Yesterday was a zoo. I planned to take a brief morning nap and catch up on comments here before leaving for the prison. Then I learned that a hacker got to the hosting provider the non-profit I work with uses, and trashed all the web sites there including ours. We are far too small and broke to afford a real Webmaster, so I’m it. I was still trying to unravel the mess when it was time to leave for the prison. The meetings were productive, lasting later than usual, so I did not get home until late. At this point, I’ve only slept a couple hours, so today I’m only posting one article in addition to the open thread. Then I’m going back to bed. My schedule is open until mid-week next week, so if not today, I shall surely catch up on replying to comments here and visiting blogs this weekend.
Today, the Jig Zone puzzle never came, so I went and got it. I’m not sure how long the link will work. It took me 4:14. I should be easy to beat. To do it, Click Here. How did you do?
In my opinion, Barack Obama hit a home run with his State of the Union address last night. I do not agree with everything he said. However, I respect opposing points of view. My most serious criticism is that he is still clinging to bipartisanship and gave Republicans far more respect than they deserve. However, he made it clear that he took office in the midst of crises, and that the vast majority of debt under his administration was from enacting the bailout passed before he became President. He made fools of the Republicans be enumerating the many tax cuts that have been enacted under his administration. Because Republicans parrot “middle class tax cut” continually, they could not object. They had to be fuming, because in GOP-speak “Middle Class Tax Cut” means “Tax Cut for the Rich”. Obama’s tax cuts really were for the middle class. I also liked the way he lampooned the Senate, by listing all the bills the House has passed and making it clear that inaction by the Senate is the sticking point. I liked the way he called on Congress to end Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell. Although he could simply instruct the military not to enforce it, it is the law. If he did, he would let Congress off the hook, and leave the law on the books for some future administration to enforce. Congress passed it. Rescinding it is their obligation, one which I fully support. He also made it clear that Republicans are engaging in pure obstructionism, and made it clear that if they continue that tactic, they will have to answer to voters for it.
Keith Olbermann’s coverage excelled, as usual. Here are two videos. The first is with Howard Fineman:
According to a CBS News Poll, 83% of those interviewed approved of Obama’s proposals. Only 17% did not.
Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell gave the Republican response. McClatchy also has the full text of his speech. While more respectful, better constructed, and better delivered that the Bobby Jindal fiasco after Obama’ last address to Congress, it contained only the standard GOP talking points. One thing was clear. McDonnell had not even listened to Obama’s speech before responding, because he did not know that Obama had put domestic fossil fuel development on the table.
Republicans were also polled. 😉
(The Borowitz Report) – President Barack Obama’s State of the Union address has already gotten a big thumbs-down from one key group of voters: Republicans who did not see the speech.
According to an instant poll conducted by the University of Minnesota’s Opinion Research Institute, 90 percent of Republicans who did not see the President’s speech strongly disagreed with it.
Additionally, 95 percent of Republicans polled agreed with the statement, "If I had seen the President’s speech, I’ll bet I would have hated it even more."
Davis Logsdon, who supervised the poll, said there were certain difficulties in polling Republican voters: "Many of them would not let us finish asking the question before answering ‘No.’"… [emphasis added]
Although Joe “You Lie” Wilson, promised to be on his best behavior, these Republican leaders just don’t seem to understand is that there are people watching who are trained to read lips.
Tonight in his State of the Union address, President Obama outlined steps he plans to take “to pay for the $1 trillion that it took to rescue the economy last year.” However, he first addressed right-wing criticisms that he is overseeing out-of-control spending by noting the situation he faced when he took office:
By the time I took office, we had a one year deficit of over $1 trillion and projected deficits of $8 trillion over the next decade. Most of this was the result of not paying for two wars, two tax cuts, and an expensive prescription drug program. On top of that, the effects of the recession put a $3 trillion hole in our budget. All this was before I walked in the door.
The camera then cut to Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), who leaned over to Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and appeared to whisper, “Blame it on Bush.” The two men then laughed. Watch it:
That was John “McConJob” McCain’s best act since singing “Bomb, Bomb Iran” into a mike he did not know was open.
But even worse was the despicable breech of decorum by reactionary-right activist Justice Samuel Alito.
Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. responded to President Obama’s criticism Wednesday night of a Supreme Court decision last week by appearing to mouth the words "not true."
Obama took issue with a ruling that overturned two of the court’s precedents and upended decades of restrictions on corporations being able to use their profits to finance campaigns for and against candidates.
It proved to be a striking State of the Union moment: With six justices seated in their black robes directly in front of him in the House chamber, Obama said: "With all due deference to separation of powers, last week the Supreme Court reversed a century of law that, I believe, will open the floodgates for special interests, including foreign corporations, to spend without limit in our elections."
As Democrats applauded, cameras showed the justices sitting expressionless. Except Alito.
"Not true, not true," he appeared to say, as he shook his head.
"I don’t think American elections should be bankrolled by America’s most powerful interests or, worse, by foreign entities," Obama continued. "They should be decided by the American people. And I urge Democrats and Republicans to pass a bill that helps correct some of these problems."
The court’s 5 to 4 decision, in which Alito was in the majority, said it did not have to address the question of electoral spending by foreign firms, because the law being considered did not differentiate between domestic and foreign corporations… [emphasis added]
I was impressed with Obama for taking on the Supreme Court to their faces for that horrid decision. While technically the court did not have to address the question of electoral spending by foreign firms, as Alito said, what Alito did not say, a lie by omission, is more important. The court did not have to address the question of electoral spending by domestic firms either. The only question before the court was whether or not broadcasting a single film crossed the line under settled law, well established by precedent. This decision was judicial activism at its worst, and Obama said so.
In summery, the speech was masterful. It was not what I would have said, but although I consider myself a wordsmith, Obama’s talents surpass mine far and away. What remains to be seen is whether or not he follows it up with appropriate action. I’m willing to give him the benefit of the doubt, which I admit is considerable.
Five days ago I encouraged support for Oregon Measures 66 and 67. I’m happy to announce that both passed.
Oregon voters bucked decades of anti-tax and anti-Salem sentiment Tuesday, raising taxes on corporations and the wealthy to prevent further erosion of public schools and other state services.
The tax measures passed easily, with late returns showing a 54 percent to 46 percent ratio. Measure 66 raises taxes on households with taxable income above $250,000, and Measure 67 sets higher minimum taxes on corporations and increases the tax rate on upper-level profits.
The results triggered waves of relief from educators and legislative leaders, who were facing an estimated $727 million shortfall in the current two-year budget if the measures failed.
"We’re absolutely ecstatic," said Hanna Vandering, a physical education teacher from Beaverton and vice president of the statewide teachers union. "What Oregonians said today is they believe in public education and vital services."
The double-barreled victory is the first voter-approved statewide income tax increase since the 1930s. Other states, facing similar budget woes, are watching the outcome closely because Oregon, after all, is a state that capped property taxes and locked a surplus tax rebate program into the constitution… [emphasis added]
The people of Oregon, although progressive in many ways, have a long standing antipathy to taxes. Nevertheless, we recognized that it’s time for the rich, including corporations, to pay more. We saw through an onslaught of rabid-right advertising laden with lies. We have set the example for America. Follow our lead!
Yesterday I didn’t even reply to comments, but please rest assured, I shall to all. After volunteer work with a therapy group for former prisoners, I had errands to run: a trip to a tailor shop, a trip to buy my February transit pass, a trip to the bank, and a trip to the store. They are just spread out enough that by the time I was done I had walked three miles. That’s a lot for me, even on oxygen. When I got home I was pooped, but I still stayed up to watch the SOTU. With luck, I’ll catch up on comments today, but that’s all. Today is my volunteer day in the prison with a board meeting first, so I’ll be gone.
Tomorrow’s blog posts will be late, because my I won’t return from my volunteer work at the prison until late tonight, so please don’t worry about me if you see nothing new. Just come back. 🙂
Today’s Jig Zone puzzle took me 4:07. To do it, Click Here. How did you do?
In case you missed it, four people were arrested for trying to plant wiretaps in Senator Mary Landrieu’s office. One of them was the lead actor in a recent hit job on a community minded organization:
A conservative filmmaker whose undercover videos shone a spotlight on alleged corruption by the liberal activist group ACORN was arrested with three other men and accused of plotting to wiretap the New Orleans offices of Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La. The FBI said in an affidavit that James O’Keefe was among the four men who were arrested Monday. Special Agent Steven Rayes said O’Keefe was helping two others, Joseph Basel and Robert Flanagan, who were dressed as employees of a telephone company …
When the burglars behind the break in at the Watergate Hotel were first busted, Republicans were quick to call it a meaningless third-rate burglary. It turned out to be orchestrated at the highest levels of power and brought down Republican President Richard Nixon.
Via Media Matters, 31 House Republicans recently supported a resolution honoring today’s accused felon. These scary freaks are heroes to a frightening conservative movement that reaches from militias and racists in every dark nook and cranny of the nation clear to the senior Republican leadership in the House and Senate. It’s a movement that has been flirting with armed revolution and secession, disrupting political meetings in the tradition of the German Brown Shirts of the 1930s, and carrying semiautomatic rifles to town halls and Presidential addresses. The last time right-wing terrorist nuts were ignored two of them ending up blowing up a building in Oklahoma City and killed 168 innocent people including 19 children… [emphasis added]
First, there needs to be an investigation to find out just how high this goes to determine which GOP leaders authorized it and funded it.
Second, Okeefe’s criminal character, the assumption that his ACORN video was not doctored no longer holds water. Congress must immediately refund ACORN.
Third, the 31 GOP extremists who voted to make this guy a hero must be forever tied to that vote. Here are their names and districts:
Todd Akin [R-MO2], Roscoe Bartlett [R-MD6],Joe Barton [R-TX6], Rob Bishop [R-UT1], Jo Bonner [R-AL1], John Boozman [R-AR3], Paul Broun [R-GA10], Henry Brown [R-SC1], John Campbell [R-CA48], John Carter [R-TX31], Howard Coble [R-NC6], Tom Cole [R-OK4], Michael Conaway [R-TX11], John Culberson [R-TX7], Mary Fallin [R-OK5], Trent Franks [R-AZ2], Louis Gohmert [R-TX1],Kay Granger [R-TX12], Ralph Hall [R-TX4], Jim Jordan [R-OH4], Steve King [R-IA5], John Kline [R-MN2], Doug Lamborn [R-CO5], Blaine Luetkemeyer [R-MO9], Daniel Lungren [R-CA3], Kenny Marchant [R-TX24], Joseph Pitts [R-PA16], Bill Posey [R-FL15], Phil Roe [R-TN1], Jean Schmidt [R-OH2], and John Shadegg [R-AZ3]
This is a story I keep coming back to revisit, because it keeps getting worse. The last time I talked about Jamie was here.
In 2005, Jamie Leigh Jones was gang-raped by her co-workers while she was working for Halliburton/KBR in Baghdad. The attack occurred while she was out with a “small group of Halliburton firefighters,” just four days after her arrival in Iraq. After taking a few sips of her drink, she later woke up in the barracks, “naked” and “severely beaten.” Her “breasts were so badly mauled that she is permanently disfigured.”
In an apparent attempt to cover up the incident, the company then put her in a shipping container for at least 24 hours without food, water, or a bed, and “warned her that if she left Iraq for medical treatment, she’d be out of a job.” Even more insultingly, the DOJ resisted bringing any criminal charges in the matter.
Jones tried to sue the company for failing to protect her, but KBR argued that Jones’ employment contract — created for the company under the tenure of then-CEO Dick Cheney — warranted her claims being heard in private arbitration, without jury, judge, public record, or transcript of the proceedings. Basically, KBR argued that Jones’ brutal rape was a workplace injury — nothing more. But in September, the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in favor of Jones. “Jones’ allegations do not ‘touch matters’ related to her employment, let alone have a ’significant relationship’ to her employment contract,” wrote the court.
KBR is now petitioning the Supreme Court to reverse the ruling. The contractor is personally going after Jones’ integrity to argue that she shouldn’t have a fair and open hearing. Stephanie Mencimer from Mother Jones reports:
On Jan. 19, it petitioned the Supreme Court to overturn the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals decision allowing Jones to press her case in a civil court rather than in arbitration. Among its many arguments in favor of a high court hearing: that Jones is a relentless self-promoter who has “sensationalize[d] her allegations against the KBR Defendants in the media, before the courts, and before Congress.” … KBR also suggests that much of Jones’ story is fabricated. The company says in a footnote, “Many, if not all, of her allegations against the KBR Defenandants are demonstrably false. The KBR Defendants intend to vigorously contest Jones’s allegations and show that her claims against the KBR Defendants are factually and legally untenable.”
The Department of Defense Appropriations Act, 2010 signed into law by President Obama in December contained an amendment by Sen. Al Franken (D-MN) — inspired by Jones’ story — that prohibits defense contractors from restricting their employees’ abilities to take workplace discrimination, battery, and sexual assault cases to court… [emphasis original]
I’m not going to vent my anger over this case at you today. You’ve seen it several times before. But I want you to consider something. Given Al Franken’s heroic role in this affair, how good a chance do you think he will have in 2014 when ChickenHawk Cheney’s corporate criminal cronies are allowed to take vengeance against him by pouring $millions into ads against him?
Why is he taking heat from the left? He deserves it!
President Barack Obama’s liberal backers have a long list of grievances. The Guantanamo Bay prison is still open. Health care hasn’t been transformed. And Wall Street banks are still paying huge bonuses.
But they are directing their anger less at Mr. Obama than at the man who works down the hall from him. Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel, they say, is the prime obstacle to the changes they thought Mr. Obama’s election would bring.
The friction was laid bare in August when Mr. Emanuel showed up at a weekly strategy session featuring liberal groups and White House aides. Some attendees said they were planning to air ads attacking conservative Democrats who were balking at Mr. Obama’s health-care overhaul.
"F-ing retarded," Mr. Emanuel scolded the group, according to several participants. He warned them not to alienate lawmakers whose votes would be needed on health care and other top legislative items.
The antipathy reflects deep dissatisfaction on the Democratic left with Mr. Obama’s first year in office, and represents a fracturing of the relationship between the president and the political base that mobilized to elect him. A little more than one year ago, Mr. Obama’s victory led some to predict an era of Democratic dominance.
The anger on the left shows that Mr. Obama is caught in an internal battle over both the course of his administration and the Democratic Party.
Many in the party, particularly in the wake of the loss last week of a Massachusetts Senate seat, contend that the White House should chart a centrist approach focusing on the economy. They point to polls showing Mr. Obama’s approval rating among independent voters has dropped by nearly 20 percentage points since early last year.
The left has gotten some of what it wanted: a ban on torture, an expansion of children’s health insurance and an equal-pay law for women. But liberal activists say those and other measures add up to far less than what they expected… [emphasis added]
To move to the center, Obama would have to take a giant step to the left. The reason that Obama has dropped 20 percentage points with independents is simple. Obama ran on a platform of change. In part due to GOP obstruction, Obama has not delivered. In part due to following the right wing advice of Rahm Emmanuel, and others, Obama has not delivered. Independents see no change, and they do not have the investment in Obama that we progressives do, so of course they are bailing out. Moving to what DINO Neoliberals are calling a centrist approach is moving even further to the right. Nothing he could do will alienate independent voters more. Obama’s Rahm is defective, because Rahm can’t seem to remember why Obama one.
Even the most neophyte computer user knows that when RAM loses it’s ability to remember, you replace it. The same applies to Rahm.
