction to the devastation wrought on the nation by the last Administration. Much of the conservative noisechamber has tried and to some degree has been successful in diverting attention away from this fact. Perhaps they will succeed in its entirety but if not, then there will be another political price to pay for the Republicans.
The FBI is investigating a series of threats against IRS offices. As I wrote last week concerning my monitoring militia broadcasts, the militia movement, this time in the name of Guardians of the Free Republics, has sent letters to 30 sitting Governors demanding they leave office within three days or they will be removed. The group claims to want "to restore America" by peacefully dismantling parts of the government. The threats were made both to Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm and Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal, signifying a bipartisan victim list. The FBI associates the letter with "sovereign citizens", the Christian identity movement, who believe they are free from all duties of a U.S. citizen, like paying taxes or needing a government license to drive. Scott Roeder, the man sentenced yesterday for killing Dr. Tiller, is a member of this group and was arrested in the 1990s for driving with a car filled with explosives.
Chip Berlet posted on www.talk2action.org an article entitled "Armed Militias, the Antichrist, and Obama", which outlines how millennialism has been mainstreamed and how the Christian Identity, Patriot amd militia movements have used this to popularize xenophobia,authoritarianism and scapegoating. Chip Berlet has spent a career documenting the militia movement and now ,after years of freelancing, regularly appears on television to discuss the phenomenon and its threats.
Frank Schaeffer posted on www.huffingtonpost.com April 1st his take on "The Evangelical 'Mainstream' Insanity Behind the Michigan 'End Times' Militia" . Knowing of what he speaks, Frank refers to the influence of the "Christian Reconstructionist" Movement and the Left Behind series in shaping this type of extremism. Frank believes this type of thinking influences the tea party movement and its encouragement that the government of the United States is illegitimate.
Rand Paul, Ron's son who is the Tea Party Choice running for the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate from Kentucky,held a campiagn rally surrounded by camo-clad militia members sportingautomatic weapons. The militia members claimed to be "the real homeland security" force not the "feds" and promised they would kill Democratic politicians. Bloggers noted that this might be Rand's "Macaca" moment. I disagree I think the political landscape has changed sufficiently that we will see more politicians embrace the militia movement.
Michael Steele's sexytime party has been supplanted by a parallel organization led by three former RNC chairpeople with the addition of Karl Rove, which aims to siphon off the big donor money that has fled Steele.
Peggy Noonan defended the Pope today, while the new hotlines to report sexual abuse in Europe are receiving 4,000 calls per hour. The Vatican's exorcist now says the Devil is in the media.
Roger Clemens wants to tell you his "pipes are working fine". Thanks for sharing.
The President received a thunderous welcome in the whitest state in the union, Maine. Hecarried Maine with about 70% of the vote last time. Conservatives are complaining that he "targeted Rush Limbaugh and Glenn Beck" in his recent CBS interview. All he said was that they don't represent the majority of the country.
Believe it or not Republicans said that they improved the health bill by getting rid of the "death panels".
That's All, folks.
I received Bob Tyrrell's After The Hangover: The Conservatives' Road to Recovery (Thomas Nelson, 2010). I will report on this next week. I accept Bob's distortions of liberalism as necessary for his worldview but I expected to read a more honest appraisal of the George W. Bush Administration, which was stocked with more movement conservatives than any other administration in history. As Ronald Reagan said, "Personnel is policy."Somehow that doesn't make a difference in terms of how Bob sees the validity of "conservative ideas". He expects the revival of conservatism to come from the same think-tanks and a greater self-consciousness that conservatism is a movement and should not be strictly be confused with a political party. So far his litany of policy prescriptions reads like an old-worn manual of things that simply do not address the severe crises facing the country.
His analysis of the Obama Administration as "collectivist" simply doesn't mirror reality and his selective appraisal of Obama's foreign policy doesn't hold water. So far, I have not read any reservations about the performance and actions and morality of our private sector, which should inform any re-thinking of so-called conservative positions. Also, I have problems with his view that Obama is trying to over-regulate the economy, when we have not had any enforced regulation in over 10 years. Bob actually speaks well of the Mount Vernon Declaration, which I have written about, lamenting that there was no one under 65 in the whole bunch.
I was hoping for a recognition that the last Administration expanded the size and power of executive branch greater than at any time in our history, including during FDR. Also, I would like a conservative or Republican to admit that they took a surplus and ran it into a $12 trillion deficit. That is coveniently missing in the analysis, while Obama is criticized as the most profilgate President of our time. While Bob praises the greatest boom in job creation after 1980, he neglects to say how the economy has not grown any jobs since 2007. Luckily, this month it did produce some jobs but half of which are temporary.
Also in the mail came Bob Altemeyer The Authoritarians ( 2006), which is available free on-line at www.theauthoritarians.com . This is not what I had expected but it is rich in examining the attitudes of the evangelical movement, which detailed references to internal criticisms of the movement by evangelical theologians themselves. The findings of a rigid authoritarian mindset doesn't fit with the calls for the conservative resurgence mentioned above.
Not to beat up on Bob today but he says conservative ideas are supported by the majority of Americans. The Quinnipiac poll shows that 60% of both parties support raising income taxes over $250,000 to tame the deficit. 70% support making people who earn $1 million pay more taxes. 80% are against raising taxes on people earning less than $250,000 and these 80% are opposed to cutting Medicare and Social Security. Bob's policy perscriptions call for cuts in both programs.
A Washington Post poll on the anger in the country show that 94% of the angry crowd are white and 73% are conservative. One respondent affectionately mentioned the 1950s and how he grew up with Ozzie& Harriet, but he added something that I think is telling," No one was trying to get rich then." My hunch is that there has been a delayed reaction to the devastation wrought on the nation by the last Administration. Much of the conservative noisechamber has tried and to some degree has been successful in diverting attention away from this fact. Perhaps they will succeed in its entirety but if not, then there will be another political price to pay for the Republicans.
The FBI is investigating a series of threats against IRS offices. As I wrote last week concerning my monitoring militia broadcasts, the militia movement, this time in the name of Guardians of the Free Republics, has sent letters to 30 sitting Governors demanding they leave office within three days or they will be removed. The group claims to want "to restore America" by peacefully dismantling parts of the government. The threats were made both to Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm and Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal, signifying a bipartisan victim list. The FBI associates the letter with "sovereign citizens", the Christian identity movement, who believe they are free from all duties of a U.S. citizen, like paying taxes or needing a government license to drive. Scott Roeder, the man sentenced yesterday for killing Dr. Tiller, is a member of this group and was arrested in the 1990s for driving with a car filled with explosives.
Chip Berlet posted on www.talk2action.org an article entitled "Armed Militias, the Antichrist, and Obama", which outlines how millennialism has been mainstreamed and how the Christian Identity, Patriot amd militia movements have used this to popularize xenophobia,authoritarianism and scapegoating. Chip Berlet has spent a career documenting the militia movement and now ,after years of freelancing, regularly appears on television to discuss the phenomenon and its threats.
Frank Schaeffer posted on www.huffingtonpost.com April 1st his take on "The Evangelical 'Mainstream' Insanity Behind the Michigan 'End Times' Militia" . Knowing of what he speaks, Frank refers to the influence of the "Christian Reconstructionist" Movement and the Left Behind series in shaping this type of extremism. Frank believes this type of thinking influences the tea party movement and its encouragement that the government of the United States is illegitimate.
Rand Paul, Ron's son who is the Tea Party Choice running for the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate from Kentucky,held a campiagn rally surrounded by camo-clad militia members sportingautomatic weapons. The militia members claimed to be "the real homeland security" force not the "feds" and promised they would kill Democratic politicians. Bloggers noted that this might be Rand's "Macaca" moment. I disagree I think the political landscape has changed sufficiently that we will see more politicians embrace the militia movement.
Michael Steele's sexytime party has been supplanted by a parallel organization led by three former RNC chairpeople with the addition of Karl Rove, which aims to siphon off the big donor money that has fled Steele.
Peggy Noonan defended the Pope today, while the new hotlines to report sexual abuse in Europe are receiving 4,000 calls per hour. The Vatican's exorcist now says the Devil is in the media.
Roger Clemens wants to tell you his "pipes are working fine". Thanks for sharing.
The President received a thunderous welcome in the whitest state in the union, Maine. Hecarried Maine with about 70% of the vote last time. Conservatives are complaining that he "targeted Rush Limbaugh and Glenn Beck" in his recent CBS interview. All he said was that they don't represent the majority of the country.
Believe it or not Republicans said that they improved the health bill by getting rid of the "death panels".
That's All, folks.
Thursday, April 1, 2010
Wacky Town
Sarah Palin has opted out of the Southern Republican fund-raiser because of the bondage club flap. But Michael Steele continues to amaze--his latest fund-raiser has a phone number that provides the donor with phone sex. I'm beginning to like this guy--no more button-down Republican propriety. Go for the gusto, Mike!
Sarah Palin will be appearing at a rally with Michelle Bachman in Minnesota. I can't wait.
The First American Grifter family, the Palins, apparently have another juvenile deliquent in the family. First the unwed mother, then the school bus trasher forced to enlist in the army, and now little Willow, who is wanted for trashing an empty home in Wasilla with her teenage friends. This followed the family's trashing their Hollywood hotel room and stealing all the Academy award gift bags during their stay. Tonight,Sarah's new television program airs complete with interviews not done by her about people who never knew they were going to be on the show--Toby Keith, JJ. Cool and GE's Jack Welch. All three have protested when they found out because not even their agents knew. Fox News just conducted the interviews about 18 months ago--prior to the last election--and wanted a talking head to introduce them.
Rev. Jim Wallis got his revenge. After being attacked by Glenn Beck on the subject of social justice, he offered to have a dialogue about it with Mr. Beck. Instead, Beck took an hour of airtime to personally attack Rev. Wallis for his entire life's work. Friends of the minister wrote op-eds outraged by this. But today on Huffington Post, Wallis gets his revenge by posting a video with an imitation Stars Wars credit and dubbed a scene from Star Wars where he as Alec Guiness tutors Hans Solo--Glenn Beck. A nice touch. What I didn't realize through this whole controversy was that the only reason Beck was going after Rev. Wallis because he sits as an advisor on President Obama's faith-based initiatives.
Progressives are disappointed by President Obama with his plans to open coastal waters for drilling and his embrace of nuclear energy. Is he alienating his base? All I know is that he appears to be trying to win independents and moderate Republicans. As T. Boone Pickens said today, it's unclear whether much oil will be found and that the oil industry has to make new seismic studies because the last of these areas was done 30 years ago. Even though Mitch McConnell, John McCain, Jim Inhofe and Lindsey Graham voiced support for the President's plan, don't expect them to vote on the broader energy bill.
Barney Frank was quite clear about the fate of the banking reform bill in the Senate. Frank said his House bill was unanimously rejected by the Republicans. He supported Senator Dodd's efforts in the Senate but said that Mitch McConnell and the Republican leadership muscled Senator Corker not to support the bill, which he announced yesterday. Frank urges that the Senate Democrats force the Republicans to filibuster the bill openly so that the public gets the hint of who wants to protect the banks.
Frank did admit that he was unsatisfied with his bill's treatment of derivatives. This remains a large black hole in the financial system. Some people estimated there are $75 trillion in derivatives around the world--enough to devour the entire economy of the globe many times over. This was all created by the repeal during the Clinton Administration of the Steagall-Glass Law, which highly regulated these speculative ventures. The primary advocate of de-regulating derivatives was former Texas Senator and McCain economic adviser Phil Gramm. Virtually no one can say what damage can be done by these toxic assets in the future.
We had a march in Washington last week of over 300,000 people demanding immigration reform. Nancy Pelosi has told the Senate that it's in their court since they are holding up some 200 plus bills already passed by the House. Lindsey Graham is holding out his support until President Obama outlines what he wants in the bill. However, don't expect any Republicans to back it even though in years past the conservative think-tanks actually did the background work to support the bill proposed by George W. Bush.
People are wondering what is the Republican gameplan now that they lost healthcare reform. One school of thought is that they can not act because of the nuttiness of their base. Others believe there are serious disagreements on the role of government, now that they have been deposed. Another school of thought believes they are as committed to destroying a Democratic President as they were against Clinton and as Reagan did to Carter with the October Surprise. This school believes that the mantra "We want Obama to fail." takes priority despite the serious condition of the country and the national security threats posed from abroad. I opt for all three.
If you hear Republican talk about the vast expansion of government powers, check to find out what business is having their government welfare check cut. There is a plan to beef up the IRS to prosecute financial crimes and also to collect taxes. On the first subject, Republicans want impunity of the culprits and on the second they want to maintain the IRS contractors who get paid to collect taxes and to conduct audits. The same applied on the student loan reform the Republicans wanted to keep the billions upon billions of subsidies for the banks.
President Obama has committed some errors. Besides closing Burger King in Afghanistan, he is allowing foreign guests to visit his and my favorite eating establishments. The Sarkozys visited Ben's Chili Bowl yesterday, making the place too crowded for the next month. Next in is the Chinese premier. I hope he doesn't go to Five Guys for burgers because when Obama does it that becomes out of bounds for another month. As Yogi Berra used to say," No one goes there anymore, it's too crowded."
Pitching great Roger Clemens was investigated for erectile dysfunction. Apparently, the Feds thought this was a way to prove he used steroids so they persuaded his mistress to testify on the ED issue. Since you want to know, he experienced it six times with her but she said he was a good lover.
I liked Judge Vaughn Walker since the first days of the Prop 8 trial. He ruled yesterday against the National Security Agency that their entire wiretapping program was criminal. The full implications of this are enormous for all the Bush counter-terrorism programs. The Administration argued the case on the basis of State Secrets but lost and some think deliberately. Judge Walker voiced his support for the FISA court system that had existed before the Bush Administration by-passed it. You might recall progressive criticizing then-candidate Obama for voting to grant immunity to the telecommunications companies who participated in the program. But he explained that he wanted to pave the way back to the FISA Court system that had been suspended. Now he has it.
Marc Thiessen suffered a setback this week when classified documents produced in a trial of a Gitmo detainee showed that Abu Zubaydah, who had been tortured, was never a member of Al Qaeda and had nothing to do with 9/11. Thiessen wrote in his book how invaluable torturing Abu Zubaydah had been in producing actionable intelligence. The current case centers around a detainee accused of being an associate of Zubaydah and therefore an Al Qaeda member. With the release of the documents, the government's case against the detainee has fallen apart. In a similar development, the Administration repatriated four detainees to other countries after concluding they were totally innocent of anything.
While President Obama appears to be closing in on the nuclear reduction treaty, I do not expect it to be ratified by the Senate. I think all this Democratic talk about finding bipartisan cooperation is a smokescreen to keep portraying the Republicans as obstructionists. John Bolton wrote that the treaty violates our sovereignty. It seems to me most international treaties do to some extent.
Also don't expect any applause for the Administration's possible success in getting new sanctions against Iran. The line is that they will not be effective and therefore should not be pursued.
Sarkozy adlibbed at his White House press conference because he wanted people to know how much the leaders of Europe thought of President Obama. "He keeps his word. That is so refreshing to us. We have to trust an American President." Read into that what you will. He named the German Chancellor and the British Prime Minister as two leaders who agree with him. I guess we can call Freedom Fries, French Fries now.
Obama is off to Maine, my favorite state, today to push his healthcare bill. Organizing for America printed t-shirts with BFD to commemorate Joe Biden's comments on the signing of the bill. I ordered mine immediately.
Hillary Clinton was cheesed off at Prime Minister Harper of Canada for his Artic Conference. The Nordic states were omitted and it was felt that Canada wrote the agenda without consultation. The Artic Conference relates to energy development in the region and how it is to be coordinated with environmental converns. Harper likes to pretend his George W, but with a sound economy.
The Pope has had a few rough weeks as child abuse stories continue to pour out all over Europe. The Vatican attacked the New York Times for deliberately printing these stories during Holy Week. It's hard to avoid them. The most recent concern the sexual abuse of deaf orphans by priests and a Bishop. Previously, we read stories of the Vienna Child's Choir being molested. Then stories broke about young boys being made sex slaves and being roughly disciplined. Today, the Vatican announced that the Pope had legal immunity. Thomas Donoghue of the Catholic league here in the States blamed the whole thing on gays.
Sarah Palin will be appearing at a rally with Michelle Bachman in Minnesota. I can't wait.
The First American Grifter family, the Palins, apparently have another juvenile deliquent in the family. First the unwed mother, then the school bus trasher forced to enlist in the army, and now little Willow, who is wanted for trashing an empty home in Wasilla with her teenage friends. This followed the family's trashing their Hollywood hotel room and stealing all the Academy award gift bags during their stay. Tonight,Sarah's new television program airs complete with interviews not done by her about people who never knew they were going to be on the show--Toby Keith, JJ. Cool and GE's Jack Welch. All three have protested when they found out because not even their agents knew. Fox News just conducted the interviews about 18 months ago--prior to the last election--and wanted a talking head to introduce them.
Rev. Jim Wallis got his revenge. After being attacked by Glenn Beck on the subject of social justice, he offered to have a dialogue about it with Mr. Beck. Instead, Beck took an hour of airtime to personally attack Rev. Wallis for his entire life's work. Friends of the minister wrote op-eds outraged by this. But today on Huffington Post, Wallis gets his revenge by posting a video with an imitation Stars Wars credit and dubbed a scene from Star Wars where he as Alec Guiness tutors Hans Solo--Glenn Beck. A nice touch. What I didn't realize through this whole controversy was that the only reason Beck was going after Rev. Wallis because he sits as an advisor on President Obama's faith-based initiatives.
Progressives are disappointed by President Obama with his plans to open coastal waters for drilling and his embrace of nuclear energy. Is he alienating his base? All I know is that he appears to be trying to win independents and moderate Republicans. As T. Boone Pickens said today, it's unclear whether much oil will be found and that the oil industry has to make new seismic studies because the last of these areas was done 30 years ago. Even though Mitch McConnell, John McCain, Jim Inhofe and Lindsey Graham voiced support for the President's plan, don't expect them to vote on the broader energy bill.
Barney Frank was quite clear about the fate of the banking reform bill in the Senate. Frank said his House bill was unanimously rejected by the Republicans. He supported Senator Dodd's efforts in the Senate but said that Mitch McConnell and the Republican leadership muscled Senator Corker not to support the bill, which he announced yesterday. Frank urges that the Senate Democrats force the Republicans to filibuster the bill openly so that the public gets the hint of who wants to protect the banks.
Frank did admit that he was unsatisfied with his bill's treatment of derivatives. This remains a large black hole in the financial system. Some people estimated there are $75 trillion in derivatives around the world--enough to devour the entire economy of the globe many times over. This was all created by the repeal during the Clinton Administration of the Steagall-Glass Law, which highly regulated these speculative ventures. The primary advocate of de-regulating derivatives was former Texas Senator and McCain economic adviser Phil Gramm. Virtually no one can say what damage can be done by these toxic assets in the future.
We had a march in Washington last week of over 300,000 people demanding immigration reform. Nancy Pelosi has told the Senate that it's in their court since they are holding up some 200 plus bills already passed by the House. Lindsey Graham is holding out his support until President Obama outlines what he wants in the bill. However, don't expect any Republicans to back it even though in years past the conservative think-tanks actually did the background work to support the bill proposed by George W. Bush.
People are wondering what is the Republican gameplan now that they lost healthcare reform. One school of thought is that they can not act because of the nuttiness of their base. Others believe there are serious disagreements on the role of government, now that they have been deposed. Another school of thought believes they are as committed to destroying a Democratic President as they were against Clinton and as Reagan did to Carter with the October Surprise. This school believes that the mantra "We want Obama to fail." takes priority despite the serious condition of the country and the national security threats posed from abroad. I opt for all three.
If you hear Republican talk about the vast expansion of government powers, check to find out what business is having their government welfare check cut. There is a plan to beef up the IRS to prosecute financial crimes and also to collect taxes. On the first subject, Republicans want impunity of the culprits and on the second they want to maintain the IRS contractors who get paid to collect taxes and to conduct audits. The same applied on the student loan reform the Republicans wanted to keep the billions upon billions of subsidies for the banks.
President Obama has committed some errors. Besides closing Burger King in Afghanistan, he is allowing foreign guests to visit his and my favorite eating establishments. The Sarkozys visited Ben's Chili Bowl yesterday, making the place too crowded for the next month. Next in is the Chinese premier. I hope he doesn't go to Five Guys for burgers because when Obama does it that becomes out of bounds for another month. As Yogi Berra used to say," No one goes there anymore, it's too crowded."
Pitching great Roger Clemens was investigated for erectile dysfunction. Apparently, the Feds thought this was a way to prove he used steroids so they persuaded his mistress to testify on the ED issue. Since you want to know, he experienced it six times with her but she said he was a good lover.
I liked Judge Vaughn Walker since the first days of the Prop 8 trial. He ruled yesterday against the National Security Agency that their entire wiretapping program was criminal. The full implications of this are enormous for all the Bush counter-terrorism programs. The Administration argued the case on the basis of State Secrets but lost and some think deliberately. Judge Walker voiced his support for the FISA court system that had existed before the Bush Administration by-passed it. You might recall progressive criticizing then-candidate Obama for voting to grant immunity to the telecommunications companies who participated in the program. But he explained that he wanted to pave the way back to the FISA Court system that had been suspended. Now he has it.
Marc Thiessen suffered a setback this week when classified documents produced in a trial of a Gitmo detainee showed that Abu Zubaydah, who had been tortured, was never a member of Al Qaeda and had nothing to do with 9/11. Thiessen wrote in his book how invaluable torturing Abu Zubaydah had been in producing actionable intelligence. The current case centers around a detainee accused of being an associate of Zubaydah and therefore an Al Qaeda member. With the release of the documents, the government's case against the detainee has fallen apart. In a similar development, the Administration repatriated four detainees to other countries after concluding they were totally innocent of anything.
While President Obama appears to be closing in on the nuclear reduction treaty, I do not expect it to be ratified by the Senate. I think all this Democratic talk about finding bipartisan cooperation is a smokescreen to keep portraying the Republicans as obstructionists. John Bolton wrote that the treaty violates our sovereignty. It seems to me most international treaties do to some extent.
Also don't expect any applause for the Administration's possible success in getting new sanctions against Iran. The line is that they will not be effective and therefore should not be pursued.
Sarkozy adlibbed at his White House press conference because he wanted people to know how much the leaders of Europe thought of President Obama. "He keeps his word. That is so refreshing to us. We have to trust an American President." Read into that what you will. He named the German Chancellor and the British Prime Minister as two leaders who agree with him. I guess we can call Freedom Fries, French Fries now.
Obama is off to Maine, my favorite state, today to push his healthcare bill. Organizing for America printed t-shirts with BFD to commemorate Joe Biden's comments on the signing of the bill. I ordered mine immediately.
Hillary Clinton was cheesed off at Prime Minister Harper of Canada for his Artic Conference. The Nordic states were omitted and it was felt that Canada wrote the agenda without consultation. The Artic Conference relates to energy development in the region and how it is to be coordinated with environmental converns. Harper likes to pretend his George W, but with a sound economy.
The Pope has had a few rough weeks as child abuse stories continue to pour out all over Europe. The Vatican attacked the New York Times for deliberately printing these stories during Holy Week. It's hard to avoid them. The most recent concern the sexual abuse of deaf orphans by priests and a Bishop. Previously, we read stories of the Vienna Child's Choir being molested. Then stories broke about young boys being made sex slaves and being roughly disciplined. Today, the Vatican announced that the Pope had legal immunity. Thomas Donoghue of the Catholic league here in the States blamed the whole thing on gays.
Privatize the Library of Congress!
Why not? How many people actually read all those books? Wouldn't they be better in the hands of collectors and people who really read and would appreciate them? This would be a way to cut the national deficit. Also, I think we should liquidate the holdings at the National Gallery while we're at it. Maybe I can get one of the Rothko's from the new exhibit for my house. Besides wasn't Rothko a pinko? A feeble April Fool's joke but given where the right is going you never know.
A personal note--Of all the people who have ever committed suicide, Mark Rothko is the one I wish had never done it. The cerebral and sublime pleasure his art has given me knows no bounds. We all owe his children an immense debt of gratitude for their tenancious fight to preserve his legacy against the vultures of art dealers over the years. Their prolonged legal case is almost as fascinating as their father's art. The National Gallery has an exhibit of his "black paintings", those intended for the Menil Chapel in Houston. And little did I know the post office has issued a series of stamps of abstract expressionist paintings including Jackson Pollack and Rothko.
For those interested in the resurgent militia movement and their links to the right, you can consult the Southern Poverty Law Center's frequent reports or read Leonard Zeskind's Blood and Politics: The History of the White Nationalist Movement from the Margins to the Mainstream ( Farrar Straus, 2009). Zeskind traces the history of the militia from its neo-nazi roots through its re-emergence through the Liberty Lobby, the Klan and the melding of the survivalist movement with the Christian identity crowd. After the militia movement was decimated after the Oklahoma City bombings, they re-emerged after 9/11 in the anti-immigration and people like the Minutemen and Partiot movement. And some of us get the thrill of them all converging on Washington and Virginia on April 19th, the anniversary of the Oklahoma City bombing, for the celebration of the Second Amendment. What we just saw with the so-called Christian militia in Michigan, Ohio and Indiana is simply a continuation of this 35-year old history.
For years I thought the Southern Poverty Law Center and Morris Dees had simply run out of material. Created during the civil rights movement to monitor racist groups, particularly the KKK, they have re-emerged as a leading monitor of extreme right groups in this country and ,unfortunately, have had to diversify their analysis to cover a proliferation of these organizations. The other group that has refocused its attention of the rise of the extreme Right is the Anti-Defamation League, which has been alerting the public to the "infiltration" of the tea party "movement" by these white nationalists and neo-Nazis. Zeskind would probably add the neo-confederates to this pot.
The tolerance of these groups by people whom I always thought were "rational" conservatives is deeply disturbing. The militia defendents are called "activists" by the conservative media, not "terrorists" or "murderers". In the last week, a "white supremacist" was convicted of trying to assassinate President Obama. There have been several of these cases in the last year, but no denunciations from the conservatives.
The membrane between these extremists and so-called conservatives no longer exists in terms of their political vocabulary, although they differ in terms of actions. I have received e-mails describing the Oath-Keepers, an organization created by a Ron Paul follower and composed of serving police and military officers, as patriots. I would treat them as extremist cells within our law enforcement system and not reliable. The Oath Keepers will be here for the April rally along with the former head of the Alabama militia, who urged all citizens to vandalize Democratic party headquarters and offices of all congresspeople who voted for healthcare.
Sean Hannity today on his show called his audience "Timothy McVeigh" wannabes. The seamless line between the armed groups and the conservative echochamber raises real questions about the ultimate motives of both the conservative entertainment industry and their political practitioners. As a Washington Post columnist wrote this week,"the only threat of political violence these days comes from the Right, not the Left."
I was going to write today about what today's conservatives really believe. But I simply don't know. I knew they crossed a line when CPAC allowed the John Birch Society back as a sponsor after decades spent in the wilderness. Clearly, there are major national issues they need to be addressed in a serious manner.
I heard from one conservative about the David Frum affair. He severely criticized David Frum because he called out conservatives and this was unacceptable because it gave ammunition to the Left. He complained that this was the problem with some conservatives because they want acceptance from the Left. The other crime was Frum's chronic urge for celibrity status.
Another observation, which took me off guard, was "now we have a counter-culture" and the Left is getting the type of response from us that we used to get from them. From my perspective, the conservatives have cultural hegemony through the print and electronic media and their well-funded think tanks and front groups as well as their total domination of talk radio. But this comment revealed a psychological position, not a political one.
Throughout Obama's short presidency, I have been swamped with e-mails about his connection to this leftwing group and that personality. This stuff started in the beginning of last presidential campaign and I thought it was so off the wall considering he was a person who grew up after most of the Left had died down. Then I thought it was just the work of people like David Horowitz, who will spend all of his old age deeply resenting his days at Ramparts. But it goes to the heart of the conservative movement.
Now that the conservatives have been ousted from political power, except from our judicial system, there has re-emerged a deep inferiority complex that the older figures feel toward the Left. It comes out in odd places like Ross Douhat's column claiming that the sex abuse cases in the Catholic Church come from the permissive attitudes that existed in the 70s. or Johnny Yoo, "Torture" Lawyer, who said two days ago that when he teaches at Berkeley, he feels like West Berlin during the Cold War, surrounded by hippies. Neither one of them were even cognizant during those times. Others have raised with me the list of sleights they have experienced over the years from people whom they perceive as on the Left, people I just think are relatively liberal with no leftwing inclinations at all. This is a pervasive stance of young and older conservatives and apparently is accepted as a creed.
The older conservatives I can understand because they were underfunded when they began and existed as outsiders in the late 60s and early 70s. This period scarred them deeply and they feel they haven't gotten personal and professional recognition for what they have achieved. Many have written several books and hundreds of articles. At the same time, many I know have become rich and rich off conservative foundations, who personally pay them significant salaries. A university professor would kill for such a deal. The conservative movement has created a very stable welfare system for themselves. But none of them possess the self-reflection to realize this.
I get the distinct sense they are waiting to find their next vehicle to rise again to power like the California Kitchen cabinet did with Ronald Reagan. They are disgruntled with the Republican Party for failing the cause. They don't want to voice their disappointment with George W. Bush,even though privately they believe he was a disaster, and enjoy the Cheneys outbursts because they reflect an attack on the "politically correct". Now it seems it's political correctness to oppose torture, rendition and wiretapping. The more outrageous the proposition the better. That's why the Ronald Reagan they adopt now is not the President but the GE spokesman who attacked Medicare as socialized medicine. It's not the President who worked with Bill Bradley to save Social Security for a generation. Or the President who sought nuclear arms reduction agreements.
Conservatives also are turning rather abruptly against neo-conservatives for their embrace of Big Government Conservativism advocated by Bill Kristol. There is a splintering going on concerning foreign policy, many abandoning support for democracy programs abroad and reverting to the isolationism of the paleoconservatives. There seems to be a neutrality about the Iraq War issue and a disdain toward any talk of nation-building. They feel the later was just a sop to the Democrats.
Where they are today, I still don't know. Forget about the Left, I asked what they believed today. There was a general lament that the "intellectuals" like Irving Kristol and Bill Buckley were gone. This vacuum can become dangerous if they allow the extremes to fill the void. They would feel it is perposterous that the right posed any threat to the country.
A personal note--Of all the people who have ever committed suicide, Mark Rothko is the one I wish had never done it. The cerebral and sublime pleasure his art has given me knows no bounds. We all owe his children an immense debt of gratitude for their tenancious fight to preserve his legacy against the vultures of art dealers over the years. Their prolonged legal case is almost as fascinating as their father's art. The National Gallery has an exhibit of his "black paintings", those intended for the Menil Chapel in Houston. And little did I know the post office has issued a series of stamps of abstract expressionist paintings including Jackson Pollack and Rothko.
For those interested in the resurgent militia movement and their links to the right, you can consult the Southern Poverty Law Center's frequent reports or read Leonard Zeskind's Blood and Politics: The History of the White Nationalist Movement from the Margins to the Mainstream ( Farrar Straus, 2009). Zeskind traces the history of the militia from its neo-nazi roots through its re-emergence through the Liberty Lobby, the Klan and the melding of the survivalist movement with the Christian identity crowd. After the militia movement was decimated after the Oklahoma City bombings, they re-emerged after 9/11 in the anti-immigration and people like the Minutemen and Partiot movement. And some of us get the thrill of them all converging on Washington and Virginia on April 19th, the anniversary of the Oklahoma City bombing, for the celebration of the Second Amendment. What we just saw with the so-called Christian militia in Michigan, Ohio and Indiana is simply a continuation of this 35-year old history.
For years I thought the Southern Poverty Law Center and Morris Dees had simply run out of material. Created during the civil rights movement to monitor racist groups, particularly the KKK, they have re-emerged as a leading monitor of extreme right groups in this country and ,unfortunately, have had to diversify their analysis to cover a proliferation of these organizations. The other group that has refocused its attention of the rise of the extreme Right is the Anti-Defamation League, which has been alerting the public to the "infiltration" of the tea party "movement" by these white nationalists and neo-Nazis. Zeskind would probably add the neo-confederates to this pot.
The tolerance of these groups by people whom I always thought were "rational" conservatives is deeply disturbing. The militia defendents are called "activists" by the conservative media, not "terrorists" or "murderers". In the last week, a "white supremacist" was convicted of trying to assassinate President Obama. There have been several of these cases in the last year, but no denunciations from the conservatives.
The membrane between these extremists and so-called conservatives no longer exists in terms of their political vocabulary, although they differ in terms of actions. I have received e-mails describing the Oath-Keepers, an organization created by a Ron Paul follower and composed of serving police and military officers, as patriots. I would treat them as extremist cells within our law enforcement system and not reliable. The Oath Keepers will be here for the April rally along with the former head of the Alabama militia, who urged all citizens to vandalize Democratic party headquarters and offices of all congresspeople who voted for healthcare.
Sean Hannity today on his show called his audience "Timothy McVeigh" wannabes. The seamless line between the armed groups and the conservative echochamber raises real questions about the ultimate motives of both the conservative entertainment industry and their political practitioners. As a Washington Post columnist wrote this week,"the only threat of political violence these days comes from the Right, not the Left."
I was going to write today about what today's conservatives really believe. But I simply don't know. I knew they crossed a line when CPAC allowed the John Birch Society back as a sponsor after decades spent in the wilderness. Clearly, there are major national issues they need to be addressed in a serious manner.
I heard from one conservative about the David Frum affair. He severely criticized David Frum because he called out conservatives and this was unacceptable because it gave ammunition to the Left. He complained that this was the problem with some conservatives because they want acceptance from the Left. The other crime was Frum's chronic urge for celibrity status.
Another observation, which took me off guard, was "now we have a counter-culture" and the Left is getting the type of response from us that we used to get from them. From my perspective, the conservatives have cultural hegemony through the print and electronic media and their well-funded think tanks and front groups as well as their total domination of talk radio. But this comment revealed a psychological position, not a political one.
Throughout Obama's short presidency, I have been swamped with e-mails about his connection to this leftwing group and that personality. This stuff started in the beginning of last presidential campaign and I thought it was so off the wall considering he was a person who grew up after most of the Left had died down. Then I thought it was just the work of people like David Horowitz, who will spend all of his old age deeply resenting his days at Ramparts. But it goes to the heart of the conservative movement.
Now that the conservatives have been ousted from political power, except from our judicial system, there has re-emerged a deep inferiority complex that the older figures feel toward the Left. It comes out in odd places like Ross Douhat's column claiming that the sex abuse cases in the Catholic Church come from the permissive attitudes that existed in the 70s. or Johnny Yoo, "Torture" Lawyer, who said two days ago that when he teaches at Berkeley, he feels like West Berlin during the Cold War, surrounded by hippies. Neither one of them were even cognizant during those times. Others have raised with me the list of sleights they have experienced over the years from people whom they perceive as on the Left, people I just think are relatively liberal with no leftwing inclinations at all. This is a pervasive stance of young and older conservatives and apparently is accepted as a creed.
The older conservatives I can understand because they were underfunded when they began and existed as outsiders in the late 60s and early 70s. This period scarred them deeply and they feel they haven't gotten personal and professional recognition for what they have achieved. Many have written several books and hundreds of articles. At the same time, many I know have become rich and rich off conservative foundations, who personally pay them significant salaries. A university professor would kill for such a deal. The conservative movement has created a very stable welfare system for themselves. But none of them possess the self-reflection to realize this.
I get the distinct sense they are waiting to find their next vehicle to rise again to power like the California Kitchen cabinet did with Ronald Reagan. They are disgruntled with the Republican Party for failing the cause. They don't want to voice their disappointment with George W. Bush,even though privately they believe he was a disaster, and enjoy the Cheneys outbursts because they reflect an attack on the "politically correct". Now it seems it's political correctness to oppose torture, rendition and wiretapping. The more outrageous the proposition the better. That's why the Ronald Reagan they adopt now is not the President but the GE spokesman who attacked Medicare as socialized medicine. It's not the President who worked with Bill Bradley to save Social Security for a generation. Or the President who sought nuclear arms reduction agreements.
Conservatives also are turning rather abruptly against neo-conservatives for their embrace of Big Government Conservativism advocated by Bill Kristol. There is a splintering going on concerning foreign policy, many abandoning support for democracy programs abroad and reverting to the isolationism of the paleoconservatives. There seems to be a neutrality about the Iraq War issue and a disdain toward any talk of nation-building. They feel the later was just a sop to the Democrats.
Where they are today, I still don't know. Forget about the Left, I asked what they believed today. There was a general lament that the "intellectuals" like Irving Kristol and Bill Buckley were gone. This vacuum can become dangerous if they allow the extremes to fill the void. They would feel it is perposterous that the right posed any threat to the country.
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