Of War and Peace, Here and There

Maureen Dowd writes about a controversy concerning Fort Stevens, a Washington, D. C., site where Lincoln stood, at some peril, to watch a Civil War battle. A local church wants to build a community center next door, but the Civil War Preservation Trust claims the church's building will "cast a shadow" on the historic site. A friend of mine, a frequent commenter on Times op-ed columns, wrote that not much could be said about Dowd's column, which is partially a memorial to her youth, lived near to Fort Stevens. The Constant Weader, as ever, rose to the challenge:

As the Shadow Turns

Is sanctifying yet another memorial to the Civil War really more important than helping needy people of today? Since the church's planned building only casts a shadow on Fort Stevens & does not actually encroach upon the land, how terrible is that? Lord knows Mr. Lincoln's war cast a dark shadow on the nation. Which is worse -- for a church to cast a shadow on a war memorial or a war to cast a shadow on a nation?

If Civil War monuments were established to remind people of how terrible a war among brothers is, they might be of value. Unfortunately, they are more about glorifying war. They have inspired men with too much time on their hands to get into costumes, arm themselves with paint guns & re-enact the glory days of war.

I've been to Washington, D.C. many times & have never stood at Fort Stevens to wonder at the spot where a tall, distracted President made a target of himself while checking on the progress of his disastrous war. Now that I know about Fort Stevens, I might enjoy a brief visit, another chance to shake my head at man's inability to settle disputes in rational ways. I hope when I get there the Emory Methodist Church center is up & running. I'll drop in & make a small donation in tribute to people who are doing something positive for the country.

Perhaps some of those Civil War buffs will do the same. It's time for folks to put away their uniforms & cast their lot with progress. The Civil War has been over for 145 years. It's shadow is far too long. 

British baritone Benjamin Luxon sings the original "Johnny, I Hardly Knew Ya." The song, with altered lyrics published in 1863, became "When Johnny Comes Marching Home," a rousing hit for both sides in the Civil War:

Meanwhile, Tom Friedman casts his shadow on the longest war -- the one in the Middle East. Friedman repurposes a 2002 conversation he had with then Prince, now King, Abdullah of Saudi Arabia, in which Tom & the Prince agreed on a peace plan which required the Israeli leader to come to Riyadh to "accept" a Saudi peace proposal. Friedman sees the "emotional" benefit of such a scenario.

The Constant Weader comments:

Ah, Tom has been to Riyadh to see the King. Now that Mr. Friedman & King Abdullah have come to an agreement on just how the peace process should proceed, it does seem important for the Tom Friedman Peace Initiative to go forward. And such a good idea! Any plan that requires the slightly proud Bibi Netanyahu to go hat-in-hand to Riyadh is bound to be a winner.

Since you & Abdullah have shared such pleasantries over your initiative, Mr. Friedman, why not call of Mr. Netanyahu & suggest it? You could get several more columns out of your personal negotiations with the Prime Minister. As for your proposed theatrical review in Riyadh, I don't know how "emotional" such a song & dance would be, but for overblown theatrics I'd give it high marks.

Or here's another idea. Why not let the peace process, as conceived, continue? There are already plenty of players at the table. I'm sure they'd all be happy to read any faxes King Abdullah sent their way.

There won't be much glory for Tom Friedman if the current scheme succeeds, so I suppose that makes the peace process seem a bit dull & "unemotional." But in the end, what's more important? (1) Middle East peace for the first time in the history of the world, or (2) Tom Friedman?

Friedman & I may not agree on the answer to that question.

The Commentariat -- September 8

Along with tax cuts for the wealthy, the other party's main economic proposal is that they'll stop government spending. ... But ... when these same Republicans – including Mr. Boehner – were in charge, the number of earmarks and pet projects went up, not down. These same Republicans turned a record surplus that Bill Clinton left into a record deficit. Just this year, these same Republicans voted against a bipartisan fiscal commission that they themselves proposed. And when you ask them what programs they'd actually cut, they usually don't have an answer. -- Barack Obama

If I'm an independent voter ... I sure as heck am worried about people who want to do away with the 14th amendment. I'm sure as heck worried about people who don't think the president was born in the United States of America. I sure as heck am worried about people who think that workers are staying home because of unemployment benefits. They are nuts. They are flat-out crazy. -- Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell, on Republican Congressional candidates

Torture Training, U.S. Style. Adam Goldman of the AP: "A former CIA officer accused of revving an electric drill near the head of an imprisoned terror suspect has returned to US intelligence as a contractor training CIA operatives. The CIA officer wielded the drill, which was bitless, and an unloaded handgun — unauthorized interrogation techniques — to menace suspected USS Cole bombing plotter Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri inside a secret CIA prison in Poland in late 2002 and early 2003...."

Mark Thompson of Time: in case you didn't notice, NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen met with President Obama Tuesday. Thompson gives an account of Rasmussen's discussions with reporters -- his meeting with President Obama was hush-hush. ...

... What We're Fighting For. New York Times: "Kabul Bank sits at the center of a financial crisis that has exposed the shadowy workings of the country’s business and political elite, and how such connections shielded the bank from scrutiny. The panic surrounding Kabul Bank is threatening to pull down the Afghan banking system and has drawn in the United States."

In an extraordinary New York Times op-ed, Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf invokes the Love Commandments. ...

How did '9/11 victim' become sloppy shorthand for 'white Christian'? -- writer Alissa Torres, whose husband Eddie died in the World Trade Center attack

"Fuck the UAW!" Michael Moore writes an open letter, in which he gives an economics lesson, to Rahm Emanuel.

There is so seldom good news coming out of the White House that this item came as a welcome surprise. Jackie Calmes of the New York Times: "President Obama on Wednesday will make clear that he opposes any compromise that would extend the Bush-era tax cuts for the wealthy beyond this year, officials said, adding a populist twist to an election-season economic package that is otherwise designed to entice support from big businesses and their Republican allies." Here's Lori Montgomery's entry in the Washington Post. CW: Oh, let it be Veto Time!

When the Solution is Worse than the Problem. Ken Dilanian in the Los Angeles Times: "...the Border Patrol is grappling with a spate of misconduct cases in its ranks, which have expanded from 4,000 agents in the early 1990s to 21,000 today. In the last 18 months, five Border Patrol agents have been accused or convicted of sex crimes.... Another agent ... is jailed in San Diego on $10-million bail, awaiting trial on attempted murder charges in a hatchet attack that paralyzed a man."

Robert Reich: President Obama's cynical corporation tax cut proposal sends the wrong message & is a big mistake -- especially if Republicans call the President's bluff & pass it.

Charity Begins in Congress. Eric Lipton: "A review by The New York Times of federal tax records and House and Senate disclosure reports found at least two dozen charities that lawmakers or their families helped create or run that routinely accept donations from businesses seeking to influence them. The sponsors — AT&T, Chevron, General Dynamics, Morgan Stanley, Eli Lilly and dozens of others — contribute millions of dollars annually in gifts ranging from token amounts to a check for $5 million." ...

... New York Times Editorial Board: "...charities set up by a score of lawmakers from both parties have become an important — and completely unregulated — way for corporations and lobbyists to get their voices heard and to curry favor on Capitol Hill.... The real purpose [of the "donations"] is to make lawmakers look good while skirting limits on campaign contributions and open another door to Washington’s pay-to-play culture."

Dave Clarke of Reuters: "President Barack Obama is expected to announce as soon as this week his nominee to lead the [Consumer Financial Protection Bureau], a position which requires Senate confirmation." But, especially if Elizabeth Warren is the nominee, Republicans may make the confirmation process "protracted," which could cause a "setback in establishing the authority of the" agency.

"Wall Street Buys Some New Friends." In Salon, Andrew Leonard argues that Wall Street is backing Republicans now, not because the boys on the Street are disappointed in Democrats but because, as usual, they're going with the winners.

On Leno, Valley Girl Meghan McCain disses everybody, including Sarah Palin. McCain is a complete ditz, but she's more entertaining & thoughtful than most well-known Republicans:

     ... Here's a related CNN story.

The Commentariat -- September 7

Lulu Moretti was cleaning out her computer files today when she came across this item from 2002. Sadly, not much has changed:

Government Announcement:

The government announced today that it is changing its emblem to a condom because it more clearly reflects the government's political stance. A condom stands up to inflation, halts production, destroys the next generation, protects a bunch of pricks, and gives you a sense of security while it's actually screwing you.

Plouffe Wants You:

And over the last two years, that's meant taking on some powerful interests.... And they're not always happy with me. They talk about me like a dog. That's not in my prepared remarks, it's just -- but it's true. -- Barack Obama, Labor Day speech

Once again, they’re striking right at the capillaries -- Paul Krugman, on the President's itty-bitty infrastructure spending proposal

... Bob Herbert liked the President's Labor Day speech: "Leaning toward the microphone, with his shirt collar unbuttoned, Mr. Obama spoke in a way that belied his reputation for aloofness, for struggling to connect in a visceral way with ordinary working people." ...

... Peter Slevin of the New York Times reports on the speech. ...

... AND from Sheryl Gay Stolberg & Mary Williams Walsh, the President's Labor Day speech in Milwaukee: "President Obama, looking to stimulate a sluggish economy and create jobs, called Monday for Congress to approve major upgrades to the nation’s roads, rail lines and runways — part of a six-year plan that would cost tens of billions of dollars and create a government-run bank to finance innovative transportation projects."

      ... Paul Krugman responds to the proposal for $50 billion in new spending on infrastructure:

1. It’s a good idea
2. It’s much too small
3. It won’t pass anyway — which makes you wonder why the administration didn’t propose a bigger plan, so as to at least make the point that the other party is standing in the way of much needed repair to our roads, ports, sewers, and more– not to mention creating jobs.

Because what the New York Times op-ed page really needs right now is another white male columnist, & the best bet would be a careless womanizer who knocked up his super-rich girlfriend, then dumped her for a hotter babe -- they now bring us Peter Orszag. Orszag, Obama's nerdy, burned-out budget director, naturally has something to say about budgets & taxes. It's long. You might want to read it. I don't. So I didn't. ...

... Fortunately, John Chandley/Scarecrow at Firedoglake read it for me & tore into Orszag more-or-less as I would have if I had the stomach to read that creep: "For the thousandth time, tax cuts aren’t very effective, and those applied to rich people suck." ...

     ... Greg Sargent Update: Orszag tries to walk back his "rift" with President Obama. CW: sorry, Petie; I know you're a numbers guy, but words count, too.

... John Cole gets in a fight with Jake Tapper, which is not worth reading about unless you like that stuff, but Cole's summary of Orszag's op-ed will spare your reading the original. ...

... Ben Smith of Politico reported on Orszag's new gig last week. Smith has a humorous comment on the move.

Peter Boyer of The New Yorker: "Inside C Street, Washington's Frat House for Jesus." CW: I haven't read this long piece yet, but it looks great. I will be reading it.

Devona Walker in TruthOut: "The real estate and foreclosure crisis ... has stripped black families of more wealth than any single event in U.S. history. Due entirely to subprime loans, black borrowers are expected to lose between $71 billion and $92 billion.... Black and Latino minorities have been disproportionately targeted and affected by subprime loans."

Not satisified with his Rachel Maddow appearance calling out Haley Barbour's wholesale lies about the "history" of "Republican support" for civil rights, Gene Robinson covers Barbour's disgusting revisionist -- i.e., totally invented -- history in his WashPo column. (You can watch Robinson's discussion with Maddow here.)

Adam Liptak of the New York Times: Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas had a rule: all his clerks must first have trained with appeals court judges appointed by Republican presidents. The other justices, on both right & left, also routinely make ideological hires. "The polarization among law clerks has had consequences for the development of the law, a 2008 study published in the DePaul Law Review found." Liptak covers several aspects of the Justices' hiring practices & dips into the history of how hiring practices have changed.

Driftglass assesses Tom Friedman's Sunday morning performance on ABC's "This Week with Whoever Christiane Amanpour." You can watch all the segments of the gabfest here, including more footage of Tony Blair (who, in case you forgot, Driftglass reminds us was "once the tribal chieftain of a group called the Britons") than you'll ever care to see. In the segment below, Paul Krugman reminds his colleague Friedman, et al., that Obama did the stimulus package before he did healthcare. Because everybody, right on Republican message, fucking "forgot":