;)
The Commentariat -- Dec. 30, 2014
Internal links removed.
Robert Costa & Ed O'Keefe of the Washington Post: "Rep. Steve Scalise (R-La.), the newly elected House majority whip, acknowledged Monday that he spoke at a gathering hosted by white nationalist leaders while serving as a state representative in 2002, thrusting a racial controversy into House Republican ranks days before the party assumes control of both congressional chambers.... That organization, founded by former Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke, has been called a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center. In a statement, Scalise's spokesperson Moira Bagley emphasized that the then-state lawmaker was unaware at the time of the group's ideology and its association with racists and neo-Nazi activists.... Scalise's defense ... contrasts with the local press coverage generated by the Duke-coordinated conclave that spring.... 'It's hard to believe, given David Duke's reputation in Louisiana, that somebody in politics in Louisiana wasn't aware of Duke's associations with the group and what they stand for,' [Rep. Joaquin] Castro said.... Scalise's appearance at the event was first reported by blogger Lamar White Jr., who manages a Web site on Louisiana politics." ...
... Lamar White, Jr.: The Duke group, called the European-American Unity and Rights Organization, or EURO, "... espouses and promotes racist, bigoted, anti-Semitic propaganda and considers the 'white race' to be genetically, culturally, intellectually, physically, and spiritually superior to all others." One of Scalise's fellow-speakers at the "conference" was "Vincent Breeding, also known as 'Vince Edwards,' also known as Bruce Alan Breeding, is a notorious racial provocateur and hate monger who got his start working with the National Alliance, a hate group that is believed to have inspired Timothy McVeigh, the mastermind of the Oklahoma City bombing," according to a report by Front Page Magazine, which White cites. A conference attendee, whom White also cites, wrote that in his address, Scalise discussed "... concerns held are pervasive in every sovereign state and Republic alike, within an increasingly diminishing view of where America stands on individual liberty for whites." ...
... Ashley Parker & Alan Rappeport of the New York Times: "Speaker John A. Boehner declined to comment on the reports." ...
... CW: Looks like GQ will have to amend its "20 Craziest Politicians" list. (Also linked yesterday.) ...
... Update. Julia O'Donoghue of the Times-Picayune: "In an exclusive interview Monday ... about the growing controversy over his appearance at the Metairie [white supremacist] event, Scalise said it is ridiculous to suggest he was involved with the group, which was created by former Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke. 'I didn't know who all of these groups were and I detest any kind of hate group. For anyone to suggest that I was involved with a group like that is insulting and ludicrous,' Scalise said." Scalise points out that he also spoke before the crazy-lady Bolshevik League of Women Voters, whose radical agenda includes far-out stuff like encouraging people to vote & sponsoring candidates' debates. CW: So sure, color us all ridiculous, Steve. this is our fault, not yours. ...
... Ed Kilgore: "Speaking to a Duke-sponsored conference should be enough to disqualify him from a leadership post in the U.S. House, given the context. In 2002, Duke was a tax fugitive spending a lot of time (and promoting anti-semitic politics) in Russia, soon to cut a deal with the IRS enabling him to come home and serve a relatively light prison sentence for tax evasion. More to the point Scalise could have hardly have been ignorant of Duke's activities, writings and notoriety: the globally famous ex-Klan leader and ex-Nazi was a predecessor [of Scalise's] in representing the suburban community of Metairie in the state House, before his globally famous and nearly-successful 1991 gubernatorial race." (Emphasis added.) ...
... CW UPDATE. Turns out the portioned I highlighted in Kilgore's post is incorrect. Ezra Klein made the same mistake, & here's his correction: "This post originally said Duke and Scalise had represented the same district. In fact, Duke represented the 81st district and Scalise the 82nd." Klein's post, which is pretty generous to Scalise, is here. ...
... Even Red State's Erik Erickson, the blogosphere's winger-in-chief, is nonplussed: "By 2002, everybody knew Duke was still the man he had claimed not to be. EVERYBODY. How the hell does somebody show up at a David Duke organized event in 2002 and claim ignorance?" ...
... Niels Lesniewski of Roll Call dredges up a 1999 report by John Mercurio, who talked to Scalise about David Duke: "... State Rep. Steve Scalise (R), said he embraces many of the same 'conservative' views as Duke, but is far more viable. 'The novelty of David Duke has worn off,' said Scalise. 'The voters in this district are smart enough to realize that they need to get behind someone who not only believes in the issues they care about, but also can get elected. Duke has proven that he can't get elected, and that's the first and most important thing.'" ...
... CW: That's a pretty damning tell about Scalise. The major difference between Duke & him is not ideology but pragmatic politics, according to Scalise. Scalise embraces Duke's views, but says the toxic Duke can't win elections. Duke's a loser, but his white supremacy philosophy is excellent. Vote Scalise! His present-day pretense that he "abhors" Duke's views & those who suggest otherwise are "ridiculous" just went down the toilet. ...
... The argument that Duke didn't attend the conference organized by his group so Scalise was unaware of the affiliation also falls apart. Mollie Reilly, et al., of the Huffington Post: "At the time, Duke had spent two years abroad after federal agents raided his home as part of an investigation into mail fraud and tax charges. He spoke to the 2002 conference via a teleconference link from Russia.... By 2004, according to New Orleans CityBusiness, Scalise was condemning Duke, who by then was in federal prison on tax charges." Luckily for Scalise, Duke still endorses him. ...
... Annie Linskey of Bloomberg Politics: "Scalise already is being mocked on his official Facebook account. His Dec. 25 post, 'Wishing y'all a blessed and very #MerryChristmas' prompted a commenter to add after the news broke: 'And may all your Christmases be white!'" ...
... BUT. Andrew Johnson of the National Review: "After the report, Scalise, the third-ranking House Republican since earlier this year, has already been backed by some high-profile Republicans, including Peter King of New York and Steve King of Iowa, as well as former House speaker Newt Gingrich and Louisiana governor Bobby Jindal. The support comes amid speculation about whether the news would lead Scalise to resign his leadership position, like Republican senator Trent Lott, who resigned from legislative leadership in 2002 after he praised former segregationist candidate and senator Strom Thurmond." CW: So Scalise is holding Two Kings & two Jokers (or four Jokers, if you want to get technical). Definitely a winning hand. I think he'll keep his job & chalk this little incident up to "youthful indiscretion." ...
... Ha Ha. Steve King compares Scalise to Jesus, who "dined with tax collectors and sinners." Fortunately, King is not a racist, either. He says he knows Scalise's heart. Yes, he does. (Many of the comments at King's linked tweet are pretty good.) ...
... Zandar in Balloon Juice: "The whole 'Republican Party as the Last Bastion Of Pure Whiteness(tm) thing' is a feature, not a bug, America. Now would be a good time to blame the problems in America with race on Obama, I guess." ...
... Dan Friedman of the New York Daily News: "Rep. Michael Grimm has decided to resign from Congress in the wake of his guilty plea on a felony tax evasion charge, sources told the Daily News Monday night. Grimm (R-S.I.) said after he entered his plea last week that he planned to continue serving in the House. But he reversed course after speaking Monday to House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio), who has taken a hard line on GOPers facing ethics charges. Grimm plans to announce his resignation on Tuesday or Wednesday, sources said." ...
... Eric Lichtblau of the New York Times: "... three years after the fall of former Senator John E. Ensign [R] of Nevada, thousands of pages of previously undisclosed documents reveal new details about the evidence the F.B.I. gathered against Mr. Ensign, who briefly flirted with running for president in 2012. The documents, which show that Mr. Ensign's behavior was more brash than known at the time, also offer new specifics about why the Justice Department decided not to prosecute Mr. Ensign despite an aggressive F.B.I. investigation into the scandal.... 'This has crushed me,' said [Douglas] Hampton, [the aide with whose wife Ensign had an affair & for whom Ensign obtained unlawful lobbying contracts] who is jobless and living in Las Vegas. 'John Ensign orchestrated everything -- the affair, my dismissal from his Senate staff, the lobbying work, everything -- but at the end of the day, I'm the one who lost everything.'"
... But Never Mind All That. Michael Bender of Bloomberg Politics: A couple of Army captains had to move their wedding site -- to a prettier venue on the same property -- because President Obama wanted to play golf at the site they had chosen. "After Bloomberg Politics inquired about the scheduling conflict, Obama put in a personal call to the bride. 'He apologized and congratulated them,' [the bride's sister] said, adding that it was a 'wonderful talk. We were all there, it was perfect,' she said. 'Made their day.'" ...
... CW: Hmm. I wonder if the Right-Wing Outrage Machine operates during the holidays. Oh, yes -- it does. Et-cetera. ...
... Adam Weinstein of Gawker captures the spirit of the Machine: "... a tyrant's leisure-time celebration of ancient Hibernian sport and classism trumped the meager personal needs of America's lovestruck Spartan lifegivers, even after they made every attempt to pay the rascal his regal tribute.... But like the stoic troopers they are, Heimel and Mallue adapted and improvised. Their ever-vigilant wedding caterer executed a flanking maneuver, moving the captains to an emplacement with 'an elevated view near the 16th hole,' because they understood that it's no use trying to take that hill when the forces of Kenyan socialist Islamism are stacked against you." ...
... Sorry, Outrage Machine Operators. Jeffrey Jones of Gallup: "Americans continue to name Hillary Clinton as the woman living anywhere in the world whom they admire most, and name Barack Obama as the man they admire most. Clinton has held the top women's spot in each of the last 13 years and 17 of the last 18, with that streak interrupted only by first lady Laura Bush in 2001 after the 9/11 terror attacks. Obama has been most admired man in each of the last seven years, beginning with 2008, the year he was elected president." ...
... BUT. Russell Berman of the Atlantic: Vladimir Putin is the 10th most admired man in the U.S. He shares 10th place with Benjamin Netanyahu. The two "earned more votes than Vice President Joe Biden, the last two Republican and Democratic presidential nominees (before Obama), two ex-presidents (Jimmy Carter and George H. W. Bush), George Clooney, and the Dalai Lama."
... MEANWHILE, in Shady Democrats. William Rashbaum, et al., of the New York Times: "Federal authorities are investigating substantial payments made to the State Assembly speaker, , by a small law firm that seeks real estate tax reductions for commercial and residential properties in New York City, according to people with knowledge of the matter." ...
... AND the New York Times Editors Comment on Bipartisan Sleazebaggery: "Gov. Andrew Cuomo of New York and Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey have fumbled a great opportunity to reshape the notoriously secretive, patronage-ridden Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. Rather than approve fundamental reforms passed by near-unanimous votes in both state legislatures, the two governors are proposing a weaker set of changes that would leave largely undisturbed their iron grip over the authority. For good measure, they have demanded the resignations of all present commissioners, which would give them even greater control going forward.... The legislative reform would have made it harder for the governors to pack the authority with their friends and political cronies." ...
... CW: So racists, numerous crooks, & an old-fashioned fornicator. Just another day in American politics. You might want a bath.
** Your Environmental Horror Story of the Day. Joby Warrick of the Washington Post: "The methane that leaks from 40,000 gas wells near this desert trading post [Cuba, N.M.] may be colorless and odorless, but it's not invisible.... Satellites that sweep over energy-rich northern New Mexico can spot the gas as it escapes from drilling rigs, compressors and miles of pipeline snaking across the badlands. In the air it forms a giant plume: a permanent, Delaware-sized methane cloud.... The country's biggest methane 'hot spot,' verified by NASA and University of Michigan scientists in October, is only the most dramatic example of what scientists describe as a $2 billion leak problem: the loss of methane from energy production sites across the country.... Methane accounts for about 9 percent of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions, and the biggest single source of it -- nearly 30 percent -- is the oil and gas industry." CW: Of course Republicans oppose doing anything about it, even though "environmentalists say relatively modest government restrictions on gas leaks could reap substantial rewards for taxpayers and the planet.... The Obama administration is reviewing a host of possible remedies...." Read the whole story.
Actually, these two are in cahoots.Greg Miller of the Washington Post: "Over the past year, Germany has secretly provided detailed information to U.S. spy services on hundreds of German citizens and legal residents suspected of having joined insurgent groups in Syria and Iraq, U.S. and German officials said. Germany has done so reluctantly to enlist U.S. help in tracking departed fighters, determining whether they have joined al-Qaeda or the Islamic State and, perhaps most importantly, whether they might seek to bring those groups' violent agendas back to Germany. The stream of information includes names, cellphone numbers, e-mail addresses and other sensitive data that German security services -- ever mindful of the abuses by the Nazi and Stasi secret police -- have been reluctant even to collect.... Nearly every country in Europe is turning over significant data on their own departed fighters to the United States."
Tal Kopan of Politico: "FBI agents investigating the Sony Pictures hack were briefed Monday by a security firm that says its research points to laid-off Sony staff, not North Korea, as the perpetrator.... Even the unprecedented decision to release details of an ongoing FBI investigation and President Barack Obama publicly blaming the hermit authoritarian regime hasn't quieted a chorus of well-qualified skeptics who say the evidence just doesn't add up.... The FBI said Monday it is standing behind its assessment, adding that evidence doesn't support any other explanations."
Ezra Klein interviews Paul Krugman. Krugman is not worried about zombies. Everything else, pretty much. Thanks to Ken W. for the link.
Is Lyndon Johnson fairly portrayed in the film "Selma"? Joseph Califano, former top aide to Johnson, says no (WashPo op-ed linked in Saturday's Commentariat). Mark Updegrove, director of the Johnson Presidential Library, has said the same. Ava DuVernay, the producer of the film, was incensed, & said so on the peer-reviewed historical site Twitter. CW: Whether or not Califano & Updegrove have gilded the lily, LBJ was a mostly-unsung hero of the civil rights movement. To portray him as a villain would do him an injustice -- even if it would make a more dramatic movie.
Beyond the Beltway
NEW. Larry Celona, et al., of the New York Post: "It's not a slowdown -- it's a virtual work stoppage. NYPD traffic tickets and summonses for minor offenses have dropped off by a staggering 94 percent following the execution of two cops -- as officers feel betrayed by the mayor and fear for their safety, The Post has learned." ...
... NEW. Digby: "...their antics in the face of criticism proves in living color what we see in so many individual incidents: they don't just want respect, they want submission. They will brook no discussion and accept no accountability, have no use for psychology or patience because the weapons in their holsters should be sufficient to gain instant compliance. We cannot call ourselves a free society as long as that is the case."
Kate Mather & Richard Winton of the Los Angeles Times: "The autopsy of Ezell Ford, a mentally ill black man killed by police in South Los Angeles in August, shows he was shot three times -- once in the right side, once in the right back and once in the right arm.... The autopsy does not make any judgment about the conduct of the officers in the shooting or provide a detailed narrative of what occurred.... The Los Angeles Police Department has said Ford, 25, was shot while he struggled with two officers and attempted to remove the pistol from the holster of one of them. Other people quoted in news reports after the Aug. 11 shooting disputed the police account."
Hit-and-Run Bishop. Colin Campbell of the Balimore Sun: "The Episcopal Diocese of Maryland on Sunday identified the driver in a fatal bicycle crash Saturday in North Roland Park as its second-ranking official, Bishop Suffragan Heather Elizabeth Cook. Bishop Eugene Taylor Sutton sent an email Sunday to clergy members with information about the crash. Police said 41-year-old Thomas Palermo was killed. Witnesses and a spokesman for the Police Department said the 58-year-old woman driving the car left the scene of the crash in the 5700 block of Roland Ave. shortly before returning.... Sutton said Cook has been placed on administrative leave 'because the nature of the accident could result in criminal charges.'"
Petula Dvorak of the Washington Post on those darling McDonnell offspring: "The same grown children who helped trigger the federal investigation that led to their parents' trial and convictions, the adult kids who allegedly raided the state's mansion for glasses, pots and pans, and stacks and stacks of food, crates of eggs, cases of alcohol, who had a wedding catering bill paid for, flitted across the country on a private jet, played $2,000 golf rounds and took a $10,000 party gift -- now at least one of them blames mom.... For a couple of decades now, the McDonnells apparently knew mom was losing it. But everyone was cool with riding out this wild public office thing as far as it went (White House 2016?!). Then they'd spackle Mom's psyche."
Presidential Election
Brian Beutler of the New Republic: President Obama's recent executive actions have consequences for Hillary Clinton. "If Hillary Clinton is able to leverage the enshrinement of executive actions undertaken during Obama's presidency to pass legislation that addresses climate change and U.S. immigration in comprehensive and lasting ways, her presidential legacy will exceed her husband's and rival Obama's. She would be able to accomplish, with fresh tactics, what Obama simply can't at this point. And all because he's refusing to exile himself the way a late-term president is expected to."
Paul Waldman: Despite all the talk & handwringing about it, Hillary Clinton "doesn't need to win the white vote, working-class or otherwise, in order to become president. The last time a Democratic presidential candidate won a majority of the white vote was 1964. Yet they've managed to win five elections since then."
Passover with Ted. Maggie Haberman of Politico: "Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, a likely Republican presidential candidate and a vocal pro-Israel hawk, is being advertised as a featured attraction at a string of ritzy resort vacation getaways catering to religious Jews. Cruz, along with several rabbis, is listed as a speaker at four different vacation spots, including Aspen, over Passover, the spring holiday that honors the freeing of enslaved Jews in Egypt." CW: Sounds like loads o'fun.
News Ledes
AP: "President Vladimir Putin's chief political foe was convicted along with his brother on Tuesday in a fraud case widely seen as a vendetta by the Kremlin, triggering one of Russia's boldest anti-government demonstrations in years. Police allowed a few thousand protesters to gather just outside Red Square for about two hours -- a show of relative restraint for Russian authorities, who have little tolerance for dissent -- before moving in to break up the unsanctioned rally by pushing the demonstrators toward subway entrances. The rally came hours after anti-corruption campaigner Alexei Navalny was found guilty of what activists said were trumped-up charges and given a suspended sentence of 3½ years. His younger brother was sent to prison, a move that drew comparisons to the Stalin-era practice of punishing family members of enemies of the state."
AP: "Former President George H.W. Bush was released from a Houston hospital Tuesday after a stay of about a week for treatment of shortness of breath. The 90-year-old Bush left Houston's Methodist Hospital, was resting at home...."
Guardian: "Teams searching for AirAsia flight QZ8501 have begun recovering bodies from the Java Sea, as Indonesian officials confirmed that scattered debris found nearby came from the plane. A major search and rescue effort involving at least 30 ships and 15 aircraft from nine countries has been looking for the aircraft since it vanished early on Sunday morning while carrying 162 passengers from Surabaya, Indonesia, to Singapore. The findings mark a breakthrough on the operation's third day."
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A Krugman for Tuesday via Ezra Klein and VOX, in which he begins with Asimov's psychohistory and runs much farther afield than the constrictions of his NYTimes column allow:
http://www.vox.com/2014/12/29/7458807/paul-krugman-economist
BTW, is the once recommended restriction on including email addresses with posts still in place? (I could have missed a note on this....but see red letters now tell me one is required to receive follow-up comments.)
And thanks for the Le Guin. Years ago had the pleasure of talking to her about teaching Dickens in high school. Liked her then; her recent remarks tell me I still do.
@Ken Winkes: It's safe to include your e-mail address. As it turns out, it always was, though for a period of about 24 hours, I had a high concern that other commenters could access the e-mail addresses of fellow-commenters who included them with their comments. That turned out not to be the case.
I did write a note to that effect, once I found out it was safe to include your e-mail addresses.
Marie
In a discussion in yesterday's thread about Pope Francis & world population growth, I should have mentioned this, & I didn't:
LifeSiteNews: "The Church is not opposed to birth control..., a senior Vatican prelate [Cardinal Walter Kasper] has said in a series of interviews while on a visit to New York.
"Kasper made the comments on contraception in an interview with WNYC Radio’s Brian Lehrer. Lehrer asked whether it was 'merciful' to condemn divorce as well as married couples who 'use condoms for birth control.'...
"Lehrer asked whether married couples who already have 'three children and live in poverty' should not be 'allowed to use birth control to prevent more conception?'
"Kasper responded, “Well, the Church is not against birth control at all. … It’s about the methods of birth control.… I do not want to enter into this characteristic … how they have to do it. It’s their personal conscience and their personal responsibility.'”
This isn't exactly a papal endorsement of population control, but it does suggest the Church under Francis may become more realistic -- and more women-oriented -- about birth & population control.
Also, a commenter wrote yesterday, "I agree that population growth is the primary problem, at the same time a falling birth rate is not a plan for a healthy economy. A falling birth rate will pose problems for social security and probably many other social programs."
The short-term answer for that is increased immigration. The long-term answer: at some time (and for the U.S., this might be in the distant future), all developed countries have to adapt to population declines -- and have to encourage other countries to decrease their populations also. Indeed, that's already happening: as Jeff Wise of Slate reported a year ago, "... the rate of global population growth has slowed. And it’s expected to keep slowing. Indeed, according to experts’ best estimates, the total population of Earth will stop growing within the lifespan of people alive today."
Marie
Marie, that's a singularly depressing and dispiriting list today ... it seems that the new year won't, all of a sudden, usher in a sudden attack of common sense anywhere in the world, though I think it's the United States that needs it most. In the meantime, thank you for all you do, every day. And, well, Happy New Year. One lives in hope.
Re; all the people; Marie, thanks for the update on the unofficial stance on birth control by the Church. Whatever the long term implications of a falling global rate it's got to be better than the opposite. Kate mentioned the Peace Corp's attempts at birth control; in my host country I had a SOB of a military man as lead for the construction group I was working with. We were riding along in his jeep stopping at building sites to check progress. All the folks had multiple children living at the lowest poverty level. He'd say after getting back on the road, "We've got to get this people TVs, they don't have anything to do but fuck."
In other news I have had the honor of being invited to speak at gathering of freedom lovers in Georgia over the New Years, the title of my speech is "The White Sheets of the South". Man by the name of Duke set it up. Looking forward to it.
The Scalise flap gets funnier and funnier.
I could buy his "I know nothing" excuse if he happened to bump into a guy walking down the street and after talking to him for a while, found out that this guy was a KKK grand dragon or whatever the fuck they call themselves.
But to get an invite to a big whoop-de-do shindig attended by white supremacists and klan members and try to convince people you had no idea who they were is beyond ridiculous. Please, wingnut pols, listen to me. If you're gonna lie, at least make it believable. If Scalise came out and said, "You know, I really had no idea the guys with the "Save the White Race" bumper stickers and the confederate flags and Stormfront t-shirts and the klan paraphernalia were white supremacists. I guess I'm just a dumb shit", I'd at least give him credit for trying.
And not for nothin' but according to reports, the response of all those stormfront and KKK guys to Scalise's speech was wildly enthusiastic. Scalise claims he was there to talk about slush funds. Okay. Really? Show of hands, class. How many think controlling slush funds is a primary concern for white supremacists? Yeah. What I thought.
But be that as it may, it's instructive that the high and mighty GOPers are staying mum about this hoping, no doubt, that it will all blow over. "Hey, look, Obama's playing golf again! Look, over there. Horrible, in'it?" Sorry boys. Just imagine if someone came up with evidence that Nancy Pelosi, earlier in her career, had given a well received speech to a convention of Black Panthers? Think John Boehner would be zipping his trap?
And this isn't just some youthful indiscretion. As has been pointed out, everyone in his state knows who David Duke is and who he hangs out with. It's like saying that a Tennessee politician goes to speak to a gathering of people in Nashville, all wearing cowboy hats and carrying guitars and fiddles, and claims to have no idea they were country musicians.
Of course the larger problem is the continued ability of bigots and those who court bigots to rise to seats of power in the Republican Party.
Anyone surprised?
JJG,
Make sure you talk about slush funds. You'll wow 'em.
JJG: That SOB of a military man in your comment re: HIS comment made me laugh ––and good luck with that southern speech of yours–-maybe you can ask Scalise to tag along just to add some frisson.
I don't know if you all are having trouble retrieving names of people or of objects, but it appears I am. The night before last just before I nodded off to sleep I was thinking of the film "Network" and was fondly remembering William Holden, an actor that was always very appealing to me, but at the time could not for the life of me remember his last name. Yesterday morning during a walk his name suddenly popped up–-Holden––and I wasn't even thinking about it. S0–––today as I'm reading the interview with Krugman who coins the phrase "Clinton/Blairism" I was flummoxed. What the heck is Blairism? Suddenly Tony's face appeared before me and it was clear. Of course my temporary memory loss can't compare to certain political figures who pretend they never said what they said or feign ignorance of monumental proportions like whom they once rubbed elbows with speech wise.
And speaking of speeches: Our weasel eyed Green Eggs and Ham ham is stroking the right leaning Jewish groups cuz he knows it's money in the bank if they back him plus he gets to enjoy "puttin on the Ritz" in all those ritzy hotels. One wishes they had passed over Ted for someone like Steve King instead––would be much more entertaining.
Pope Frankie has been busy. It's been fun to see him upend the wingers who have been buried, like blood-sucking tics, in the Church's hide for generations.
But it occurs to me that the last pope deemed a potential threat to right-wing Vatican powers woke up dead one day, barely a month after donning the funny hat.
But those guys are priests, right? They'd never do anything like that, would they?
Just wait until he starts talking about ordaining women. Yowza!
Watch your back, Frankie.
And speaking of the outrage over Obama playing a round of golf in Hawaii...
Where was all the right-wing outrage when this happened?
The wingnut press (most of the MSM now qualifies as wingnut press or at the very least, wingnut press enablers) is outraged also by the disruption caused by presidential trips and vacations. Once again, I don't recall much outrage when The Decider decided to kick back and snooze "while the world burned".
As of last August, here are the numbers:
Comparing Obama to Bush, same number of days in office, days on vacation:
Obama: 129 Decider: 381
Comparing Obama to Bush, same number of days in office, number of trips taken:
Obama: 20 Decider: 58.
After about six years in office, Bush had actually spent less than five years in office, and about once every five weeks or so, he left Washington to take a little trip. No disruption problems there, right?
'nuff said?
The issue of population control vs. economic growth is another example of the fact that we humans are simply not willing to deal with reality. Yes, under the current system we need lots more babies to pay for the millennium generations social security under the current system.
But those babies need stuff like food, water and a place to live. And they use all that coal and gas. And what about the next generation and the one after that etc. And what about the millions who die each year from lack of food. I don't mean in the future, I mean now.
The total irrationality of infinite population growth just says it all about how we humans simply can't deal with the obvious.
So what is required is a serious evaluation of the present and its role in the future. And that future will be a serious problem well before the end of this century. Will it happen. Not a chance in hell.
And BTW, in NJ my estimate is that if the population of people using the GS Parkway for travel during rush hour grows more than a 100 more, the state will close down.
PD,
I have the same problem from time to time. SO irritating. The funny thing, I can always conjure up the face even when the name momentarily eludes me (it's not as bad as something my uncle used to say, "I never remember a name, but I always forget a face."). I do the alphabet thing when I'm stuck for the name. Did it last night when I was trying to remember the name of the destination for a 200 mile bicycle trip I took once.
Maybe the more neurologically minded of our group can offer the reason. I'm guessing that centers for imagery and language inhabit different parts of the brain, which means that as much as I'd love to forget all about Ted Cruz, even if his name became unavailable, I'd still be able to recall that preening puss.
And Bill Holden? Yes. Great actor. His name is the answer to a good movie trivia question: Who is the only actor who tells the whole story while dead, face down in a pool?
Back in my hitchhiking days I used to wonder what to do with someone who was generous enough to give me a ride and then casually drop the "N" word repeatedly. Does racism trump everything else? "Louisiana Democratic Rep. Cedric Richmond defended colleague Rep. Steve Scalise". Ok. If you smoked wacky tabacky should that prevent you from holding office? How about swearing at your kids? Or attending Jeremiah Wright's church? If the Republicans want a racist pig as majority whip how much different is that than Le Pen in France? Or any of the post-independence politicians of Likud who don't even pretend about the apartheid-i-fixation of Palestinians? Are Democrats so lame they can't skewer a guy like Scalise? Or are Democrats all like Rep. Richmond where they become Yes men to the lead dog?
I notice that the president believes that race relations, the racial divide, in this country are better than when he came into office in 2009.
I think this is wishful thinking on his part.
It could be that they aren't worse, but that our view of the racial divide is more focused and more realistic. Sadly, it appears that a fair number of segments of the country, both geographic and socially, are not much more advanced than they were 50 years ago, and in some cases, have reverted to pre-Civil rights thinking. For a long time it was considered very bad form, even if a radio or TV personality harbored bigoted sentiments, to voice them on the air. Not anymore. Rush Limbaugh tells callers to "take that bone out of your nose" and plays racist songs and laughs. Republican lawmakers insult the president to his face. They trade guffaws over graphics showing the first lady as a gorilla and the White House lawn turned into a watermelon patch.
If anything, Obama himself has become the lightning rod for racial animosity. He is a kind of lodestar for the racists, especially in the Republican Party who have dragged their hatreds and prejudices out of the closets and put them on display in Macy's window for all to see.
It's not the first time in American politics that a president's policies have been rejected by the opposition party, but I don't think we've ever seen policy proposals that came from that party turned back simply because of the man pushing for them.
I've said before that if Obama discovered the cure for cancer, conservatives would rip him for not doing it fast enough.
Republicans have despised Democratic presidents in the past and god knows Democrats have despised Republican presidents (lately all of them), but there has never been this level of unconditional, burning hatred. Wingers might try to say that Bush was hated just as much, but they're wrong. Bush got almost everything he wanted, legislatively speaking, even illegally speaking. The animosity couldn't have been that bad. With Obama, he can't even pick his nose without howls of indignation.
Likely it's a good thing to be more realistic about the sad state of the racial divide in this country. It's just hard to realize that the progress we seem to have had over the last 50 years penetrated only just so far. There are plenty of hold outs.
And a whole passel of them are in congress.
Yesterday after reading the Fallows article I had the question, 'What percent of federal workers are former military'? http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/washington/story/2011-10-11/federal-retirement-pension-benefits/50592474/1: "Shane Barker, a lobbyist for the Veterans of Foreign Wars, says it would be unfair to cut retirement benefits. "What draws people into the armed services? Basically good retirement and great health care," he says."
When Progressives can lead Democrats into dividing real public servants from economic opportunists especially politicians, cops and soldiers the closer the message of Eisenhower's farewell address about the dangers of the military-industrial complex will come to be addressed in a meaningful way.
P.S. I couldn't find the percentage at hand.
@Citizen625 asks, " 'What percent of federal workers are former military'? ... I couldn't find the percentage at hand."
Ryan McDermott: "About 77,000 new [federal] employees were hired in fiscal 2013..., and about 45 percent of those hires were veterans. That's a 10 percent increase from veteran hiring in 2008. It also means that veterans make up 32 percent of the federal workforce."
That took about 15 seconds to find on Google. If you really couldn't find the information, your Googling skills must be about the same as Steve Scalise's, who yesterday claimed Google didn't exist in 2002. (It did.)
You asked an interesting question; you could have helped out by finding the answer yourself & sharing it.
Marie
@Akileus: Sunset Boulevard! I remembered it right away, but occasionally have the same problem retrieving names that you and P.D. described. I do the "alphabet trick" sometimes, but what works even better for me is to conjure a name or names associated with the missing one. For example, I might not remember Hume Cronyn's name, but could recall that of his wife. Just thinking Jessica Tandy might make Hume's name pop into place. Boy, I'm dating myself. Shoulda used Brad Pitt/ Angelina Jolie as examples!
On another matter, I find it passing strange that police would refuse to work because two of their members were killed. Don't they see the irony of abandoning their duty to protect and serve just because the going gets tough?
Victoria,
That association trick is a good one too, and funnily enough, I've had success in the past by using it on the same couple you mention. I couldn't come up with Hume Cronyn once, but their names are so entwined that as soon as I thought of "Jessica Tandy", the "...and Hume Cronyn" popped right up.
This trick is especially useful when trying to dredge up members of a well known group, say cast members or teammates, or, as in the case of Watergate, a list of CREEPS. If you're stuck trying to think of G. Gordon Liddy's name (although it's pretty hard to forget that one), you might think of Donald Segretti. Then you'll get Howard Hunt, Maurice Stans, Chuck Colson, and so on, asshole after asshole just tumble out.
Good trick though.
By the by, both Cronyn and Tandy had an amazing range as actors. Cronyn played the mousey murder mystery fan in Hitchcock's exceptional "Shadow of a Doubt" (he's the neighbor who sits around on the front porch with Henry Travers as they try to one up each other with schemes for the perfect murder, while a real murderer is living upstairs) and a few years later a sadistic guard in Jules Dassin's intense prison film, "Brute Force".
Good stuff.
The NYPD, it appears, are adopting an approach to the world favored in Right-Wing World. They're playing a zero sum game. The only way to exist is to ensure the complete destruction of the other side. Discussion, debate, cooperation, compromise are all off the table. We win. You lose. If we give an inch, we lose.
Not the best approach to living and working in a pluralistic society. It's a statement to the effect that there is only one acceptable path: theirs. Digby is correct. This is a demand for submission to their authority, although I will bet the mortgage that they see themselves as victims, not as actors who can, if they choose, operate above the law when deciding whether to allow citizens to live or die.
Okay. Here’s everyone’s holiday viewing assignment: the BBC 1997 6-episode documentary “The Nazis: A Warning from History.” It cobbles together interviews with perpetrators and survivors, and clips from propaganda films and newsreels. It’s about what happens when a charismatic speechifier pits fearful conservatives against communists. Keep the valium handy.
James,
Got a link? Is this available on Netflix or Amazon?
Unfortunately, even if they have interviews with certain perpetrators, I'm pretty sure they don't have interviews with a lot of the prime movers, Goering, Hess, Frank, Ribbentrop, Kaltenbrunner, Rudolf Hess, and the other scum sucking pig concentration camp commandants.
Nonetheless, if it comes within shouting distance of the Resnais film "Night and Fog", it would be worthwhile.
I may have to put it off until we're in 2015. 2014 is already bad enough without additional sturm und drang.
Oh yeah, and there are some fun shots of Himmler with a Kim Jong Un hair cut.
Don't know it it's available on Netflix. Mine's a DVD in the "BBC History of WWII" 12-disc set. Got it from [shudder] Amazon.
I found a couple of sites that stream the videos (see below.) DVDs may be available for sale to add to your library from Amazon or the BBC.
I was just thinking today with the news and comments about the NYPD that it's a good thing that they, and police in general, wear blue uniforms. If they wore brown I think people would be very nervous given past history.
These are individual segments of each episode:
These are complete episodes with the others listed in the side bar:
@Akileus: talk about coincidences. "Shadow of a Doubt" is a huge favorite of mine. The depiction of the innocence and peace of small town America versus the corruption of the wider world personified by the excellent Joseph Cotten is just amazing. I don't think Naziism was ever mentioned, but you certainly felt the presence, and the threat. I loved the ending, with its note of hope.
Oops, messed up the links.
On YouTube as individual segments of the episodes:
Complete episodes with others listed in the sidebar:
Sorry, two strikes and I'm out.
YouTube segments:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLF706152EF0DAEC6E
Complete episodes:
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xq1ym0_the-nazis-a-warning-from-history-1-helped-into-power_lifestyle?start=177
PD,AK, Victoria--et al.
Let us face it. (Or not) WE ARE GETTING OLD! Old "folks" can't remember shit (CRS syndrome). Neurons get all fucked up when they try to fire. As Bette Davis opined: "Getting older is not for sissies." Etc, etc. Yadda, yadda... Anyways youse guyz, Happy New Year to y'all--even if you are brown or yeller! You are all da smartest people in da room!
Marie,
Enjoyed the Slate article on declining world populations. I knew about Japan's stagnation but was really struck when Wise said there is a possibility that the precipitous fall in birthrates at some point could spell the end of humans. That had not seemed a possibility.
No, I was worried that we (the US) would soon be overrun by the likes of the Duggers and wondered how long it would take for at least some of those kids to become estranged from the Quiverfull movement.
What does it say about me when I fear the day when the only people who are having lotsa babies are the ultra-orthodox - whether Christian, Jew, or Muslim? Will I have become what I hate today?