Eyes to the Right, please

This is the reality -- Right now the American people are feeling an inordinate amount of anger, much of which I think masks fear.  Unfortunately the fallout from a Deep Recession is still with us . . . all of us.  Republicans have exploited the more general angst which started during the final years of the Clinton administration.  And it went on from there.

Just before the new millenium there was the Y2K scare.  The Supreme Court annointed George W. Bush as President in 2000.  Then came 9/11/01, the first attack on the homeland, and then the first major war of aggression by the U.S. in Iraq.  Republicans started the fearmongering after 9/11.  As it turns out, the first 8 years of the 21st century were made worse by poor leadership.  This opinion piece explains: "Presidential scholars: Bush is the worst president of the modern era, bottom five of all time#;" it is from Think Progress (7/1/10).  Republicans started the fearmongering after 9/11.  Democrats took control of Congress in 2006, but it was not enough.
Fast forward to 2008 -- A Democrat, Barack Obama, was elected President.  And the Republicans have been made crazy by that reality ever since.  Their strategy became anything they could do to see that the Democrats failed, in the White House and in Congress.  Part of the craziness has been a marked Republican shift to the fringes of the Right, including the religious right.  Much of that rhetoric is fear-driven.  For example, "GOP leaders let demagogues set tone, lawmaker says#," is a recent story from Yahoo! News (7/9/10).  In the same vein, "God smote me down,* is a great post by my good web friend "betmo," who writes at Life's Journey (6/28/10).  She said about it, "Best I could do under the circumstances."  Outrageousness has become the new normal.

We thought we had heard everything -- Each new news week brings another set of head-bangers. The most recent fearmongering centers on the current big budget deficits.  But the Republican solutions have not been marked by rationality or fairness.  A high ranking Republican leader illustrates:  "Jon Kyl: Extend Bush Tax Cuts For Wealthy Even If They Add To Deficit#," is linked from the Huffington Post (7/13/10).  And Republican leaders regularly distort the facts.  For example, this headline, "Michael Steele causes uproar with Afghan remarks#," is from Yahoo! News (7/2/10).   And the outrageousness of the fearmongering and lies seems to know no limits.
We need not be surprised -- Right Wing Nuts abound.  One turned up recently that makes us just shake our heads: "GOP candidate: Obama taking away your chance to find God#," is a piece from The Raw Story (7/13/10).  My regular contributor Jon, who sends me all the links marked with a hashmark (#), often includes exasperated comments.  Jon said this in connection with the previous link. "Can you believe this BS?  The rethugs will say anything!"  Also, this headline came to my Email:  "Doctor testing drug to ‘prevent’ lesbianism, interest in ‘male careers’#," is from The Raw Story (6/30/10). Jon's comment: "This sounds just like what Hitler and his henchmen did to the Jews. Disgusting.  She should lose her license!"  Republican anger and fear are not pretty things to watch, as more and more of us who are "different" seem to pose threats to Right Wingers.  However, not every Republican is a Right Winger, thank goodness.

Occasionally a member of the GOP actually surprises us -- "Fox legal analyst: Bush should have been indicted#," is a post from The Raw Story (7/12/10).  Rationality can reside in the corners of craziness.  I will end today's rant on this upbeat note.
Hat tip to my regular contributor, Jon for all his wonderful links.

via ScribeFire

Posted via email from Southwest Postings

Labor Day Links

"Labor Day sales you can't afford to miss," is the pitch of U.S. News and World Report. The lead reads, "In the sluggish economy, retailers lure shoppers with big discounts." Reuters' Rolfe Winkler writes his own "Labor Day Links," mostly focused of financial and economic news bits. The New York Times presented a slide show titled, "Faces of the Uncounted Unemployed," which is a study of the people who are too discouraged to continue to look for work. The Washington Post's Harold Meyerson posted "Unhappy Labor Day." His conclusion, unhappily, is a viewpoint with which I agree:

The Reaganite ideology of the past 30 years insisted that if Americans were freed from the constraints of government and unions and made responsible for their own economic security, a golden age would come. Sure enough, American businesses have eluded regulation and cast off their unions -- but they've left their workers in the lurch. If we fail to enact universal health care and laws that truly make it possible for workers to form unions again, each of our Labor Days will be grimmer than the last.

The image illustrating today's post is from Wordle.net. I chose it because it reflects how much of the past still influences my feelings about Labor Day and the situation in which we find ourselves today. I am not in a celebratory mood, nor are many of my friends and news sources in the blogosphere. Bankers are pulling down big bonuses, unemployment nears double digits, and the body politic is rent with insanity on its right wing and discouragement on its left wing. The center is soft.

"Happy Labor Day Banana Republic Day. . . There is little to celebrate," wrote (O)CT(O)PUS at The Reaction. Presenting the facts, the author suggested we call Labor Day by its real name "National Banana Republic day." He had a point. You would have thought that the lessons learned from the economic downturn would have taught us that the corporatocracy will not take good care of the American people, left on its own.

Another blog friend, Spadoman of Round Circle, wrote a powerful piece that helped me understand some of what has been driving my down mood. It began and ended,

I don't really want to rant about it, but the proclamation of labor Day and all it means these days has me depressed somewhat. In the past, when I was in the labor force as a Teamster, Labor day seemed to mean something. Maybe it's because I'm not working for wages any longer that I don't see the honor in being a working person. But maybe it's the way corporate America has taken the life away from so many, as those high on the food chain of American life use the backs of labor to make their millions.

. . . Remember the working class. Use your own definition of who that might be. I know it must vary as to when labor cuts off and management begins. Look at the fast food industry. Get hired as a manager and you have to work all the hours of every shift from time to time to cover the shifts of those that quit and call in, and that means weekends and holidays like Labor Day. In my book, the fast food manager is still labor, with a different moniker, a ploy, no doubt, dreamed up by those who will actually have the day off and profit from the fruits of that labor.

"I sit and look out," by Walt Whitman, was posted by my friend Betmo earlier this month, presaging Labor Day for me. Whitman's silent, and so am I. So I linked to others who can speak better for me. To quote the poem's ending:

. . . I observe the slights and degradations cast by arrogant
persons upon laborers, the poor, and upon negroes,
and the like;
All these--all the meanness and agony without end I sitting
look out upon,
See, hear, and am silent.

(Cross posted at Sirens Chronicles) [9/8/09]

See also Behind the Links, for further info on this subject.

Blogs: My general purpose/southwest focus blog is at Southwest Progressive. My creative website is at Making Good Mondays. And Carol Gee - Online Universe is the all-in-one home page for all my websites.

Technorati tags: news news and politics economy labor day links

Under the Heading of Republicans

Under the heading of "Poor Baby" -- It is hard to have compassion sometimes. And I have compassion fatigue when it comes to feeling sorry for Republicans.

• Senator John Ensign's poll ratings have plummeted since he disclosed his affair with a married staffer.


• Former Senator Norm Coleman still wants to help pay his legal expenses out of his Senate Campaign funds, but the FEC may deny part of his request.


• Senator Jeff Sessions, Ranking Member, got his feelings hurt when he heard that Senate Judiciary Committee Hearings on the confirmation of Judge Sotomayor had been scheduled without his knowledge. Senator Leahy tried to contact him ahead of time but was unsuccessful.
  

Under the heading of "The Party of No" -- It looks like the Republican Party prefers that over 40 million people are without health insurance, program costs are skyrocketing and service quality is diminishing.

• Senators Pat Roberts and Tom Coburn brought Health, Education, Labor and Pension Committee debate on Medicare's possible use of comparative effectiveness research to a halt recently, charging that it would lead to rationing of service.


• Senator Jon Kyle reminded C-SPAN listeners that Senator Chuck Grassley "is not negotiating with Max Baucus" on the health care bill. "Sen. Grassley has been given no authority to negotiate anything by all of us Republicans on that committee,” Kyl said. “The bill that [Baucus] comes up with . . . will not be a bipartisan product.”
  

Under the heading of "Geez, they still don't get it!" -- Bigotry is one thing and hypocrisy is another. We see too much of this from Republicans.

• Pat Buchanan, Standard Republican Television Pundit, admits that he "prefers the old bigotry" to affirmative action policies that benefited Sonia Sotomayor, saying "at least they were honest," according to TPM Muckraker.


• Representative Pete Hoekstra may have leaked classified information regarding what was discussed in a closed committee hearing on enhanced interrogation techniques, says TPM Muckraker. What's worse, he is on record criticizing leakers for giving information to the NYT in the Valerie Plame case.

Under the heading of "Now, who was it that won the election?" -- The Change-Energy policy train has already left the station. But Republicans remain stuck in the environmental mistakes of the previous century.

• Senator Lisa Murkowski still wants to drill for oil in the Alaska Wildlife refuge. Representatives Eric Cantor, Joe Barton, John Boehner, Mike Pence, John Shimkus and others have presented their own energy bill which includes a title focusing on nuclear power. In congressional hearings, industry representatives are defending a federal loophole for drilling using hydraulic fracturing that causes water contamination, according to ProPublica.

Under the heading of Rants, I will try to hold these to a minimum, probably once a week or so.

[Post date - June 22, 2009]

See also Behind the Links, for further info on this subject.

Blogs: My general purpose/southwest focus blog is at Southwest Progressive. My creative website is at Making Good Mondays. And Carol Gee - Online Universe is the all-in-one home page for all my websites.

Technorati tags: news news and politics politics congress republicans

Clinton leftovers --

Health care reform failed to get passed during President Clinton's administration. President Nixon also tried to reform the health care system. But here it 2009 and it looks like there is a chance to do something about the 40+ million people who lack health insurance. People in Washington have actually tackled the issue. I imagine even Hillary Clinton is optimistic and supportive of success. President Obama is working hard to sway moderate Republicans, inviting them to a White House meeting last week, Politico reports today.

However, "Swift Boat" ads have already been launched to defeat President Obama's reform of the current health care system. The Democratic Strategist's J.P. Green wrote a good piece containing several effective arguments for countering the distortions in the ads. According to CQ Politics, message guru Frank Luntz says the GOP needs to "get away from markets and foscus on patients," with the goal of killing Democrats' reform plans. But I believe the train has already left the station in the direction of progress.

Despite the "watershed event" of companies offering $2 trillion in health care savings over 10 years, some reformers worry that it might allow "companies to stay at the table long enough to kill a government-run health insurance program," according to Politico. The health insurance company lobby, in what CQPolitics calls "a strategic retreat," is pushing for more comprehensive federal regulation of health insurance, hoping to avoid any proposal with a government public plan.

Real progress would include a "public" aspect to the plan, in my opinion. But we are not there yet. But bit by bit the President is trying to make it all happen. For example, his nominee to head the Center for Disease Control leads the New York City Health Department, Dr. Thomas Frieden, an activist who is willing to tackle even the toughest issues. We are in good hands.


[Post date - May 18, 09]

See also Behind the Links, for further info on this subject.

Carol Gee - Online Universe is the all-in-one home page for all my websites.

Technorati tags: news news and politics politics health care reform obama

Specter's switch --

Image by Getty Images via Daylife

Senator Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania feels "entitled" to the deal he made with Majority leader Reid over his seniority as a new Democrat. After all Specter swings power to the Democrats in the Senate, giving Democrats enough votes to cut off attempts to filibuster judicial nominations.

A new poll shows that Specter's party switch paid off, according to The Hill. He is shown to be ahead in two general election match-ups. George Stephanopoulos reported the the results would be closer if he were running against former Governor Tom Ridge.

Senator Specter seems to have been energized by his switch. And he probably feels a bit buoyed by the welcome he has gotten from his female Democratic colleagues in the Senate, according to CQ Politics. The Senator has introduced legislation to curb overreaching of the executive branch, as well as a bill (with Senator Webb) to overhaul America's criminal justice system.

In the wake of Senator Specter's switch from Republican to Democrat, people differ about whether it was courageous or ambitious. Most agree that he will remain very independent. Politico reports that "The GOP is a specter of itself." To quote,

Amid gloating among Democrats and recriminations among Republicans, the Specter divorce is both symptom and cause of the GOP collapse — leaving the opposition party on the brink of irrelevance in Barack Obama’s Washington and facing few obvious paths back to power.

The Pennsylvania Republican’s about-face, combined with the all-but-certain ascension of Minnesota Democrat Al Franken to the Senate, should soon leave Democrats with a filibuster-proof 60-vote majority.

. . . But Specter’s abandonment didn’t happen in isolation. No matter whether his move was motivated by principle, fear, or opportunism — or some combination of the three — it comes in the same month as a traditionally GOP-leaning district in upstate New York tipped for the Democrats. In the nine states of the Northeast, including Pennsylvania, there are only 15 GOP House members out of 83 seats, and now just three Republicans out of 18 senators.

. . . While many Republicans were jeering Specter as he headed for the exits, few were denying that the move was a setback, both in public perceptions and legislative arithmetic.

In the midst of it all, CQ Politics reports, "Sen. Jim DeMint wants to promote new, tougher brand of party discipline in coming weeks as the leader of the Republican Steering Committee. Now facing an emboldened Democratic majority, Republicans disagree on the best survival strategy." But DeMint wants conservative purity.

Specter's switch has ushered in a whole new deal in the Senate, in my opinion. Though critics said it was pure ambition, I have to admire his honesty about his motivation. He did not resort to the typical Republican spin, which is at least a good start for him.

[Post date - May 4, 2009]

See also Behind the Links, for further info on Congress.

Carol Gee - Online Universe is the all-in-one home page for all my websites.

Technorati tags: news news and politics politics republicans democrats congress senate arlen specter

Related articles by Zemanta

• GOP Senator Specter's Party Switch Gives Obama a 100-Day Gift (time.com)
• Jim Inhofe: Specter Switch Will Bring Republican Revolution In 2010 (VIDEO) (huffingtonpost.com)
• Specter: 'The disappointment runs in both directions' (cnn.com)
• Specter colleagues, politicos react to defection (cnn.com)
• Republicans Grasping For Upside To Specter Defection (huffingtonpost.com)

Republican Leadership Report Cards

The first 100 days of the Obama administration have not been good for Republican leaders. They have seen approval ratings drop and members of the party flee to the label of "Independent." They get failing grades in party leadership, in their "perceived" leaders' performance, in Congress and as Governors.

Congressional leadership: Grade F -- House Minority Whip, Eric Cantor, has taken on a great deal of the leadership role of opposing President Obama. They engage fairly regularly in very respectful verbal "toe-to-toes." Both very smart, they seem a good match for each other. Cantor started leading the "No" campaign early on, but now appears to be taking the tack of "Republicans have the good ideas. The Democrats just won't listen to us." Republicans will never get a "yes" to outrageous and unreasonable proposals.

Perceived leaders seize on red herrings: Grade D -- Salon's Glenn Greenwald has the story: "The ultimate reaping of what one sows: right-wing edition" — Right-wing polemicists today are shrieking in self-pitying protest over a new report from the Department of Homeland Security sent to local police forces which warns of growing “right-wing extremist activity.” This is what all the shrieking was about. "DHS Sees Resurgence in Rightwing Extremism" was posted by Steven Aftergood on Secrecy (4/17/09). Predictably -- to quote,

The report has drawn attention from several conservative bloggers and talk show hosts, who interpreted the report’s references to right-wing positions on abortion, immigration and gun control as defamatory in this context. The “document targets most conservatives and libertarians in the country,” according to The Liberty Papers blog.

. . . In an April 15 statement on the report, Secretary Napolitano said: “We are on the lookout for criminal and terrorist activity but we do not – nor will we ever – monitor ideology or political beliefs.”

Republican IQ: sometimes below 100 -- Too much of the time for my taste, Politico leans right. On 4/20/09, writer David S. Cloud incorrectly headlined this question "Can GOP paint Obama as apologist?" To quote:"Republicans are hoping they have finally found the secret to taking on President Barack Obama — by portraying him as overly apologetic about U.S. misdeeds and naive about engaging unfriendly regimes abroad." This writer used the word "apologist" incorrectly. Actually being an apologist is a good thing for President Obama. He defends all kinds of good things. The word "apologist" is a noun, meaning:

a person who writes or speaks in defense or justification of a doctrine, faith, action, etc.

Citation: apologist. (2009). In Webster's New World College Dictionary

• Retrieved April 27th, 2009, from www.yourdictionary.com/apologist

Party leadership: Grade Incomplete -- The bulk of Republicans refuse to let Michael Steele be the leader of the party. As Governors, the Republicans who refused to participate in the "stimulus" bill's provisions to the states should also receive an Incomplete. Some changed their minds, some said one thing and did another, etc. And all this breaks my heart. The nation needs an effective "loyal opposition" party, not the party of "no," not endless infighting amongst themselves, not stupidity and ignorance, not arbitrary narrowness, and not petty carping all the time. They need to nurture the moderates again. They will remain at risk until they come to their senses.

[Post date 4/27/09]

See also Behind the Links, for further info on this subject.

Carol Gee - Online Universe is the all-in-one home page for all my websites.

Technorati tags: news news and politics politics obama administration

The devil's in the details of what the devil's advocates claim

Devils advocates wonder -- Why on earth was it necessary to reveal the disturbing details of this top secret program? Won't it jeopardize the pursuit of terrorists? After all was all this not justified in order to prevent another terrorist attack on the homeland? We captured the planner of September 11, Khalid Sheik Mohammed himself. Why not waterboard him 183 times? Did he not deserve it?

The actual truth is that thousands died when the towers fell. And our nation was traumatized as a result. It was necessary to make the OLC memos public because of what happened in those dark and secret places in our names. The revelation will make us more safe, not less, because it removes one of al Qaeda's most powerful recruiting tools for new terrorists. Mohammed and the others of our enemies do not deserve vengence; they deserve the righteous hand of justice.

Devil's advocates ask -- Why have a fit about giving our enemies such a hard time? What is so wrong about the use of enhanced interrogation techniques? What about the first time we know that these enhanced techniques were used? The detainee's name is Abu Zubaydah. Wasn't he one of the most important of the terrorists, one of the worst of the worst?

It is true that we should be able to trust our own intelligence gathering system. What we should look to trust is that the system is not above the law, but of the law of this land and of international law to which we are party. Torture is against the law. It does not produce reliable information. It must not be used to punish.

The devils advocates are curious -- Why was there even any question among those responsible? Wasn't it ordered by the highest officials in our government, who surely knew more than we did at the time? Why could we not trust that the U.S. Justice Department to offer legal guidance to the intelligence gathering community?

Surely it is true that, since our beginnings, we have prided ourselves on being a nation of laws and not of men. But in this case, until there is justice for those responsible for torture, we remain a nation of men (and women). Those who are speaking out now would not do so if they expected no consequences. Achieving justice is the only way we will reestablish faith in our justice system, as well as our intelligence system.

Read for understanding -- Yesterday there was an amazing occasion at the TPM Cafe blog where I often post. It was a post written by one of my blog friends, a psychologist who uses the name TheraP. Her title is "Deliberate Acts of Cruelty," by "TheraP" at TPM Cafe (4/18/09). At last count there were 218 comments, 37 reader recommendations. It is a profoundly important discussion. I urge you to read it so that you can more fully understand the answers we must give to all those devil's advocates out there who remain somewhat blind to the whole truth. Today she tells "The Peoples' Lawyer it is time to stand up."

ACLU speaks out -- My ACLU periodic Email laid it out very clearly. It was this organization, you remember that enabled the release of the memos because of its FOIA lawsuit. I quote:

Dear ACLU Supporter,

Disturbing secret memos released yesterday detail the sadistic interrogation methods the Bush administration authorized the CIA to use on detainees. These memos provide shocking confirmation of high-level involvement in the Bush torture program.

It's appalling to see how far our nation strayed from our commitment to human rights. To restore our values we must demand accountability from those responsible.

The last thing America can do now is adopt a “let bygones be bygones” approach to these despicable and indefensible activities.

In America, no one is above the law -- and when crimes have been committed, our legal system demands accountability.

It took five long years for the ACLU to force these memos out into the open. And, no matter how long it takes, we’re going to keep pushing until those responsible for these heinous acts are held accountable.

**********

The Secret State continues to crumble," was written by emptywheel (3/6/09). It is my conclusion to this post, included to maintain hope. To quote:

In yet another sign that the counter-terrorist state built on executive secrets continues to crumble, the DC Circuit Court just ruled that judges--and not the government--will get to determine whether classified information would be helpful to detainee habeas corpus petitions. (h/t scribe) And if that information is helpful, then the detainee lawyers will get that information.

[4/20/09]

My all-in-one Home Page of websites where I post regularly: Carol Gee - Online Universe

Technorati tags: news news and politics politics torture national security OLC memos

The CIA, the tapes, the ICRC report, the outrage --

[4/13/09]

Image by Getty Images via Daylife

Irony -- "When lie detectors lie: The CIA and John Sullivan," is by Jeff Stein on Spy Talk at Congressional Quarterly- - Politics (4/13/09). His post is a fascinating expose' of how the CIA allegedly used a lie detector test, in this case to cause harm to Sullivan, an ex-employee who was himself' a lie detector operator. Will the information eventually emerge? Time will tell.

Lost for a while -- "The mysterious case of CIA interrogator Mark Swanner," was written by Jeff Stein in Spy Talk at CQ-Politics (4/8/09). This post is a feature follow-up story to the Mark Dannner NYT Review of Books revelation of the ICRC report on torture. Stein discussed the status of a homicide investigation of Swanner in the interrogation death of a detainee, revealed in a Jane Mayer New Yorker story in November of 2005. Where would we be without such journalists? And what would we do without the ACLU?

ACLU stays on the job -- "Red Cross report on treatment of CIA detainees published," includes a discussion of medical personnel involvement (4/7/09); and "Note to CIA: be kind, rewind" regarding its "Torture FOIA" suit against the CIA (4/10/09). Both posts are from the ACLU Blog of Rights. The courts can sometimes step into the vacuum, offering standing to where the truth lies.

Investigation -- "U.S. medical personnel and interrogations: What do we know? What don't we know?" These questions are asked by Sheri Fink from the nonprofit investigative journalism website, ProPublica (4/9/09). To quote from this important article: "To put the new information into perspective, ProPublica offers these answers to key questions about the roles of American medical personnel in detainee treatment in recent years." These are the questions: What is known about the involvement of health professionals in the interrogations? What other issues have been raised? What do standards of medical ethics have to say about health professionals participating in detainee questioning? What questions remain? Are there any investigations coming? These important questions demand answer, but the administration has yet to fully step up to the plate.

The President -- "Obama, the ICRC Report and ongoing suppression," is an important and unsettling post by Glenn Greenwald at Salon.com (4/7/09). To quote from his outstanding - and very painful - post,

Obama has repeatedly done the exact opposite of what he vowed he would do: rather than "seek full accountability for past offenses," he has been working feverishly to block such accountability, by embracing the same radical Bush/Cheney views and rhetoric regarding presidential secrecy powers that caused so much controversy and anger for the last several years.

Caught? We do not know yet -- "What does Dusty Foggo know about the torture tapes?" is a post by emptywheel (4/2/09). This post raises questions about the extent of possible involvement of former CIA Director Porter Goss, given the report that Foggo will be interviewed before going to prison, by CIA torture tape Special Prosecutor, John Durham. Just like the courts Special Prosecutors must continue to find out the truth. Here is a chilling thought. What if Dick Cheney is still a real player?

A mole? "Cheney's stay-behind," is explored by emptywheel (4/1/09). Marcy Wheeler delves into the Sy Hersh report that Veep Cheney may have left a mole or moles at the NSA. Here's why, to quote,

. . . Hersh's report that such stay behind includes NSA is of particular concern.

Not only does this raise concerns about the warrantless wiretap program and its use (particularly given reports that the NSA was segregating contacts with journalists, like Hersh, who has lots of contacts in the Middle East). But it raises concerns about whether or not Cheney sustains the practice--publicized during the John Bolton confirmation hearings--of getting the US person end of NSA intercepts (I have no idea whether Cheney would do this through dead-enders, whether he's getting that much more directly, or whether he's getting help from Israelis involved in our wiretap programs). A number of people suspected that Bolton had used NSA intercepts to undermine North Korean diplomacy (among other things). Such a practice obviously fits Cheney's MO.

No accountability, so far -- "Cheney lies, obstruction of justice and torture tape destruction," was penned by "bmaz" at emptywheel (3/29/09). The author does a stinging follow-up to an earlier post by his cohort Marcy Wheeler on possible reasons why the torture tapes were destroyed because, "they demonstrated there was no credible/usable information produced as a result of that torture," and because members of the Bush National Security Council Principles Committee approved it all. Bmaz concludes, "I don't want the Obama Administration to be partisan and spiteful, I want them to do their damn job. Is that too much to ask?"

The CIA operating in the dark, destroyed videotapes of detainees being torture, shocking reports, state secrets excuses, is it a surprise that we are outraged?

See also Behind the Links, for further info on this subject.

Carol Gee - Online Universe is the all-in-one home page for all my websites.

Technorati tags: news news and politics national security CIA torture investigative journalism

Related articles by Zemanta

• The U.S. Tortured. Now what? (dailykos.com)
• Appreciating the Foes of Torture (dailykos.com)
• Behind the Veil of a Terror War (firedoglake.com)
• Cheney Has Moles in Obama Administration, Reporter Says (middletownmike.blogspot.com)
• Feds Detail Ex-CIA Agent's Misconduct (cbsnews.com)
• In intelligence hierarchy, who really runs the show? (cnn.com)
• Panetta: Contractors Not Allowed to Interrogate (Anymore) (emptywheel.firedoglake.com)
• C.I.A. to Close Secret Prisons, Scenes of Harsh Interrogations (nytimes.com)

Focus on Obama Policy

Image via Wikipedia

[4/6/09]

Now into his third month in office, U.S. President Barack Obama has his feet planted firmly on the ground. He has taken a tremendous number of policy steps, however. Today's post will play catch-up with some of the political news that has sped by in just this past week.

North Korea -- "Make a strong statement." The recent missile launch has reignited the debate over nuclear disarmament, according to Politico (4/5/09). President Obama has called for the United Nations to act against North Korea. American voters actually support a military approach to eliminate North Korea's nuclear capabilities; 57% for and 15% against in the Rasmussen poll. Quoting,

"The White House says the launch only underscores the importance of Obama’s call Sunday for “a world without nuclear weapons.” Hard-line critics say North Korea’s move makes the president’s no-nukes aspirations all the more unrealistic, even dangerous."

General Motors and the economic crisis --"Do what you need to do." The White House is questioning the viability of GM and Chrysler, to the point of instituting a big shake-up at the top at GM. Politico says GM is already planning for bankruptcy. Paul Krugman has become increasingly critical of the administration's economic strategy. But the administration's financial reform proposal does not go as far as Wall Street expected or as Progressives wanted. The administration has been hampered by a lack of anyone but the President to "sell" his approaches, though that is getting better as Timothy Geithner gains confidence.

The Obama administration budget -- "Priorities survived." The Senate and House have approved competing budget plans, both short of what the President actually wanted, though the administration is putting the best face on it. A few - 38 - House Republicans defected during the final vote. Politico speculated that "fierce fights may follow [a] budget victory" for the Democrats. And Democrats are not united regarding the President's agenda. Public opinion will certainly be a factor. The President's approval ratings remain high - 66% approve - and 42% of Americans still think we are on the right track, Ed Kilgore reports at The Democratic Strategist. One of the reasons has always been the President's capacity for effective public speaking, for his willingness to be unusually personal in his speeches, Policito explained.

Af-Pak and Defense -- "Think new thoughts, focus more on diplomacy and less on cold war weapons systems." President Obama's strategy for the Afghanistan-Pakistan region in the Middle East already has a certain amount of qualifiied support, according to J.P. Green at The Democratic Strategist. Today the Secretary of Defense, Robert is rolling out his defense spending plan that represents a fundamental shift in priorities. A significant number of large-scale weapons systems will be on the line. To quote from Congressional Quarterly - Politics:

The fiscal 2010 funding choices in the announcement will represent the first major defense policy decisions of President Obama’s administration. Specific budget details are not expected until the first week of May, but Gates will make the unusual move of announcing several major program decisions weeks ahead of the budget release, said Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morrell.

“These are not changes to the margins,” Morrell said April 3. “This is a fundamental shift in direction. And the secretary’s point of view argues for an unconventional approach in explaining that shift to the American people.”

. . . Morrell said Gates plans to brief congressional leaders Monday morning. A press conference will follow.
“The fact of life is that since Sept. 11, 2001, the military has been engaged in irregular warfare activities that require more of our focus, more of our energy, and more of our resources than we have been dedicating to them,” Morrell said. “So Gates is trying to shift between the large-scale conventional near peer conflicts that we have to prepare for down the line and the very real conflicts we are engaged in now.”

Reference: Exclusive Obama interview with The Financial Times (3/29/09)


My all-in-one Home Page of websites where I post regularly: Carol Gee - Online Universe

Technorati tags: news news and politics politics foreign policy obama administration congress military economic crisis

Related articles by Zemanta

• John King: A dramatic day for Obama (cnn.com)
• Obama Urges Nuclear Arms Reduction (nytimes.com)
• Despite Warnings, North Korea Launches Rocket (time.com)
• Analysts: NKorea Launch Not a Total Failure (abcnews.go.com)

Cheney's dark deeds come to light

[3/30/09]

Seymour Hersh, perhaps one of the best investigative journalists in the news business, writes for the New Yorker Magazine. His revelations about former Vice President Richard Cheney's activities over the years curl the hair of many readers. Hersh has been out and about for the past three weeks, and he is making news as he goes.

Hersh appeared Monday on Andrea Mitchell's news show on MSNBC, discussing his most recent article regarding recent happenings in the Middle East. The main point of his piece is that President Obama will likely be able to change the dynamics there. The headline was revealing "Seymour Hersh: Obama helped end Israel's Gaza offensive," from The Raw Story (3/29/09). Hersh also discussed the very real possibility for an agreement between Syria and Israel over the Golan Heights. And Syria's President Assad might want President to broker the deal. But Cheney could not stand the thought that Obama might have success as a peacemaker. So he tried to poison the new President's chances for deal effectively with Israel. To quote:

When former Vice President Dick Cheney learned that Obama had been putting pressure on the Israelis, he angrily disparaged him as "pro-Palestinian" and described him as someone who would "never make it in the major leagues."

Not content to write a book, join a think tank, or hold forth from his home in Virginia, Cheney has been making the rounds of the cable news shows trying to sabotage President Obama's success as President. And some have suggested that the public activity could be due to his increased concern about recent revelations of what he did as Vice President, i.e., "the best defense is a good offense."

Cheney suggested in recent weeks to CNN's John King that the country is now less safe with Obama as President. According to Glenn Greenwald in, "The outrageous offenses against Richard Cheney" (3/17/09), to quote, "Dick Cheney . . . accused Barack Obama . . . of lying to the public about his domestic politicies, taking advantage of the financial crisis to foist enlarged government on unsuspecting citizens, and leaving us all more vulnerable to slaughter by the Terrorists."

Greenwald's post was mostly about the subsequent media flap about Press Secretary Robert Gibbs' dismissive comments about Cheney's appearance on CNN. Greenwald rightly takes the reporters to task who were offended by Gibbs' Cheney characterization, saying "Of all people, journalists ought to be embarrassed to publicly play the role of decorum enforcers when it comes to how the politically powerful are treated."

Notably King did not ask Cheney anything about Seymour Hersh's most astonishing revelation, made at the University of Minnesota around the middle of the month. AlterNet, ran that story March 11, 2009: "Seymour Hersh: " 'Executive Assassination Ring' Reported Directly to Cheney Office#," To quote: "Under President Bush's authority, they've been going into countries ... finding people on a list and executing them and leaving." Blogger, emptywheel, that same day brought a great deal of clarity to the story with an explanation of how it worked, who in the government participated and where the operations took place. The title is as simple as it is shocking: "Cheney's Assassination Squads."

On the question of whether assassination squads are legal, the pertinent document is perhaps Executive Order 12333 signed by President Ford in 1975 and upheld by President Reagan in 1981 and others since then. It says, “No person employed by or acting on behalf of the United States Government shall engage in, or conspire to engage in, assassination.” There are a couple of exceptions that have to do with armed combat situations, or if specifically authorized by the President. Credit emptywheel for, "Pixie Dust and Cheney's Assassination Squads," (3/13/09). This story explores "pixie dust" as revealed by Senator Sheldon Whitehouse in 2006. "Pixie dust" is the practice of changing EOs without making any public record of the change. The post concluded,

It's all very nice that every President since Ford has upheld the prohibition on assassination in EO 12333. But in the era of pixie dust, that doesn't mean Bush also upheld it, even if it looks like he did.

After the Iran-Contra scandal, legislation was enacted to require that CIA covert operations be authorized via a "Presidential Finding," and that the Gang of Eight in Congress be briefed about the operations and authorize special funding. But similar military operations, according to OLC memos, gave President Bush and the military authority to order such activities under the Authorization to Use Military Force, AUMF. Congress was, thus not told about the actions of the military's Joint Special Operations Command , JSOC. Important details of the history of covert operations since the Reagan administration are in another in the very useful series by emptywheel (3/23/09), "Cheney's Assassination Squads and Iran-Contra Findings." To quote:

I've been talking about how Cheney had clearly integrated lessons learned from all his previous [Iran-Contra] scandals and I'm glad that Hersh has now confirmed that.

But consider what this means in regards to the disclosure that the covert ops going on in Iran and the rest of the Middle East. The "lessons learned" meeting concluded that:

• It is desirable to run covert ops off the books by finding funding from non-congressional sources


• To succeed such ops must avoid any revelations to Congress and most revelations to the CIA and Defense


• Such ops should be run out of the VP's office directly

Richard Cheney, native to my home state of Wyoming, needs to go back to his own home now. His time in the public eye should be over, unless we can observe him getting the justice he is due. Otherwise, he needs to just move on.

See also Behind the Links.

Carol Gee - Online Universe is the all-in-one home page for all my websites.

Technorati tags: news news and politics politics cheney seymour hersh

Enough already!

Of all the Sunday cable news show guests, former Vice President Dick Cheney was the one who got in the last word, according to CNN's John King, host of State of the Union. Except they were not the words we wanted, because King did not ask the question that many of us would have asked. What about your assassination project, Mister Veep? [3/16/09]

And what do you mean, "The United States is less safe in the new administration?" You have no basis in fact or reasons to assume, or presume, to make such an allegation. You have lost your credibility with us, Sir, as Keith Olbermann would say, if he were to make one of his "special comments."

It amounts to the same old fear mongering that has plagued this country for the last seven years. And it also amounts to an admission of vast amounts of intelligence gathering, through illegal wiretaps and through torture. To quote CQ Politics (3/15/09), [Cheney]:

“I think those programs were absolutely essential to the success we enjoyed of being able to collect the intelligence that let us defeat all further attempts to launch attacks against the United States since Sept. 11,” Cheney said. “I would say that the key to what we did was to collect intelligence against the enemy. That’s what the terrorist surveillance program was all about, that’s what the enhanced interrogation program was all about.

“I think that’s a great success story. It was done legally. It was done in accordance with our constitutional practices and principles,” he said. “President Obama campaigned against it all across the country. And now he is making some choices that, in my mind, will, in fact, raise the risk to the American people of another attack.”

Cheney went on to claim success in Iraq and to bemoan the fact that his former boss would not agree to pardoning his lieutenant, Scooter Libby. To quote Cheney, "he was unjustly accused and prosecuted and deserved a pardon. . . ". He closed by saying he might write a book and talk about it. I would rather he retire to his nice home in Virginia and leave us without the benefit of his distorted thoughts.

It will be interesting to see what kind of an advance a Cheney memoir might produce. I would not pay a nickel for it, even if leather-bound. It will not present any useful facts, only lies. But there might just be those who would like to take a look into the mind of such a man.

Technorati tags: news news and politics cheney

See also Behind the Links, for further info on this subject.

Carol Gee - Online Universe is the all-in-one home page for all my websites.

Fighting back at your critics --

[3/9/09]

We have heard almost nothing on the news channel TV recently but Limbaugh vs. Obama, or Steele vs. Limbaugh, or Steele vs. those who recently elected him. So much of what passes for news these days is not informed opinion, or about something that is newsworthy, but concerns what the latest fight is about. My world feels very contentious these days. Politico.com has the story of how Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele is fighting back against his critics, hoping to keep his seat. Republicans in Congress seem to be willing to give him some time to succeed, but Republican patience is not unlimited. Their recent defeats have been unnerving to them and right now they are just flailing around. To quote:

The RNC announced Thursday that it would transfer $1 million apiece to the cash-hungry National Republican Congressional Committee and the National Republican Senatorial Committee—contributions that could buy Steele good will among party operatives and GOP members of Congress.

Still, an array of top GOP officials and strategists are expressing concern over Steele’s month-long tenure, including some of those he defeated for the post.

Fred Hiatt edits the Washington Post and so operates from a position of the power to influence public opinion. A recent post on Firedoglake (3/7/09) by "Thers," was titled, "Who's the More Foolish, The Fools, or the Fools Who Fluff them?; Or, Fred Hiatt, You Ignorant Cretin." The blog's an excellent analysis of how much credibility should be ascribed to Liberals or Conservatives. And that is not as simple as it would seem. It is a caution against over-generalization and includes a look at the part that the MainStreamMedia play in this credibility game. The post concludes that Hiatt could do much better than he is now at fighting to get the actual truth out. To quote:

As we're seeing, even disastrous election results are not enough to persuade the GOP and conservatives to accept reality, and the "MSM" certainly isn't about to make them do it. It's an incredibly dangerous situation. Does it matter what the truth may be? Does it matter what the public wants?

Don't be absurd. What matters is where the limits of "legitimate" speech have been imposed -- and these have been imposed by those who have no incentive to be right, and face no penalty for being wrong, no matter what the damage may be to the nation, or the world.

Whose opinion makes the newscasts and why? "Critics' Voices, Rhetorical Choices," is a wonderful analysis of the criticism the Obama administration has faced most recently and will likely face more strongly in the future. Anyone who is in a position to cast doubt on Obama's approach will make his job more difficult as time passes, as things get worse and solutions must be found quickly. It is in the Congressional Quarterly -Politics (of 3/5/09) by Madison Powers. To quote:

. . Obama has to attend to the influential voices that matter most among ideologically marginalized circles. Those voices are not precisely Republican nor elected officials of any party. The opinion-makers are now more diffuse and less accountable to the electorate.

The biggest threat to Obama’s economic agenda are the potentially corrosive effects of a loss of public trust in the economic elites who seem (to many) to bear responsibility for having gotten us into much of the mess we are in.

. . . On the one hand, there is a steady drumbeat of critics saying that the administration is undermining the prospects for recovery by adding rhetorical fuel to fire on Wall Street. On the other hand, a parallel argument is directed toward the perceived lack of speed and clarity in dealing with problems they say are more urgent than the stimulus package. For many of these critics, the larger threats lie either with lack of a consistent and coherent approach to the mounting credit crisis or the underlying foreclosure and home valuation crisis. In short, the Obama approach is characterized as a continuation of the wrong solution to the wrong problem.

Both of these business-oriented criticisms have a common thread, and they both reinforce the more general populist antipathy to reliance on discredited economic expertise. The new administration, they say, has a very short window of opportunity to get it right, and that window is quickly closing on an economic team stuck in the past.

Obama’s challenge is thus as much cultural as political. He has to fight suspicion not only about his particular policies. He has to fight a culture of intellectual nihilism that threatens to undermine critical congressional support he will need going forward.

Senator Arlen Spector's reelection fight has already started. Here is what his critics are saying right now. Charles Chamberlain, from Democracy for America, wants me to "CONTRIBUTE TO OUR AGGRESSIVE CAMPAIGN AND MAKE SURE SENATOR ARLEN SPECTER GETS THE MESSAGE." Because Senator Specter is "against a Truth Commission to investigate Constitutional abuses authorized by Bush and Cheney," DFA wants to work for his defeat in the 2010 election, as one who still stands with the previous Bush administration. But, in Senator Spector's defense, I must remind Mr. Chamberlain that Senator Spector was one of only three senators who stood recently with the Democrats to pass the economic stimulus bill. His critics should take a wider look at the truth here.

Transparency can be one of President Obama's most effective tools for silencing his critics. But it has risks. What you see is what you get when it is all out there. ProPublica has a wonderful little tool they call "Change Tracker," that follows and documents changes to White House websites. I highly recommend getting their e-mail news letters for a little while, just to follow what happens behind the scenes with the Obama administration's big transparency project. A recent (3/3/09) item noted, "White House Updates Bush's Biography: Less Prosperity, More BBQ." It is an example of how difficult it is to maintain objectivity in a highly political atmosphere. To quote:

ChangeTracker [1], our handy tool that watches for changes on White House Web sites, noticed wide changes to the whitehouse.gov biography of George W. Bush [2].

. . . We contacted the White House for comment, and a spokesman told us that the version of the biography currently on Whitehouse.gov [3] is actually not new, but an old one written at the end of the Bush administration. . . . Our research says otherwise

. . . So, what do you think [6]? Are the victors rewriting history, or is this just a tempest in a Twitter?

Reference: "Tracking States' Spending Trackers," is also available from ProPublica. It is for ascertaining how states are spending their stimulus monies.

Today's post has attempted to peel away some of what obscures the truth in an atmosphere where critics abound. It is one of the ways I want to check myself for more objectivity, more fairness, and more evenhandedness. I want my criticism to be based on the truth as I can ferret it out, and on as much fairness as I can muster. If I avoided over-generalization and hyperbole I have gotten myself back on track again.

See also Behind the Links, for further info on this subject.

Carol Gee - Online Universe is the all-in-one home page for all my websites.

Technorati tags: news news and politics politics criticism republicans mainstream media

Republicans get in the news

[3/2/09]

Republicans, the Minority Party, still have many ways of getting in the news. By and large they have a free ride with the mainstream media. Thus, by hook or by crook they manage to get platforms for their agendas. They had several methods that grabbed the airtime and page space in recent weeks.

Hold a conference/convention --
Governor Mitt Romney won the straw poll as the next presidential favorite of the activists at this last week's Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC). CQ Politics has the story:

Of 1,757 registered attendees who chose to take this year’s survey, 20 percent said they would vote for Romney as president in 2012.

Win a Poll --
CQ Politics (2/27/09) headlined, "Palin leads, not by much, in early test of '12 GOP presidential support." To quote::

Palin, the governor of Alaska, led with 29 percent among the 462 Republicans who responded to the poll taken Feb. 18-19. Palin built a sizable fan club on the Republican right as the party's surprise vice presidential pick with her effusive campaign style and strongly conservative views, though she committed several stumbles that raised serious doubts among many other voters.

Grandstanding --
"Gubernatorial Grandstanding from the GOP," by Matt Compton at The Democratic Strategist. (See also, The numbers behind Gov's refusal of stimulus bucks). To quote Compton:

With most of the nation's governors in town over the weekend for the winter NGA meeting, much of the talk centered around the recovery bill signed into law by President Obama last week.

The stimulus package contains billions of dollars earmarked for state governments, but throughout the process, a handful of conservative governors -- namely South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford, Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, and Texas Gov. Rick Perry -- have threatened to turn the money down.

Ranting --
1) "Fury of the 'Winners'," and 2)"Palin-Santelli," by Ed Kilgore also at The Democratic Strategist. Quoting both posts:

1). . . The sheer self-righteousness of Santelli's rant--inflated by attaboy cries (genuine or facetious) from the prosperous white men on the trading floor around him--was what was rema[r]kable about it.

2) Careful readers of my last post just below may have deduced that I don't have a real high opinion of Rick Santelli, the CNBC reporter who treated viewers yesterday to a lengthy tirade on the outrage of Barack Obama trying to help "losers" who can't pay their mortgages.

Criticize your own party --Memeorandum carried a couple of interesting stories. One was by Ross Douthat: "Is The GOP Hopeless?" It discusses David Frum's criticism of the Republican Party.

Wave the flag --
ProPublica revealed a perfect example, the story of Dusty Foggo's conviction for defrauding the government: "Disgraced Senior CIA Official Heads to Prison Still Claiming He's a Patriot." To quote:

He took full responsibility, he said, yet he refused to elaborate. He characterized his guilty plea as a personal sacrifice undertaken to spare the government the cost of a trial that might have resulted in national secrets being exposed. Foggo and his attorneys argued that he was a patriot and loving and devoted family man even though prosecutors presented a hefty amount of evidence to the contrary.

But this is the Democrats reality --
Firedoglake's Jane Hamsher asked the key question (2/28/09), however: "What if the Wingnuts Threw a Fit, and Nobody Cared?" To quote:

One of the most interesting things about the latest Daily Kos/Research 2000 poll is that Nancy Pelosi's net favorability rating continues to rise. Despite being the target of right wing rage and held up as the poster girl for profligate spending, subject to Twitter attacks by GOP members of Congress and targeted by human bile machine Ann Coulter, her popularity hasn't been affected at all. Quite the opposite.

In fact, despite everything that the teabaggers have throw at them, Democrats in Congress had a whopping 13 point rise in their favorability ratings this week and moved into positive territory (their favorables are now higher than their unfavorables, 46/45). Only two possibilities that I can see. Either nobody is listening to the GOP tantrum throwers, or they have become negative validator -- i.e., they are so discredited that their disapproval now moves the needle in a positive direction.

Miscellaneous References:

• Jim Dean at Democracy for America is calling for us to JOIN OUR CALL FOR A TRUTH COMMISSION TO INVESTIGATE THE CRIMES OF THE BUSH ADMINISTRATION
• Daily Kos: "C-SPAN survey, best and worst presidents ever" (2/16/09)
  

See also Behind the Links, for further info on this subject.

Carol Gee - Online Universe is the all-in-one home page for all my websites.

Technorati tags: news news and politics politics republicans mainstream media

My fantasy about the Summit . . .

[2/23/09]
Today, the day of the Budget Responsibility Summit, it is all about being responsible with our nation's finances. President Obama has promised to be candid and transparent about the nature of our current deficit circumstances. There will be no more budget gimmicks, he says that leave out expenditures, the entire cost of the Iraq war, for example.

The cost of the war in Iraq, just as I looked at my counter in the right hand column of this page, totals $559,442,770,o43. I am keeping track right now because the cost is about to become a whopping $600,000,000,000. It will be a milestone. Our President says that the current high outlays are temporary, targeted and timely. He also says that we have to make cuts elsewhere to entitlements and move toward a balanced budget. The latest reports say that our national budget deficit will run at 10% of GDP for a while. For these reasons, those of us who worry about the health of the U.S. economy get a little edgy.

The Summit is planned to begin talk about getting the federal budget under control, after this initial high outlay to stimulate the economy, which is bad and getting worse. It is worse than any time in decades. Business has slowed, nobody is buying much, workers are being laid off, credit is frozen and everybody is saving their money for the rainy day that is now here.

The people attending the Summit are now in their "breakout" sessions. A hundred members of both parties from Congress, administration officials and experts have come. Each small group will take a different subject, such as Health Care or Energy, for example. Somebody in the group agrees to take notes, usually a woman. And the Republicans will have the choice of whether to participate or not. Either way they won't make a difference. After figuring out the best answers, each breakout group will report back to the President and to the group at large later in the afternoon.

We all understand how it works because we have attended so many conferences at hotels or convention centers that had the same format. Traditionally, the President, the presider, would write the answers on a white board or a news print pad. He would take them home, write up the conclusions, and have them mailed out to the participants, who use them or file them away.

Does this sound like a strange way to run the government? Well, this is not the way the summit will be handled, of course, but the principles are the same. Get good people together who have vested interests in the outcome, break them up into small groups and do problem solving. It is the way things can work when grownups are in charge. Our new president is a pragmatic problem solver and these days he is about solving the nation's economic crisis. Organized, smart, driven, confident and capable, we could do worse for a presider.

As a matter of fact, we did worse for the past eight years. We had the Decider. And he and the rest of those in charge left a mess. So what does the old joke say you do in such a case? You ask, "How do you eat an elephant?" And you answer, "One bite at a time!" Gee, wouldn't it be nice if it were all this simple.

See also Behind the Links, for further info on this subject.

(Cross-posted at The Reaction.)

My “creativity and dreaming” post today is at Making Good Mondays.

Technorati tags: news news and politics politics war economic crisis