;)
The Commentariat -- Jan. 16, 2015
Internal links, photo removed.
NEW. Justin Gillis of the New York Times: "Last year was the hottest in earth's recorded history, scientists reported on Friday, underscoring scientific warnings about the risks of runaway emissions and undermining claims by climate-change contrarians that global warming had somehow stopped." ...
... Carl Zimmer of the New York Times: "A team of scientists, in a groundbreaking analysis of data from hundreds of sources, has concluded that humans are on the verge of committing unprecedented damage to the oceans and the animals living in them. 'We may be sitting on a precipice of a major extinction event,' said Douglas J. McCauley, an ecologist at the University of California, Santa Barbara, and a co-author of the new research, which was published on Thursday in the journal Science."
Keeping America Stupid. Certainly we've had changes in our climate. I'll let the scientists debate the sources in their opinion of that change. But I think the real question is that every proposal we see out of the administration with regard to climate change means killing American jobs. -- Speaker John Boehner, Thursday
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) was asked the same question and did not answer it. (See also Joni Ernst, Alfred E. Neuman, below.)
Manu Raju of Politico: "President Barack Obama made clear Thursday in a closed-door session with Senate Democrats that he's prepared to veto hostile legislation from the GOP-controlled Congress, including an Iran sanctions package on the front-burner of Capitol Hill.... At the meeting, Obama, who has rarely used his veto pen in his six years in office, signaled he would do so repeatedly, including on GOP-sponsored legislation to build the Keystone XL oil pipeline.... White House officials confirmed the veto threat over the Iran bill but declined to comment further." ...
... Michael Shear of the New York Times: "President Obama and Senator Robert Menendez traded sharp words on Thursday over whether Congress should impose new sanctions on Iran while the administration is negotiating with Tehran about its nuclear program, according to two people who witnessed the exchange. In the course of the argument, which was described as tense but generally respectful, Mr. Obama vowed to veto legislation being drafted by Mr. Menendez, Democrat of New Jersey, and Senator Mark Kirk, Republican of Illinois, that would impose the sanctions before the multiparty talks are set to end this summer."
White House: "On January 15, 2015, President Obama travelled to Charmington's Café in North Baltimore, Maryland to talk about the workplace policies we need to help working Americans balance their careers with their needs of their families":
Alexander Bolton of the Hill: "Freshman Sen. Joni Ernst (Iowa) will deliver the Republican response to President Obama's State of the Union address next week. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) announced the news at a joint press conference with Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) during the GOP retreat at the Hershey Lodge.... She said voters sent her to the nation's capital with a mission to 'craft and implement good policies, good solutions which will enable to get America on a better path.'" Thanks to James S. for the link.
... CW: I wonder what Ernst's good solutions might be to the scientific bombshell that we're "on the precipice of a major extinction event" In September Jeff Spross of Think Progress reported, "On Sunday, the Republicans' Senate candidate from Iowa, Joni Ernst, joined the ranks of politicians who confess to not knowing the science of climate change, but remain happy declaring we need do nothing about it." One thing Ernst is sure about: "job-killing [EPA] regulations" have got to go. Okay, then. ...
... AND So What? Eric Bradner of CNN: According to the latest CNN/ORC poll, "57%, say global warming will not pose a serious threat to their way of life, while just 43% expect global warming to threaten them. Meanwhile, only 50% of Americans believe global warming is caused by man-made emissions, while 23% say it's caused by natural changes and 26% say it isn't a proven fact." ...
... Charles Pierce: "Joni Ernst is a box of rocks. She's a jumped-up state legislator whose worldview is that of somebody waiting on hold to speak to Steve Deace on the radio. This will be the case even if she manages to get through her 'response' next Tuesday night with more aplomb than those old has-beens, Jindal and Rubio. Resist any attempt to make a star out of this woman. Believe your own lying eyes. It's very important." Read the whole post. ...
... CW: Despite Pierce's prediction that Ernst is "not going to fall into the orchestra pit, the way Jindal and Rubio did," I'll bet no one is happier about this announcement than the folks at Saturday Night Live.
... Wait, Wait. Joni Ernst Is the Establishment SOTU Speaker. Ben Kamisar of the Hill: "Rep. Curt Clawson (R-Fla.) will deliver the Tea Party response to President Obama's State of the Union on Tuesday night. ...
... CW: Clawson is MY representative. His claim to fame? John Hudson of Foreign Policy: "In an intensely awkward congressional hearing of the House Foreign Affairs Committee on Thursday, freshman Rep. Curt Clawson misidentified two senior U.S. government officials as representatives of the Indian government.... The two officials, Nisha Biswal and Arun Kumar, are Americans who hold senior positions at the State Department and Commerce Department, respectively. Although both Biswal and Kumar were introduced as U.S. officials by the chairman of the Asia and Pacific subcommittee, Clawson repeatedly asked them questions about 'your country' and 'your government.'... During the hearing, he repeatedly touted his deep knowledge of the Indian subcontinent and his favorite Bollywood movies...." CW: I'll bet in his SOTU response, Clawson "misidentifies" Barack Obama as the Kenyan emperor.
... Less well-known: Last week, Clawson voted for Li'l Randy to be Speaker of the House.
Humberto Sanchez of Roll Call: "Republicans still don't have an exit strategy that will allow them to fund the Department of Homeland Security while canceling President Barack Obama's temporary administrative amnesty for millions of immigrants. The uncertainty over the future of the DHS funding measure -- which must be cleared by the end of next month or partially shut down the department -- sets up a tension with the message the GOP is seeking to send from their bicameral retreat that they intend to govern responsibly."
Two thoughtful columns on free speech, the first from Tim Egan & the second from Paul Waldman.
Tara Culp-Ressler of Think Progress: "For the first time in a decade, the number of people struggling to pay their medical bills has started to decline, according to a new survey released on Thursday by the Commonwealth Fund. The researchers attributed the historic drop to the number of people gaining insurance under the health care reform law.... In a press release, the researchers described the declines as 'remarkable.'"
Paul Krugman explains that the Swiss franc crisis "says is that you really, really shouldn't let yourself get too close to deflation -- you might fall in, and then it's extremely hard to get out. This is one reason that slashing government spending in a depressed economy is such a bad idea: It's not just the immediate cost in lost jobs, but the increased risk of getting caught in a deflationary trap." His warnings are a good example of why wags call economics "the dismal science."
Chris Geidner of BuzzFeed: "On Friday, the Supreme Court justices will be meeting to decide whether to hear a case -- or multiple cases -- challenging a ban on same-sex couples' marriages. This will be the second time the justices have considered whether to take any of the cases out of Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, and/or Tennessee. When they did so on Jan. 9, they took no action on those cases, instead re-listing them for discussion on Friday." ...
... Tresa Baldas of the Detroit Free Press: "A federal judge [Thursday] gave 300 same-sex married couples in Michigan a much-anticipated legal blessing, saying the state must recognize their marriages because they were legally performed and have a 'fundamental right' to be recognized.... [Judge Mark]Goldsmith's ruling was in response to a lawsuit filed by eight same-sex couples who got married during a window of opportunity last March after a federal judge struck down Michigan's ban on same-sex marriage. Roughly 300 couples got married that day. The next day, a federal appeals court put the judge's decision that legalized gay marriage on hold, and the state has since refused to recognize the marriages."
Fat Leonard Cops a Plea. Craig Whitlock of the Washington Post: "A Malaysian defense contractor pleaded guilty Thursday in a corruption scandal of epic proportions, admitting that he bribed 'scores' of U.S. Navy officials with $500,000 in cash, six figures' worth of sex from prostitutes, lavish hotel stays, spa treatments, Cuban cigars, Kobe beef, Spanish suckling pigs and an array of other luxury goods. Leonard Glenn Francis, a businessman who charmed a generation of Navy officers while resupplying their ships in Asia, admitted in federal court in San Diego to presiding over a decade-long corruption scheme involving his Singapore-based firm, Glenn Defense Marine Asia.... Five current and former Navy officials have pleaded guilty so far, and prosecutors have made it clear they are targeting others. The Navy has also stripped security clearances from two admirals, including the chief of naval intelligence...."
Karen DeYoung of the Washington Post: "Freed from cumbersome requirements to obtain a Treasury Department license, individual Americans will be able to travel to Cuba provided they say the trip is intended to serve religious, educational or other approved purposes under the still-standing U.S. embargo. When they return, they can bring up to $400 in Cuban goods, including $100 worth of alcohol and tobacco. U.S. airlines will be allowed to fly scheduled routes to Cuba for the first time in decades." The new rules go into effect today.
God News, Friday Edition
Susan Svrluga & Michelle Boorstein of the Washington Post: "Duke University canceled plans Thursday to begin a weekly Muslim call to prayer from the campus chapel this week, an initiative that had set off debate on social media. A school spokesman and a Duke Muslim leader said that a serious and credible security threat played a role in the decision.... Franklin Graham, president of Samaritan's Purse and the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, called on donors and alumni to withhold support from Duke until the policy was reversed. The hashtag #boycottduke spread quickly, and many of the reactions on Twitter referred to recent terrorist attacks, and interpreted it as an anti-Christian move."
Greg Botelho & Sunshine de Leon of CNN: "Weighing in on last week's terror in France and the debate over freedom of expression it stirred, Pope Francis said en route to the Philippines that killing 'in the name of God' is wrong, but it is also wrong to 'provoke' people by belittling their religion." ...
... CW: Tim Egan, cited above, calls the Pope's remarks "a step backwards," & I've seen headlines that suggest other commentators & reporters are interpreting Francis's remarks as endorsing a curb on freedom of speech. These interpreters are making the same mistake David Brooks did: they're confusing what is socially or morally acceptable with what is legally acceptable. The Westboro Church anti-gay rants are legally acceptable.
Carl Nolte of the San Francisco Chronicle: "Pope Francis says he will declare that Junipero Serra, one of the founders of modern California, is a Roman Catholic saint. Serra, who established nine of California's 21 Spanish missions, is both a revered and a controversial figure in the state's history."
Turns out a boy appropriately & coincidentally named Malarkey did not go to heaven & return, despite the claims in a best-selling book, which he supposedly co-authored, that he'd made the round trip.
Presidential Race
Dan Balz & Philip Rucker of the Washington Post: "Republican leaders on Friday plan to unveil new rules for presidential debates, marking the most aggressive effort yet by a national party committee to limit the number of forums and to shape the environment for the nominating season. Reacting to what many in the party concluded was a chaotic and ultimately costly series of debates in the 2012 campaign, a task force of the Republican National Committee has spent months seeking to devise a set of rules that will bring more order to the process." CW: That would be a shame.
Adios, Mofo. Katie Glueck of the Politico: "The Rick Perry era drew to a close in Texas on Thursday as the longest-serving governor in Lone Star State history bade farewell, delivering an address that was as much about his future as it was a reflection on the past. Perry, a likely Republican 2016 contender who was first sworn in as governor in 2000, sounded themes that he is expected to expand on in a future presidential bid. He touted Texas, under his leadership, as an engine of job growth, a model for the rest of the country and a beacon of optimism. Perry, who was initially a favorite of conservative Republicans in his ill-fated 2012 presidential bid, also signaled that he is no hardliner." ...
... One last time:
Dr. Ben Is Off His Meds Again. Alexandra Jaffe of CNN: "Physician Ben Carson on Thursday held up ISIS, a terrorist group that's beheaded multiple Americans, as an example for the United States during comments before the Republican National Committee. 'We've got ISIS. They've got the wrong philosophy, but they're willing to die for what they believe, while we are busily giving away every belief and every value for the sake of political correctness,' he said during his speech at the RNC's winter meeting. 'We have to change that.'" ...
... Here's more of Carson's speech, via Dan Balz & Philip Rucker of the Washington Post:
It's so important that we be the kind of people who are bold in our expressions. Don't be chicken livers.... We don't need to tinker around the edges. We need to turn the ship around. It is about to go over Niagara Falls and we've got people leaning over the edge saying there's a barnacle. We've got to turn the ship around. If we don’t do it, the barnacles won't matter. That means being bold. That means being dramatic.
... CW: According to Balz & Rucker, Carson implied ISIS was like the American Revolutionary army. When does a political candidate cross the line between laughable & dangerous? Jaffe writes that "It's that very penchant -- for frank and often controversial comments -- that has made him so popular with the GOP base...." If you follow the "logic" of his speech, he is urging Americans to take up arms against the government, behead a few people maybe.
Ben Kamisar of the Hill: "Former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina says she's 'very seriously considering running' for president in 2016, a move that could make her the highest-profile female in the Republican field. 'I think we need different experience, different perspective and a different voice,' she said in an interview on Fox Business Network's 'Cavuto.'" ... CW Note to Sunday morning bookers: It would be wrong to include this person in your panels when she's a potential political candidate -- or ever again.
News Ledes
New York Times: "Marilyn B. Tavenner, the administrator of the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, who helped preside over the rollout of sweeping changes in the nation's health care system, said Friday that she was resigning.... Ms. Tavenner, who was at the center of the disastrous debut of the federal insurance marketplace in October 2013, had given no public indications that she would be stepping down."
Washington Post: John Kerry is making his 19th visit to Paris since he became Secretary of State; this time he came to mourn.
New York Times: "With a renovated death chamber, new training and a higher dose of drugs, Oklahoma on Thursday carried out its first execution since April, when the slipshod, prolonged killing of Clayton D. Lockett led the state to suspend lethal injections and change its procedures. 'Charles Frederick Warner was pronounced dead at 7:28 p.m.,' said Jerry Massie, a spokesman for the Oklahoma Corrections Department."
Guardian: "Police have arrested a dozen people suspected of helping the Islamist militant gunmen carry out last week's Paris killings, the city prosecutor's office said as the US secretary of state, John Kerry, arrived in France for talks. The arrests came after Belgian police killed two men who opened fired on them during one of about a dozen raids on Thursday against an Islamist group, while German police said they had arrested two people following a raid on 11 properties linked to radical Salafists." ...
... New York Times UPDATE: Make that two dozen plus.
... New York Times: "As Europe braces against potential terrorist attacks after violence in France and Belgium, the German police on Friday arrested two Turkish men suspected of having links to an organization supporting the militant Islamic State and other radical groups fighting in Syria."
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Re: a discussion at the end of yesterday's thread, here's Charles Pierce's report on his Q&A with Joni Ernst. Here's the main bit:
"'With Ebola, we see he's [Obama] very hands-off. He's not leading. He's not leeeaaading,' she said, drawing out that last word like a conjurer casting a spell. I suggested to her that, well, at that moment, one person in America -- Dr. Craig Spencer -- had Ebola. Her eyes went hard, like the wheels of a slot machine fastening on tilt.
"'Well, you're the press. That's your opinion.' ,,,
"'But that's not an opinion. It's a fact. Only one person in America has Ebola.'
"'But he's not a leeaader,' Ernst said, again."
Marie
Thanks Marie. Marvelous.
Joni Ernst, America new Michele Mockbrain.
I think the Joni Ernst is the American Idolization of US politics taken to its logical and painful conclusion. Let anyone audition who has a dream, reject those with actual training in the field before they can even get in front of an audience, teach them all of the marketing and help them make connections with the power brokers, throw on dazzling costumes and lighting, and voila!
In music and politics, one can often do a great job with above average training and willingness to improve. We need people like that in politics, but they are getting trampled by the people with connections and chutzpah.
Gov. Chris Pissy of NJ just declared himself unconstitutional. He wrote a law for pension reform in 2011 in which the state employees pay more and the state (i.e. Pissy) would make the proper annual payment to the fund. Well, his highness has done such a wonderful job for the states economy that the state does not have the money it promised. So Pissy has gone to court to declare that his part of the deal is unconstitutional. Given the status of the Supreme Court, a POTUS Pissy could have a field day with his unending screw ups.
So the Pope says that free speech applies to everything except religion.
What about history? Are you allowed to tell facts?
This is a useful article from today's Washington Post:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2015/01/14/this-powerful-reddit-thread-reveals-how-the-poor-get-by-in-america/?tid=hybrid_control_strip_3
This is the "poorer" side of the aphorism that the rich get richer, the poor, poorer. It is anecdotal stuff, but for anyone who has ever been broke for extended periods (think back to your college days, when you checked couch seams to see if you could afford dinner on Sunday when the refectory was closed), it reflects facts. When you've got very little, it is easy for the gombeen men to take even that.
I suppose we will always have the poor among us. However, I hope we get some more Sen. Warrens, too, to push back against the chiselers who prey on them.
Last Sunday I posted a link to a NYRB review of a plethora of books pertaining to near death experiences with those that claimed they went to heaven and saw Jesus, etc. Today we learn one of those best sellers. "The Boy who Came Back From Heaven," written by Alex Malarkey and his father, Kevin, a Christian therapist, was a bunch of malarkey––Alex says he made it all up. What a surprise! He also says we shouldn't pay any mind to human beings that try to tell us the truth––only the Bible is infallible. You bet, Alex, cuz the Bible was written by some others not human.
Of course I shouldn't be so almighty about this since I, myself, brought Milton Freidman back from the dead. And he told me he was mighty grateful.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/01/15/alex-malarkey-boy-who-came-back-from-heaven_n_6483432.html
OH NOES! I just read here that Carly Fiorina might run for President! Yikes–– that just puts a damper on my day. It's enough that we have a hog castration female, Pierce's new best friend, scheduled to give that afterglow GOP speech. Yet––what fun it will be to see both of these ladies lard us with their lollapalooza–––Oh, woe betide.
Joni Ernst's earnest quest to be even stupider than she already is, and to confer similar levels of stupidity on her fanbois and fangirls in the GO freaking P is matched by the equally shattering lunacy of Ben Carson, both of whom prove my point, made yesterday, that current conservatism is not only against intellectuals but against intelligence.
The case will be made that Carson, a respected physician cannot be stupid because medical school, medical career, awards, plaques, articles, etc, etc. But I would maintain that his intelligence is limited to that realm. In fact, I'm not sure I would trust a doctor dim enough to plagiarize in a book in which he warns against the dangers of plagiarism, and in the next breath is talking the kind of dangerous tommyrot one expects from guys bumping into streetlights as they try to avoid stepping on a crack in the sidewalk which, of course, will send them straight to hell.
It's even more disheartening to hear the wingnuts cheering such crazy talk and taking such immoderate delight in the person peddling such gibberish as being "frank and controversial". Controversial is one thing. Idiocy is another.
And as Charlie Pierce's conversation, or attempt to converse, with Joni Ernst demonstrates, it's hard to hold a logical discussion with a four year old. In fact, I've had more logical conversations with four year olds.
But this four year old is now in senate, and has been handed the job of responding to the State of the Union Address.
If you told me that these people were characters in an unpublished John Kennedy O'Toole novel, I'd believe it. In fact, I'd say that gent had outdone himself in creating characters whose fatuity is outstripped only by their self regard and sense of their own world historical importance.
As J. Swift once put it:
"When a true genius appears in the world, you may know him by this sign, that the dunces are all in confederacy against him."
Substitute "facts" for "genius" and you have these people, and their supporters.
Patrick,
It's not only that the poor are being constantly fleeced by the con artists and swindlers and chiselers (love that word--so descriptive), but they are blamed for so many of the evils caused by the same vampires who feed off them.
Lazy moochers, drug addicts, takers, users, parasites, lucky duckies, enjoying the life of Riley, lounging in hammocks, driving Caddies, eating steak on our dime, we'd all be better off if we shipped them off somewhere....(and you know where...).
Frankly, I don't know what they'd do for fall guys if the right ever lost the poor.
Maybe that's why they need to keep them down. Otherwise, they'd be forced to admit the vacuousness of their own ideology and policies.
Oh wait, I forgot, as Marie pointed out yesterday after hearing that wingnut poster boy Ben Carson blamed his wife for his plagiarism, wingnuts never make mistakes, but if they did, they'd never admit it.
It's always someone else's fault.
I've been liking a lot of things Pope Frankie has been doing and saying, but this new announcement, that religion is off limits for any satirical or controversial commentary is not one of them.
It's a bit like the flag idolators who, a few years ago, were ready to shoot people who burned an American flag. My point then, and still is, that the flag is a symbol. If what it symbolizes isn't strong enough to withstand someone making a point by burning or otherwise messing with it, then you have a much bigger problem. I thought what it symbolizes is plenty strong to put up with a few flag burnings (I seem to recall at the time, Fox making some alarming claims about many hundreds of flags being burned every day somewhere in America. Who has that kind of time?), but apparently the PATRIOTS and the Real 'mericans didn't.
And people of faith have an even bigger conundrum if they believe that their religion and what it stands for (a deity in almost all cases) is not strong enough to take a few jokes and some crude humor. Plus, as Marvin says, what about a serious historical book that covered unpleasant aspects of a religion, its background, the sorts of things done in its name, etc? I'm sure that might piss off a lot of people, but is that out of line then? And where does it stop? You can't criticize my political beliefs, you can't make fun of my choice of girlfriends. Don't say anything about my platform shoes and bell bottoms. I'll put a cap in your ass.
I think if I were the supreme being, I wouldn't be getting my scepter in knots because a guy working for a satirical magazine made fun of me and my followers. I might make it rain on the guy, but I wouldn't be hinting to my adherents that it's time to take him out.
I might lose my membership in the Good God Club.
Just thinking...
If you trace the history of Republican responders to the SOTU, you can see a definite downward trend in talent and smarts. As the wingnuttery goes up, the intelligence goes down.
They started off pretty well. In 1964 Everett Dirksen and Gerry Ford responded to LBJ's speech. After that, Bob Dole had a few turns. Not bad. But once we get into the Clinton years things start going off the rails. They follow JC Watts (only black Republican in the country at that point) with Trent Lott (unreconstructed racist--guess that cancels out the Watts gambit).
A few years later we get Bill Frist who diagnoses brain dead patients by watching grainy videotapes and declares them ready to run a marathon. After him, GOP golden boy Bob McDonnell, currently boning up on his prison lingo to make sure he doesn't inadvertently ask another inmate for anal rehydration when all he wants is a smoke.
Next up, Paul Ryan, who won't acknowledge that he's been on the public dole his whole life, but along the way learned that it's cold in Afghanistan in the winter. Very nice, Paul. Sit there and don't talk to the potted plants. That's a good boy.
A couple of years later we get a very thirsty Marco Rubio who still isn't sure how old the earth is. A month? Two? He's not a scientist. Don't ask.
By the time we get to Cathy McMorris Rodgers, the wingers have pretty much given up on facts. Too much trouble. Talking about the ACA, Rodgers flat out lied about some constituent named Bette her staff had never even interviewed. Just make it up, baby. That's the way we do things in the Moe-dern GOP.
And once you give up on even trying to be factual, you might as well throw the balls to Joni Ernst, who will cut them off if she has her testicle removing blades handy. But hey, she's been a senator for two weeks now. A good two weeks! And if you're a government employee, she might shoot you. Just to stay in practice.
So from Everett Dirksen to a gun-packing, nut-clipping, make 'em squeal, ignorant nutbag.
Nice job demonstrating the direction of the party. Credentials as a serious political party dropping faster than an anvil tossed off a high rise.
Next year: Cliven Bundy. Accompanied by his heavily armed "militia" who have only been drinking since noon the day before. Promise. He will be continuing his lesson on what he knows about "The Blacks".
Some VERY good news thanks to Eric Holder
http://www.washingtonpost.com/investigations/holder-ends-seized-asset-sharing-process-that-split-billions-with-local-state-police/2015/01/16/0e7ca058-99d4-11e4-bcfb-059ec7a93ddc_story.html
So, you know how Fox "pundits" and wingnut commentators have been saying, in the wake of all the deadly violence directed at unarmed black men, that the idea that police are racist is total bullshit and how they treat everyone the same without discrimination? In fact, some have said that it was the fault of the unarmed guys that they're dead.
Well, I'd like to hear Steve Doocy and Bill O'Reilly explain why police in Florida (Marie, you got out just in time) use pictures of black men at target ranges to fine tune their ability to put a couple right between the eyes. But not just any men, they're shooting at mug shots of men they have arrested.
The chief's response? Why...no racism here. None at all. And to show you just how cooperative they're willing to be, from now on, they won't use pictures of black men from that area for their target practice.
Mighty white of them, no?
Cue Fox outrage machine....one, two, three.....
From Kasie Hunt's story at NBC News on Carson's comments at the Republican National Committee's winter meeting out in San Diego:
"A bunch of rag-tag militiamen defeated the most powerful and professional military force on the planet. Why? Because they believed in what they were doing. They were willing to die for what they believed in,” Carson told a luncheon audience of national committee members. ..."
It may be unfair to challenge Dr. C's historical accuracy -- such big fish, such a litle barrel, as Charles Pierce often writes. But for what it is worth:
-- George Washington, from Day One of his command, found the militias to be more liability than asset, and lobbied intensely with congress to get a real army with real trained soldiers. He got it, after a fashion, but was always hand to mouth for supplies and pay. In 1783, some of those unpaid soldiers rousted congress from Philadelphia in desperation. Not quite mutiny, just foraging.
-- And, although many undoubtedly were willing to die (even by being starved by congress), fighting and dying was the opposite of Washington's strategy, which was primarily to AVOID contact with the British army under almost all circumstances, and wait them out. He knew GRIII was not going to send reinforcements and that attrition and domestic British opposition would cause the Brits to give up. And even though the congress almost sold out several times 1780-82, and never provided the army what it needed, those winter soldiers persevered. Only to get screwed on their pensions later.
So the history lesson may be that our congress has pretty much sucked since before we even had a constitution. Not that fighting and dying makes for a good country.
Patrick,
It's also typical of wingnuts, when talking about the Revolutionary War, to downplay or totally ignore the contributions France made to the war effort. Men, money, munitions, materiel and, in many ways most importantly, naval support. If it wasn't for the French blockade at Yorktown, Cornwallis could have slipped away. No blockade, no Cornwallis, no surrender. The French also kept the British navy busy at sea, raiding their supply ships and harrying the back and forth traffic of both the British Navy and merchant marines.
France had their own reasons for helping the new nation, but it is very likely that things could have turned out badly for the colonists had she not intervened and joined in the fight.
Even the founders didn't "build that" on their own.
Pass those Freedom Fries, willya?
In the Politico link, above, on the departure of Rick (Niggerhead) Perry from the Texas scene on to bigger game, as a presidential candidate (again) who hopefully, this time, can remember which federal programs he wants to smother, there is a line from Perry's peroration in which he deems his version of Texas a model for the rest of the country, which reminded me of a review in the NYRB from a few months back, of a history of Texas' Baptist power structure. The article, by Thomas Powers, covers the era of "notorious Baptist preacher " and hater, J. Frank Norris, whose baleful influence had Svengalied most of the Southern Baptist Conference for decades through the twenties into the present.
But here is the line that Perry's seemingly innocuous reference called to mind:
"The really new thing is what J. Frank Norris and his successors brought to the mix--a peculiarly Baptist evangelical zeal to make America more like Baptist Texas while ensuring that Baptist Texas did not become more like the rest of America."
It is, my sisters and brothers, the classic conservative zero sum game. No discussion, no compromise, no giving in. On anything. This, I believe is the essence of current conservatism that Obama has never understood.
Like militarized Japanese during WWII, wingers see any appeal to humanity or compromise from the enemy as a fatal weakness.
They hate him, and us, for any suggestion that we can all get along.
Their solution is a Pax Romana: a Carthaginian peace. This mindset was essential to the Bush Klan and will be even more so to the Perry effort.
OK–-now I'm confused. Akhilleus says to Marie how lucky she is to have gotten out of Florida but earlier when she was mentioning Curt Clawson (I happened to see that exchange between him and the two "Indians" and the looks on their faces were memorable) Marie says, "Rep. Curt Clawson (R-Fla) is MY representative." Of course, given our ability to be in two places at one time (mentally) perhaps CW is still there, but in her heart she flew the coop.