It's my day off but I was so distracted all Saturday because of this...Meant to post...
...Carolyn at Make Them Accountable sent this piece from Chris Floyd out this week: But of course there will be no reform, and there was never going to be. Obama is going to "reform" America's broken health care system the same way he has "reformed" the War on Terror and "reformed" Wall Street: by taking the existing policies and making them even worse...
The Weekly Standard and its Arabic freak-out (by Eric Boehlert at County Fair, Media Matters for America) If we've confirmed anything this week about the GOP Noise Machine it's that its members' heads pretty much explode at the mere mention of Islam or Muslims in the context of the Obama president...The sheer xenophobia though, and the blatant disdain for all things Islamic and Arabic, doesn't get much more transparent that a kooky blog post at the Weekly Standard in response to Obama's two-syllable response to the king of Saudi Arabia: "Shukrun," which is Arabic for thank you...at the Arab-hating Weekly Standard that set off all kinds of alarms bells.
Liz Cheney: Obama Wants To Hold Hands With Terrorists (by Greg Sargent at The Plum Line) That's not really an exaggeration! On an appearance on MSNBC, Liz Cheney appeared to say that Obama's speech in Cairo today showed that he wants to deal with terrorists by 'hand-holding.' Click through to watch the video.-Caro
ABC News thinks Sean Hannity's anti-Obama screeds = news (by Eric Boehlert at County Fair, Media Matters for America) We noted earlier that the news crew at ABC dashed to post a bulletin about how right-wing talker Sean Hannity hated Obama's Muslim speech. Because at ABC, Hannity's important and insightful. A couple hours later here's how the Note summed up the reaction to Obama's speech: "This is an extension of what has become an apology tour, that America is an arrogant country," Hannity said....The instant reaction from Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, per ABC's Jake Tapper: It was a 'wonderful speech,' she said."
At ABC News, Sean Hannity's reaction to a foreign policy speech is on par with the reaction of the United States' Secretary of State. Behold your liberal media at work.
How Fox News Defies Ratings Gravity (by Jeff Bercovici at AOL Daily Finance) In the just-ended May ratings period, Fox once again manhandled the competition, posting big gains in both primetime and full-day while MSNBC stumbled and CNN plunged headlong...It's tempting to ascribe Fox's surge to the change in administration. There's something to this. Political media outlets, whether print, web or broadcast, tend to flourish in opposition. Certainly that was the case with MSNBC, which rode the crests of Obamamania to new highs last fall, only to settle to earth once campaigning gave way to governing. Even the network's powerhouse, Countdown with Keith Olbermann, was down in May (a 20 percent drop among viewers 25-54), the first time that's happened in almost three years.
But Fox has never fit comfortably into this mold. When George Bush took office, analysts and competitors predicted Fox would fizzle without Bill Clinton to beat up on. Instead, it merely opened up an ever-growing lead on CNN. Just a few months ago, the chin-strokers were thinking that maybe it was actually Bush and his War on Terror that had been propping up Fox and that the dawn of the Obama era would prove Fox's undoing. That's clearly not happening. What Fox News gives its audience is a worldview that it reinforces every single day, many times a day. How else could almost 30% of the population still have believed, when he left office, that George Bush did anything worthwhile as president?
What so-called progressives like those on MSNBC have tried to do is mimic the us-vs.-them mentality that Fox News uses so successfully. But I don't believe that reinforcing tribal hatred and propensity for exclusion is the way to build a more progressive, more tolerant, dare I say more moral society. And Obama's kind of moralizing isn't the way to do it, either.
Too bad we have so few voices explaining, convincing, teaching. Too bad so many people have bought in to the smartass model of social interaction that they don't think teaching and being taught, convincing and being convinced, is worthwhile. Too bad for our social structures. Too bad for all of us.-Caro
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Dream (by Susie at Suburban Guerrilla) I was talking to a friend, and he said, "You know what I dream? That one day the Democrats will control both houses of Congress and the White House, and then we'll stop the war, get all the money out of politics and have single-payer healthcare." Hah. Keep dreaming.
Obama Preserves Entrenched Power, Sidesteps Racial Disparities (by Glen Ford at the Black Agenda Report) Barack Obama actually said it: a truncated form of the hackneyed rich man's expression, "a rising tide lifts all boats." The cliche was a fixture of trickle-down Reaganics and the Bush I and II permutations, as well as the Clinton deregulationathon. Now Obama employs it to justify his refusal to offer any programs to "address historical and emerging racial disparities." The twisted logic goes something like this: "The deeper Blacks sink into the abyss, the more they are eligible for general assistance - therefore, the Obama plan already contains everything African Americans need as a group, and will be of more use to them than to more advantaged groups." Thus, the nation's first Black President turns the misery index on its head. Homeowners Underwater (Calculated Risk) From the WSJ: House-Price Drops Leave More Underwater "Moody's Economy.com estimates that of 78.2 million owner-occupied single-family homes, 14.8 million borrowers, or 19%, owed more than their homes were worth at the end of the first quarter, up from 13.6 million at the end of last year." And many of these borrowers are in danger of default if they experience a negative event (death, disease, divorce, unemployment, etc.) U.S. Says Bank of America Needs $33.9 Billion Cushion (New York Times) The government has told Bank of America it needs $33.9 billion in capital to withstand any worsening of the economic downturn, according to an executive at the bank. If the bank is unable to raise the capital cushion by selling assets or stock, it would have to rely on the government, which has provided $45 billion in capital through the Troubled Asset Relief Program. It could satisfy regulators' demands simply by converting non-voting preferred shares it gave the government in return for the capital, into common stock. But that would make the government one of the bank’s largest shareholders. Crisis: Who Is to Blame?: Banks that Financed Subprime Industry Collecting Billions in Bailouts (by John Dunbar and David Donald, Center for Public Integrity) The top subprime lenders whose loans are largely blamed for triggering the global economic meltdown were owned or bankrolled by banks now collecting billions of dollars in bailout money -including several that have paid huge fines to settle predatory lending charges. These big institutions were not only unwitting victims of an unforeseen financial collapse, as they have sometimes portrayed themselves, but enablers that bankrolled the type of lending that has threatened the financial system. Click through for the highlights, and for a link to the full report.-Caro As Investors Circle Ailing Banks, Fed Sets Limits (New York Times) Giant private equity players are circling distressed banks around the country, competing to buy into the industry. Bidding wars are now breaking out among private equity firms, including the Carlyle Group...(Emphasis added.) With strings attached, banks can return taxpayer money (McClatchy) Federal regulators are preparing to release new rules governing how banks can return billions in taxpayer bailout money...Banks would have to give up a special loan guarantee program in the process...Few banks are thought to be strong enough to both give up the money they received from the Troubled Asset Relief Program, and walk away from the loan guarantees. The guarantees give investors a much greater degree of comfort in buying bonds issued by the still-troubled banks...To get the TARP money, the government required the banks to agree to tough executive compensation rules and to swear off bonuses, travel on company jets and other perks reserved for top officials. What's to stop them from giving the money back, handing out big bonuses, and then coming back with their hands out again? Nothing.- Caro
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Carolyn Kay MakeThemAccountable.com
Asinine Tweet of the Day:
I can't believe you found that many glutenfree people.
I feel no need to add to this tweeter's important proclamation. Foto: The LA photo today comes from my hood - Koreatown Music: Because this man's voice makes it all okay:
Robert Reich on Power (by David Leonhardt, New York Times) I received a thought-provoking e-mail message from Robert Reich, who served as labor secretary under President Bill Clinton, advised the Obama campaign and teaches at the University of California, Berkeley. Referring to my interview with President Obama in this Sunday’s issue of The New York Times Magazine, Mr. Reich writes: “Neither he nor you mentioned power-how concentrated it has become in our society as income and wealth have concentrated
Banking lobby successfully defeats mortgage cram-down provision. (Think Progress) a proposal to change bankruptcy law and allow bankruptcy judges to cram-down mortgage payments for troubled homeowners failed in the Senate by a vote of 45-51. The provision, which was introduced as an amendment by Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL), required 60 votes to pass. In recent weeks, support for the measure evaporated in the face of furious lobbying by the banking and mortgage industries.
Top Senate Democrat: bankers "own" the U.S. Congress (by Glenn Greenwald at Unclaimed Territory, Salon) Sen. Dick Durbin, on a local Chicago radio station this week, blurted out an obvious truth about Congress that, despite being blindingly obvious, is rarely spoken: "And the banks -- hard to believe in a time when we're facing a banking crisis that many of the banks created -- are still the most powerful lobby on Capitol Hill. And they frankly own the place." The blunt acknowledgment that the same banks that caused the financial crisis "own" the U.S. Congress -- according to one of that institution's most powerful members -- demonstrates just how extreme this institutional corruption is. Durbin was one of the earliest cheerleaders for Obama to run for president. And he had to know that Obama is owned by the banks. Blurting out the truth here doesn’t excuse his own complicity in bank ownership of our country.- Caro
Nevertheless, we got SOMETHING: House passes bill that favors credit card holders (McClatchy) Responding to anger and frustration from consumers, and a push from President Barack Obama, the House of Representatives Thursday passed sweeping legislation aimed at shielding consumers from sudden credit card rate increases and providing other protections.
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Carolyn Kay MakeThemAccountable.com
Music - a tribute to Mathew Sheppard. Mr. Sheppard was beaten and hung on a remote fence where he was found alive and covered in blood after 18 hours. He days later at the hospital.
It is time for a serious discussion about what causes heterosexuals to behave in a such a depraved manner. Is it something about the heterosexual sexual orientation that leads those with it to evil? The instances of straight people behaving in an amoral and godless manner are one of the constants of human existence. Is it possible to lead a Godly, moral life and be straight?
A tonic for tough times: A friend emailed me that she thought Susan Boyle had "has shifted the world consciousness." I am both prone to broad statements like this and wary of them . In this case, I can certainly see her point. Go on, then...watch Susan Boyle again....and again... Make sure the hanky is handy. I have now watched this 4 times in 2 days and welled up each time. I think I'll keep this clip handy - it is better than zoloft and/or rum. Boyle is a blessing....and a tonic.
Politics and Media Headlines 4/17/09
Obama Denies Habeas Corpus (video at the Colbert Report) Barack Obama helps America escape from the Bill of Rights lovers who keep humping the leg of habeas corpus. (01:53)
Obama won't charge CIA officers for rough tactics (AP) In the aftermath of the Sept. 11 attacks, CIA operatives were allowed to shackle, strip and waterboard terror suspects. Now, President Barack Obama has assured these operatives that they will not be prosecuted for their rough interrogation tactics. At the same time, Obama's attorney general offered the operatives legal help[*] if anyone else takes them to court over the harsh interrogation methods that were approved by the Bush administration. The offer of presidential support, however, did not extend to those outside the CIA who approved the so-called enhanced interrogation methods or any CIA officers who may have gone beyond what was allowed in four legal memos written in 2002 and 2005 that the Obama administration released Thursday. The Nuremberg standard is that people are responsible for their inhuman actions, even if they thought those actions were approved by a higher authority. Obama does not have the power to override Nuremberg.
*That's you and me, folks. We the taxpayers will be giving legal help to criminals, if anyone dares try to sue them. - Caro
Bush Memo Footnotes Define Waterboarding As Torture (by Sam Stein at the Huffington Post) A Bush administration memo from 2005, intended to establish a legal basis for aggressive interrogation techniques, contains a footnote that actually describes waterboarding as falling within the administration's definition of torture. The footnote, found within one of the Office of Legal Council memos released by the Obama administration on Thursday, suggests that officials in the previous White House likely knew that they were torturing terrorism suspects at a time when they claimed to not be involved in such a practice. The crimes are obvious. The need for punishment is obvious.-Caro
Quote of the Day (by Susie at Suburban Guerilla) A little unintended humor from President Obama: "The United States is a nation of laws. My Administration will always act in accordance with those laws, and with an unshakable commitment to our ideals. That is why we have released these memos, and that is why we have taken steps to ensure that the actions described within them never take place again."
Tortured Logic: Obama Writes Off Old Crimes While Promoting New Outrages (by Chris Floyd at Empire Burlesque) I know that some are holding on to the hope that Obama's carefully worded statement leaves open the door to prosecuting the actual instigators of the crimes-the top officials of the Bush Administration... but I believe this is wishful thinking in the extreme… (F)ocus closely on this astonishing phrase: "...we must resist the forces that divide us, and instead come together on behalf of our common future." It is clear in the context of his statement that "the forces that would divide us" refers to those who are calling for the instigators and perpetrators to be prosecuted. They are the ones insisting on the disturbing, disunifying course of "laying blame for the past." But what, in the name of God, are America's "core values," if they do not include prosecuting people who order and commit the high crime of torture?
And cannot every criminal on the face of the earth now claim the Obama defense: "Surely, your honor, nothing will be gained by spending our time and energy laying blame for the past. So let's forget the fact that I (raped/murdered/robbed/tortured), and move forward, shall we?"...In the overblown, self-regarding prose that has become his trademark, Obama lauds himself and his administration for their fealty to the "rule of law" in releasing the memos. But of course, the "rule of law" also dictates that those who have planned, ordered and committed torture be prosecuted. The law has no special dispensation for crimes that might be "too disturbing" to prosecute.
Obstructing Justice By Any Other Name (by Deacon Blues at The Left Coaster) Mr. President,...if you plan to extend this unwillingness to prosecute torturers to those who wrote and approved the war crimes policies, then you have not only enabled future war crimes, but you've prevented the highest law enforcement agency in the land from enforcing our own laws and the Geneva Convention protocols. In other words Mr, President, you yourself will be obstructing justice. And if you go that far, for any reason, you are no better than George W. Bush.
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Carolyn Kay MakeThemAccountable.com
Transvestites and Vegans and Comedy, oh my: A friend gifted me/ blessed me with a ticket to see Eddie Izzard at a small venue in West Hollywood called Largo. Beforehand we ate at Real Food Daily - a vegan place that will stop cold any judgement you may have about vegan food. Dinner at RFD was, as always, delicious. We then headed down the street to see 2 hours of Izzard's new stuff. We ended up in the first row (I am a bragart!) and he was, of course, so funny I did actually cry on occasion. Which leads me to say - no doubt, I will have to remain in one large city or another until the last possible minute before civilization collapses..Though I am a home body by impulse, I really do love living in a place where amazing vegan dinner, followed by brilliant transvestite stand up is a possibility.
Here's news: G-20 summit actually achieved something (by Kevin G. Hall and Steven Thomma, McClatchy) The leaders of the world's major industrialized nations accomplished something at their G-20 summit here Thursday that rarely happens at such gatherings of heads of state. They produced large achievements. They pledged the first-ever global regulation of hedge funds and private-equity firms, big players in global finance that have enjoyed operating under the regulatory radar. They agreed to a require banks to set aside more capital in good times to help them function in bad times. They vowed to crack down on tax haven nations that allow the wealthy to escape taxation. And they pledged $1.1 trillion to the International Monetary Fund and related institutions to help revive the global economy.
In short, the summit marks the end of an era of unbridled global capitalism and a turn toward stronger government oversight of economics, coordinated globally. Leaders of the Group of 20 effectively closed the door on an era of history and opened the door to a new one.
President Obama Heralds 'Historic' Effort at G-20 (by Jake Tapper at Political Punch, ABC News) President Obama (Thursday) afternoon expressed confidence that the economic and regulatory steps the G-20 countries committed to this afternoon will mark "a turning point in our pursuit of global economic recovery."
An IFI success (by Paul Krugman) Credit where credit (line) is due: the G20 outcome was better than I expected, with something substantive and important emerging - namely, much bigger funding for international financial institutions (IFIs), plus expanded trade credit. This will help smaller, currency-crisis countries a lot. A turning point? No. But realistically, most big-time international meetings produce nothing; this did something significant.
House, Senate budget plans boost Obama agenda (AP) Passage by both House and Senate of companion budget plans gave President Barack Obama and his allies on Capitol Hill a key victory, but the debates also exposed some of the president's vulnerabilities. Obama's Democratic allies passed plans broadly supporting the young administration's agenda of higher spending on domestic programs like education and overhauling the nation's health care system. The $3.6 trillion House plan passed by a 233-196 vote Thursday.
But 20 House Democrats, mostly lawmakers representing GOP-leaning areas, abandoned Obama on the final vote. That reflected considerable unhappiness over unending deficits. Even after modest cuts to Obama's budget, the House plan predicts a $598 billion deficit in five years, while the Senate plan would produce a $508 billion shortfall.
Bayh And Nelson Vote Against Obama Budget Because It 'Costs Too Much,' But Support Costly Estate Tax Bill (Think Progress) While not a single Republican broke with their party to vote yes on the measure, two "moderate" Democrats-Sens. Evan Bayh (D-IN) and Ben Nelson (D-NE)- voted no. Nelson defended his vote in a prepared statement: "...it just costs too much." Similarly, Bayh issued a statement saying he opposed the budget in an attempt to be the voice of "fiscal responsibility"...But if Bayh and Nelson are really concerned about the cost of the budget, why then did they also vote yesterday in favor of a $250 billion tax cut for the rich? As the AP explains, Bayh and Nelson along with eight other "moderate" Democrats broke with Obama and voted to reduce estate taxes from which 99.7 percent of Americans were already exempt.
Bonus Quote of the Day (Political Wire) "My administration is the only thing between you and the pitchforks." -- President Obama, quoted by Politico, in a behind-the-scenes account of the president's recent meeting with Wall Street CEOs. Yes, and if you don't stop coddling them, President Obama, we'll be coming after you, too. Politically, of course.-Caro
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Goood Morning! It is the eve of the eve of my favorite Holiday - and one of my favorite days of the year - the return to standard time, and the now - almost - perfunctory USC defeat of Notre Dame being the others - all of which occur around the same time. (alas the once greatest "intersectional rivalry in college football" has faded. Still I do my leprechaun voodoo dance and send curses to South Bend all week!)
So, anywho, I awoke today in a good mood. (no Meds cracks please. Not out of anger do i say this but boredom. We must find another way to insult..."are you off your meds again" jokes jumped the shark a while ago. )
A site I've been meaning to highlight for a while is Make Them Accountable. She does the news and views better than the rest of the all headline sites. I got over Raw Story a while ago. Buzz Flash is silly. Huff is obviously pandering and pathetic - and Drudge -hmmm - I just don't get him right now - and therefore I don't trust him. Savage Politics is a good one too - generally too far Right for me - but I like it.
Make Them Accountable is well worth a daily click. She (Carolyn) has been steady and clear for a while now. No Obama adulation B.S. and no drift to the fear based Right - (though, like so many of us here, she seems to have warmed to the SANE conservatives this year.)
Some Shakespeare...Shakespeare is the center of our cannon in the West. Hamlet is the center of Shakespeare and the center of Hamlet is this speech. Therefore, in some way this speech is internal to all our lives. The best version I could find:
And the worst - though Mr. Hawke does place his internal confrontation with the greatest human mysteries at a Blockbuster, which may have some ironic genius I don't see. He is an actor I like, but his Hamlet is a trainwreck:
