Listening to Stevie sing Obama's theme song, and I'm thinking: we definitely signed, sealed and delivered -but he didn't. We were definitely his, but he was not ours.
You could hate a man for doing that to you.
BLOG POSTS
Thursday, November 26, 2009
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Whose Recession Is It, Anyway? - Opinionator Blog - NYTimes.com
Whose Recession Is It, Anyway? - Opinionator Blog - NYTimes.com
"Given the precarious state of the economy and widespread concerns about unemployment, common sense suggests concerns over the deficit should wane. But the poll found that a whopping 67% of respondents want the emphasis to be on deficit reduction, while 30% see the deficit as necessary under the circumstances. Those results are very similar to those from an NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll taken a few weeks ago.
"It’s probably worth noting that the majority is hopelessly wrong. I’m not even sure if the majority fully understands what the deficit is, why it’s large, what would be needed to make it smaller, and how it fits into the larger economic landscape. For many, it seems the “deficit” is just an amorphous concept that loosely means “bad economy.”
"Which is why it’s important that policymakers not base policy decisions on illiteracy. Americans say they want a stronger job market and a better economic growth. They also say they want less spending, lower taxes, and an immediate focus on deficit reduction. The inherent contradictions are lost on far too many."
This one really, really gets it.
The End of Music - Opinionator Blog - NYTimes.com
The End of Music - Opinionator Blog - NYTimes.com
"For more than half a century we’ve seen incredible advances in sound technology but very little if any advance in the quality of music. In this case the paradigm shift may not be a shift but a dead stop. Is it that people just don’t want to hear anything new? Or is it that composers and musicians have simply swallowed the pomo line that nothing else new can be done, which ironically is really just the “old, old story.”"
Glenn Branca has composed 13 symphonies: six for electric guitars, three for harmonic series instruments, three for orchestra and one, No. 13, for 100 guitars.
Whiner. The immediate above should explain why Branca's in the mood he's in.
Since 1960 there's been "very little if any advance in the quality of music"? Mr. Branca must have been living in some other world than the one I've been in. Or maybe he doesn't consider anything but a symphony for 100 guitars to be music.
He would be right if he limited his criticism to the period beginning in the 1990's - although even there, electronica has made a promising debut, notwithstanding there's very little sustained quality in it. We do seem to be in a dead zone. But I remember another dead zone - 1960 to 1964, when what we got was a lot of retread crap other than the advent of the twist. This one just seems to be running longer.
And I suspect the reason for that is that computers have made real musical collaboration unnecessary, since now one person can do it all himself. The best stuff always came out of cross-fertilization. There are no good ideas out there now, other than re-exploitation of old stuff - like "Jersey Boys". If they're writing stuff now like Gaudio did then, it ain't where I can hear it.
But that doesn't mean that music is dead. It does mean that you can't get much adventurous stuff played on the radio (that's just another example of the downside of corporatism). But, as always, creative people find other ways of getting their stuff heard, whether on the internet, live or whatever.
What Branca, who no doubt considers himself a "serious" musician, forgets is that what's classical to us was pop to the people around when it was made. You just never know what's going to catch on. You just have to keep putting what you've got out there - and hope America can get itself off the emotional Quaalude addiction it seems to be on right now, so that when something passes their ears which can trigger excitement and joy, they'll have enough emotional hearing left to recognize it.
Op-Ed Columnist - Thanks for the Memories - NYTimes.com
Op-Ed Columnist - Thanks for the Memories - NYTimes.com
What Obama did was to squander the moment when he could have taught America what government is supposed to do and what it is capable of doing.
The problem with getting old is that you don't understand that it has been so long since we had a government which was interested in anything besides money and war that most Americans, through no fault of their own, do not have a clue what productive government is. They think government is what they see the Republicans doing in Congress. They don't know that, in the far distant past, people used government to make things better for most everyone.
Those of you who claim to be surprised by Obama's behavior have no right to be. You should have known when he surrounded himself with Clintonites and pushed progressives aside that he was in no way what he had sold himself as. You should have known when Larry Summers became Secretary of the Treasury. You should have known in a hundred little ways which have been obvious over the past year, if you looked.
What's really annoying right now is Obama's sense that he's royalty. I keep wondering what he's going to do when it all comes crashing down on him - and, sadly, I think he, like Marie Antoinette, will have no idea why he deserves his fate.
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
TUESDAYS WITH DIOGENES (11/24/09)
10.
“Obama came by here yesterday,” he said.
I was astonished. “You mean he stopped his motorcade and came over to you?”
“Yep.”
“Really? Why? What did he want?”
Diogenes shrugged. “Good photo op.”
“Did he talk to you?”
“He said words.”
“What did he say?”
“He asked if there was something he could do for me.”
“And what did you say?”
“I told him to get the hell away from me, before I caught his disease.”
“What disease?”
“Big talking. It’s infectious, you know.”
“Don’t like him much?” I laughed.
“I call him Cutie.”
“Cutie?”
“Yeah. Because he thinks he’s cute.”
“Why don’t you like him?” I wanted to know. “Think he was born in
“Wherever he was born,” he scoffed, “he came packed full of shit.”
“Explain.”
“Cutie’s a fraud. He wants you to think he believes in things.”
“And he doesn’t?”
“Oh, hell, no. You know, during the campaign, his talk about wealth inequality? He wouldn’t have said a word if Edwards hadn’t brought it up. It never would have occurred to him. Health care, too – he stole that from Hillary. You know that speech he gave where he read a letter he got from Teddy Kennedy?”
“Sure. But how do you know about it? You don’t read the papers.”
“Some of the bars with TVs, they let me in.”
“And?”
“He talked about concern for others being a moral obligation. If Teddy hadn’t written to him, he’d never have thought of that, either. He’s a user, a pretender. Like I said, a fraud. And the proof is that, for all his talk, he hasn’t done one good thing.”
“Did you vote for him?” I asked him.
Dio laughed. “People with no fixed abode don’t vote.”
“You never vote?”
“No. I can’t.”
“You could if you settled down someplace.”
“Settle down so I can vote? I don’t think so. But not voting – that’s the only thing I don’t like about myself.”
I asked: “Would you have voted for Cutie if you could?”
“Nah. I knew he was a fake from the gitgo.”
“You would have voted for Bush?”
“That would have been suicide. No, Bentley, I think I would have voted for you.”
“You didn’t know me then,” I said.
“You weren’t running, either.”
“So is there any politician you actually liked?” I asked.
“Yeah,” he smiled. “Jimmy Carter. I loved that guy. Man, was he connected to the soul of the world.”
“What do you mean?” I wondered.
“Easy, bro. He never did nothing he didn’t think was a moral thing to do. And he knew what a moral thing was.”
“He wasn’t a very good president.”
“No, you right.”
“Maybe being moral is not a good thing in a president. Maybe we just need people who can do what has to be done.”
“The last one thought he was doing what had to be done. No better way to get messed up. I tell you what,” he said. “I’ve been looking for years for a man who can get things done, but won’t do them unless they’re the moral thing to do.” He pointed behind him, into the tube. “That’s what I use the flashlight for.”
“Haven’t found him, huh?” I laughed.
“Only thing I can tell you is he ain’t in
“Are you going to explain to me about the soul of the world?”
“Yeah, I promise, Bentley. Next time you come.”
Monday, November 23, 2009
Gilad Schalit Deal: Israel May Swap 1,000 Palestinian Prisoners For Soldier Held By Hamas
Gilad Schalit Deal: Israel May Swap 1,000 Palestinian Prisoners For Soldier Held By Hamas
Wouldn't this suggest that the Israelis are holding an awful lot of people for not very good reasons? I think it's commendable that they're willing to trade at 1000 to 1 - but they don't get to kvell over their moral judgment and concern for their own without us taking a look at why releasing 1000 prisoner does not constitute a security risk. And why the ratio of prisoners held by both sides is at least 1000 to 1.
Norman Lear: Lyndon Johnson, His National Security Advisor and His Secretary of Defense Say All
Norman Lear: Lyndon Johnson, His National Security Advisor and His Secretary of Defense Say All
Bill Moyer's program on LBJ and Vietnam was, among other things, very touching. You don't need to get the DVD. The program is available as a podcast on iTunes. Just search on Bill Moyers' Journal.
Sunday, November 22, 2009
Analysis: Fed Under Fire As Public Anger Mounts
Analysis: Fed Under Fire As Public Anger Mounts
The Fed is a simple minded target. Sure, it did some stupid things - maybe even nefarious ones. But I doubt anyone knows what will happen if some of its powers are removed and not placed with another trustworthy authority. Politicizing control of finance is a very bad idea. It's the fact that finance has been politicized outside the Fed which has led to the current disasters. I think we need an intelligent analysis of exactly what the Fed now does and good reasons for not allowing it to do them in the future.
Op-Ed Columnist - The Pit Bull in the China Shop - NYTimes.com
Op-Ed Columnist - The Pit Bull in the China Shop - NYTimes.com:
"The fact-checking siege of “Going Rogue” — by the media, Democrats and aggrieved McCain campaign operatives alike — is another fruitless sideshow. Palin’s political appeal has never had anything to do with facts — or coherent policy positions. The more she is attacked for not being in possession of pointy-headed erudition, the more powerful she becomes as an avatar of the anti-elite cause. As Rich Lowry, the editor of National Review, has correctly observed, “She represents less a philosophical strain on the right than an affect and a demographic.”"
Tom Friedman Explains Causes Of America's 'Sub-Optimal Solutions' (VIDEO)
Tom Friedman Explains Causes Of America's 'Sub-Optimal Solutions' (VIDEO):
"Holding us back, Friedman argues, is a political system too closely connected with money and well-funded interests. Gerrymandering on the part of politicians makes it so that our leaders practically pick us, not the other way around. Friedman also thinks cable news television distorts the truth and that the internet (at its worst) can be a terrible thing for our nation's politics. He also says American businesses have gone AWOL, and hover over America, participating only when it suits their industry's needs.
Friedman says that better citizens--not politicians--can solve our nation's problems."
Friedman says that better citizens--not politicians--can solve our nation's problems."
Fair Game - Revisiting a Fed Waltz With A.I.G. - NYTimes.com
Fair Game - Revisiting a Fed Waltz With A.I.G. - NYTimes.com:
"Mr. Barofsky says the Fed failed to strong-arm the banks when it was negotiating payouts on the A.I.G. contracts. Rather than forcing the banks to accept a steep discount, or “haircut,” the Fed gave the banks $27 billion in taxpayer cash and allowed them to keep an additional $35 billion in collateral already posted by A.I.G. That amounted to about $62 billion for the contracts, which the report describes as “far above their market value at the time.”"
Saturday, November 21, 2009
STRAIGHTEN ME OUT
I don't understand economics, but where am I wrong on this?
Wall Street makes huge profits by huge leveraging - in other words, they borrow a ton of money and play with it. Companies leverage heavily to expand. None of them could do what they do if they had to rely on money they actually had.
Yet when the government does the same it's attacked as deficit spending by the same people who've done all the borrowing.
Somebody straighten me out on this.
THE GOOD OLD DAYS
Here's a new application of The Shock Doctrine for you:
California is defunding its public universities. Already a lot of Berkeley's better professors have moved on to private schools. In other words, California is privatizing higher education. A Republican dream fulfilled.
Sometimes I think Americans have no memory of what this country used to be. Or maybe they didn't like it much as it was. But if so, why are they the good old days?
Conservatives say the country has moved hard to the right. Yet the public still supports things like the public option, definitely a left project. How do you reconcile the two?
It's easy. The public does not understand that if it wants things from government it has to be taxed to pay for them. As long as the public is unwilling on principle to be taxed, it's hard right and it doesn't matter what its social dreams are.
And that is the great triumph of Reaganism. It seems the only justifiable government expense to those on the right is for the military. Oh, and also to pay their salaries, if they happen to work for the government. Like ... um .... Rep. Louie Gohmert, for example. Oh, and also any payout that goes into right wing hands.
I don't see why we can't take their ideas all the way. If you want to sit in Congress, you're not going to be paid. (But you can hold a second job as a lobbyist and lobby yourself. Or cut out the actual effort and just take bribes.) If you want to be protected from Islamic militants, you can hire your own army. If you want protection from burglars you can hire your own cop. If you're afraid of fires you can volunteer to fight them. Why not? That's anomie - where conservative principles lead.
Op-Ed Columnist - The Big Squander - NYTimes.com
Op-Ed Columnist - The Big Squander - NYTimes.com:
"So here’s the real tragedy of the botched bailout: Government officials, perhaps influenced by spending too much time with bankers, forgot that if you want to govern effectively you have retain the trust of the people. And by treating the financial industry — which got us into this mess in the first place — with kid gloves, they have squandered that trust."
Dave Lindorff: Obama Must Dump The Bums In Treasury, End The Wars And Start Leading
Dave Lindorff: Obama Must Dump The Bums In Treasury, End The Wars And Start Leading:
"This president is well on the way to rescuing President Hoover from history's crap heap by one-upping him in the realm of economic mismanagement. We already have Obamavilles springing up around the country. We haven't started calling them that, but Naming Day isn't far off."
Norman Goldman: Where Are The Shareholders?
Norman Goldman: Where Are The Shareholders?:
"Goldman Sachs is planning to use $20 billion to pay bonuses. TWENTY BILLION DOLLARS!!! The investors (big ones) are mad and want that cut to $10 billion. TEN BILLION IS A CUT!!! How wonderful of them! Insanity reigns and there are no adults in the room to stop the greed-fest."
He thinks bonuses should be submitted to shareholder approval. Great idea - but shareholders haven't yet figured out that what gets paid to execs could be distributed as dividends. Or, God forbid, be productively invested.
Joe the Plumber Hits Media Coverage, Tells 'E&P' He Hopes Palin Does Not Run in 2012
Joe the Plumber Hits Media Coverage, Tells 'E&P' He Hopes Palin Does Not Run in 2012:
"'I mean, quite honestly, I think it’s absurd that I got the notoriety I got for asking an elected official a question.'"
We all do, Joe. Except McCain, Palin and the press.
COOPERATION
Obama told this to the Chinese: "Indeed, because of our cooperation, both the United States and China are more prosperous and more secure."
What a bizarre thing to say.
Is China more prosperous and secure because of our "cooperation"? You bet. Are we? Depends who "we" is.
1) Our "cooperation" with China has given them technology with which to undercut sales of American technology. What "we" is more prosperous here? Some American corporations.
2) It has built their manufacturing capacity while destroying ours. Who prospers? Some American corporations.
3) It has enabled them to employ Chinese by unemploying Americans. Who prospers? You need to ask?
4) It has provided them with money winkled out of middle class pockets to purchase the goods they make.
5) It has enabled them to loan our own money back to us so we can buy more from them. They earn both the profits and the interest.
6) It has enabled us to create a political system essentially mirroring their allegedly Communist system, in which a small oligarchy makes all the important decisions. The difference between us, it seems to me, is that while China seems intent on passing on the benefits to its citizens, our oligarchy keeps them all to itself.
So, Barack - tell me you don't really believe what you said.
WHAT OBAMA DESERVES CREDIT FOR
Obama, mostly through his speeches, stirred up progressives and gave them a reason to activate. That's what I give him credit for. As for anything which happened after that, the credit goes not to Obama but to the progressives themselves, and particularly those in Congress, who have finally realized that he can't be counted on and are moving on their own to press their agenda.
Senate Health Care Vote Saturday
Senate Health Care Vote Saturday:
"A crucial first Senate vote on President Barack Obama's health care overhaul in a rare Saturday night session looms as a test of Democratic unity and the president's prestige."
That anyone would call this "President Barack Obama's health care overhaul" is truly bizarre. It's the Democrats in Congress who made this bill, with minimal help from Obama.
It is not a test of Democratic unity; it's a test of the persuasive powers of Harry Reid. If Lincoln votes for cloture, and you tell me that it was Obama who got her to do it, then I might give him some credit for this.
Some may see this as a test of Obama's prestige. But I think for most everyone he's already failed that test. For Obama, there is only a downside here. If the bill fails, it will be (in large part) his fault. If it goes through, he gets no credit.
EUREKA!
I think I have found proof that Obama has secretly been involved in shaping the health care bills.
Neither of the health care bills provide for a new system to kick in before 2013. That means that through the 2012 elections Obama can claim health care success without anyone being able to judge whether it's any good. He thinks he's going to run for reelection on it.
I think he's wrong. We'll know long before 2012 whether it will work or not. But that's the same miscalculation he's made in so many areas. Like I said, it doesn't look like he's all that bright.
Neither of the health care bills provide for a new system to kick in before 2013. That means that through the 2012 elections Obama can claim health care success without anyone being able to judge whether it's any good. He thinks he's going to run for reelection on it.
I think he's wrong. We'll know long before 2012 whether it will work or not. But that's the same miscalculation he's made in so many areas. Like I said, it doesn't look like he's all that bright.
Friday, November 20, 2009
Palin Booed By Book Tour Crowd
Palin Booed By Book Tour Crowd:
"'We gave up our entire workday, stayed in the cold, my kids were crying,' one man was quoted saying. 'They went home with my wife. She was out here in the freezing cold all day. I feel like I don't want to support Sarah.'"
What do Americans stand in long lines for hours for? Movies. A new iPhone. Black Friday sales. I.e., they'll do it for entertainment or to get something cheap. And since they mostly don't need what they buy for cheap, that's really entertainment too - the thrill of the bargain.
Conclusion? Sarah Palin is entertainment. That's why she'll be up there in 2012.
'The New Republic': Bad for the Jews
'The New Republic': Bad for the Jews:
"Personally, I would prefer that J Street redouble its efforts to reclaim 'pro-Israel' from the Jewish jingoists, as the group represents a potentially crucial counterweight to the neocon-dominated world of American Jewish institutional politics, whatever the price to its membership. In the meantime, perhaps anyone who considers him- or herself to be a genuine friend of Marty Peretz or his magazine might suggest that he consider a long, restful vacation. It would be good for The New Republic, good for American liberalism and, believe me, good for the Jews."
Will Bunch: The 26 Percent Solution
Will Bunch: The 26 Percent Solution:
"Because as if you ever needed proof that 26 percent of America -- that would be one out of every four people you see walking down the street, plus someone else's right ankle -- is totally bat-guano out-of-their-freakin'-minds crazy, check out this new poll just out:"
Landrieu, Nelson Win Goodies As Reid Seeks Their Vote On Reform | TPMDC
Landrieu, Nelson Win Goodies As Reid Seeks Their Vote On Reform | TPMDC:
"That appears to be a more justifiable offer from Reid than a separate concession to Sen. Ben Nelson (D-NE), another health-care fence sitter. In a move that appears designed to win Nelson's initial procedural votes, Reid decided not to include a measure ending anti-trust exemptions for the insurance industry."
Let's see how the progressives deal with this.
IF I WERE OBAMA
If I were Obama, and I wanted to save my ass, I'd get rid of every Wall Street stooge in my administration immediately. Okay, maybe I'd keep one, just so I could keep hearing that point of view. I'd turn on a dime and go populist - though it may be too late for that.
But he won't, because all his advisors are Wall Street stooges. Except maybe David Axelrod, and to tell the truth, I don't know how Axelrod has the stomach for what his guy has and hasn't done.
Maybe Obama's a Wall Street stooge himself. Sure looks like it.
ANNIVERSARY
I just realized that the first anniversary of what was supposed to be a world-changing election has passed without a single mention in the press. Even the Democrats didn't have the balls to bring it up. Believe me, if anyone out there felt there was something to celebrate, they would be celebrating it.
That's how far Obama has fallen. And he's only half-way down.
His appearances are mostly unreported. He isn't even trying to defend himself. I think he's in shock, and I don't think he's going to come out of it.
Peter DeFazio, Dem Rep.: It's 'Pretty Embarrassing' That Dems Now Identified With Wall Street
Peter DeFazio, Dem Rep.: It's 'Pretty Embarrassing' That Dems Now Identified With Wall Street
"There is, the congressman concluded, "an anger" among the working class that could be a major factor in 2010. And without a new focus on jobs and small business from the White House, DeFazio warned, "a faux populist" Republicanism will fill the void."
The sad thing is that with a weak president Congressional Democrats cannot protect themselves. They could pass the most popular far-reaching measures with huge benefit to the middle class and it would avail them nothing - because the public face of the party is the president. Bush killed the Republicans. Of course they helped a lot. But even if they hadn't, they'd have gone down. In 2010 progressives are going to have to run on the slogan: "Don't blame me. I did what I could. It's that jerk in the White House you need to get rid of, not me."
This, by the way, will not work.
California College Tuition Costs To Increase 32 PERCENT Due To State Budget Crisis, Students Protest Hike
California College Tuition Costs To Increase 32 PERCENT Due To State Budget Crisis, Students Protest Hike
So that's what it takes to get Berkeley kids back on the barricades. Well, it was always self-interest that got them up - the draft in the '60's, tuition now.
California may yet return to its former trend-setting status. If these kids understand that their problem is due to California's idiotic anti-tax referenda - that you can't have government if you won't pay for it - maybe they'll widen their protest and get into the whole question of why Californians wanted to put themselves into the mess they're in. It's a core political question, and the protests could spread.
Gallup Poll: Obama Job Approval Falls Below 50%
Gallup Poll: Obama Job Approval Falls Below 50%:
"The ongoing, contentious debate over national healthcare reform has likely served as a drag on his public support, as have continuing economic problems. Americans are also concerned about the Obama administration's reliance on government spending to solve the nation's problems and the growing federal budget deficit. ..."
The above is insider bullshit. You can't explain Obama's fall as due to concerns about the deficit when the growing populist backlash is based on contentions that Obama has not done enough for the average guy. If federal money had been spent on creating or protecting jobs, nobody outside of DC would care about the deficit. And with public support for the public option still clear in the polls, you can't say the majority are worried about what it's going to cost.
That being said, if Obama doesn't get off his ass his approval ratings will drop to Bush range soon. Sure, some people didn't like him from day one. But his drop in popularity is due to the fact that he hasn't done a damn thing he promised to do.
SEXISM?
Fascinating, isn't it, that Olympia Snowe had to be coddled to get the health care bill out of committee and Mary Landrieu and Blanche Lincoln are the only problems getting past a filibuster.
Don't know what it says, but it says sumpin'.
Don't know what it says, but it says sumpin'.
Thursday, November 19, 2009
Fed Beaten: Bill To Audit Federal Reserve Passes Key Hurdle
Fed Beaten: Bill To Audit Federal Reserve Passes Key Hurdle
Really big - not least because it was pushed by an alliance of the left and the right. As I've said before, these financial issues are going to be big and are going to capture the populist imagination. The question is which party is going to benefit. Grayson at least put the Democrats at parity. Not the White House Democrats. The real ones.
And it's a huge kick in the teeth to Geithner. I think it's fair to say that if Obama had not put Geithner in the position he now holds, this bill would not even have been presented. Obama pays the price here. It's the first of many to come.
FiveThirtyEight: Politics Done Right: 10 Reasons That Sarah Palin Could Win the Republican Nomination
White House Rebuke: Angry Dems Shut Down Vote
White House Rebuke: Angry Dems Shut Down Vote
"The refusal to vote for the package, a key priority of the administration, and Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner in particular, was portrayed as a direct rebuke of the White House's "lack of response to the economic situation.""
Tim Russert's Office Newseum Exhibit Set To Open
Tim Russert's Office Newseum Exhibit Set To Open
Oh please, please, please.
I know. It's good for NBC - and the media as a whole - to canonize someone who can't screw up any more.
Hamid Karzai Sworn In For Second 5-Year Term As Afghan President
Hamid Karzai Sworn In For Second 5-Year Term As Afghan President:
"'We are determined that by the next five years, the Afghan forces are capable of taking the lead in ensuring security and stability across the country,' Karzai said."
Now you know what Obama is going to do.
Political satire show has Afghans glued to their TVs - Asia, World - The Independent
Political satire show has Afghans glued to their TVs -
Asia, World - The Independent
Asia, World - The Independent
This is the first thing I've read which gives me any cause for hope for Afghanistan.
We tend to think of the country as not even having TV. What else do we not know about Afghanistan? Our ignorance must be enormous.
Torture Memo Author Sets Up Defense Fund to Fight Possible Impeachment - Declassified Blog - Newsweek.com
Fred Thompson: Afghan war 'has been lost' - Ben Smith - POLITICO.com
Fred Thompson: Afghan war 'has been lost' - Ben Smith - POLITICO.com
Obama asked for this, and now he's gonna get it. Not only will he be tarred with what inevitably must be some retreat from Afghanistan, but he'll take his party down with him. All he had to do to avoid this was to let the public know what was in his mind.
Stupid, stupid, stupid.
Poll: Majority Of Republicans Don't Think Obama Won 2008 Election
Poll: Majority Of Republicans Don't Think Obama Won 2008 Election
This simply cannot be helped. Which is why I think it's time for Democrats and progressives to disengage from these Republicans and from talking with and about them publicly. There's only a short time window in which progressives can get things accomplished. Do them, and let them speak for themselves. Arguments cannot be won.
CLEAR YOUR HEAD
Re Afghanistan, Obama seems to think that the American people want due deliberation from their president. And they do. But if the deliberations go on too long, people begin to think he's just ducking the issue.
He could have avoided that by explaining in detail what he was thinking, or at least what he was weighing. The public debate on the issue could have begun long ago. But not only is he saying nothing - he's condemning those in his administration who have revealed any details. This is a clear indication that we have an administration which doesn't remember that Obama is going to want to get re-elected. That the administration has the corporatist mentality that they are going to do what they want and fuck everybody else. But the public gets to vote on who is America's CEO. You ought to clear your head, Rahm, before you stick Obama's in the toilet.
I think it is now fair to say that this is the worst Democratic administration in modern times.
Geithner Asked To Resign; 'Mr. Secretary, The Public Has Lost All Confidence In Your Ability To Do Your Job' (VIDEO)
CHANGE WE CAN BELIEVE IN?
Possibly.
When Obama was elected, we all sat back and said: Okay - do all those things you promised you would. Of course, he did none of them. Wounded by that massive betrayal, our first response is to retreat away from hopeless politics. But now it's different.
That betrayal has made people understand that change will have to be forced from below. I have to credit the teabaggers for some of that. Although teabaggers want the opposite of change, they have reminded us that protest can be effective. Now the left is getting out there more. And unlike the teabaggers, for whom it is impossible to measure positive results, they're beginning to get things done.
Any progress that has been made toward social justice so far must be credited to some progressive congresspeople and to the people who have been pushing them and to whom they have been responsive. I don't think Nancy Pelosi is a particularly effective spokesman for progressive causes, but I think it's clear by now that she believes in them and is doing her damnedest to get them through. Even Harry Reid is doing better than I ever thought he would - probably pushed by Nevadans, so God bless them.
It will be a long, awful process to take the country back from the aristocracy we have enabled for so long. But momentum seems to be shifting now. We have to keep the pressure on. Because sensible people know what's going wrong, and will be behind real efforts to change the way the system works. We know that because they voted for Obama. Now we have to get them to ignore him, move around him and accomplish change.
The Virtue Of Shutting Up | The New Republic
The Virtue Of Shutting Up | The New Republic:
"To respond to an opponent, even harshly, even rudely, is to accord her a certain respect—to treat her as worthy of a response. But Palin is worthy of no such thing. She stands for nothing beyond her own self-promotion. She craves attention, and negative attention is a form of attention. Even ridicule can be a form of flattery. Better to bow out, to decline the provocation, since responding to her perpetuates and legitimates the illusion that she’s a serious player in our nation’s politics."
She's a political O J Simpson. They'll talk about her endlessly. To expect the media to do otherwise is absurd.
But she does stand for something. She stands for the wild desire of the unremarkable to be lionized. For the acknowledgement that talent and intellect are meaningless. For the denial of the value of quality. She stands for the mediocre - and there are a lot of them. She has value as a symbol of how many Americans think. As a constant reminder that there is a reason why those in power don't fear the average guy, as they should in a democracy. She is a great lesson to be learned. But the media won't teach it.
Rep. DeFazio: Fire 'Timmy' Geithner
Rep. DeFazio: Fire 'Timmy' Geithner
"[Obama] is being failed by his economic team," DeFazio concluded. "We may have to sacrifice just two more jobs to get millions back for Americans."
Maybe he's just being polite. He has to know Obama is getting from Summers and Geithner what he wanted.
HOODWINKED
John Perkins' book Hoodwinked may be simplistic, but if you believe what he writes (and I do) you have to conclude either that Obama was always a Friedmanite (after all, he and most of his administration come from Chicago, the home of Friedmanism which is called the Chicago School - a fact I ignored until recently) and a disciple of Reagan (or, certainly, Clinton) - or that sometime along the path to his election he was taken aside and read the riot act by the people who really run this place. What they told him I don't know - someone with real ethics, which Obama does not have, would have had to have been injected with an obedience-inducing drug - but they put Rahm Emanuel next to him to make sure that he never actually did what he had promised us he would do during the campaign.
Whichever is true, Obama is certainly a Friedmanite now - or if it can't be put so specifically, he is certainly a supporter of the Masters of the Universe. To be honest, I can't rule it out that when he realized what was expected of a president, Obama just threw up his hands and turned it all over to Rahm, contenting himself with making speeches and taking adulation (which there has been a shortage of of late).
If any attempt is being made to overturn Friedmanism, it's in the Congress and not the White House. To the extent that any socially responsible legislation is actually passed, it would be nice to hear, even after the fact, that Obama had pushed for it. I, however, am not holding my breath.
Read the book - a generalistic companion to The Shock Doctrine - and tell me where Perkins got it wrong.
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Brian Williams Accepts Cronkite Award, Says Cronkite Wouldn't "Have Cracked Through" In Today's Media Landscape
Brian Williams Accepts Cronkite Award, Says Cronkite Wouldn't "Have Cracked Through" In Today's Media Landscape:
"'I am convinced that had he come along today, I don't think he would have cracked through. I think there's too much noise, too much to cut through for a modest man from Missouri,'"
Oprah has certainly cracked through, although her focus is not on news. Beck, Limbaugh and Hannity have cracked through, although their focus is on the cracked.
It cannot be possible that someone as staid, stable and credible as Cronkite could not crack through today. He might not look like Cronkite, but if he's trusted he could crack through. What Williams is saying, really, is that there's no one out there now who commands that trust. And he's right, including himself. With the possible exception of Jon Stewart, who has definitely cracked through.
Find the right non-comedian and it will happen. The finding is the toughest part.
Because America does not produce a lot of trustworthy people, particularly among those who want more than anything to make it big. Texas' gay marriage ban may have banned all marriages - Politics AP - MiamiHerald.com
Texas' gay marriage ban may have banned all marriages - Politics AP - MiamiHerald.com
If there were any courts in Texas which weren't political.
Fox News Runs Old Palin Campaign Footage, Reports It As Book-Signing Crowds
Fox News Runs Old Palin Campaign Footage, Reports It As Book-Signing Crowds:
"I think this appears to be little more than a momentary disconnect between newsreader and news producer than a conscious attempt to mislead."
Oh.
MORAL OUTRAGE?
Why were Americans so angry about Bush's indifference to Katrina? Because Americans love moral outrage - it gives them something to do - and that immorality of that indifference was obvious. But Americans need to be led to moral outrage by media, and maybe need some hints that what they're seeing is outrageous. Which explains why there is no moral outrage whatsoever over the fact that nothing promised for New Orleans has been done.
Actually, I'm not sure it's possible to create moral outrage over that. The compelling video isn't there. It's much too difficult to understand what's not happening if the story has to be told in words.
Although you would think the American black community might be a little bit outraged over the little the first American black president has done about New Orleans. But I'm not hearing anything about that.
Secret Service under strain as leaders face more threats - The Boston Globe
Secret Service under strain as leaders face more threats - The Boston Globe
But if they only understood who he was, Obama would be the safest man in America. His great danger is from people who don't get it. Maybe he ought to explain to them that he's the guy they want.
Book Review: Patience With God: Faith for People Who Don't Like Religion (or Atheism) by Frank Schaeffer - Blogcritics Books
Book Review: Patience With God: Faith for People Who Don't Like Religion (or Atheism) by Frank Schaeffer - Blogcritics
Books
Books
"At the core of Patience With God is Schaeffer’s discovery of the “gift of paradox” and his general worship of the uncertain. His faith in God is couched in not knowing what or who God is rather than in identifying the deity (or perhaps deities) with a number of self-serving characteristics. His exploration of faith is one of existing in the universe, of unity with other human beings regardless of personal faith and conviction, and of compassion with an emphasis on tolerance and authenticity."
A Year of Obama by Alexander Cockburn on Creators.com - A Syndicate Of Talent
A Year of Obama by Alexander Cockburn on Creators.com - A Syndicate Of Talent:
"If you want to see the year's political price for dropping the ball on the greatest political opportunity we'll see in our lifetime to curb the power of Wall Street and set a new economic course, just look at the recent election numbers in Virginia, which voted for a Democratic president last year for the first time since the Johnson sweep of 1964 and handed the Democrats three Republican House seats. In these same three districts earlier in November, Republican Bob McDonnell — running on a we-need-jobs platform and against a terrible climate bill built on junk science — clinched the governor's race by huge margins as independents, seniors, suburban voters and stay-at-home Democrats took out their disillusion with Obama."
It is fascinating, when you think about it. As many say, there is a battle on for control of the American right. But it's not between the Republicans and the Tea Party - the Tea Party doesn't want to control the right, it wants to be ideologically pure and doesn't much care who it controls. No, it's between the Republicans and Obama.
Don't forget that the real reason Republicans hated Clinton so much was that he horned in heavy on their territory. Obama is doing the same, and here's the mystery: since nominal Republicans have kowtowed so much to the radical right, why are not more sensible Republicans moving into line behind Obama? One obvious reason is the Democrats in Congress, who are not following Obama at all. But when the Republicans take Congress in 2010, the natural alliance would be between money Republicans and Obama, shoving the Democratic left and the radical right off into the distance as irrelevant. And considering the quality of possible Republican presidential candidates, that would be the smart Republican's move.
I'd look for signs of that in a few months.
EXCLUSIVE: Two Leading House Dems Will Close $50 Trillion Loophole In Derivatives Reform Bills
EXCLUSIVE: Two Leading House Dems Will Close $50 Trillion Loophole In Derivatives Reform Bills:
"Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank and Agriculture Committee Chairman Collin Peterson will insist that foreign exchange derivatives be subject to the same transparency and accountability rules as other derivatives. The legislation as proposed by the Obama administration had exempted them."
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