Dr. Juan Cole says ...

8 Words of Wisdom for Week Ending 4/17/2009 #8

As usual, the left-wing blogosphere is a breath of fresh air. I've read at least a dozen brilliant accounts of the rescue of Captain Richard Phillips from Somali pirates, each that ties the actions took place as compared to the comments that were spewed forth from the right wing. As you read through the excerpts of Dr. Cole's post below, and hopefully through the entire post at the link, you should understand this: Republicans cannot handle a crisis. They overreact. They start wars against countries that never attacked us. They torture. They suspend Habeas Corpus. Rather than enforce the rile of law, they look for ways to get around it. When an American is held hostage, they would blow the bad guys away immediately, even if it meant the death of the hostage.

Make no mistake: Barack Obama is not the hero of this rescue. Not even close. The Navy SEALS who took out the pirates with remarkable shots on the high seas are heroes. Captain Phillips bravery and unselfishness will be talked about for generations. No, Obama did what a President is supposed to do. He got good advice. He gave the orders. He and his administration didn't leak to the press. Best of all, the hostage is safe, and it is the right-wing that once again has egg all over their faces.

The crisis began early in the morning of April 8, when Somali pirates boarded the Maersk Alabama. The crew captured one pirate, and three others took Captain Phillips hostage. He talked them, along with one other, into getting into the lifeboat and keeping him as the hostage, as a way of saving his crew.

The US Navy, aware of the danger to Phillips's life if it took precipitate action, brought in experienced FBI hostage negotiators.

This attempt to end the crisis through hostage negotiation was made fun of by the American right wing ...

(Glenn) Beck actually made fun of the US Navy, implying that it was dawdling about instead of going in with guns blazing. What kind of person makes fun of the professionals of the US Navy and the FBI while they are trying to do their jobs in saving a true American hero? ...

Meanwhile, even Rush Limbaugh's supporters were embarrassed by his inability to stop bashing the president long enough to celebrate the escape of the crew. Ann Althouse lamented of Limbaugh, "He'd slotted the story into his Obama-doesn't-know-what-to-do template and was riffing away about Obama's indecision and what he must be fretting about and how he'd probably want to apologize to the pirates and so forth."

(Kenneth T.) Walsh (of Newsweek) explains of Friday, April 10: "In Obama's first national security test, he secretly gave the Pentagon the go-ahead at 8 p.m. Friday to use force if Phillips's life was in imminent danger." So, Rush, I guess Obama wasn't in a mood to apologize after all. Unless in Limbaugh Limbo, making preparations to whack someone is seen as a mea culpa.

What of Obama's silence, which allowed the blowhards to bloviate? Walsh adds, "Throughout the crisis, Obama avoided saber rattling in public. His aides said that would have made negotiations for Phillips's release more difficult." In other words, Obama avoided posturing and talking like a cowboy about the pirates in order to avoid complicating a hostage crisis and endangering the life of the hostage ...

Now it is Saturday, April 11. Walsh explains, "In a follow-up order at 9:20 Saturday morning, he gave more specific authorization that included allowing a Navy commander to order snipers to take out the pirates if the situation became dire, U.S. officials said."

On Sunday, the US snipers were sent into action when it appeared that the pirates were menacing Captain Phillips with their weapons. They killed three and freed Phillips, capturing the fourth.

While the whiny Right was ridiculing the president as a do-nothing, or calling for blowing the lifeboat out of the water, or calumniating Obama with charges that he was "apologetic" to the hostage-takers and even "bringing them hot chocolate," the president was quietly, competently, taking stock of the situation and putting in place the policies and personnel that would lead to a successful resolution and the freeing of a hero.

The link is a must read. When someone gets under Dr. Cole's skin, he gets super extra snarky. He has great examples of the right wing stupidity that was spewed during the crisis and his take downs of Limbuagh and company is definitive. Great, great stuff.

Source - Informed Comment

President Obama says ...

8 Words of Wisdom for Week Ending 4/17/2009 #6

We'll let his words stand on their own.

James Vega says ...

8 Words of Wisdom for Week Ending 4/17/2009 #2

So, let’s add it all up.

• Over 60% of the American people currently approve of Obama – 10% more than approved of either Bush I or Bush II at this point.

• Republican Party identification has shrunk substantially and the Party’s remaining supporters have become more intensely partisan. Nonetheless, even so, over one-quarter – 27% of these hard-core Republicans still approve of Obama.

• And 57-60% - a solid, commanding majority -- of independents approve of him.

So, Let’s all send Gerson a message: “Hey, Mike, cut out the histrionics. Blow your nose, put away the silly polka-dot hanky and stop the sanctimonious blubbering about Obama causing partisan division. The Oscars are over.

America isn’t divided – it’s solidly behind Obama.

It’s not his fault some people just can’t handle the truth.

Here's how the Republicans have chosen to battle President Obama's proven popularity, by pretending statistics don't exist. To function as a conservative in 2009 requires that you live in a world of denial. Reality would simply be impossible to confront.

I wonder sometimes if this is how conservatives felt in the aftermath of the New Deal and World War II when liberalism defeated fascism, saved capitalism, and raised the standard of living of more Americans than at any period in our history. You know, when the entire country rejected their false ideology that plunged the country into the Great Depression. I'm not convinced that the President has set us on a course of action that will, in any way, compare favorably to the New Deal, but he isn't going to support the same tired, rejected conservative ideals that were soundly rejected at the polls in November, in both the Presidential and Congressional elections.

That is progress and that is why the President has retained his popularity. The more the conservative commentators try to pretend this isn't the case, the more they damage their own credibility, which should be fairly close to rock bottom already.

Source - The Democratic Strategist

President Obama says ...

8 Words of Wisdom for Week Ending 4/10/2009 #5

The existence of thousands of nuclear weapons is the most dangerous legacy of the Cold War. No nuclear war was fought between the United States and the Soviet Union, but generations lived with the knowledge that their world could be erased in a single flash of light. Cities like Prague that had existed for centuries would have ceased to exist. Today, the Cold War has disappeared but thousands of those weapons have not. In a strange turn of history, the threat of global nuclear war has gone down, but the risk of a nuclear attack has gone up. More nations have acquired these weapons. Testing has continued. Black markets trade in nuclear secrets and materials. The technology to build a bomb has spread. Terrorists are determined to buy, build or steal one. Our efforts to contain these dangers are centered in a global nonproliferation regime, but as more people and nations break the rules, we could reach the point when the center cannot hold. . . Just as we stood for freedom in the 20th century, we must stand together for the right of people everywhere to live free from fear in the 21st. And as a nuclear power -as the only nuclear power to have used a nuclear weapon - the United States has a moral responsibility to act. We cannot succeed in this endeavor alone, but we can lead it. So today, I state clearly and with conviction America's commitment to seek the peace and security of a world without nuclear weapons.

Every now and then I have to pinch myself. I'm still amazed that we find ourselves with a truly progressive President who is showing, throughout the world, that he is a true leader. We have endured eight years under an administration that sought to create new nuclear weapons ... so called tactical nukes ... and plans to use them if needed. Now we have a President who is boldly stating to the entire world that nuclear weapons are, in and of themselves, unacceptable.

Think of the implications of this policy. It will give us the indisputable high ground when dealing with rogue nations looking to develop nuclear weapons. It will free nations to respond with something other than fear.

Imagine a world without nuclear weapons. Can you?

Source - Informed Comment

President Obama says ...

8 Words of Wisdom for Week Ending 4/10/2009 #2

(W)e’ve got a global economy. And if we’re taking actions in isolation in the United States but those actions are contradicted overseas, then we’re only going to be halfway effective, maybe not even half.

You’ve seen, for example, a drastic decline in U.S. exports over the last several months. You look at a company like Caterpillar, in my home state of Illinois, which up until last year was doing extraordinarily well. In fact, export growth was what had sustained it even after the recession had begun.

As a consequence of the world recession, as a consequence of the contagion from the financial markets debilitating economies elsewhere, Caterpillar is now in very bad shape.

So if we want to get Caterpillar back on its feet, if we want to get all those export companies back on their feet so that they are hiring, putting people back to work, putting money in people’s pockets, we’ve got to make sure that the global economy as a whole is successful.

You simply have to be impressed by President Obama. He has a remarkable capability for conveying the seriousness of the crisis without falling back on hoary scare tactics. This is the mark of a real leader and it is the reason that, despite the numerous dishonest and venomous attacks from the right wing, Obama has maintained most of his popularity.

It's easy to mistake well-crafted showmanship for leadership. Yes, a President standing atop burning rubble while shouting platitudes through a megaphone has the appearance of leadership. A President landing on an aircraft carrier in a fighter while wearing a flight suit to proclaim victory in a war has the appearance of leadership. Scratch just a little beneath the surface and you can see the truth behind these moments. They were little more than stagecraft - empty of substance ... devoid of meaning. When President Bush climbed atop that pile of rubble in New York City the plans for war against Iraq had already begun, despite the lack of any evidence that they were involved in the attacks. The war itself had barely begun when he landed on that aircraft carrier. He had his chances to show real leadership and, like a Little Leaguer facing a big league fastballer, he whiffed every time.

The time for leadership was during the attacks when he sat like a deer frozen in the headlights in front of a group of school children before zig-zagging across the country on Air Force One, only appearing from an undisclosed bunker. He had his chance in the aftermath of the attacks when he set the country on the path to war with Iraq rather than focusing on getting, you know, the people who actually attacked us. He had his chance when he took us into the war in Iraq without a plan for ending the conflict and rebuilding the country. He blew so many chances.

President Obama has shown how a leader behaves in a crisis. He is always in front of the camera. He's holding press conferences where he takes real questions from real reporters. He is never less than confident that we will get past this and thrive again, but he doesn't sugar coat the situation. He tells us that this won't be easy. He tells us that this will take time. He tells us that this will require bold action and then he backs up those words with his budget proposal. This is leadership and this is what this country needs.

Source - Crooks and Liars

President Obama says ...

8 Words of Wisdom for Week Ending 3/27/2009 #3

I would like to speak clearly to Iran's leaders. We have serious differences that have grown over time. My administration is now committed to diplomacy that addresses the full range of issues before us, and to pursuing constructive ties among the United States, Iran and the international community. This process will not be advanced by threats. We seek instead engagement that is honest and grounded in mutual respect.

You, too, have a choice. The United States wants the Islamic Republic of Iran to take its rightful place in the community of nations. You have that right -- but it comes with real responsibilities, and that place cannot be reached through terror or arms, but rather through peaceful actions that demonstrate the true greatness of the Iranian people and civilization. And the measure of that greatness is not the capacity to destroy, it is your demonstrated ability to build and create.

So on the occasion of your New Year, I want you, the people and leaders of Iran, to understand the future that we seek. It's a future with renewed exchanges among our people, and greater opportunities for partnership and commerce. It's a future where the old divisions are overcome, where you and all of your neighbors and the wider world can live in greater security and greater peace.

Well, what a difference. As has been said to death now, elections have consequences. Here's a most positive one. The President is not letting Iran off easy. He's not pretending that there aren't real issues here. What he is doing is showing that the only way to get past them is with diplomacy.

A Democrat learns from history. A Democrat knows that it's when diplomacy breaks down that people start dying. A Democrat knows how important it is to get diplomacy right. All a Republican can do is sabre rattle. As one great Republican said, "speak softly and carry a big stick". How sad that it has been decades since the nation saw one? How sad that they missed the "speak softly" lesson?

Source - MyDD

Obama Wins

8 Historic Newscasts #8

A Presidential Memorandum says ...

8 Words of Wisdom for Week Ending 3/20/2009 #3

There is no doubt that the practice of issuing (signing) statements can be abused. Constitutional signing statements should not be used to suggest that the President will disregard statutory requirements on the basis of policy disagreements.

Source - Daily Kos

What? You mean the President doesn't have the power to override Congressional legislation simply because he puts pen to paper to make it so?

We can pretend that Republicans and conservatives are people of principle who simply believe that the constitution should be read literally, what is known as the strict constructionist argument, but the truth is they are without principle. They read the constitution overly broad when Republicans are in power and as very limited when a Democrat is in power. How else can you explain their view that the President has near monarchical powers?

DZ says ...

8 Words of Wisdom for Week Ending 3/20/2009 #2

This is not some conspiracy theory that "they" have some detailed plot to take everything over but a recognition that the psyche of Wall St. and corporate finance has infiltrated the previous as well as the current administration. Additionally, as the facts show, all the supposed economic growth over the last 10 years was on Wall St. such that they have become the biggest economic force in this country. Collective greed inevitably throws its weight around and we are seeing that now. Geithner is a creature of this financial structure and as such he is completely blinded by what he knows. Obama has been good at getting a lot "experts" but in this case virtually all the experts are beholden to what got us in trouble in the first place. Volcker may be the only exception but he seems to have been effectively marginalized to the detriment of us all.

The biggest oversight in all of this is the mantra that what is good for Wall St. is good for the country. This is highly delusional at this moment in time. Wall St. has and still is extorting trillions of taxpayer dollars and the government is an accomplice in the crime. I am making this point to illustrate just how pervasive and how much political power the collective psyche of Wall St. actually has.

Source: Talking Points Memo

We are all paying for the sins of Wall Street, yet, they are the ones who are given multiple seats at the table for fixing the crisis, when the crisis is a direct result of their mentality. I have no idea what kind of man Tim Geithner is, but I'm fairly certain his boss is a good man. It is up to us to put the pressure on President Obama and his administration to do the right thing and to dig us out of this situation. If we sit back and do nothing, then we get what we deserve.

You want your government to serve you? Then raise your voice.

Frank Schaeffer says ...

8 Words of Wisdom for Week Ending 3/20/2009 #1

Today the Republican Party is rooting for doom. And since the Republicans are now anti-American members of an Obama-must-fail insurgency, lies become a self-fulfilling prophecy: talk doom, and keep the economy in a panic and we may get what we wish for.

Don't conservative Republicans object to the lies? No, because the Republicans don't have any actual and traditional conservative followers left. The Republican base is now made up of religious and neoconservative ideologues, and the uneducated white underclass with a token person of color or two up front on TV to obscure the all-white, all reactionary all backward -- there-is-no-global-warming -- rube reality. Actual conservatives, let alone the educated classes, have long since fled.

The Republican religious nuts are rooting for Jesus to "rapture" them, not for America, and the neoconservatives are rooting for war and the Israeli hard liners, not for America. Truth (and sanity) are out the window.

So, what is the problem with lying to our faces, say, claiming that all American's taxes are going up when 95% of American's taxes are going to go down? Why not claim Obama is a socialist, even if he's not? Why not say anything at all to drive our country into a pit when losing is seen as winning? That, is all the Republicans have to offer America: more lies on a path to destruction from which the Republican "leadership" plans to resurrect themselves and "save" America from Obama.

Source - The Huffington Post and Crooks and Liars

I saw Mr. Schaeffer's post at Huffington, and then Crooks and Liars posted a video interview with him. The quote is from his Huffington Post piece. Do you want to learn about how the religious left operates? Mr. Schaeffer is your man.

President Obama says ...

8 Words of Wisdom for Week Ending 3/13/2009 #6

Well, I just think it's clear by the time we got here, there already had been an enormous infusion of taxpayer money into the financial system. And the thing I constantly try to emphasize to people if that coming in, the market was doing fine, nobody would be happier than me to stay out of it. I have more than enough to do without having to worry the financial system. The fact that we've had to take these extraordinary measures and intervene is not an indication of my ideological preference, but an indication of the degree to which lax regulation and extravagant risk taking has precipitated a crisis.

Source: County Fair

The President makes a very good point here and illuminates something about liberalism. Big government is NOT an ideological preference. However, at times, we are forced to take action. The only institution capable of taking this type of enormous action in our country is the federal government. Conservatives are ideological, liberals are pragmatic.

It is Not the Time for Caution

8 Commentaries for Week Ending 3/13/2009 #1

You would think that with the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression, Democrats at least would get that we need to make big, transformative changes as soon as possible.

And most of them do. Certainly President Barack Obama's economic recovery bill and budget -- as well as calls for fundamental reform of health care, education and energy policy -- show that he does. Certainly House Speaker Nancy Pelosi does: On Tuesday, she said in a meeting I attended that the House would pass Obama's major reform legislation in 2009. Most Democrats in the House and Senate understand that the moment for big change has arrived.

Not so much for a small minority of Democrats in the Senate.

Mike Lux at Huffington Post

One of the problems with membership in a "Big Tent" party is that a small group of disaffected Senators or Congressmen can railroad the ambitious plans of the more liberal wing of the party. I think in the long term that this check on liberal power works out OK. However, these are not normal times. We are in the midst of a crisis that continues to worsen. We are at moment to learn. Americans are primed to learn.

I think that every Senator in Evan Bayh's group needs to be given a copy of Jonathan Alter's The Defining Moment. FDR succeeded because he acted. He wasn't timid. He knew that the failure to act would worsen the crisis and would prevent help from reaching those who need it. The amount of suffering in our country is unfortunately high in the best of times. With a rising unemployment rate over 8%, the level of suffering will soon reach dramatic levels. It is our moral imperative that we do everything we can.

This isn't just realizing long held liberal ideas; it just so happens that these ideas (such as economic stimulus, investment in green energy, and national health care insurance) are the right ideas to alleviate suffering and to allow the country to begin the long process of climbing out of the economic mess born out of conservative ideology. If these Senators want to be on the right side of history, they will not stand in the way of the Obama agenda. They will be called out. They will face opponents in their next primary. If they still choose to play the role of obstructionist, I would imagine that their electoral future will be one of peril in the not so distant future.

President Obama says ...

8 Words of Wisdom for Week Ending 3/13/2009 #2

Each of us must accept that none of us will get everything that we want, and that no proposal for reform will be perfect. ... Everybody has a right to take part in this discussion. Nobody has the right to take it over. The status quo is the only option that is not on the table. And those who seek to block any reform at any cost will not prevail this time around.

Source - MyDD

Progressives and liberals recognize that we have to be practical to accomplish our goals, but we also realize that if CHANGE is called for, then we MUST have that change. Most importantly, when someone has tried to change the status quo and has failed, as with President Clinton and his attempted health care reform near the beginning of his first term, we are on guard and ready for the fight.

I don't envy Congressional Republicans who are about to have the fight taken to them, but damn am I looking forward to it.

Bi-Partisan

8 Random Items for 2/13/2009 #6

Both issues are part of an emerging GOP case against Obama and the ruling Democratic Party: Strip away the new face, the lofty rhetoric and the promises of post-partisanship and you’ll find the same big-spending party of old, bent on politicizing government to consolidate its hold on power.

Even with the stimulus package on the verge of passing later this week, the unanimous GOP vote against the bill in the House and the near-unanimous opposition in the Senate revealed a Republican Party surprisingly united in direction and in message for perhaps the first time since losing its congressional majority in 2006.

Yes, the Republican party is united in their opposition to anything proposed by President Obama, to the surprise of no one. Of course, it's the Democrats who are not sufficiently bi-partisan, right? Any member of the press who is told by a Republican that the President, or that the Democrats in general are too partisan should laugh in their face. Will they? No. The press is so cowed at this point that they'll never call them on the BS.

For the record, Politico may get the occasional scoop, but they engage in more wankery per word than any news site even slightly to the left of Fox.

A Progressive Articulation

8 Random Items for 2/13/2009 #3

Such knee-jerk disdain for government — this constant rejection of any common endeavor — cannot rebuild our levees or our roads or our bridges ... Only a nation can do these things. Only by coming together, all of us, and expressing that sense of shared sacrifice and responsibility ... can we do the work that must be done in this country. That is the very definition of being American.

I don't think Obama is being nearly aggressive enough with the stimulus package. I find his reluctance to pursue criminal investigations against the previous administration harmful to the future of our nation. His interest in bi-partisan solutions borders on the naive. Still ... I think he has greatness within him. On a day when we celebrated the 200th birthday of one of our great liberal Presidents, Abraham Lincoln, President Obama articulated the liberal vision of America better than any mainstream politician has in years. This can be seen as a call to action.

Buh Bye Now

8 Random Items for 2/13/2009 #1

Is there anyone on either side of the aisle who cares about Sen. Judd Gregg (R - NH)? So, first, he enthusiastically pursues the position of Secretary of Commerce, but after being pressured by various right wing groups, he backs out. It doesn't appear they are any happier with him now, so I'm not sure what he accomplished by backing out of the potential appointment. It appears that he may have screwed himself even worse than he screwed Obama.

If I may offer a humble suggestion to President Obama, pick a Democrat. 

A Presidential Matter

8 Thoughts on Steroids in Baseball for 2/11/2009 #1

I find it remarkable that, during his first prime time news conference, in the midst of our greatest economic crisis since the Great Depression, at a time when we are actively engaged in two wars, a reporter felt it was his duty to ask President Obama about Alex Rodriguez. 

The very idea this is an important American issue is ridiculous. Of course, this will eventually lead to additional Congressional hearings. Remember that: the blatant crimes committed by the Bush administration don't matter; sports do.

Hey, I'm a big sports fan and I'm going in indulge that by spending a day blogging about steroids, but ultimately, this issue doesn't matter. It doesn't really affect the lives of anyone outside the employ of Major League Baseball. This is, in the great scheme of things, not that important.

DougJ says ...

8 Words of Wisdom for 2/10/2009 #2

I think that Obama is smart to jerk off the Villagers with all this (bulls**t) about bipartisanship. And in the Senate, there are Republicans who will cross over to vote with Democrats (and break filibusters). But, honestly, who gives a (f***) what Michelle Bachman and Jack Kingston and Tom Tancredo think about anything? Screw ‘em is right.

- DougJ of Balloon Juice shares his thoughts on bi-partisanship.

More Please!

8 Thoughts About the Stimulus for 2/9/2009 #4

When FDR took office in the midst of the Great Depression, he went on offense and he stayed there. He used his enormous personal popularity to ram every idea that he and his people had down the throat of Congress. Without that personal popularity, the New Deal could not have been accomplished. 

It's good to see President Obama and his staff tapping into his popularity to promote the stimulus. As for the attacks on the press, I love it. Unlike conservatives, they are doing it without sounding like major league champion whiners. 

The best part of "working the refs"? It works.

I Respectfully Disagree

8 Thoughts About the Stimulus for 2/9/2009 #2

"You know, look, it's not perfect," the president conceded. "But it is the right size, it is the right scope. Broadly speaking, it has the right priorities to create jobs that will jump-start our economy and transform the economy for the 21st century."

Mr. President, you have my full support and I want to see this bill passed post-haste. However, it is, at best, a beginning. It certainly is not the right size and scope. It's time to pull out your copy of "The Defining Moment" ... you must be bold, reject the conventional wisdom about what constitutes the Washington press corps' vision, and do what textbook economics suggests. This is no time for budget hawks. This is a time for action.