This has been a glorious day for insanity as DC is in the midst of a heatwave.
Just some of the highlights:
A Republican congresswoman from North Carolina demanded Homeland Security investigate Hezbollah cells infiltrating Southwest U.S. from Mexico. Next we'll have car bombs and suicide bombers at Seizure City.
A Texas Republican congressman says on the House floor that Muslims have a thirty-year plot to have children born now in the United States so as to create terrorist cells. for the future.
Tennessee republicans with assists from the religious right are protesting a Islamic Cultural Center because it attacks the moral foundation of the state. A state known for moonshiners.
Arizona Senator Kyle walked back his statement that Obama told him he wouldn't do anything about the border until immigration reform is passed. He told the National Review his remarks were taken out of context--sort of.
Christian missionaries protested their treatment at the Dearborn, Michigan Islamic festival. Local Republicans claimed that the annual festival was a Hamas recruiting tool. This morning NPR had a program about how the CIA and the Pentagon were there recruiting Arabic and Farsi language speakers for both the military and intelligence agencies. Some one obviously didn't get the memo. NPR ran interviews with the CIA recruiter and the potential candidates.
The Pentagon told the Washington Post that Rolling Stone violated reporting rules in its interview with General McChrystal, while Rummy was with Gates having his portrait unveiled at the Pentagon.
Senator John McCain told Greta Van Cistern at Fox News that Afghanistan will be easier to pacify than Iraq. Even though we're starting ten years late and it's our government in place there and that the whole population were founding members of the NRA and are just a peace-loving crowd.
Joey Lieberman (I-Kinesset) said he might vote for an extension of unemployment benefits if it didn't affect the deficit.
Arizona Governor Jan Brewer said that all illegal immigrants smuggle drugs into the country.
Pew and Gallup polls reveal that Obama's approval rating has been remarkably consistent for the past six months, despite the fright poll of MSNBC/Wall Street Journal. No one thinks much of Republicans even though they are favored in the congressional elections (?). BP got an 8 approval rating for how it handled the Gulf disaster.
Another Gallup poll reveals that more Americans self-identify as conservatives than ever before--almost 42%. In other words, about the same percent of Americans that believe Jesus is coming back in 2050. The rest are Moderates about 35% and Liberals about 22%. (Note: this is about the same amount of conservatives when Republicans won back the House in 1994-so beware!)
Communitarian leader Amitai Etzoni says that America must invade Iran or else withdraw from the Middle East.
Bruce Barlett in Fiscal Times wrote about the one budget that did in fact curb the deficit. It was the one proposed by George H.W. Bush, the one where he raised taxes and provoked the stampede of conservatives to Ross Perot.
AIPAC is running around town holding small private meetings trying to sell the idea that the Free Gaza Flotilla ultimately wanted to smuggle arms into the Gaza. Maybe they should link up with the Arizona Government.
The Court in Texas tossed the Green Party off the ballot. Aides to Governor Perry admitted they had bankrolled the Green Party's petition to get on the ballot. I guess they really do fear White in November.
The Tea Party in Florida is suing each other or it or something. The Tea Party in Nevada is running ads against the Tea Party candidate for Senate, saying he never came to any rallies.
Christianist Congressman King from Iowa went birther on us on the House floor, using a photo of a little girl as the future citizen in debt saying that there is someone we know whose birth certificate we haven't seen.
The Republican candidate for Secretary of State in Connecticut has a slight problem--she was a lady wrestler. Now the Senate candidate is an owner of the World Wrestling Federation so I guess there's something in the waters up there.
Stephen Strassburg lost his first major league start the other night 1-0 but topped Herb Score's record for most strikeouts in his first four outings. I went to see the Nationals on Father's Day and they stunk the roof off the House. At least the 1962 Mets were funny and enjoyable. These guys just weren't there.
And speaking of not here, President Obama fled the capitol as insanity hit to travel to Canada. Since he has had to postpone his trip to Indonesia and Australia twice already, he's holding a mini-summit with the Asian countries on the side of the G-8 and G-20 meetings. After his Wall Street reform triumph, analysts believe he has to do a swift pivot to address global banking regulations.
Friday, June 25, 2010
Another Big F#*&King Deal
After a twenty-hour marathon session, where members fell asleep and the staff ran out of paper, the Dodd/Frank Act finally reached its final language. Last night's session, which broke around 5 a.m. saw slight changes to the so-called "Volcker Rule", which would have banned federally insured frims from trading on their own accounts, and a fierce war over Blanche Lincoln's strict derivatives regulation. After New York Democrats threatened to walk unless there was a compromise, there was some modification of the derivatives' language. But at the end of the day, the Wall Street Reform bill was tougher than President Obama wanted or needed.
Final votes are expected next week in both the House and the Senate and the bill should make it to the President's desk by the July 4th deadline. I have no idea if Republicans can filibuster it in the Senate. The problem they would have is that, unlike healthcare, this bill has widespread popular support and openly siding with the banks would not look good even to their base.
President Obama hailed the bill as giving him "90%" of what he wanted. If the bill passes, the 111th Congress will be able to boast one of the most prolific records in domestic reform. The stimulus, the healthcare bill, the reform of student loans, and now Wall Street reform make it one of the most productive congresses in recent memory.
I wrote before that 2,500 lobbyists were working to kill the regulations on derivative trading. NPR reported for the last negotiating sessions there were 5,000 lobbyists employed. I am amazed that the congresspeople managed to withstand the onslaught and produce anything meaningful.
If Elizabeth Warren supports the new Consumer Agency, even if it is in the FED, then I'm for it.
Whether in fact this is the most meaningful financial reform since the Great Depression, I have no idea but it is alot more useful than some of the blogs such as Huffington Post claim.
Bravo to Rep. Barney Frank and Senator Chris Dodd for a real legislative accomplishment.
And now while the country moves ahead on this issue, the Party of No managed to kill through filibuster extending unemployment insurance to about 1 million people, tax breaks for small businesses and funding to states to save the jobs of thousands of schoolteachers, firemen and police. Mitch McConnell claimed this altruistic action was because of the deficit. Republicans warmed the hearts of everyone by referring to the unemployed as hobos,lazy and drug abusers.
Are we really going to return nasty, mean-spirited people to power? I find it difficult to believe that this type of narrow-minded thinking really will be a winning formula. Maybe I just get a blast at seeing my government accomplish something.
Final votes are expected next week in both the House and the Senate and the bill should make it to the President's desk by the July 4th deadline. I have no idea if Republicans can filibuster it in the Senate. The problem they would have is that, unlike healthcare, this bill has widespread popular support and openly siding with the banks would not look good even to their base.
President Obama hailed the bill as giving him "90%" of what he wanted. If the bill passes, the 111th Congress will be able to boast one of the most prolific records in domestic reform. The stimulus, the healthcare bill, the reform of student loans, and now Wall Street reform make it one of the most productive congresses in recent memory.
I wrote before that 2,500 lobbyists were working to kill the regulations on derivative trading. NPR reported for the last negotiating sessions there were 5,000 lobbyists employed. I am amazed that the congresspeople managed to withstand the onslaught and produce anything meaningful.
If Elizabeth Warren supports the new Consumer Agency, even if it is in the FED, then I'm for it.
Whether in fact this is the most meaningful financial reform since the Great Depression, I have no idea but it is alot more useful than some of the blogs such as Huffington Post claim.
Bravo to Rep. Barney Frank and Senator Chris Dodd for a real legislative accomplishment.
And now while the country moves ahead on this issue, the Party of No managed to kill through filibuster extending unemployment insurance to about 1 million people, tax breaks for small businesses and funding to states to save the jobs of thousands of schoolteachers, firemen and police. Mitch McConnell claimed this altruistic action was because of the deficit. Republicans warmed the hearts of everyone by referring to the unemployed as hobos,lazy and drug abusers.
Are we really going to return nasty, mean-spirited people to power? I find it difficult to believe that this type of narrow-minded thinking really will be a winning formula. Maybe I just get a blast at seeing my government accomplish something.
Thursday, June 24, 2010
Iced Coffee at the Last Manatee
Let it be recorded that on June 23, 2010, official Washington and the Beltway pundits actually agreed that President Obama did something well and did something right in removing General McChrystal. This was the first time in his administration this has actually happened and maybe the last. So it should be commemorated. Perhaps even made into a National Holiday.
Apparently, the firing really was caused by McChrystal's criticism of our European allies in Afghanistan and not the remarks about Obama and Biden.
If you are an environmentalist abandon all hope. I've heard from a number of people on the Gulf Coast, who lament the destruction of their way of life but are utterly committed to deepwater drilling. Unfortunately, they did not watch Rachel Maddow's little segment on why American oil isn't American. Along with her coverage of the Gulf disaster, she deserves credit for her side segments. First was the segment on how the oil companies amassed fortunes untold in the history of man but did not invest in any cleanup technologies after 1979. The second was her explanation that oil is traded on the global market.
As I've written, we could drill everywhere in the United States and offshore and only save 3 cents on a gallon of gas and fuel the American economy for a year or two max. The question is whether we are willing to pay the dire environmental cost. Apparently, the answer is yes. What BP did with one blowout, it took the oil companies almost forty years to do on the Niger Delta, the current model for the Gulf region.
The Last Mantee is no longer ironic. The oil spill has washed into the manatee breeding grounds in Alabama. Also, we are only two Sperm Whale deaths away from that species vanishing for good. I find this somewhat ironic since scientific studies released this week show that whales are closer to the human species than previously thought. But they tend not to kill each other.
Admiral Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, announced that the greatest security threat to the United States was the national debt. Where was he during the last administration? Or maybe he would like to look in the mirror and ponder the cost of our military/ terrorist complex? Without factoring in inflation, the military/terrorist budget is twice that of the Cold War period. Feel more secure?
The British are basically raising the pension level to 70 to try and eradicate their deficit. I am sure something like that will happen here. But how many blue-collar workers will be healthy enough to work until then? And who will hire them? We have to fight back on this nonsense about the social security system, the most successful social program we have and the most financial solvent of anything in our whole government system. It is clear that the Deficit Commission has several options planned for an overhaul of the social security system. But caveat emptor.
Senator Kyl of Arizona joined the long line of Republicans who lie about President Obama. He claimed that the President Obama told him privately he would do nothing about the southern border of the country until there was immigration reform. Today, Secretary of Homeland Security Napolitano positioned drones to monitor the border. I'm sure Kyl will be apologizing to the President on the floor of the Senate.
This is been a particularly vile week of receiving e-mails and other communications calling into question the President's citizenship,his competence and his desire to fulfil his agenda of "progressive socialism". He's going to grant a blank amnesty to all illegal immigrants (like Reagan?). He's going to create his own military loyal to him (Mike Savage). He outlawed the National Day of Prayer ( court ruled it unconstitutional and Obama is appealing), doesn't go to church (AMZ Baptist and Angelican Churches here in Washington) and by inviting atheists to a faith-based initiative function wanted to portray evangelicals as "knuckle-draggers) (not true?) Also he attacked the traditional family on Father's Day by acknowledging different types of families including those with two Dads. I received a public demand that President Obama and his cabinet resign immediately because of their deception, dishonesty and corruption. Jon Voight claimed Obama has caused a "civil war in Arizona" and is "purposely isolating Israel, our most loyal (?) ally". I received photos of captured arms caches in Arizona portraying the menace of illegal immigrants (although the settin looked suspiciously like Honduras). And for historical purposes, I also received an e-mail wanting Obama for Treason, which is almost identical to the ones produced against JFK.
At least Rush Limbaugh is becoming humanistic. This week he urged poor children to dumpster dive for food. And on the other side of the spectrum communitarian guru Amitai Etizoni called for the invasion of Iran.
As the temperature rises, the polling data worsens. The Gulf oil disaster has stopped all movement in polls showing the country was going in the right direction. Confidence in President Obama's ability to solve the economic crisis has taken a battering. But at least 40% of Americans still believe that George W. Bush is almost exclusively responsible for that situation. But the number blaming Obama has jumped to 27%, which is almost triple what it was about four months ago. The generic polls still fluctuate. A recent poll shows Republicans with a 2% spread on the Democrats. Pollsters are beginning to say that by the end of June attitudes become frozen about the November elections. I doubt this. I still say Labor Day.
President Obama is in for a fight at the G-20 summit since Merkel of Germany is battling him on the need to extend stimulus spending to make sure the global economy recovers. What bothers me with the European austerity measures is that government austerity does not translate into prosperity. I believe this will act like the protectionism in the Great Depression.
No one gives the administration any credit for China's decision to float their currency. This is a major diplomatic victory but like other Obama successes it will not concretely manifest itself in a way that people appreciate.
Polls are showing that Americans are now favoring the health reform bill, except for those over 65. On that issue, the problem has been the Republican filibuster to raise doctors' compensation for Medicare patients. Instead, they have been forced to take a 20% cut in pay, jeopardizing the availability of medical care for Medicare patients. Interestingly, it turns out that one of the persons who has benefited the most from Medicare payments is Rand Paul, whose whole eye practice depends on the elderly.
Remember Elena Kagan? Well, this week has seen the new conservative attacks on her. Even Mitch McConnell won't rule out the filibuster since he has regained his confidence by stopping the Jobs bill and aid to the states. After his defeat on healthcare, he told the media the GOP would not filibuster. According to Frank Gaffney, Elena Kagan, a single Jewish professional women, favors Sharia Law! I won't dignify this by explaining. Judge Bork says that she's pro-choice, which the last time I looked was constitutional, and she favors activist judges like Judge Barack in Israel! One interesting development has been the posting by the Sunshine Foundation of all her e-mails from the Clinton Administration. Easy access and interesting reading. I'm sure we will have more new revelations as the weeks move on. Oh yes, her family are leftwingers from New York City.
For the next Supreme Court choice, I now really want an American Indian so that the conservatives' heads explode. This choice could say, "My people have been trying to fight illegal immigration since 1492" and "we would like some say about the Constitution."
Then I had to hear about the Mosques (it grows with each telling) being built around Ground Zero. At this point, I hope they ring the 9-11 monument with mosques and declare the park a monument to the success of conservative security policies. I mean ,who can forget the immortal words of George Tenet, "I hope it's not the guys from the flight school". At least this whole flap got the head of one of the Teabaggers to resign and coordinate opposition to this plan. The man in question won his spurs as a member of Nixon's dirty tricks squad.
I have not been able to assimilate all the primary results yet. The sultry Sikh romped to vistory in South Carolina and will win the race for Governor. But now the religious right is asking questions about Nikki Haley and Bobby Jindal--whether their conversions are real. On the Democratic side Elaine Marshall won over Carl Cunningham in Nortb Carolina and right now is tied with Republican Burr--that's one I believe the Democrats can win. In Texas, White is tied with secessionist Rick Perry.
In California, Democratic operative Chris Lahane had a nice putdown of Meg Whitman,"Jerry Brown has won more elections than times that Whitman has voted." Whitman has done a pivot on immigration, recording an ad in Spanish, which totally contradicts her primary postion to built a wall on the border and pass an immigration bill.
For the joys of homophobia, consult www.rightwingwatch.com ,which has been reproducing the great hits from the Religious Right for the past two weeks. It's such a rich bounty I would spend days retelling.
Yes, Virgnia, there will be a Wall Street Reform bill come out of conference. Whole armies of lobbyists have been fighting to water it down but something significant will emerge. But by the time it does it will disappoint progressives and upset conservatives. Will it be a substantial imrpovement on the status quo--yes. Will it be a significant achievement of this administration? Yes, but he'll never get credit for it.
At this stage, I believe there are only two other major pieces of legislation that might be able to pass during the rest of Obama's first term--immigration reform; and/or an energy policy bill. And then that will exhaust the ability of Congress to do anything constructive.
Apparently, the firing really was caused by McChrystal's criticism of our European allies in Afghanistan and not the remarks about Obama and Biden.
If you are an environmentalist abandon all hope. I've heard from a number of people on the Gulf Coast, who lament the destruction of their way of life but are utterly committed to deepwater drilling. Unfortunately, they did not watch Rachel Maddow's little segment on why American oil isn't American. Along with her coverage of the Gulf disaster, she deserves credit for her side segments. First was the segment on how the oil companies amassed fortunes untold in the history of man but did not invest in any cleanup technologies after 1979. The second was her explanation that oil is traded on the global market.
As I've written, we could drill everywhere in the United States and offshore and only save 3 cents on a gallon of gas and fuel the American economy for a year or two max. The question is whether we are willing to pay the dire environmental cost. Apparently, the answer is yes. What BP did with one blowout, it took the oil companies almost forty years to do on the Niger Delta, the current model for the Gulf region.
The Last Mantee is no longer ironic. The oil spill has washed into the manatee breeding grounds in Alabama. Also, we are only two Sperm Whale deaths away from that species vanishing for good. I find this somewhat ironic since scientific studies released this week show that whales are closer to the human species than previously thought. But they tend not to kill each other.
Admiral Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, announced that the greatest security threat to the United States was the national debt. Where was he during the last administration? Or maybe he would like to look in the mirror and ponder the cost of our military/ terrorist complex? Without factoring in inflation, the military/terrorist budget is twice that of the Cold War period. Feel more secure?
The British are basically raising the pension level to 70 to try and eradicate their deficit. I am sure something like that will happen here. But how many blue-collar workers will be healthy enough to work until then? And who will hire them? We have to fight back on this nonsense about the social security system, the most successful social program we have and the most financial solvent of anything in our whole government system. It is clear that the Deficit Commission has several options planned for an overhaul of the social security system. But caveat emptor.
Senator Kyl of Arizona joined the long line of Republicans who lie about President Obama. He claimed that the President Obama told him privately he would do nothing about the southern border of the country until there was immigration reform. Today, Secretary of Homeland Security Napolitano positioned drones to monitor the border. I'm sure Kyl will be apologizing to the President on the floor of the Senate.
This is been a particularly vile week of receiving e-mails and other communications calling into question the President's citizenship,his competence and his desire to fulfil his agenda of "progressive socialism". He's going to grant a blank amnesty to all illegal immigrants (like Reagan?). He's going to create his own military loyal to him (Mike Savage). He outlawed the National Day of Prayer ( court ruled it unconstitutional and Obama is appealing), doesn't go to church (AMZ Baptist and Angelican Churches here in Washington) and by inviting atheists to a faith-based initiative function wanted to portray evangelicals as "knuckle-draggers) (not true?) Also he attacked the traditional family on Father's Day by acknowledging different types of families including those with two Dads. I received a public demand that President Obama and his cabinet resign immediately because of their deception, dishonesty and corruption. Jon Voight claimed Obama has caused a "civil war in Arizona" and is "purposely isolating Israel, our most loyal (?) ally". I received photos of captured arms caches in Arizona portraying the menace of illegal immigrants (although the settin looked suspiciously like Honduras). And for historical purposes, I also received an e-mail wanting Obama for Treason, which is almost identical to the ones produced against JFK.
At least Rush Limbaugh is becoming humanistic. This week he urged poor children to dumpster dive for food. And on the other side of the spectrum communitarian guru Amitai Etizoni called for the invasion of Iran.
As the temperature rises, the polling data worsens. The Gulf oil disaster has stopped all movement in polls showing the country was going in the right direction. Confidence in President Obama's ability to solve the economic crisis has taken a battering. But at least 40% of Americans still believe that George W. Bush is almost exclusively responsible for that situation. But the number blaming Obama has jumped to 27%, which is almost triple what it was about four months ago. The generic polls still fluctuate. A recent poll shows Republicans with a 2% spread on the Democrats. Pollsters are beginning to say that by the end of June attitudes become frozen about the November elections. I doubt this. I still say Labor Day.
President Obama is in for a fight at the G-20 summit since Merkel of Germany is battling him on the need to extend stimulus spending to make sure the global economy recovers. What bothers me with the European austerity measures is that government austerity does not translate into prosperity. I believe this will act like the protectionism in the Great Depression.
No one gives the administration any credit for China's decision to float their currency. This is a major diplomatic victory but like other Obama successes it will not concretely manifest itself in a way that people appreciate.
Polls are showing that Americans are now favoring the health reform bill, except for those over 65. On that issue, the problem has been the Republican filibuster to raise doctors' compensation for Medicare patients. Instead, they have been forced to take a 20% cut in pay, jeopardizing the availability of medical care for Medicare patients. Interestingly, it turns out that one of the persons who has benefited the most from Medicare payments is Rand Paul, whose whole eye practice depends on the elderly.
Remember Elena Kagan? Well, this week has seen the new conservative attacks on her. Even Mitch McConnell won't rule out the filibuster since he has regained his confidence by stopping the Jobs bill and aid to the states. After his defeat on healthcare, he told the media the GOP would not filibuster. According to Frank Gaffney, Elena Kagan, a single Jewish professional women, favors Sharia Law! I won't dignify this by explaining. Judge Bork says that she's pro-choice, which the last time I looked was constitutional, and she favors activist judges like Judge Barack in Israel! One interesting development has been the posting by the Sunshine Foundation of all her e-mails from the Clinton Administration. Easy access and interesting reading. I'm sure we will have more new revelations as the weeks move on. Oh yes, her family are leftwingers from New York City.
For the next Supreme Court choice, I now really want an American Indian so that the conservatives' heads explode. This choice could say, "My people have been trying to fight illegal immigration since 1492" and "we would like some say about the Constitution."
Then I had to hear about the Mosques (it grows with each telling) being built around Ground Zero. At this point, I hope they ring the 9-11 monument with mosques and declare the park a monument to the success of conservative security policies. I mean ,who can forget the immortal words of George Tenet, "I hope it's not the guys from the flight school". At least this whole flap got the head of one of the Teabaggers to resign and coordinate opposition to this plan. The man in question won his spurs as a member of Nixon's dirty tricks squad.
I have not been able to assimilate all the primary results yet. The sultry Sikh romped to vistory in South Carolina and will win the race for Governor. But now the religious right is asking questions about Nikki Haley and Bobby Jindal--whether their conversions are real. On the Democratic side Elaine Marshall won over Carl Cunningham in Nortb Carolina and right now is tied with Republican Burr--that's one I believe the Democrats can win. In Texas, White is tied with secessionist Rick Perry.
In California, Democratic operative Chris Lahane had a nice putdown of Meg Whitman,"Jerry Brown has won more elections than times that Whitman has voted." Whitman has done a pivot on immigration, recording an ad in Spanish, which totally contradicts her primary postion to built a wall on the border and pass an immigration bill.
For the joys of homophobia, consult www.rightwingwatch.com ,which has been reproducing the great hits from the Religious Right for the past two weeks. It's such a rich bounty I would spend days retelling.
Yes, Virgnia, there will be a Wall Street Reform bill come out of conference. Whole armies of lobbyists have been fighting to water it down but something significant will emerge. But by the time it does it will disappoint progressives and upset conservatives. Will it be a substantial imrpovement on the status quo--yes. Will it be a significant achievement of this administration? Yes, but he'll never get credit for it.
At this stage, I believe there are only two other major pieces of legislation that might be able to pass during the rest of Obama's first term--immigration reform; and/or an energy policy bill. And then that will exhaust the ability of Congress to do anything constructive.
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
Showdown at the White House
Summer certainly isn't President Obama's season. But let's give him props for the McChrystal episode. President Obama deftly handled the McChrystal flap and politically insulated himself from any (legitimate)criticism by choosing General Petraeus as the new Afghanistan war commander.
Politically, he choose the GOP's war hero, which should neutralize Republican congressional criticism. He also effectively eliminated another 2012 GOP candidate. He did this before with the appointment of Jon Huntsman, the governor of Utah, to the post of ambassador to China. If Petraeus succeeds, Obama gets the credit. If he doesn't, Petraeus doesn't acquire any political capital.
But the McChrystal situation harks back to the beginning of the administration when the Joint Chiefs of Staff tried to muscle Obama and he dressed them down, hoping this put the unrest in the military to bed. It didn't then and will not now. As today's Los Angeles Times article underlined, the America military has become politicized and at the military academies there is peer pressure to identify oneself as a Republican.
In the case of McChrystal, he had been a favorite of Dick Cheney and Sy Hersh makes the charge that McChrystal actually engaged in politically apoproved assassinations for the vice-president. Whether true or not, to have a military basically immune from congressional oversight and budget restraint encourages it to act independent of civilian control.
Recently, the military has been balking at Obama's timetable of drawing troops down by the summer of 2011. Unfortunately, this episode will raise this issue and not a debate over the whole Afghanistan adventure in general. There is something profoundly misguided with the current COIN strategy since it is based on the French experience in Algeria--which they lost--and our Vietnam experience--which we lost. When President Obama reviewed the Afghan policy , the Pentagon and McChrystal in particular advocated a $1 trillion program with an escalation of forces in the neighborhood of 100,000 plus and a lengthy commitment. While Obama righfully rejected this option, he never seemed to question the basic premises of the COIN doctrine in general. The Rolling Stone reporter who recorded McChrystal's comments said in an interview today that President Obama seemed not to truly understand what counter-insurgency meant to the military.
What has occured in Afghanistan is an amazing disproportionate allocation of resources. The military operation exceeds by many times the GDP of the entire country, while our USAID programs are miniscule to our military effort. This is symptomatic of our foreign policy in general, which has grown too top heavy with the military dimension and atrophied at the level of diplomacy and economic assistance. From an operational point of view, the military is the thousand pound gorilla in the room, pushing aside the other vital elements to policy. Just as an example, the PR effort of the military in Afghanistan totally eclipses our embassy efforts. So local political players know to play our military off our diplomats as witnessed by Karzai's embrace of General McChrystal. The net effect of this is to neutralize our other efforts to stabilize the political situation by other means.
The only positive thing appears to be President Obama's recalibration of what constitutes a satisfactory outcome in the country, which seems realistic and tangible. But this doesn't satisfy the military, who embrace words like "victory". I expect considerable tension on this issue for the next two years.
But for today, President Obama clearly showed he's the Commander-in-Chief, reinforcing civilian control over our miltary.
Politically, he choose the GOP's war hero, which should neutralize Republican congressional criticism. He also effectively eliminated another 2012 GOP candidate. He did this before with the appointment of Jon Huntsman, the governor of Utah, to the post of ambassador to China. If Petraeus succeeds, Obama gets the credit. If he doesn't, Petraeus doesn't acquire any political capital.
But the McChrystal situation harks back to the beginning of the administration when the Joint Chiefs of Staff tried to muscle Obama and he dressed them down, hoping this put the unrest in the military to bed. It didn't then and will not now. As today's Los Angeles Times article underlined, the America military has become politicized and at the military academies there is peer pressure to identify oneself as a Republican.
In the case of McChrystal, he had been a favorite of Dick Cheney and Sy Hersh makes the charge that McChrystal actually engaged in politically apoproved assassinations for the vice-president. Whether true or not, to have a military basically immune from congressional oversight and budget restraint encourages it to act independent of civilian control.
Recently, the military has been balking at Obama's timetable of drawing troops down by the summer of 2011. Unfortunately, this episode will raise this issue and not a debate over the whole Afghanistan adventure in general. There is something profoundly misguided with the current COIN strategy since it is based on the French experience in Algeria--which they lost--and our Vietnam experience--which we lost. When President Obama reviewed the Afghan policy , the Pentagon and McChrystal in particular advocated a $1 trillion program with an escalation of forces in the neighborhood of 100,000 plus and a lengthy commitment. While Obama righfully rejected this option, he never seemed to question the basic premises of the COIN doctrine in general. The Rolling Stone reporter who recorded McChrystal's comments said in an interview today that President Obama seemed not to truly understand what counter-insurgency meant to the military.
What has occured in Afghanistan is an amazing disproportionate allocation of resources. The military operation exceeds by many times the GDP of the entire country, while our USAID programs are miniscule to our military effort. This is symptomatic of our foreign policy in general, which has grown too top heavy with the military dimension and atrophied at the level of diplomacy and economic assistance. From an operational point of view, the military is the thousand pound gorilla in the room, pushing aside the other vital elements to policy. Just as an example, the PR effort of the military in Afghanistan totally eclipses our embassy efforts. So local political players know to play our military off our diplomats as witnessed by Karzai's embrace of General McChrystal. The net effect of this is to neutralize our other efforts to stabilize the political situation by other means.
The only positive thing appears to be President Obama's recalibration of what constitutes a satisfactory outcome in the country, which seems realistic and tangible. But this doesn't satisfy the military, who embrace words like "victory". I expect considerable tension on this issue for the next two years.
But for today, President Obama clearly showed he's the Commander-in-Chief, reinforcing civilian control over our miltary.
Monday, June 21, 2010
"That was no gaffe..That was a philosophy"
Kudos to Rahm Emmanuel for summing up Joe Barton's apology to BP. For a nicer response, check out Joe Biden's retort on the the White House website.
Correction from previous post. Since I was always tormented by the Republican Study Group, which was a House think tank for unemployable right-wingers, I wrongly concluded it was their talking points the GOP were using. But it was the Republican Study Commitee, which makes it worse because it consists of over 100 members of the House.
Also on the Escrow Fund. While BP did float the idea first to the Republican Congressional Leadership, it was being countered by a lobby effort by the Chamber of Commerce, who wanted the federal government to pay all the clean-up costs. Why? Well, because the chairman of Massey coal mines sits on the board and he fears a host of penalties for his dozens of unsafe mines. Also the escrow fund sets a precedent that oil companies are resisting.
The Escrow Fund does not include the cleanup costs BP has to pay. The Fund is only for workers and businesses who were hurt by the spill. BP is currently running around to banks to raise about $50 billion for the total bill.
Raising the liability cap has become a big issue in town. The issue really is moot. The liability cap for oil spills is not in effect if there are cases of negligence or recklessness by oil companies. Republican resistance makes sense because they fear oil companies may face greater costs down the line. But in the case of BP there would be no liability cap because the testimony so far indicates at least recklessness.
Come On Down. You have to admire Haley Barbour's willful denial of the crisis. As of yesterday, he said the beaches were great. I guess you wouldn't be bothered by sea turtles, dolphins or manatees because they are all dead. Today, Haley said the moratorium on deepsea drilling was worse than the oil spill.
Jimmy Buffett is going to give a free concert in Alabama to show the rest of the country that the Gulf is fine. The problem is that the oil now has invaded manatee areas in Alabama.
Meanwhile former Republican Charlie Crist has jumped out to a double-digit lead against teabagger and oil fiend Marco Rubio. Crist supported the ban on offshore driling. It's interesting that we haven't heard from Jeb Bush because as Governor he opposed his brother's policy on offshore oil development because of environmental concerns.
E.J. Dionne finally gave himself permission in today's Washington Post to write about the atavistic conservatism that has re-emerged in the Republican Party. He was encouraged by Chris Matthews' MSNBC show on the rise of the Hard Right in America. Dionne points to the long history of conservative's conspiracy theories about the federal government. I think he's wrong that Barton sided with BP over the government because of this bias. It's like Emmanuel said the Republican philosophy is for large corporations over the government. Or as we saw under George W. large corporations actually running the government.
An historical footnote for Baby-Boomers. JFK himself encouraged the book and the film of Seven Days in May because he thought a military coup on the United States was possible. The reason was that JFK fired General Walker and later Curtis LeMay for their efforts to recruit John Birch Society members into the military. You will recall General Walker was the subject of an assassination attempt in Dallas by Lee Harvey Oswald. He was later portrayed by the great Sterling Hayden in Winter Kills,where Jeff Bridges, the younger brother of the slain President, searches for his brother's assassin and wanders to Hayden's ranch where there are military maneuvers. JFK also may have remembered the businessmen's coup attempt against FDR in the 1930s. This was a plot, which included teabag funders Koch Industries, that involved WWI veterans who would throw FDR out of the White House.
FDR handled the plot with cool. He called the millionaires into the White House and read out the names of all those people involved, paused, and then said, "Gentlemen, the plan just won't work."
In short, the world of the Right today harks back to the weird conspiracy theories of the 1950 and early 1960s.
The Sunday New York Times ran an article on the impasse in Congress on the jobs bill. They noted that Senate Republicans plausibly used the deficit as an excuse for opposing. But then they examined what happened with a fairly innocuous House bill that called for lower taxes on small businesses. This is an Apple Pie bill, which generally sweeps through the House. But only four Republicans, those champions of capitalism, voted for it. One of them is Mike Castle, former Governor of Delaware and the presumed next Senator from that state. He lamented his party's failure to compromise on such measures and said this was harmful to the country. But Virginia's own Virginia Foxx, the woman who said ,"Obama was a great threat to America than Al Qaeda", claimed that Republicans will oppose all Democratic laws because "we have different views on what made America great". OK.
Lousiana's Governor Bobby Jindal has filed a suit in court against the moratorium on deepwater drilling. For legal beagles, he and others have filed for an injunction against the ban. Notice how Republicans did not do the same on the healthcare bill. If they had any basis then, they could have filed for an injunction. Little Bobby's great barrier island scheme or berms has run up against investigative reporters. Apparently, environmentalists in the state claim it would not be effective against the oil spill and others note that the projected $330 billion (?) cost (I can't believe that figure) would benefit the dredging industry, which are financial supporters of the Governor.
Howard Fineman said that Jindal was acting like General Patton running around the state. But President Obama slapped him down in his Friday address to the nation when he called on the Gulf's Governors to mobilize their National Guard immediately and stop waiting. Apparently, General Jindal has failed to do this despite President Obama's request in his Oval Office speech.
The conservative blogosphere has not let up on blasting Obama's extortion of the $20 billion escrow fund. I guess they didn't get the memo with all the Republican walking back that line. John Fund looked like he was about to have a moment of lucidity. John said that depending on the next President we could become a Third World country. I thought he might have been alluding to George W's record and the horrifying prospect of Sarah Palin. No, he was saying if the government required all companies to pay for their misdeeds, then we would be driving corporations away from America. He cited the possibility that Toyota would face such devastating penalties for the stuck gas pedal that it would have to go out of business. You see these are just the risks we must take if we are going to keep our economy going. The new philosophy of "No Fault Capitalism".
So we should just run CEOs for public office. This new GOP strategy is being tested with Carly Fiorina in California. Apparently, the CEOs of Oracle, Netflex,Dell and othe Silicon Valley moguls are openly not supporting Carly because of the horrendous job she did at Hewlett-Packard.
The Good news we can look forward if Republicans take back the House is Rep. Darrell Issa becoming Chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committtee. Issa wants to double his staff to 80 to subpoena the Obama administration on everthing and the kitchen sink. "I won't use it to have corporate America live in fear that we're going to subpoena everything. I will use it to get the very information that today the White House is either shredding or not producing." Do we get the Bush Administration's e-mails?
Correction from previous post. Since I was always tormented by the Republican Study Group, which was a House think tank for unemployable right-wingers, I wrongly concluded it was their talking points the GOP were using. But it was the Republican Study Commitee, which makes it worse because it consists of over 100 members of the House.
Also on the Escrow Fund. While BP did float the idea first to the Republican Congressional Leadership, it was being countered by a lobby effort by the Chamber of Commerce, who wanted the federal government to pay all the clean-up costs. Why? Well, because the chairman of Massey coal mines sits on the board and he fears a host of penalties for his dozens of unsafe mines. Also the escrow fund sets a precedent that oil companies are resisting.
The Escrow Fund does not include the cleanup costs BP has to pay. The Fund is only for workers and businesses who were hurt by the spill. BP is currently running around to banks to raise about $50 billion for the total bill.
Raising the liability cap has become a big issue in town. The issue really is moot. The liability cap for oil spills is not in effect if there are cases of negligence or recklessness by oil companies. Republican resistance makes sense because they fear oil companies may face greater costs down the line. But in the case of BP there would be no liability cap because the testimony so far indicates at least recklessness.
Come On Down. You have to admire Haley Barbour's willful denial of the crisis. As of yesterday, he said the beaches were great. I guess you wouldn't be bothered by sea turtles, dolphins or manatees because they are all dead. Today, Haley said the moratorium on deepsea drilling was worse than the oil spill.
Jimmy Buffett is going to give a free concert in Alabama to show the rest of the country that the Gulf is fine. The problem is that the oil now has invaded manatee areas in Alabama.
Meanwhile former Republican Charlie Crist has jumped out to a double-digit lead against teabagger and oil fiend Marco Rubio. Crist supported the ban on offshore driling. It's interesting that we haven't heard from Jeb Bush because as Governor he opposed his brother's policy on offshore oil development because of environmental concerns.
E.J. Dionne finally gave himself permission in today's Washington Post to write about the atavistic conservatism that has re-emerged in the Republican Party. He was encouraged by Chris Matthews' MSNBC show on the rise of the Hard Right in America. Dionne points to the long history of conservative's conspiracy theories about the federal government. I think he's wrong that Barton sided with BP over the government because of this bias. It's like Emmanuel said the Republican philosophy is for large corporations over the government. Or as we saw under George W. large corporations actually running the government.
An historical footnote for Baby-Boomers. JFK himself encouraged the book and the film of Seven Days in May because he thought a military coup on the United States was possible. The reason was that JFK fired General Walker and later Curtis LeMay for their efforts to recruit John Birch Society members into the military. You will recall General Walker was the subject of an assassination attempt in Dallas by Lee Harvey Oswald. He was later portrayed by the great Sterling Hayden in Winter Kills,where Jeff Bridges, the younger brother of the slain President, searches for his brother's assassin and wanders to Hayden's ranch where there are military maneuvers. JFK also may have remembered the businessmen's coup attempt against FDR in the 1930s. This was a plot, which included teabag funders Koch Industries, that involved WWI veterans who would throw FDR out of the White House.
FDR handled the plot with cool. He called the millionaires into the White House and read out the names of all those people involved, paused, and then said, "Gentlemen, the plan just won't work."
In short, the world of the Right today harks back to the weird conspiracy theories of the 1950 and early 1960s.
The Sunday New York Times ran an article on the impasse in Congress on the jobs bill. They noted that Senate Republicans plausibly used the deficit as an excuse for opposing. But then they examined what happened with a fairly innocuous House bill that called for lower taxes on small businesses. This is an Apple Pie bill, which generally sweeps through the House. But only four Republicans, those champions of capitalism, voted for it. One of them is Mike Castle, former Governor of Delaware and the presumed next Senator from that state. He lamented his party's failure to compromise on such measures and said this was harmful to the country. But Virginia's own Virginia Foxx, the woman who said ,"Obama was a great threat to America than Al Qaeda", claimed that Republicans will oppose all Democratic laws because "we have different views on what made America great". OK.
Lousiana's Governor Bobby Jindal has filed a suit in court against the moratorium on deepwater drilling. For legal beagles, he and others have filed for an injunction against the ban. Notice how Republicans did not do the same on the healthcare bill. If they had any basis then, they could have filed for an injunction. Little Bobby's great barrier island scheme or berms has run up against investigative reporters. Apparently, environmentalists in the state claim it would not be effective against the oil spill and others note that the projected $330 billion (?) cost (I can't believe that figure) would benefit the dredging industry, which are financial supporters of the Governor.
Howard Fineman said that Jindal was acting like General Patton running around the state. But President Obama slapped him down in his Friday address to the nation when he called on the Gulf's Governors to mobilize their National Guard immediately and stop waiting. Apparently, General Jindal has failed to do this despite President Obama's request in his Oval Office speech.
The conservative blogosphere has not let up on blasting Obama's extortion of the $20 billion escrow fund. I guess they didn't get the memo with all the Republican walking back that line. John Fund looked like he was about to have a moment of lucidity. John said that depending on the next President we could become a Third World country. I thought he might have been alluding to George W's record and the horrifying prospect of Sarah Palin. No, he was saying if the government required all companies to pay for their misdeeds, then we would be driving corporations away from America. He cited the possibility that Toyota would face such devastating penalties for the stuck gas pedal that it would have to go out of business. You see these are just the risks we must take if we are going to keep our economy going. The new philosophy of "No Fault Capitalism".
So we should just run CEOs for public office. This new GOP strategy is being tested with Carly Fiorina in California. Apparently, the CEOs of Oracle, Netflex,Dell and othe Silicon Valley moguls are openly not supporting Carly because of the horrendous job she did at Hewlett-Packard.
The Good news we can look forward if Republicans take back the House is Rep. Darrell Issa becoming Chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committtee. Issa wants to double his staff to 80 to subpoena the Obama administration on everthing and the kitchen sink. "I won't use it to have corporate America live in fear that we're going to subpoena everything. I will use it to get the very information that today the White House is either shredding or not producing." Do we get the Bush Administration's e-mails?
Saturday, June 19, 2010
The Four Freedoms Speech--Happy Father's Day
In the future days,which we seek to make secure, we look forward to a world founded upon four essential freedoms.
The first is the freedom of speech and expression--everywhere in the world.
The second is freedom of every person to worship God in his own way--everywhere in the world.
The third is freedom from want--which,translated into world terms, means economic understandings which will secure to every nation a healthy peacetime life for its inhabitants--everywhere in the world.
The fourth is freedom from fear--which, translated into world terms, means a world-wide reduction of armaments to such a point and in such a thorough fashion that no nation will be in a position to commit an act of physical aggression against any neighbor--anywhere in the world.
That is no vision of a distant millennium. It is a definite basis for a kind of world attainable in our own time and generation. That kind of world is the very antithesis of the so-called order of tyranny which the dictators seek to create with the crash of a bomb.
To that new order we oppose the greater conception--the moral order. A good society is able to face schemes of world domination and foreign revolutions alike without fear.
Since the beginning of our American history,we have been engaged in change--in a perpetual peaceful revolution--a revolution which goes on steadily,quietly adjusting itself to changing conditions--without concentration camp or the quick-lime in the ditch. The world order which we seek is the cooperation of free countries,working together in a friendly, civilized society.
This nation has placed its destiny in the hands and heads and hearts of its millions of free men and women and its faith in freedom under the guidance of God. Freedom means the supremacy of human rights everywhere. Our support goes to those who struggle to gain those rights or keep them. Our strength is our unity of purpose.
To that high concept there can be no end save victory.
President Franklin Delano Roosevelt
The first is the freedom of speech and expression--everywhere in the world.
The second is freedom of every person to worship God in his own way--everywhere in the world.
The third is freedom from want--which,translated into world terms, means economic understandings which will secure to every nation a healthy peacetime life for its inhabitants--everywhere in the world.
The fourth is freedom from fear--which, translated into world terms, means a world-wide reduction of armaments to such a point and in such a thorough fashion that no nation will be in a position to commit an act of physical aggression against any neighbor--anywhere in the world.
That is no vision of a distant millennium. It is a definite basis for a kind of world attainable in our own time and generation. That kind of world is the very antithesis of the so-called order of tyranny which the dictators seek to create with the crash of a bomb.
To that new order we oppose the greater conception--the moral order. A good society is able to face schemes of world domination and foreign revolutions alike without fear.
Since the beginning of our American history,we have been engaged in change--in a perpetual peaceful revolution--a revolution which goes on steadily,quietly adjusting itself to changing conditions--without concentration camp or the quick-lime in the ditch. The world order which we seek is the cooperation of free countries,working together in a friendly, civilized society.
This nation has placed its destiny in the hands and heads and hearts of its millions of free men and women and its faith in freedom under the guidance of God. Freedom means the supremacy of human rights everywhere. Our support goes to those who struggle to gain those rights or keep them. Our strength is our unity of purpose.
To that high concept there can be no end save victory.
President Franklin Delano Roosevelt
And So It Goes.
Kurt Vonnegut would not have been surprised but I am amazed. After the debacle of Joe Barton apologizing to BP for Obama's "shakedown" to create a $20 billion escrow account, the entire conservative blogosphere came to Barton's defense. Even after Tan Man Boehner threatened Barton with the loss of his committee seat, we see Newt Gingrich and other conservatives appear on Fox News and call Barton courageous. This is like the conservative support of the South Carolina congressmen who yelled "You Lie" at the State of the Union address. The Wall Street Journal warned that this fund set a precedent and wanted the government to pursue BP through legal means. And the capo di tutti, Rush Limbaugh called this "organized crime". Forget for a moment, that BP actually consulted the Republican leadership about this idea before they brought it up with Obama and the leadership approved. It's not like there is a wall between the corporate world and the Republican party.
The best defense of BP was Freedomworks' own Dick Armey, who said that the White House acted unconstitutionally in "forcing BP" to create the escrow account. This is rich coming from someone whose President enthusiasically embraced the doctrine of the unitary executive as the rationale for almost total power. Just days earlier Armey, head teabagger, told teabagger candidates to hide their affiliation because people think there are kooks. There is a rich irony here. Teabbaggers imitate American colonists who protested the East India Tea Company, while coming to the defense of British Petroleum. It's no mistake because Freedomworks enjoys the financial support of BP and Koch Industries, America's largest private oil company. Part of their work is to lobby for the lifting of all bans on offshore drilling.
(P.S. There were between 85-95 corporate agreements similar to the Escrow Fund during George W's administration. Remember Chevron agreeing to create a fund when they were caught violating the Iraq embargo? And the list goes on.)
The Baked Alaskan gave a full-throated defense of corporations claiming that support for corporations was the "American way". The absolute brazen support of corporations at this time is amazing. David Broder woke up from his coma long enough to suggest that while President Obama is mired in the Gulf crisis, he should look over his shoulder at the American corporations sitting on over $1 trillion that could be invested in the economy right now. What Broder didn't report is that Republican Senate leadership told the corporations to hold back until after the elections to move on this.
The Corporate Crime Reporter noted yesterday that EPA investigators have been trying to get BP prosecuted since 2005 because of safety violations, oil spills in Alaska and other problems but were stopped because BP provides 85% of the fuel for our military in Iraq.
So Washington pundits keep criticising Obama's Oval Office speech, saying the magic has worn off--probably for them. Darkness at Noonan called Obama a snake-bitten President.
I have to check myself with the flood of criticism from the right and the left and see whether any of this is really taking hold in the public. Remember the healthcare debate and all Americans opposed it except when the specific provisions of the bill were polled, which showed overwhelming support for them? The same is appearing now with Obama's proposals on the Gulf crisis.
Support for creating a fund of billions of dollars to compensate workers and businesses that have been affected. 82% Approve.
Support for increasing the amount of federal regulation of the oil industry. 68% approve
Support for changing the law so there is no limit to the amount of money BP can pay: 63% approve
Support for suspending all new drilling for oil in the Gulf of Mexico and other offshore sites for six months. 58% approve
Support for filing criminal charges against BP. 53% approve
(CNN poll)
In addition over 70% support developing alternative sources of energy and nearly the same percent believe this will create more jobs.
If you notice,my posts this year have already surpassed the entire volume of last year. the reason is that I want to keep up the same rate as GOP Senate filibusters, which are now looking to top all of last year.
President Obama's Saturday morning address to the nation focused on Republican efforts--so far successful--in filibustering a new Jobs bill, that includes vital payments to state governments to save the jobs of teachers and law enforcement officers, extends unemployment benefits and also corrects the Medicare payments to doctors. Last year the Republican tactics were aimed at stalling the healthcare bill. This year it's flat out to kill aid to states and the unemployed. President Obama merely is asking for a vote on the bill. So far this has 57 votes. Nelson and Joe Lieberman (I-Knesset) are opposed.
I will return to the great deficit debate in a later post because this is where things will really get nasty. But for now I am absolutely astonished that Republicans can be so raw in acting against the public good. You really would have to look at the war against FDR in his first term to find such a precedent. I wish the opposition to Obama was all racially motivated. At least George Wallace was a populist racist. This is a total war by the wealthy and corporations to render us an undeveloped country. The final looting of the country.
I leave you with the true words that someone who voted four times for FDR and was "proud of it" said to me. President Ronald Reagan said to me," Remember large corporations are generally not very patriotic." You might recall this was when Pepsi and Archer-Midlands were actively trying to sabotage his policy toward the Soviet Union. The sentiment still stands.
I think I'll take the day off and read Michael Lux The Progressive Revolution: How The Best in America Came To Be (Wiley, 2009). Lux spends a great deal of his book on the progressive responses to corporate control of America.
The best defense of BP was Freedomworks' own Dick Armey, who said that the White House acted unconstitutionally in "forcing BP" to create the escrow account. This is rich coming from someone whose President enthusiasically embraced the doctrine of the unitary executive as the rationale for almost total power. Just days earlier Armey, head teabagger, told teabagger candidates to hide their affiliation because people think there are kooks. There is a rich irony here. Teabbaggers imitate American colonists who protested the East India Tea Company, while coming to the defense of British Petroleum. It's no mistake because Freedomworks enjoys the financial support of BP and Koch Industries, America's largest private oil company. Part of their work is to lobby for the lifting of all bans on offshore drilling.
(P.S. There were between 85-95 corporate agreements similar to the Escrow Fund during George W's administration. Remember Chevron agreeing to create a fund when they were caught violating the Iraq embargo? And the list goes on.)
The Baked Alaskan gave a full-throated defense of corporations claiming that support for corporations was the "American way". The absolute brazen support of corporations at this time is amazing. David Broder woke up from his coma long enough to suggest that while President Obama is mired in the Gulf crisis, he should look over his shoulder at the American corporations sitting on over $1 trillion that could be invested in the economy right now. What Broder didn't report is that Republican Senate leadership told the corporations to hold back until after the elections to move on this.
The Corporate Crime Reporter noted yesterday that EPA investigators have been trying to get BP prosecuted since 2005 because of safety violations, oil spills in Alaska and other problems but were stopped because BP provides 85% of the fuel for our military in Iraq.
So Washington pundits keep criticising Obama's Oval Office speech, saying the magic has worn off--probably for them. Darkness at Noonan called Obama a snake-bitten President.
I have to check myself with the flood of criticism from the right and the left and see whether any of this is really taking hold in the public. Remember the healthcare debate and all Americans opposed it except when the specific provisions of the bill were polled, which showed overwhelming support for them? The same is appearing now with Obama's proposals on the Gulf crisis.
Support for creating a fund of billions of dollars to compensate workers and businesses that have been affected. 82% Approve.
Support for increasing the amount of federal regulation of the oil industry. 68% approve
Support for changing the law so there is no limit to the amount of money BP can pay: 63% approve
Support for suspending all new drilling for oil in the Gulf of Mexico and other offshore sites for six months. 58% approve
Support for filing criminal charges against BP. 53% approve
(CNN poll)
In addition over 70% support developing alternative sources of energy and nearly the same percent believe this will create more jobs.
If you notice,my posts this year have already surpassed the entire volume of last year. the reason is that I want to keep up the same rate as GOP Senate filibusters, which are now looking to top all of last year.
President Obama's Saturday morning address to the nation focused on Republican efforts--so far successful--in filibustering a new Jobs bill, that includes vital payments to state governments to save the jobs of teachers and law enforcement officers, extends unemployment benefits and also corrects the Medicare payments to doctors. Last year the Republican tactics were aimed at stalling the healthcare bill. This year it's flat out to kill aid to states and the unemployed. President Obama merely is asking for a vote on the bill. So far this has 57 votes. Nelson and Joe Lieberman (I-Knesset) are opposed.
I will return to the great deficit debate in a later post because this is where things will really get nasty. But for now I am absolutely astonished that Republicans can be so raw in acting against the public good. You really would have to look at the war against FDR in his first term to find such a precedent. I wish the opposition to Obama was all racially motivated. At least George Wallace was a populist racist. This is a total war by the wealthy and corporations to render us an undeveloped country. The final looting of the country.
I leave you with the true words that someone who voted four times for FDR and was "proud of it" said to me. President Ronald Reagan said to me," Remember large corporations are generally not very patriotic." You might recall this was when Pepsi and Archer-Midlands were actively trying to sabotage his policy toward the Soviet Union. The sentiment still stands.
I think I'll take the day off and read Michael Lux The Progressive Revolution: How The Best in America Came To Be (Wiley, 2009). Lux spends a great deal of his book on the progressive responses to corporate control of America.
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