Cut right to the round table discussion on today's Meet The Press for some pure politics with the following guests: Chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX), Chairman of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ), Chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee Rep. Pete Sessions (R-TX), and Chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD).
The talk was all about political control and which party has the better ideas to fix an economy suffering from financial pneumonia. Where we are right now, and what these gentlemen proved today is that we're definitely in a state of limbo. If you've just seen the movie Inception, you'll know this is not good. Democrats have passed and want to pass initiatives, namely Healthcare and financial reform, but on both points, the American people don't have a clear idea of how these two bills will benefit them. In particular with Healthcare, the benefits that Democrats talk about have not all taken affect so the spin that Americans are left with is that all the bill has done is add to an already crippling deficit and over debt. Senator John Cornyn stayed with his party's line in that we should repeal and replace the Healthcare bill, citing that the cost is outrageous (2.6 Trillion) and that the American people don't want it. The Republican worry here is that once the new healthcare benefits kick in, there will be no way to repeal it because Americans will like the benefits, and then hence we'd be stuck with these costs. However, the cost is not the main concern with Republicans. How could they be given how much was put on the Chinese credit card under the prior administration. It's the political success for Democrats that this bill may bring it that trouble Republicans the most. However, we must keep in mind that Republicans may have a point with costs. It's simply impossible with a bill of this size how much it will ultimately cost. 'Repeal and Replace' is a nice easy notion to run a campaign on, but the reality is that this is a false promise. It will take more political leverage than the Democrats had in passing it then Republicans will be able to ganer for some time. Senator Menendez pointed out the child healthcare benefit that the bill brings and, more importantly, not being denied insurance for a pre-existing condition. The latter is where the insurance companies make a ton of revenue. And that's what it is all about, not denying any revenue to corporations. So conservatives will oppose any measure in any bill that impedes the furthering of corporate profit.
With With regard Financial reform, the fight goes even though the bill has passed on with Democrats wanting to make changes to regulations and the Republicans contending that things should not be altered as they will stifle business. Along with this, are the Bush tax cuts. What to do with those?
Mr. Sessions stated that the Bush economic policies doubled the size of the economy, essentially asking - why change that? However, what Mr. Sessions failed to note is the telling statistic that the disparity between the wealthiest one percent of Americans and the rest of the population is the highest it has been in the last 80 years. Additionally, Mr. Sessions said that we should live within our means. Mr. Cornyn reiterated this notion. Translated, it means pay as you go, which is something that President Clinton had instituted, and it's also an idea that the Bush Administration blew up, enabled by a Republican controlled Congress. This is simply 20-20 hindsight. Republicans, in actuality, want to return to the Bush era of financial philosophy, this was something that Representative Chris Van Hollen made a point to illustrate.
Unlike Healthcare, the Democrats have the upper hand with financial reform. Mr. Sessions could not give one specific example of what hard choices Republicans would make to turn the economy around. Then when pressed about it again by Mr. Gregory, Mr. Sessions still couldn't come up with anything. Mr. Gregory, sensing the bullshit, cut off the Representative from Texas and tried to get it out of his Senate counterpart - Mr. Cornyn - to no avail. Mr. Sessions stated emphatically that we need to balance the budget. Mr. Gregory simply asked him how and he could even answer that question. Easy to state the problem, coming up with the solution, not so much.
This is the Republicans main problem. They want to kill all the Democratic initiatives and maintain Bush Administration fiscal policies, and the underlying truth is that they don't know how to do it. Or, at the very least, they aren't saying because they know the consequences. In the news this week was the question of how Republicans can be for maintaining the Bush tax cuts, but no for extending unemployment benefits. It's something they simply don't want to grapple with and it seems that if they just stay on message that it will all align in their favor. Could work, but it won't if the Democrats can make compelling arguments against this, which they have yet to be able to do.
All of this is prelude to the uncertainty of the November mid-term elections - which way will the House turn? Lastly, Mr. Greogory steered the conversation to the Tea Party and how this group will affect the aforementioned outcome. Republicans have downplayed the far right, out of the mainstream statements that the candidates have made and really the jury is still out on how the establishment Republicans want to embrace this movement, if at all. Especially when you have a candidate like Sharon Angle in Nevada. She is just simply unhinged, a wack-o, who really doesn't understand the gravity of the statements she makes. One in particular is quite disturbing, which is to use Second Amendment remedies against her opponents. Second Amendment remedies? This is the biggest load of crap euphemism. What it means is to take up a gun and shoot the people who oppose you. And this is an insightful contribution to the national discourse? Republicans want Harry Reid to lose for sure, but how do they get on board with that?
Sunday, July 18, 2010
Sunday, July 11, 2010
7.11.2010: Expectations
Guests: White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs; Roundtable - New York Times columnist David Brooks; Fmr. Rep. Harold Ford Jr. (D-TN); Republican Strategist and Fmr. Counselor to President George W. Bush, Ed Gillespie; and msnbc's Rachel Maddow.
David Gregory's topics and questions all circled back around to the politics of the situation. Unarticulated political stance continues to plague this administration. Every answer White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs gave was further testament to this fact.
Our notion of the Administration becomes further solidified with each passing day. It consists of very talented and smart individuals, all of whom do not know how to communicate their ideas effectively to the American people to show them that the measures being taken to correct the various disasters that we're facing. Frankly, in most interviews, Administration officials sound defensive... like wimps. This was capped off, pardon the pun, of Mr. Gibbs acknowledging that the Republicans could potentially take the House this fall. There's confidence for you.
First, and foremost, the oil spew is a bullet wound for this country and we just can not stop the bleeding. For most people, this catastrophe is not in the collective daily consciousness but the ripple [read: wave] effect of this will be felt for decades. Mr. Gibbs stated that we're containing 25,000 barrels a day at this point, but this is in light of the fact that BP took the cap off the well and at this moment the oil is flowing freely into the Gulf. His reassurance is that Thad Allen is approving all of BP's methods for stopping the spew. What is he not going to approve? We're at the mercy of this oil company to stop this. However, what the Administration could and should do is stop BP from manipulating the entire situation with regard to press access, claim money distribution, and the scientific community assessing. BP does not have the right to essential quarantine areas of the United States coast. This is where the government should force a strong hand and we're just not seeing it.
What we hope doesn't fall into collective deafness is the program Mr. Gibbs outlined for the new battery plant opening in Michigan. By opening this plant, it will make fuel batteries for the Chevy Volt and has the potential to create 40% of the world's fuel batteries. We're one of the few nations to be able to facilitate innovation like this, which needs to be stepped up ten-fold.
The other overarching problem is that what everyone has to realize is that the problems that the Obama Administration inherited are going to take longer than two years to fix, longer than four years to fix. That's the reality that every politician knows and each party is trying to manage that unsaid truth. Obviously, this is harder on the Democrats since they're holding power. The result of course is very poor poll numbers.
Before moving on to Afghanistan, Mr. Gregory asked Mr. Gibbs if expectations for the Administration were too high going in. Rightfully, he asked it twice and Mr. Gibbs never answered it. So we'll have to...
(By the way, we hope that viewers are settling in with Mr. Gregory as time goes by, as we are. We're glad to see that his style has evolved. At first, he was going at interview guests like he was still part of the White House Press Corps where you get two questions, maybe and you'd better make them good. But now, he's using tone and time much more effectively.)
And the answer is YES. Expectations on both sides, the people's and the Administration's, were very high. Going in, The Obama Administration had 67% of the people on board, but what the Administration underestimated was the fact they didn't have 67% of the Senate onboard. Factor in the shenanigans played by Democratic Senators Nelson of Nebraska, Landreau of Louisiana, and Lincoln of Arkansas and the potential, on which the expectations are build, is plundered.
Speaking of expectations, we'll be coming up on ten years in Afghanistan, matching the Soviets escapade there in its futility. No one expected that, but here we are. And we need to get out as soon as possible. Instead of nation building, which is a large part of what we're doing, we should be focusing on the elements - the Taliban - that needs to be defeated. The reality is that the nation building is a smoke screen for us using Afghanistan as a launching pad for attacks in Pakistan against Taliban and Al Qaeda extremists. We can not openly claim this as one of our objectives, but if we're going to be hawkish in this respect, go all the way with it, up the intensity and shorten the duration and then get out. We can all conclude that we're not going to determine the ultimate future of Afghanistan, and simply trying to shape it for a certain trajectory if an iffy proposition at best. The Administration is stuck in a morass here and hasn't articulated a clear purpose.
We haven't even gotten to the panel, which honestly, is barely worth mentioning because of the following: Harold Ford made the good point that it's all about jobs, but it's easy to be right when you're not on the hook for creating them. David Brooks today was more or less a Republican apologist, and rightly so. Ed Gillespie is still trying in futility to defend the Bush record. And lastly, Rachel Maddow just wants to make sure her opinion in this forum sounds like the right one.
David Gregory's topics and questions all circled back around to the politics of the situation. Unarticulated political stance continues to plague this administration. Every answer White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs gave was further testament to this fact.
Our notion of the Administration becomes further solidified with each passing day. It consists of very talented and smart individuals, all of whom do not know how to communicate their ideas effectively to the American people to show them that the measures being taken to correct the various disasters that we're facing. Frankly, in most interviews, Administration officials sound defensive... like wimps. This was capped off, pardon the pun, of Mr. Gibbs acknowledging that the Republicans could potentially take the House this fall. There's confidence for you.
First, and foremost, the oil spew is a bullet wound for this country and we just can not stop the bleeding. For most people, this catastrophe is not in the collective daily consciousness but the ripple [read: wave] effect of this will be felt for decades. Mr. Gibbs stated that we're containing 25,000 barrels a day at this point, but this is in light of the fact that BP took the cap off the well and at this moment the oil is flowing freely into the Gulf. His reassurance is that Thad Allen is approving all of BP's methods for stopping the spew. What is he not going to approve? We're at the mercy of this oil company to stop this. However, what the Administration could and should do is stop BP from manipulating the entire situation with regard to press access, claim money distribution, and the scientific community assessing. BP does not have the right to essential quarantine areas of the United States coast. This is where the government should force a strong hand and we're just not seeing it.
What we hope doesn't fall into collective deafness is the program Mr. Gibbs outlined for the new battery plant opening in Michigan. By opening this plant, it will make fuel batteries for the Chevy Volt and has the potential to create 40% of the world's fuel batteries. We're one of the few nations to be able to facilitate innovation like this, which needs to be stepped up ten-fold.
The other overarching problem is that what everyone has to realize is that the problems that the Obama Administration inherited are going to take longer than two years to fix, longer than four years to fix. That's the reality that every politician knows and each party is trying to manage that unsaid truth. Obviously, this is harder on the Democrats since they're holding power. The result of course is very poor poll numbers.
Before moving on to Afghanistan, Mr. Gregory asked Mr. Gibbs if expectations for the Administration were too high going in. Rightfully, he asked it twice and Mr. Gibbs never answered it. So we'll have to...
(By the way, we hope that viewers are settling in with Mr. Gregory as time goes by, as we are. We're glad to see that his style has evolved. At first, he was going at interview guests like he was still part of the White House Press Corps where you get two questions, maybe and you'd better make them good. But now, he's using tone and time much more effectively.)
And the answer is YES. Expectations on both sides, the people's and the Administration's, were very high. Going in, The Obama Administration had 67% of the people on board, but what the Administration underestimated was the fact they didn't have 67% of the Senate onboard. Factor in the shenanigans played by Democratic Senators Nelson of Nebraska, Landreau of Louisiana, and Lincoln of Arkansas and the potential, on which the expectations are build, is plundered.
Speaking of expectations, we'll be coming up on ten years in Afghanistan, matching the Soviets escapade there in its futility. No one expected that, but here we are. And we need to get out as soon as possible. Instead of nation building, which is a large part of what we're doing, we should be focusing on the elements - the Taliban - that needs to be defeated. The reality is that the nation building is a smoke screen for us using Afghanistan as a launching pad for attacks in Pakistan against Taliban and Al Qaeda extremists. We can not openly claim this as one of our objectives, but if we're going to be hawkish in this respect, go all the way with it, up the intensity and shorten the duration and then get out. We can all conclude that we're not going to determine the ultimate future of Afghanistan, and simply trying to shape it for a certain trajectory if an iffy proposition at best. The Administration is stuck in a morass here and hasn't articulated a clear purpose.
We haven't even gotten to the panel, which honestly, is barely worth mentioning because of the following: Harold Ford made the good point that it's all about jobs, but it's easy to be right when you're not on the hook for creating them. David Brooks today was more or less a Republican apologist, and rightly so. Ed Gillespie is still trying in futility to defend the Bush record. And lastly, Rachel Maddow just wants to make sure her opinion in this forum sounds like the right one.
Sunday, May 30, 2010
5.30.10: The Numbers We Don't Know
An un-fucking-believable disaster.. Underwater spewing oil, as David Brooks pointed out, is the imagine of the year. Carol Browner, Energy and Climate Change Advisor to the President, confirmed on today's program that this is in fact the worst environmental disaster in the nation's history. And to top it off, or not, the top kill method of stopping the spewing didn't work.
But what is really disconcerting is that the majority of the American people are still in favor of offshore drilling, despite this catastrophe, which makes an interview like we saw today with Robert Dudley, the managing director of BP, a joke, another opportunity to tell half-truths, another chance to claim plausible deniability. Mr. Dudley called this an unusual failure, and couldn't/didn't give a straight answer on whether the industry misled the government with regard to safety. Even from this microcosmic blogachair in the sea of internet opinion, this column knows that proper safety procedures were not followed on the rig. There's too much information out there to verify this. And yet, Mr. Dudley can sit there and defend the aloof Tony Hayward, the Head of BP, for the good job he's doing since the outset of the crisis.
E.J. Dionne, on today's panel, said he kept reflecting on a question that David Gregory continued to return to, which was why hadn't everyone involved with the operation of the rig prepare for a worst case scenario type of situation in the event that an 'unusual failure' would happen. Then, of course, come the questions about to what degree the oil industry is cozy with the government, did they mislead the government, etc. But this is all show; we already know the answers and hence, there was no initiative, interest, or incentive to consider safety over profit, ever.
Now, they are going for containment, they can't stop it, and relief wells won't be done until August. There are two 'mystery' numbers that this column keeps dwelling. One of those numbers is about the amount oil that is spewing out of the well each day. Mr. Dudley didn't seem to know or didn't want to answer. The number of 5,000 barrels per day. Well, there are 42 gallons in a barrel so that's 210,000 galloons a day, and given the facts of history, when things like this occur, you know that is a low-ball estimate. The President said it is both enraging and heartbreaking. That first number was the enraging. For the heartbreaking, the second 'mystery' number is how many people... and living things for that matter... are permanently affected? Untold millions. We'll never know these true numbers.
So when? When do we open our eyes to the fact that this country has a heroin type addiction to oil and needs to seriously start a transition? Oil causes two wars; oil kills our environment; oil dictates our and the world's economy.
________
Immigration, with respect to Mexican border, is like our own little Israel-Palestinian conflict. Suspiciousness exists on all sides; money, guns, and drugs cross back and forth; a high body count keeps growing in the wake of a drug war; compassion is an obtuse echo in soundboard; and troops are mobile and on the ready. Talk of a solution goes on and on, around and around, and nothing really happens to fix the situation until a law passes that favors a far-right ideology. And what we really need is a solid two state solution.
We've never been in the habit of lavishing praise on Mr. Gregory, but this was a great interview for him. The Players involved, Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-IL) vs. former Congressman, currently running for the GOP nomination for U.S. Senate from Arizona, J.D. Hayworth, are two central voices in this national debate. Mr. Gregory addressed the complexities of the issue, talked about the practicality of the law vs. the theory, and pushed for deeper explanations.
Above we said that Mr. Hayworth is a central voice on this issue, and that does not bode well for Senator McCain who is defending against Mr. Hayworth's challenge. This is a central issue in Arizona and the incumbent doesn't own it. Mr. McCain once supported comprehensive immigration reform, which Mr. Hayworth on today's program called that a euphemism for amnesty. He continued that it is a matter of national security and the 1,200 National Guardsmen headed to the border was not enough. Mr. Gutierrez, on the other hand, called that deployment sound bite driven politics. Senator McCain wants 6,000 troops. Mr. McCain, like Senators Joe Lieberman and Arlen Spector, never puts anything above protecting his own job, power, and influence in the worst pandering sort of way, compromising all principal. But troops aren't the answer, they can be part of a solution, but definitely not the answer.
We agree with Mr. Gutierrez's central point that you have to cut off the magnet of jobs that motivate people to come here illegally. However, his answer wasn't comprehensive enough in that he didn't address the issue of drugs and guns, images which do not provoke sympathy for the more compassionate side of the issue. Not to mention that Mr. Gutierrez's cause right now is a losing battle right now. Sixty-one percent of the country are in favor of the steps that the state of Arizona has taken. Mr. Gutierrez said it's a national problem and can not be looked just through the lens of Arizona. Nice statement but that's what everyone's doing.
But what is really disconcerting is that the majority of the American people are still in favor of offshore drilling, despite this catastrophe, which makes an interview like we saw today with Robert Dudley, the managing director of BP, a joke, another opportunity to tell half-truths, another chance to claim plausible deniability. Mr. Dudley called this an unusual failure, and couldn't/didn't give a straight answer on whether the industry misled the government with regard to safety. Even from this microcosmic blogachair in the sea of internet opinion, this column knows that proper safety procedures were not followed on the rig. There's too much information out there to verify this. And yet, Mr. Dudley can sit there and defend the aloof Tony Hayward, the Head of BP, for the good job he's doing since the outset of the crisis.
E.J. Dionne, on today's panel, said he kept reflecting on a question that David Gregory continued to return to, which was why hadn't everyone involved with the operation of the rig prepare for a worst case scenario type of situation in the event that an 'unusual failure' would happen. Then, of course, come the questions about to what degree the oil industry is cozy with the government, did they mislead the government, etc. But this is all show; we already know the answers and hence, there was no initiative, interest, or incentive to consider safety over profit, ever.
Now, they are going for containment, they can't stop it, and relief wells won't be done until August. There are two 'mystery' numbers that this column keeps dwelling. One of those numbers is about the amount oil that is spewing out of the well each day. Mr. Dudley didn't seem to know or didn't want to answer. The number of 5,000 barrels per day. Well, there are 42 gallons in a barrel so that's 210,000 galloons a day, and given the facts of history, when things like this occur, you know that is a low-ball estimate. The President said it is both enraging and heartbreaking. That first number was the enraging. For the heartbreaking, the second 'mystery' number is how many people... and living things for that matter... are permanently affected? Untold millions. We'll never know these true numbers.
So when? When do we open our eyes to the fact that this country has a heroin type addiction to oil and needs to seriously start a transition? Oil causes two wars; oil kills our environment; oil dictates our and the world's economy.
________
Immigration, with respect to Mexican border, is like our own little Israel-Palestinian conflict. Suspiciousness exists on all sides; money, guns, and drugs cross back and forth; a high body count keeps growing in the wake of a drug war; compassion is an obtuse echo in soundboard; and troops are mobile and on the ready. Talk of a solution goes on and on, around and around, and nothing really happens to fix the situation until a law passes that favors a far-right ideology. And what we really need is a solid two state solution.
We've never been in the habit of lavishing praise on Mr. Gregory, but this was a great interview for him. The Players involved, Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-IL) vs. former Congressman, currently running for the GOP nomination for U.S. Senate from Arizona, J.D. Hayworth, are two central voices in this national debate. Mr. Gregory addressed the complexities of the issue, talked about the practicality of the law vs. the theory, and pushed for deeper explanations.
Above we said that Mr. Hayworth is a central voice on this issue, and that does not bode well for Senator McCain who is defending against Mr. Hayworth's challenge. This is a central issue in Arizona and the incumbent doesn't own it. Mr. McCain once supported comprehensive immigration reform, which Mr. Hayworth on today's program called that a euphemism for amnesty. He continued that it is a matter of national security and the 1,200 National Guardsmen headed to the border was not enough. Mr. Gutierrez, on the other hand, called that deployment sound bite driven politics. Senator McCain wants 6,000 troops. Mr. McCain, like Senators Joe Lieberman and Arlen Spector, never puts anything above protecting his own job, power, and influence in the worst pandering sort of way, compromising all principal. But troops aren't the answer, they can be part of a solution, but definitely not the answer.
We agree with Mr. Gutierrez's central point that you have to cut off the magnet of jobs that motivate people to come here illegally. However, his answer wasn't comprehensive enough in that he didn't address the issue of drugs and guns, images which do not provoke sympathy for the more compassionate side of the issue. Not to mention that Mr. Gutierrez's cause right now is a losing battle right now. Sixty-one percent of the country are in favor of the steps that the state of Arizona has taken. Mr. Gutierrez said it's a national problem and can not be looked just through the lens of Arizona. Nice statement but that's what everyone's doing.
Sunday, May 16, 2010
5.16.10: Results of the Smell Test... It's Smelly.
The two main topics of discussion posed to the respective Senators, Charles Schumer (D-NY) and Mitch McConnell (R-KY), on today's Meet The Press were of course the British Petroleum oil catastrophe and the nomination of Ms. Elena Kagen to the Supreme Court. And just when you think these subjects have been beaten to death by the commentators and everyone under the sun has been asked his or her opinion of it, you still get the ridiculous in the form of Senator McConnell's answer to removing the $75 million cap for BP on damages.
Not surprisingly, Senator Schumer, who consistently and effectively plans the 'common sense' political card, said that the cap should be removed and went on to emphasize BP's responsibility for the disaster. However, what Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky said was not only ridiculous but incredulous as well. When asked about the responsibility levels with regard to all parties involved (BP, Transocean, Halliburton, and the Government), he glanced over BP and said he was interested in what the Administration did beside the companies involved. He didn't say the agencies involved, the presiding cabinet member, not FEMA or over all government response, but the Administration specifically. This is completely counter-productive because what he is really saying is that he wants to see what the Administration's response time was to use it for politically purpose.
With regard to responsibility, let's face it: The cozy relationship between government and big oil allows for these catastrophic possibilities because regulations are relaxed because of contributions and empty insurances topped off by the said company cutting safety corners to maximize profit. So are there multiple parties involved, yes, but this one is one BP. By saying what he did, Senator McConnell is focusing on the wrong issue here.
If that weren't enough, his response to whether the cap for damages should be raised, he replied, 'not too much because it will stifle competition.' He went on to explain that the damages could wreck BP and then the bigger oil companies will come in and take over. This is as if to say that we shouldn't beat up on the little guy, British Petroleum. Here's the clip.
We guess it all a matter of perspectives... and dollar amounts.
The other topic, lest we forget, is the nomination of Elena Kagin to the Supreme Court. Both Senators' answers were just frustrating. Senator Schumer said 'she tends to be a moderate' but the number one criteria, he explained, was that if she could make the court a majority of 5 instead of a minority of 4. Whatever... And frankly, Senator McConnell is simply unable to explain away the hypocrisy of supporting Harriet Meyers for her lack of direct court experience and then decrying it when asked about Ms. Kagen.
Here's the problem with Mr. Schumer's logic and, by extension, President Obama's. When Ms. Kagen is confirmed she will make a fine judge and hopefully she will feel empowered at some point to move further left. It is what the court actually needs. However, she is moderate, as a simplified description. It speaks to the pragmatism of the choice and that's why Senator Schumer agrees with the pick.
However, for Mr. Obama the choice is flawed. He's called a pragmatist, but pragmatism is a tactic and employed in the right manner at the correct time can be a quite effective one. However, as an overall philosophy, it is an empty vessel. Politically, it will always be viewed a lack of conviction and this column believes that it is. If President Obama's philosophy is to be a pragmatist, then his choice makes sense in his logic, but again, it is flawed. Like it or not, this is a litmus test of a President's conviction and suffice to say it doesn't pass the smell test.
Not surprisingly, Senator Schumer, who consistently and effectively plans the 'common sense' political card, said that the cap should be removed and went on to emphasize BP's responsibility for the disaster. However, what Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky said was not only ridiculous but incredulous as well. When asked about the responsibility levels with regard to all parties involved (BP, Transocean, Halliburton, and the Government), he glanced over BP and said he was interested in what the Administration did beside the companies involved. He didn't say the agencies involved, the presiding cabinet member, not FEMA or over all government response, but the Administration specifically. This is completely counter-productive because what he is really saying is that he wants to see what the Administration's response time was to use it for politically purpose.
With regard to responsibility, let's face it: The cozy relationship between government and big oil allows for these catastrophic possibilities because regulations are relaxed because of contributions and empty insurances topped off by the said company cutting safety corners to maximize profit. So are there multiple parties involved, yes, but this one is one BP. By saying what he did, Senator McConnell is focusing on the wrong issue here.
If that weren't enough, his response to whether the cap for damages should be raised, he replied, 'not too much because it will stifle competition.' He went on to explain that the damages could wreck BP and then the bigger oil companies will come in and take over. This is as if to say that we shouldn't beat up on the little guy, British Petroleum. Here's the clip.
Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy
We guess it all a matter of perspectives... and dollar amounts.
The other topic, lest we forget, is the nomination of Elena Kagin to the Supreme Court. Both Senators' answers were just frustrating. Senator Schumer said 'she tends to be a moderate' but the number one criteria, he explained, was that if she could make the court a majority of 5 instead of a minority of 4. Whatever... And frankly, Senator McConnell is simply unable to explain away the hypocrisy of supporting Harriet Meyers for her lack of direct court experience and then decrying it when asked about Ms. Kagen.
Here's the problem with Mr. Schumer's logic and, by extension, President Obama's. When Ms. Kagen is confirmed she will make a fine judge and hopefully she will feel empowered at some point to move further left. It is what the court actually needs. However, she is moderate, as a simplified description. It speaks to the pragmatism of the choice and that's why Senator Schumer agrees with the pick.
However, for Mr. Obama the choice is flawed. He's called a pragmatist, but pragmatism is a tactic and employed in the right manner at the correct time can be a quite effective one. However, as an overall philosophy, it is an empty vessel. Politically, it will always be viewed a lack of conviction and this column believes that it is. If President Obama's philosophy is to be a pragmatist, then his choice makes sense in his logic, but again, it is flawed. Like it or not, this is a litmus test of a President's conviction and suffice to say it doesn't pass the smell test.
Sunday, May 09, 2010
5.9.10: Rule of Law
Talk about a difficult job... Attorney General Eric Holder can not do anything that is satisfactory to anyone, and he compounds this difficulty with statements that are not necessarily incorrect or wrong in judgement, but that he makes statements and then has to retreat backward because of political pressure such as the prospective Khalid Sheik Mohammad trial, which was addressed during today's program.
First, in the aftermath of this week's arrest of Faisal Shahzad, for the attempted Times Square car bombing, and the Arizona immigration law, racial profiling has come to the forefront. This column feels that racial profiliing, as the Attorney General explained today, is not good for law enforcement as it would pit the citizenry against law enforcement and this cooperation is key in the actual protection of the people. What if, out of fear of being detained himself, the Muslim-American man who alerted police, didn't? Tighter coordination amongst the various law enforcement agencies is what is required. Where racial profiling leads to is profiling people for other things - religion, age, ethnicity, sexual orientation. Now some people would say that that is hyperbole, but it isn't if you open the door to going down that road. Also, the introduction of this Liebermann-Brown that proposes to revoke citizenship of an individual if they've participated in an act of terrorism, or something to that effect. Well, what if you were detained accidentally and had no way to prove your innocence? You're citizenship is in jeopardy and due process under the law is thrown out because your Miranda rights are read to you. If it were you in that situation, you would say it's wrong.
So with regard to Mr. Shahzad, he is an American citizen and should be read his Miranda rights - all citizens have equal protections under the law. Ultimately, the Liebermann-Brown bill raises some eyebrows, but won't amount to much, frankly because one of the sponsors hasn't earned his credentials in the Senate yet and the other has been discredited.
Mr. Holder invoked the ticking time-bomb scenario when dealing with terror suspects and their Miranda rights, which means that if the threat is still grave and information is needed, then the reading is delayed. It's a middle ground that wins no fans for Mr. Holder on either side of the isle. And it is this middle ground position that the Attorney General continually takes such as in the trial location of Khalid Sheik Mohammad. First, he said that the trial would be in New York, and now it isn't? Or it's being reviewed... where are we?
Also, we stated in this column before our disappointment in many of our politicians that they don't have confidence in our Justice system, confidence in our law enforcement and investigators to bring a rock-solid case and present it in no uncertain terms or the courage to defend the process. "Home of the brave," don't we remember this. Mr. Holder emphatically (we mean this in complete facetiousness with regard to Mr. Holder's perpetual monotone) stated that failure is not an option and he would not be released. To which, you ask, "But how can that be guaranteed?" It doesn't have to be guaranteed. Mr. Wes Moore, author and former captain of the army who served in Afghanistan, said that it is more dangerous abroad if we abandon our rule of law. Katy Kay, Washington correspondent for the BBC also on today's panel, pointed out the double standard of the Bush Administration trying terrorists in civilian court versus the Obama Administration doing it. Lastly, E.J. Dionne, who was actually emphatic about the term 'lawyered up,' stated that we have faced it situation many times in our history and we have been able to maintain citizens' rights.
[It's worth noting here that Mr. Greogory, the moderator, was injecting his opinion way too much during the panel with regard to the Miranda discussion. Mr. Gregory needs to go back, look at the tape, and check himself for next time as the Moderator of Meet The Press.]
With all that, what are conservative politicians afraid of? Are they afraid that Khalid Sheik Mohammad might go free... be acquitted? Fine, he's acquitted and he goes free. If that high improbability actually happens, let's drop him off in the middle of the Michigan woods, make it public knowledge, and see if ever makes out.
Postscript: One other note with regard to something that was touched on at the end of the panel discussion is what happened in Utah with Senator Bob Bennett. In the state convention, he was ousted by conservatives for not being conservative enough. David Brookes pointed out that Mr. Bennett voted for the T.A.R.P. and tried to work across the aisle with Democrats, and voiced his contempt for this close-minded, uncompromising approach being taken by the local Republican caucuses. Divided Republicans will fall if they continue on this trajectory as they will marginalize themselves with ideological litmus tests.
First, in the aftermath of this week's arrest of Faisal Shahzad, for the attempted Times Square car bombing, and the Arizona immigration law, racial profiling has come to the forefront. This column feels that racial profiliing, as the Attorney General explained today, is not good for law enforcement as it would pit the citizenry against law enforcement and this cooperation is key in the actual protection of the people. What if, out of fear of being detained himself, the Muslim-American man who alerted police, didn't? Tighter coordination amongst the various law enforcement agencies is what is required. Where racial profiling leads to is profiling people for other things - religion, age, ethnicity, sexual orientation. Now some people would say that that is hyperbole, but it isn't if you open the door to going down that road. Also, the introduction of this Liebermann-Brown that proposes to revoke citizenship of an individual if they've participated in an act of terrorism, or something to that effect. Well, what if you were detained accidentally and had no way to prove your innocence? You're citizenship is in jeopardy and due process under the law is thrown out because your Miranda rights are read to you. If it were you in that situation, you would say it's wrong.
So with regard to Mr. Shahzad, he is an American citizen and should be read his Miranda rights - all citizens have equal protections under the law. Ultimately, the Liebermann-Brown bill raises some eyebrows, but won't amount to much, frankly because one of the sponsors hasn't earned his credentials in the Senate yet and the other has been discredited.
Mr. Holder invoked the ticking time-bomb scenario when dealing with terror suspects and their Miranda rights, which means that if the threat is still grave and information is needed, then the reading is delayed. It's a middle ground that wins no fans for Mr. Holder on either side of the isle. And it is this middle ground position that the Attorney General continually takes such as in the trial location of Khalid Sheik Mohammad. First, he said that the trial would be in New York, and now it isn't? Or it's being reviewed... where are we?
Also, we stated in this column before our disappointment in many of our politicians that they don't have confidence in our Justice system, confidence in our law enforcement and investigators to bring a rock-solid case and present it in no uncertain terms or the courage to defend the process. "Home of the brave," don't we remember this. Mr. Holder emphatically (we mean this in complete facetiousness with regard to Mr. Holder's perpetual monotone) stated that failure is not an option and he would not be released. To which, you ask, "But how can that be guaranteed?" It doesn't have to be guaranteed. Mr. Wes Moore, author and former captain of the army who served in Afghanistan, said that it is more dangerous abroad if we abandon our rule of law. Katy Kay, Washington correspondent for the BBC also on today's panel, pointed out the double standard of the Bush Administration trying terrorists in civilian court versus the Obama Administration doing it. Lastly, E.J. Dionne, who was actually emphatic about the term 'lawyered up,' stated that we have faced it situation many times in our history and we have been able to maintain citizens' rights.
[It's worth noting here that Mr. Greogory, the moderator, was injecting his opinion way too much during the panel with regard to the Miranda discussion. Mr. Gregory needs to go back, look at the tape, and check himself for next time as the Moderator of Meet The Press.]
With all that, what are conservative politicians afraid of? Are they afraid that Khalid Sheik Mohammad might go free... be acquitted? Fine, he's acquitted and he goes free. If that high improbability actually happens, let's drop him off in the middle of the Michigan woods, make it public knowledge, and see if ever makes out.
Postscript: One other note with regard to something that was touched on at the end of the panel discussion is what happened in Utah with Senator Bob Bennett. In the state convention, he was ousted by conservatives for not being conservative enough. David Brookes pointed out that Mr. Bennett voted for the T.A.R.P. and tried to work across the aisle with Democrats, and voiced his contempt for this close-minded, uncompromising approach being taken by the local Republican caucuses. Divided Republicans will fall if they continue on this trajectory as they will marginalize themselves with ideological litmus tests.
Sunday, April 25, 2010
4.25.10: Lawyers, Guns, and Money
On the cusp of landing a banking reform bill on the Senate floor, Senators Chris Dodd (D-CT) and Richard Shelby (R-AL) showed up for a status report. Mr. Dodd, as it is well documented, has been the driving force behind the initiative, but Mr. Shelby has worked closely with him the entire way. However, the body language from both men were quite telling.
Senator Dodd said that the Goldman Sachs episode (where they made billions betting against the economy), there is a heightened need for reform. To which, Sen. Shelby countered that we need to end the casino atmosphere on Wall Street. Wait... not really a counter. In fact, through his Stepford tone, Mr. Shelby said things that pretty much put him on the same page as Mr. Dodd, but he couldn't show any kind of collective sense of accomplishment. His predicament is that banking reform is something everyone wants and that there isn't enough to disagree on, which doesn't help Republicans politically.
On the other hand, Mr. Dodd was trying to say that the bill should be named the Dodd-Shelby bill, but Sen. Shelby was cutting that down with a lack of acknowledgment all together. Maybe it was just the different temperament of the two men, or possibly it's just a reflection of the political climate. Republicans are obligated NOT to warm up to Democrats - we know this. And to further that point, Senator Shelby said that the bill doesn't, in fact, prevent too big to fail, and must be tightened up. Hence, Republicans will oppose the bill in its current form, which is very shrewd politically. By saying that the bill doesn't go far enough, Republicans will not vote it and in essence blocking a bill that they don't want to see pass even if it did have more teeth.
However, we do agree with Mr. Shelby in reference to the bail-outs. Mr. Gregory pointed out that most of the banks and the automakers have paid back their respective bail-outs. Mr. Shelby said that not all the bail-out money, even from those firms paying it back, will ever be reimbursed. That's just true, a lot of that money is just money down the drain to create some kind of solvency somewhere in a corner of the economy. It's sort of like that $9 Billion in cash that disappeared in Iraq. It paid someone somewhere for something that can't be discussed. And Mr. Shelby also quoted Paul Volker in saying that if you're too big to regulate, you're too big to exist - also true because we would still like to think that no one in this country is above the law.
Senator Dodd stated that the complexity of the bill is a red herring, and we agree simply because you can not oppose something because it seems too complex. Just master the complexity. Newsweek's Evan Thomas pointed out, on the panel, that we're not going to turn things around this time, 'growing out of it,' not without regulation. So in spite of what we said above about politically shrewd moves, the Republicans don't have the collective will to oppose banking regulation reform.
In a day where hard partisanship sells, here's an issue in which you can see consensus, but we can't bring ourselves to it. This plays into the other topic of discussion, for today's panel, which was the role of government. How much should it play a direct part of our daily lives? How strong of a hand should it have? Well first, that's a good question for Arizona.
For a state that leans way right and shouts complaints about government's big hand, they decided to act on immigration because the federal government has down nothing 'for decades' as the Arizona Governor put it. But they didn't quite act in a 'freedom loving' kind of way. Even before the bill was signed, the jokes about, "Where are your papers [with German accent]?" were flying around.
But even today's panel was unanimous in its opinion of what likely effect this new law will have, namely the potential for racial profiling. And it will happen, it's like physics. Arizona passed this lawyer to address illegal Mexican immigration and it's inevitable that American citizens are going to be required to show citizenship upon request. That's not freedom, that's nationalism, more in line with the fascist tendencies. And we're not saying that the Arizona legislature is a bunch of Nazis, not at all. They are just reacting in a drastic way to what they feel is a drastic problem... again social physics.
Also, as PBS's Michele Norris rhetorically asked, are they going to check Chinese immigrants or Irish immigrants or the Brit who overstayed his visa? Officially, maybe... but unofficially, absolutely no. So the essence of that is racial profiling of one group. And as Erin Burnett of CNBC pointed out, an expendable one. In her ever cavalier, corporatist view, she explained that corporations, though it would seem they like cheap labor, will still be able to get it despite this law. It's the Chinese and Indian immigrants that they welcome for the high tech.
Lastly, this has put immigration reform to the forefront of the Demcrats' agenda, New York Times David Brooks explained, simply for political reasons, not out of necessity - ahead of energy policy, which is a much higher priority. And why? Because everyone wants that Latino vote, with the exception of Senator John McCain, who endorsed the bill. In a hard turn right, Mr. McCain, who worked on immigration reform for years with the late Senator Kennedy of Massachusetts, it was pointed out, went back on one of his well-established positions to get the right votes. But what ever votes he's courting, his endorsement doesn't line up with something we thought Mr. McCain was all about - the defense of freedom.
Senator Dodd said that the Goldman Sachs episode (where they made billions betting against the economy), there is a heightened need for reform. To which, Sen. Shelby countered that we need to end the casino atmosphere on Wall Street. Wait... not really a counter. In fact, through his Stepford tone, Mr. Shelby said things that pretty much put him on the same page as Mr. Dodd, but he couldn't show any kind of collective sense of accomplishment. His predicament is that banking reform is something everyone wants and that there isn't enough to disagree on, which doesn't help Republicans politically.
On the other hand, Mr. Dodd was trying to say that the bill should be named the Dodd-Shelby bill, but Sen. Shelby was cutting that down with a lack of acknowledgment all together. Maybe it was just the different temperament of the two men, or possibly it's just a reflection of the political climate. Republicans are obligated NOT to warm up to Democrats - we know this. And to further that point, Senator Shelby said that the bill doesn't, in fact, prevent too big to fail, and must be tightened up. Hence, Republicans will oppose the bill in its current form, which is very shrewd politically. By saying that the bill doesn't go far enough, Republicans will not vote it and in essence blocking a bill that they don't want to see pass even if it did have more teeth.
However, we do agree with Mr. Shelby in reference to the bail-outs. Mr. Gregory pointed out that most of the banks and the automakers have paid back their respective bail-outs. Mr. Shelby said that not all the bail-out money, even from those firms paying it back, will ever be reimbursed. That's just true, a lot of that money is just money down the drain to create some kind of solvency somewhere in a corner of the economy. It's sort of like that $9 Billion in cash that disappeared in Iraq. It paid someone somewhere for something that can't be discussed. And Mr. Shelby also quoted Paul Volker in saying that if you're too big to regulate, you're too big to exist - also true because we would still like to think that no one in this country is above the law.
Senator Dodd stated that the complexity of the bill is a red herring, and we agree simply because you can not oppose something because it seems too complex. Just master the complexity. Newsweek's Evan Thomas pointed out, on the panel, that we're not going to turn things around this time, 'growing out of it,' not without regulation. So in spite of what we said above about politically shrewd moves, the Republicans don't have the collective will to oppose banking regulation reform.
In a day where hard partisanship sells, here's an issue in which you can see consensus, but we can't bring ourselves to it. This plays into the other topic of discussion, for today's panel, which was the role of government. How much should it play a direct part of our daily lives? How strong of a hand should it have? Well first, that's a good question for Arizona.
For a state that leans way right and shouts complaints about government's big hand, they decided to act on immigration because the federal government has down nothing 'for decades' as the Arizona Governor put it. But they didn't quite act in a 'freedom loving' kind of way. Even before the bill was signed, the jokes about, "Where are your papers [with German accent]?" were flying around.
But even today's panel was unanimous in its opinion of what likely effect this new law will have, namely the potential for racial profiling. And it will happen, it's like physics. Arizona passed this lawyer to address illegal Mexican immigration and it's inevitable that American citizens are going to be required to show citizenship upon request. That's not freedom, that's nationalism, more in line with the fascist tendencies. And we're not saying that the Arizona legislature is a bunch of Nazis, not at all. They are just reacting in a drastic way to what they feel is a drastic problem... again social physics.
Also, as PBS's Michele Norris rhetorically asked, are they going to check Chinese immigrants or Irish immigrants or the Brit who overstayed his visa? Officially, maybe... but unofficially, absolutely no. So the essence of that is racial profiling of one group. And as Erin Burnett of CNBC pointed out, an expendable one. In her ever cavalier, corporatist view, she explained that corporations, though it would seem they like cheap labor, will still be able to get it despite this law. It's the Chinese and Indian immigrants that they welcome for the high tech.
Lastly, this has put immigration reform to the forefront of the Demcrats' agenda, New York Times David Brooks explained, simply for political reasons, not out of necessity - ahead of energy policy, which is a much higher priority. And why? Because everyone wants that Latino vote, with the exception of Senator John McCain, who endorsed the bill. In a hard turn right, Mr. McCain, who worked on immigration reform for years with the late Senator Kennedy of Massachusetts, it was pointed out, went back on one of his well-established positions to get the right votes. But what ever votes he's courting, his endorsement doesn't line up with something we thought Mr. McCain was all about - the defense of freedom.
Sunday, April 11, 2010
4.11.10: Foes
Before we start with anything, at the end of today's program, Mr. Gregory noted the tragedy in Russia where the President of Poland, Jaroslaw Kaczynski, died along with many in the top leadership of the Polish government, in a plane crash. We wanted to note it here - at the beginning. The author of this column lived in Poland for three years, in Lipno outside of Torun and in Warsaw, the capital.
I just want to say that today I think of the good friends that are still there and how hard this must be for them. Poland is a special place, one of the key historical countries in understanding not only Europe, but the world. It's people are warm, highly intelligent, and gracious hosts. The profound lessons I learned there have stayed with me for my entire life. My heart is with them today and always.
-----
What is so frustrating and will eventually seriously cripple this country is we can't get together on anything. Senator Sessions (R-AL), in today's interview alongside Senator Leahy (D-VT), that the government is overreaching against the will of the American people, but we would contend that some in Mr. Sessions party would say that the government isn't doing enough on job creation. But isn't the government overreaching when they start tampering with the job market? We could go around and around on this ad nausea.
With regard to the nomination of a new Supreme Court justice, following Justice Steven's retirement announcement, Senator Leahy said today that the court now is an activist court. Justice Stevens, known as the leading liberal on the court, it was noted, said that he hadn't changed but the court dynamic has in fact changed. To which, Senator Sessions disagreed, but it's difficult to agree when the court, along ideological line that favor conservatives, the court empowered corporations further by ruling that they could contribute monetarily to political campaigns. Who wouldn't be against that?
New York Times columnist David Brooks, later in the program, feels that since the court is dominated by Harvard/ Yale grads that President Obama will go outside of that sphere and nominate more a man [person] of the people. One who has more of the 'common man' experience. And we all hope as Senator Leahy stated that it is some one who brings the country together. But that's highly doubtful. Of the mentioned nominees, Janet Napolitano's name came up, and we're not convinced. She's been exceedingly mediocre as the Secretary of Homeland Security, almost as if her opinion doesn't care any weight. Politics is perception as they always say and the court is now political. We've reached a dangerous stage in that regard and given that, Ms. Napolitano would definitely not be our choice. However, we do strongly believe that another woman is needed for the court, most importantly for the fact that woman are underrepresented!
Finally, Senator Sessions left open the possibility of a filibuster of the nominee, after he once stated that it would not be a good idea. If in fact the Republicans do filibuster, which this column suspects they will if the nominee is deemed 'too liberal,' there will be a sea change in our political system where bipartisanship will cease to exist in any context - foreign or domestic policy. Both parties will be reduced to crippled foes.
With regard to our foreign adversaries, namely Iran and its nuclear ambitions, the Administration is taking the correct and shrewd approach event though the Republicans and their brethren [e.g. Ms. Palin and the Tea Party] don't think so, but here's why. Signing the S.T.A.R.T. treaty with Russia is a smart move. It reduces our and Russia's respective stockpiles, which now only gives our countries the ability to kill each other a hundred times over instead of a thousand times over. So when these two major nuclear powers focus their attention, the rest of the world will listen and Russia is an essential in making this happen. The nuclear summit will additionally raise the world governments' collective consciousness.
In addition to the necessary subversive tactics being employed by us and our allies, these initial moves will compel others to step up sanctions and other diplomatic pressure on Iran to hamper its nuclear ambitions. We have previously stated in this column that Iran as a nuclear power is inevitable - unfortunately and the we shouldn't make it easy. As strongly as our stance is with regard to Iran and its nuclear ambitions, we would under no circumstances advocate for war.
Also, as Secretary Gates stated, in today's joint interview with Secretary of State Clinton, we still have a very powerful nuclear arsenal (see above), but with our advanced technology with regard to missile defense, we have the capability of protecting ourselves via more conventional means.
There seems to be a dearth of shrewd thinking in this country when it comes to our foreign adversaries. This acting from the gut with false bravado stems from our need for instant gratification. Shrewd thinking takes time and patience, it just knowing when that patience needs to be turned into action. However, as David Sanger pointed out, in the roundtable, President Obama hasn't definitely what that redline is. Also, given what Secretary Gates said about us not really knowing even when or if Iran has assembled a nuclear weapon, is The President being shrewd by not saying? We would hope so but it does appear that he hasn't exactly defined it himself. Kathleen Parker made the good point that engagement is not foreign policy. However, it is a necessary tool. Remember that a great chess champion always wants to sit opposite is his most dangerous opponent - to beat him face to face.
Again, Secretary Clinton stated this this treaty in no way makes us weaker but tactically it gives us greater leverage with other countries, foes and allies alike.
P.S. David Brooks had a great Newt Gingrich quote on today's program that's worth noting. Newt Gingrich has a billion ideas, six hundred of which as good.
I just want to say that today I think of the good friends that are still there and how hard this must be for them. Poland is a special place, one of the key historical countries in understanding not only Europe, but the world. It's people are warm, highly intelligent, and gracious hosts. The profound lessons I learned there have stayed with me for my entire life. My heart is with them today and always.
-----
What is so frustrating and will eventually seriously cripple this country is we can't get together on anything. Senator Sessions (R-AL), in today's interview alongside Senator Leahy (D-VT), that the government is overreaching against the will of the American people, but we would contend that some in Mr. Sessions party would say that the government isn't doing enough on job creation. But isn't the government overreaching when they start tampering with the job market? We could go around and around on this ad nausea.
With regard to the nomination of a new Supreme Court justice, following Justice Steven's retirement announcement, Senator Leahy said today that the court now is an activist court. Justice Stevens, known as the leading liberal on the court, it was noted, said that he hadn't changed but the court dynamic has in fact changed. To which, Senator Sessions disagreed, but it's difficult to agree when the court, along ideological line that favor conservatives, the court empowered corporations further by ruling that they could contribute monetarily to political campaigns. Who wouldn't be against that?
New York Times columnist David Brooks, later in the program, feels that since the court is dominated by Harvard/ Yale grads that President Obama will go outside of that sphere and nominate more a man [person] of the people. One who has more of the 'common man' experience. And we all hope as Senator Leahy stated that it is some one who brings the country together. But that's highly doubtful. Of the mentioned nominees, Janet Napolitano's name came up, and we're not convinced. She's been exceedingly mediocre as the Secretary of Homeland Security, almost as if her opinion doesn't care any weight. Politics is perception as they always say and the court is now political. We've reached a dangerous stage in that regard and given that, Ms. Napolitano would definitely not be our choice. However, we do strongly believe that another woman is needed for the court, most importantly for the fact that woman are underrepresented!
Finally, Senator Sessions left open the possibility of a filibuster of the nominee, after he once stated that it would not be a good idea. If in fact the Republicans do filibuster, which this column suspects they will if the nominee is deemed 'too liberal,' there will be a sea change in our political system where bipartisanship will cease to exist in any context - foreign or domestic policy. Both parties will be reduced to crippled foes.
With regard to our foreign adversaries, namely Iran and its nuclear ambitions, the Administration is taking the correct and shrewd approach event though the Republicans and their brethren [e.g. Ms. Palin and the Tea Party] don't think so, but here's why. Signing the S.T.A.R.T. treaty with Russia is a smart move. It reduces our and Russia's respective stockpiles, which now only gives our countries the ability to kill each other a hundred times over instead of a thousand times over. So when these two major nuclear powers focus their attention, the rest of the world will listen and Russia is an essential in making this happen. The nuclear summit will additionally raise the world governments' collective consciousness.
In addition to the necessary subversive tactics being employed by us and our allies, these initial moves will compel others to step up sanctions and other diplomatic pressure on Iran to hamper its nuclear ambitions. We have previously stated in this column that Iran as a nuclear power is inevitable - unfortunately and the we shouldn't make it easy. As strongly as our stance is with regard to Iran and its nuclear ambitions, we would under no circumstances advocate for war.
Also, as Secretary Gates stated, in today's joint interview with Secretary of State Clinton, we still have a very powerful nuclear arsenal (see above), but with our advanced technology with regard to missile defense, we have the capability of protecting ourselves via more conventional means.
There seems to be a dearth of shrewd thinking in this country when it comes to our foreign adversaries. This acting from the gut with false bravado stems from our need for instant gratification. Shrewd thinking takes time and patience, it just knowing when that patience needs to be turned into action. However, as David Sanger pointed out, in the roundtable, President Obama hasn't definitely what that redline is. Also, given what Secretary Gates said about us not really knowing even when or if Iran has assembled a nuclear weapon, is The President being shrewd by not saying? We would hope so but it does appear that he hasn't exactly defined it himself. Kathleen Parker made the good point that engagement is not foreign policy. However, it is a necessary tool. Remember that a great chess champion always wants to sit opposite is his most dangerous opponent - to beat him face to face.
Again, Secretary Clinton stated this this treaty in no way makes us weaker but tactically it gives us greater leverage with other countries, foes and allies alike.
P.S. David Brooks had a great Newt Gingrich quote on today's program that's worth noting. Newt Gingrich has a billion ideas, six hundred of which as good.
Sunday, April 04, 2010
4.4.10: Into The Woods
Time's Rick Stengel summed it up this week by saying that government can only do so much to improve the economy and create jobs. Yet, the prevailing perception is that the government isn't doing enough to spur real recovery and job growth. Hence, we have much vitriol for Washington across the countryside, and indeed our democratic process is struggling right now trying to navigate through the seas of high partisanship.
However, unless an individual applies for a government job, the government isn't going to do it for him directly. They can facilitate with a stimulus bill, which Dr. Christina Romer - today's first guest - said was on track to create 3 million jobs; financial reform; and bring the costs of one-sixth of our economy down in the form of healthcare reform. To the Republicans credit, they have successfully framed, as they always do, the Democrats' reform agenda into a government take over of our lives, which as we really know is not going to happen. With regard to Dr. Romer's claim of job creation, it's difficult to believe any such numbers simply due to the fact that market forces and the banks could either play along or throw the whole recovery out of whack.
The negative economic forces and discontent with Washington in general has spurred the creation and bold actions of homegrown right-wing extremist groups, elements of which turn up in the Tea Party movement, essentially acting as the Sinn Fein of the far right. And frankly, not smart representation either as what many tea party people don't realize is that they are advocating for things that do not serve their own best interest. Mr. Gregory described the response as 'extreme and incendiary political rhetoric.' Republican political leaders can deflect all they want that they are not contributing to this escalation is far right groups, but their weak denouncements speak louder. Additionally, Congressperson Jane Harman, a part of today's panel, pointed out a troubling aspect that the recently arrested militia members were set to employ tactics used by Al Qaeda. Become what you be behold and be content you're doing right. Very sad.
Lastly, dare we say that it is refreshing that today's discussion revolved around terrorism and security instead of healthcare? Not necessarily a refreshing topic, but as it stands right now these are the only concerns facing us where a shred of consensus can be found. With that said, Senator Joseph Lieberman, also on the panel today, said that there should be a concern for our trains and subways and that the Moscow subway bombings should as an example of a real threat. Now, we know that Mr. Lieberman thinks that those bombings serve as examples, and not that those same forces that executed those bombings are also targeting us. However, from the way he talked about it, we can only be 98% sure... hmmm. The point being, is that we find Senator Lieberman to be frivolously hawkish, aggressive for the sake of being so. But assuming we're on the same page, yes - these bombings will give some one here a tragic idea. But here's the rub, President Obama has been extremely hawkish with regard to our operations on the Afghanistan-Pakistan frontier. And despite the determined Taliban resistance, we have Al Qaeda more on the run now then we've had in a number of years. (Congressman Harman was also correct is saying that the epicenter for terrorism/Al Qaeda is Yeman.) So unfortunately, those examples are food for bright ideas for someone living in the Michigan woods.
However, unless an individual applies for a government job, the government isn't going to do it for him directly. They can facilitate with a stimulus bill, which Dr. Christina Romer - today's first guest - said was on track to create 3 million jobs; financial reform; and bring the costs of one-sixth of our economy down in the form of healthcare reform. To the Republicans credit, they have successfully framed, as they always do, the Democrats' reform agenda into a government take over of our lives, which as we really know is not going to happen. With regard to Dr. Romer's claim of job creation, it's difficult to believe any such numbers simply due to the fact that market forces and the banks could either play along or throw the whole recovery out of whack.
The negative economic forces and discontent with Washington in general has spurred the creation and bold actions of homegrown right-wing extremist groups, elements of which turn up in the Tea Party movement, essentially acting as the Sinn Fein of the far right. And frankly, not smart representation either as what many tea party people don't realize is that they are advocating for things that do not serve their own best interest. Mr. Gregory described the response as 'extreme and incendiary political rhetoric.' Republican political leaders can deflect all they want that they are not contributing to this escalation is far right groups, but their weak denouncements speak louder. Additionally, Congressperson Jane Harman, a part of today's panel, pointed out a troubling aspect that the recently arrested militia members were set to employ tactics used by Al Qaeda. Become what you be behold and be content you're doing right. Very sad.
Lastly, dare we say that it is refreshing that today's discussion revolved around terrorism and security instead of healthcare? Not necessarily a refreshing topic, but as it stands right now these are the only concerns facing us where a shred of consensus can be found. With that said, Senator Joseph Lieberman, also on the panel today, said that there should be a concern for our trains and subways and that the Moscow subway bombings should as an example of a real threat. Now, we know that Mr. Lieberman thinks that those bombings serve as examples, and not that those same forces that executed those bombings are also targeting us. However, from the way he talked about it, we can only be 98% sure... hmmm. The point being, is that we find Senator Lieberman to be frivolously hawkish, aggressive for the sake of being so. But assuming we're on the same page, yes - these bombings will give some one here a tragic idea. But here's the rub, President Obama has been extremely hawkish with regard to our operations on the Afghanistan-Pakistan frontier. And despite the determined Taliban resistance, we have Al Qaeda more on the run now then we've had in a number of years. (Congressman Harman was also correct is saying that the epicenter for terrorism/Al Qaeda is Yeman.) So unfortunately, those examples are food for bright ideas for someone living in the Michigan woods.
Sunday, March 28, 2010
3.28:10 The Aftermath
The subtitle for today's program was "Healthcare, The Aftermath." Ugh. As a barometer on what is to happen next and how we move forward, Mr. Gregory moderated between Senator Charles Schumer (D-NY) and Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC).
Keeping within the context of a focus poll, which indicated that 50% of the people disapprove of the passage of the healthcare legislation. The answers from both Senators addressed this number but they also provided a clarifying philosophical difference between the parties. Mr. Schumer stated that the bill will become more popular as the provisions take effect and ordinary Americans start seeing the benefits of the reform. Meanwhile, Mr. Graham essentially called the bill a ponzi scheme that in reality would not save taxpayers' money, and that the process was sleazy - back room deals containing 'tricks and gimmicks.' - will become more and more popular as they are see the benefits of the bill. And though Mr. Graham did not explicitly discuss what Republicans intended on doing to repeal many of the measures, he did emphatically state that legal action would taken up by state attorney's offices in a vast majority of the country, with the inclination of repeal.
The major difference here is not whether one man or the other is right, but really in the direction they're respectively looking. Mr. Schumer explained that as time move along (in the near future), people will see the benefits, while Mr. Graham speaks and eludes to repeal, as do his Republican colleagues, which is reverting back to the how things were in the past. This illustrates a distinct matter of perspective - looking forward vs. looking back. Now that seems to be unfair to characterize one party as living in the past. So to provide another tact, one party sees how things are and move forward accordingly, and the other moves forward according to how things should be (as seen in the mind's eye) accordingly to a narrower part of the population.
Not to mention that Mr. Schumer was referring to the substance of the bill, while Mr. Graham was still focusing on the process. This is hypocritical at the least because (and we won't get into all the specific example, but the Bush tax cuts would be one) Republicans have employed the same tactics and will do so again - it's part of politics.
[As an aside: Senator McCain said this week that Democrats and the Obama Administration can expect no more cooperation from the Republican party this year before the midterm elections. Pretty fun considering that they never cooperated with Democrats in the first place.]
We would like to coin the phrase that 'Fear is so 20th century,' but we can't because in actuality 'Fear is so 21st century,' at least for 50% of the population. Republicans, with an assist from the Tea Party 'Movement' (the legitimacy here is still at question as far as we're concerned) effectively sold fear better than the Obama Administration sold the benefits of what they were doing. Political cudos to them, but good politics is not always good policy. And it bears repeating, repeating as many times as it takes for this to sink in. When the Republicans controlled the congress and executive branch for six years, the only thing they did in regard to healthcare was Medicare part D, which essentially took money from ordinary Americans and enriched the pharmaceutical companies... doughnut holes and no-competition clauses.
It's the cosmic 'wait and see' at this point as to how it all shakes out. However, if Mr. Obama can get unemployment down to around 7%, frankly, no one will give a shit about healthcare... they'll just love it.
But Republican strategist, Mike Murphy, said that it is a bad bill because of the cost, not the access that it provides. To counter, Democratic strategist, Bob Shrum (not one of our favorites), explained the benefits and the recorded conclusions of the Congressional Budget Office that says the bill will actually cut the deficit over time. Understandably, we received another healthy dose of talking points from each side, but that's what they're paid to do.
What was very telling were the reactions and comments from Presidential Historian Doris Kearns Goodwin and Newsweek Editor Jon Meacham.
Ms. Goodwin: "The Battle has only begun and Republicans won it with falsehoods."
This isn't some one who writes about history, but has eye-witnessed it during Lyndon Johnson's Presidency when he enacted Medicare and then Civil Rights legislation.
Mr. Meacham: "The opposition is disproportionate to the legislation." This is the most concise and accurate description to the opposition to the bill. And from the Tea Party people, hyperbole can and should be expected. We would expect the same from people representing a far left cause. However, inflammatory language and hyperbole coming from members of Congress... "baby killer, armageddon, sleazy, etc," disqualifies that individual speaker from being taken seriously.
And that's what the Republican politicians just don't get. Vindictive tactics and bitter statements do not contribute to the greater positive health and growth of the country. That's not to say that the Democrats always get it right, hardly, but are they more constructive, by all appearances, in their collective discourse to try something to solve the country's problems, most certainly.
Keeping within the context of a focus poll, which indicated that 50% of the people disapprove of the passage of the healthcare legislation. The answers from both Senators addressed this number but they also provided a clarifying philosophical difference between the parties. Mr. Schumer stated that the bill will become more popular as the provisions take effect and ordinary Americans start seeing the benefits of the reform. Meanwhile, Mr. Graham essentially called the bill a ponzi scheme that in reality would not save taxpayers' money, and that the process was sleazy - back room deals containing 'tricks and gimmicks.' - will become more and more popular as they are see the benefits of the bill. And though Mr. Graham did not explicitly discuss what Republicans intended on doing to repeal many of the measures, he did emphatically state that legal action would taken up by state attorney's offices in a vast majority of the country, with the inclination of repeal.
The major difference here is not whether one man or the other is right, but really in the direction they're respectively looking. Mr. Schumer explained that as time move along (in the near future), people will see the benefits, while Mr. Graham speaks and eludes to repeal, as do his Republican colleagues, which is reverting back to the how things were in the past. This illustrates a distinct matter of perspective - looking forward vs. looking back. Now that seems to be unfair to characterize one party as living in the past. So to provide another tact, one party sees how things are and move forward accordingly, and the other moves forward according to how things should be (as seen in the mind's eye) accordingly to a narrower part of the population.
Not to mention that Mr. Schumer was referring to the substance of the bill, while Mr. Graham was still focusing on the process. This is hypocritical at the least because (and we won't get into all the specific example, but the Bush tax cuts would be one) Republicans have employed the same tactics and will do so again - it's part of politics.
[As an aside: Senator McCain said this week that Democrats and the Obama Administration can expect no more cooperation from the Republican party this year before the midterm elections. Pretty fun considering that they never cooperated with Democrats in the first place.]
We would like to coin the phrase that 'Fear is so 20th century,' but we can't because in actuality 'Fear is so 21st century,' at least for 50% of the population. Republicans, with an assist from the Tea Party 'Movement' (the legitimacy here is still at question as far as we're concerned) effectively sold fear better than the Obama Administration sold the benefits of what they were doing. Political cudos to them, but good politics is not always good policy. And it bears repeating, repeating as many times as it takes for this to sink in. When the Republicans controlled the congress and executive branch for six years, the only thing they did in regard to healthcare was Medicare part D, which essentially took money from ordinary Americans and enriched the pharmaceutical companies... doughnut holes and no-competition clauses.
It's the cosmic 'wait and see' at this point as to how it all shakes out. However, if Mr. Obama can get unemployment down to around 7%, frankly, no one will give a shit about healthcare... they'll just love it.
But Republican strategist, Mike Murphy, said that it is a bad bill because of the cost, not the access that it provides. To counter, Democratic strategist, Bob Shrum (not one of our favorites), explained the benefits and the recorded conclusions of the Congressional Budget Office that says the bill will actually cut the deficit over time. Understandably, we received another healthy dose of talking points from each side, but that's what they're paid to do.
What was very telling were the reactions and comments from Presidential Historian Doris Kearns Goodwin and Newsweek Editor Jon Meacham.
Ms. Goodwin: "The Battle has only begun and Republicans won it with falsehoods."
This isn't some one who writes about history, but has eye-witnessed it during Lyndon Johnson's Presidency when he enacted Medicare and then Civil Rights legislation.
Mr. Meacham: "The opposition is disproportionate to the legislation." This is the most concise and accurate description to the opposition to the bill. And from the Tea Party people, hyperbole can and should be expected. We would expect the same from people representing a far left cause. However, inflammatory language and hyperbole coming from members of Congress... "baby killer, armageddon, sleazy, etc," disqualifies that individual speaker from being taken seriously.
And that's what the Republican politicians just don't get. Vindictive tactics and bitter statements do not contribute to the greater positive health and growth of the country. That's not to say that the Democrats always get it right, hardly, but are they more constructive, by all appearances, in their collective discourse to try something to solve the country's problems, most certainly.
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