;)
The Commentariat -- Dec. 9, 2012
My column in the New York Times eXaminer takes on Paul Krugman, albeit gently, and Republicans, not so gently.
Adele Stan in Washington Monthly: raise the eligibility age for Medicare and "PEOPLE WILL DIE."
Maureen Dowd: "... the Republican decline will be traced to a stubborn refusal to adapt to a world where poor people and sick people and black people and brown people and female people and gay people count. ...
... CW: before you get too taken by the Oracle of DeeCee's assurances that the End of the Republican Era is nigh, read Matt Taibbi (a) just for the pleasure, but (b) for his view on political prognostication:
... Matt Taibbi on the DeMise of DeMint: "In the minds of those Tea Party conservatives DeMint represents, they debased themselves in supporting an ultimate-RINO type like Romney, and all they got for their trouble was four more years of Black Satan lounging around on the couches of the White House." ...
... Here's the cartoon P. D. Pepe refers to in the Comments section. It took me a while to find it. (It's really helpful when contributors provide links to specific articles or items they mention, so readers can follow up if a particular topic interests them. Also, it always saves me a step!):
Christopher Weyant, Cagle Cartoons, The Hill.Robert Pear of the New York Times: "... affluent Americans will soon be hit with new taxes adopted as part of the 2010 health care law. The new levies, which take effect in January, include an increase in the payroll tax on wages and a tax on investment income, including interest, dividends and capital gains. The Obama administration proposed rules to enforce both last week.... To help finance Medicare, employees and employers each now pay a hospital insurance tax equal to 1.45 percent on all wages. Starting in January, the health care law will require workers to pay an additional tax equal to 0.9 percent of any wages over $200,000 for single taxpayers and $250,000 for married couples filing jointly."
Brian Bennett of the Los Angeles Times: "As soon as the confrontation over fiscal policy winds down, the Obama administration will begin an all-out drive for comprehensive immigration reform, including seeking a path to citizenship for 11 million illegal immigrants, according to officials briefed on the plans. While key tactical decisions are still being made, President Obama wants a catch-all bill that would also bolster border security measures, ratchet up penalties for employers who hire illegal immigrants, and make it easier to bring in foreign workers under special visas, among other elements."
Nicholas Kristof highlights a social services program gone awry. In Appalachia, families have a huge stake in their children's failure to learn to read. CW: Kristof merely criticizes the program & can't seem to think of a way to fix it. I'll bet you can.
Steven Mufson of the Washington Post has a long piece on the U.S.'s natural gas industry, which is about to become a big exporter thanks to fracking & other technology, possibly causing a rise in LNG prices here.
** Pakistan International News: "Former US President Jimmy Carter has slammed American assassination drone strikes in other countries, saying that killing civilians in such attacks would in fact nurture terrorism. 'I personally think we do more harm than good by having our drones attack some potential terrorists who have not been tried or proven that they are guilty," Carter said in an interview with Russia Today. But in the meantime, the drone attacks also kill women and children, sometimes in weddings... so this is the kind of thing we should correct,' he added." Video of the RT interview with President Carter is here. The interview begins about 3:30 min. in. In the first part, Carter blasts Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu. I love that guy.
Sheryl Gay Stolberg of the New York Times: "President Obama's finance team is offering corporations and other institutions that contribute $1 million exclusive access to an array of inaugural festivities, including tickets to a 'benefactors reception,' a children's concert, a candlelight celebration at the National Building Museum, two reserved parade bleacher seats and four tickets to the president's official inaugural ball." In case your solicitation to go to a $1 million party got lost in the mail, here's a copy. I'm going to try to think of this whole stupid shebang as the Caterers & Musicians' Stimulus Program. ...
... All of Which May Be Moot, What with the World Coming to an End First. Nick Allen, et al., of the London Telegraph: "Ahead of December 21, which marks the conclusion of the 5,125-year 'Long Count' Mayan calendar, panic buying of candles and essentials has been reported in China and Russia, along with an explosion in sales of survival shelters in America. In France believers were preparing to converge on a mountain where they believe aliens will rescue them.
Doktor Zoom of Wonkette reflects on the efficacy of gun ownership as a means of protection. Luckily, s/he has Wayne LaPierre of the NRA & other bright lights to help sort things out.
Has Anybody Seen Mitt Romney? Yes! AP: "Defeated presidential candidate Mitt Romney was a guest ringside Saturday night at the fourth fight between Manny Pacquiao and Juan Manuel Marquez." CW: what a cultural trend-setter President Romney would have been. The fights, for Pete's sake?
Local News
Josh Israel of Think Progress: "The Detroit Free-Press, which endorsed Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder (R) in his 2010 campaign and has generally supported him since, blasted his decision to ram through a union-busting 'right-to-work' law in a lame-duck legislative session. At Snyder's urging, the state House and Senate each passed versions of the law this week. The editorial board slammed his move as a 'failure of leadership' and observed that his 'about-face' amounted to a betrayal of Michigan's voters." The Freep editorial is here.
The Last Congressional Race
Alex Isenstadt of Politico: "Rep. Charles Boustany has defeated fellow GOP Rep. Jeff Landry in Louisiana's 3rd District on Saturday, according to the Associated Press, bringing a close to the final undetermined congressional contest of the 2012 cycle."
News Ledes
** New York Times: Birger Stromsheim, a Norwegian hero of World War II, died Nov. 10 in Oslo at 101. CW: read his obituary, please. Here's the Telegraph's obituary. Here's an excerpt from the book The Real Heroes of Telemark by Ray Mears.
AP: "Egypt's liberal opposition has called for more protests on Sunday after the president made concessions overnight that fell short of their demands to rescind a draft constitution going to a referendum on Dec. 15." Al Jazeera story here.
Reuters: "Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez returns to Cuba on Sunday for more surgery after a recurrence of cancer led him to name a successor for the first time in a sign the disease may force an end to his 14-year rule."
AP: "Pakistani intelligence officials say a U.S. drone strike has killed three suspected militants near the Afghan border."
ABC News: "The American doctor rescued from the Taliban in Afghanistan Saturday by U.S. Special Operations Forces is the medical adviser for a Colorado Springs NGO, his employer confirmed today. Dr. Dilip Joseph and two colleagues were kidnapped by a group of armed men while returning from a visit to a rural medical clinic in eastern Kabul Province...."
Guardian: "Poor countries have won historic recognition of the plight they face from the ravages of climate change, wringing a pledge from rich nations that they will receive funds to repair the 'loss and damage' incurred.... Developing countries had been fighting hard for the concession at the fortnight-long UN climate change talks among 195 nations in Qatar, which finished after a marathon 36-hour final session."
Dallas Morning News: "Irving, [Texas,] police have now confirmed that Josh Brent, nose tackle for the Cowboys, has been arrested and charged with intoxication manslaughter. Jerry Brown, 25, is the person who died. Brown is listed as a linebacker on the team's practice squad." Follow-up story here.
Guardian: "Nelson Mandela is 'comfortable and in good care', South Africa's president, Jacob Zuma, has said after visiting him in hospital."
AP: "British police say they have contacted Australian authorities about a possible investigation into an Australian radio station's hoax call to a U.K. hospital. The callers impersonated Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Charles and received confidential details about the former Kate Middleton's medical information. The call was recorded and broadcast."
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Reader Comments (11)
The only problem with Adele Stan's piece on the effect of increasing the age for Medicare is that the health care business already kills so many, nobody will notice the increase.
So the Supremes are considering whether gay marriage should be treated the same as defrauding orphans and widows, carjacking, armed robbery, assault (except for the Romney kind, that hair cutting shit was righteous!), and drug smuggling, that is, something not protected by law and understood to be something polite, right-minded people hold in contempt and don't speak of, if at all possible.
Nino Scalia (aka the Dark Lord) has already weighed in on the issue so he may not be giving the argument his full attention, except to toss brickbats at the attorneys making the case for constitutional protection for any two people, not just those ascribing to the biblical definition, who wish to be married and who wish to enjoy all legal rights ascribed thereto.
Not long ago, he declared the case pretty much open and shut, easy-peasy. Homosexual sodomy (Justice Scalia's totally unbiased term for gay marriage--and any other gay interaction, one would suppose) has been, according to hizzoner, considered very naughty indeed by every state in the union for almost 200 years. As if we've never been wrong about anything else for 200 years. Slavery, anyone? Or even 30 years (Republican Party, natch).
We know how Scalia and his bobble head doll will vote. That's at least two against. How will Little Johnny vote? Well the ACA decision has pretty much given him carte blanche to rejoin the troglodytes if he so wishes. Sam Alito? Don't even ask. So it may come down, as it often does, to Kennedy.
Maybe he'll surprise everyone and rule in the interest of justice and fairness rather than that of far right religious fundamentalism, ignorance, and bigotry, and maybe Roberts will too.
But I wouldn't hold my breath.
@Akhilleus. Good points. So far Kennedy has quite a good record on the gay thing. I think he could rule the right way.
Since Roberts is (a) younger & (b) a states' rights nut, he could do the right thing, too. In fact he "as the Los Angeles Times reported in 2005, before he was on the Court he “worked behind the scenes for gay rights activists” in an earlier case. I predict a 6-3 decision overturning Prop 8. Not sure about overturning DOMA but it could go the same way. Right now a narrow majority of Americans favors gay marriage & gay rights in general, & that percentage goes up a little bit every year. Roberts may look to the future & not want to be the Chief Justice who finds he has put himself totally out-of-step with what public opinion will be in 15 years.
If I turn out to be totally wrong, you can all remind me what a lousy prognosticator I am. I was, after all, wrong about the ACA ruling: I thought Kennedy would be the decider, tho I did think Robert would probably join him in upholding constitutionality because he wanted to be on the winning side.
Marie
Marie's column got me thinking about her premise that the Republican party people just don't give a goddamn about the people who due to their circumstances are left out of any kind of party planning. And I bet if we interviewed some of these RPP's and asked them why they dismiss those in need they would act shocked and dismayed and refute that message giving us the cock and bull story about deficits, debt, ada,ada,ada. Money––it's pungent fragrance permeates the halls of Congress practically choking those that walk the halls and sit in the offices trying to raise the stuff over and over and with the raise comes the commitments which is nothing new, but now seems to be the overpowering impetus that drives the votes or in this case the no votes and coupled with that is Republican's need to control and their hyperventilating over not being able to. We saw this after Truman won and it's been growing ever since.
The Robert Kennedy mention from yesterday's comments: Why is it we always seem to compare our kind of evil doings with Hitler? And the comment comparing the division in this country to the division during the Civil War? We don't have to go back that far––the Civil Rights fight in this country which reared its angry, frustrated head in the fifties will suffice.
Ak's mention of Scalia: Seems to me he has a lawyer son who during the Bushie's rise to power was a busy bee preparing the way?
We have something new on the market: A small aluminum can with large red DEMINTS's in the middle and underneath "Curiously Strong Headed" Guaranteed to Stick in Your Throat" On the underside is "Caution: May dissolve abruptly and leave a bad taste in your mouth." Now for sale at the Heritage Foundation Gift Shop.
One more thing re: evil doings: We are in a stint over Iran and its nuclear capabilities. Akhilleus and I once had a conversation about the U.S. coup that brought down Mossadegh and its tragic aftermath. But before that was Iran's status as oil laky for the British Empire; no one asked the Persians what they thought, what they wanted, what they needed. The paternalistic reasoning then and later when the U.S. sent Kermit and Dulles to orchestrate the coup was "give a little and the damn natives will want everything." The repercussions of all this continues to bite us in the ass. It's what Howard Zinn called "Blowback."
@Marie: My son sent me the Demint business not mentioning that he got it from a cartoon. It was not my intention for you to scrounge around and find its origin. Sorry for the inconvenience.
@PD: "Why is it we always seem to compare our kind of evil doings with Hitler? And the comment comparing the division in this country to the division during the Civil War? We don't have to go back that far––the Civil Rights fight in this country which reared its angry, frustrated head in the fifties will suffice."
I believe that the mass delusions shared by the Republican base have far more in common with the rabid delusions of the right wing in Weimar Germany than they do with the Civil Rights struggle in the fifties. The right wing press in Germany actively promoted a way of way of interpreting the world which was, in the phrase most often applied to Steve Jobs, a "reality distortion field." The German defeat in World War I was overdetermined after America's entry into the war by the overwhelming advantage the Allies had in armaments, men and material, plus the complete exhaustion of the German people and their armies. Yet, the right wing after the War insisted that the only reason the Germans lost was because they had been "stabbed in the back" by Jews.
The present Republican base, fed a similar daily deluge of lies by the right wing propaganda machine, operates in an equivalent "reality distortion field." Close to half of all Republicans, for example, believe that Romney only lost because ACORN stole the election. The same kind of magical thinking operates in the right's embrace of creationism, anti-global warming and the paranoid and wholly unfounded belief that Obama will take away their guns, to take just a few of the obvious delusions. I don't think the "reality distortion field" was operating in the same way in the Civil Rights battles of the 1950s.
Re Mitt at the bout: He probably knows one of the owners.
@ Calyban: Would love to have a discussion with you re: your comments to me but my mister is beckoning me to join him in watching Netty Flicks––the film "Doubt" is on the agenda which we have seen before but begs to be seen again. So perhaps sometime tomorrow I'll argue my case.
@James Singer. Pretty much. "Romney and his wife, Ann, were guests of Nevada State Athletic Commission chairman Bill Brady at the fight at the MGM Grand hotel arena. Brady hosted a fundraiser for Romney during the presidential campaign."
Marie
SNL had a brilliant opening last night (before descending into the usual, lame stuff), with Obama caving completely after taking pity on Boehner, who (in the skit) was being bullied nonstop by Repubs. Jay Pharoah has gotten much better in his Obama impression:
Fiscal Cliff Press Conference--SNL