http://www.slate.com/?id=2302751
This week Dick Cheney invites us all to join him again in a game he likes to play against the rest of us called Tedious Torture Standoff. He continues to assert—this time in his memoir, In My Time—that he has "no regrets" about developing the U.S. torture program, and he continues to argue—as he did this morning on the Today Show—that torturing prisoners is "safe, legal, and effective."
Dick Cheney is living proof that if we are not brave enough to enforce our laws, we will forever be at the mercy of a handful of men.
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
Sarah Palin Appearance at Tea Party Rally in Iowa ‘No Longer Confirmed’ - Danny Yadron
http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2011/08/31/sarah-palin-cancels-appearance-at-tea-party-rally-in-iowa/
Basically this boils down to not wanting to appear anywhere near Christine O'Donnell. When Sarah Palin considers you a joke and optical poison, you really have entered a new world of ridiculousness.
Basically this boils down to not wanting to appear anywhere near Christine O'Donnell. When Sarah Palin considers you a joke and optical poison, you really have entered a new world of ridiculousness.
Obama's three big mistakes - David Frum
http://articles.cnn.com/2011-08-29/opinion/frum.obama.mistakes_1_president-obama-first-stimulus-barack-obama?_s=PM:OPINION
1) Obama deferred to Democrats in Congress on the writing of his fiscal stimulus. He fought for a big total, but he paid much less attention to what was included in the total. The predictable result: a stimulus that most economists condemn as very poorly designed.
2) Obama failed to mobilize the Federal Reserve to support his fiscal stimulus.
3) Obama bet his presidency on the best-case scenario.
and just for good measure:
Yes, he's encountered Republican obstruction. I make no excuse for such behavior by some figures in my party. On the other hand, Obama is hardly the first president in history to encounter obstruction. The difference between Obama and his predecessors: When obstructed, Obama usually yields.
1) Obama deferred to Democrats in Congress on the writing of his fiscal stimulus. He fought for a big total, but he paid much less attention to what was included in the total. The predictable result: a stimulus that most economists condemn as very poorly designed.
2) Obama failed to mobilize the Federal Reserve to support his fiscal stimulus.
3) Obama bet his presidency on the best-case scenario.
and just for good measure:
Yes, he's encountered Republican obstruction. I make no excuse for such behavior by some figures in my party. On the other hand, Obama is hardly the first president in history to encounter obstruction. The difference between Obama and his predecessors: When obstructed, Obama usually yields.
Dozens 'tortured and killed in Syria detention centres' - BBC
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-14726294
It says those who died, including 10 children, were subjected to beatings, burns, electric shocks and other abuse.
The group says it believes all of those who died were arrested after taking part in anti-government protests.
Maybe we're now getting to the stage of hyperbole about the Syrian government, but the fact that this doesn't sound ridiculous should be an indicator of the depravity of the regime there. It's worth noting that they have exceeded the Iranians at this point in subduing their own people, which is saying a lot, and there is literally no going back. Spasmodic violence, like the repression of the Prague Spring for instance, is one thing. A sustained war on your own people is a hard thing to recover from, especially while the world is watching.
It says those who died, including 10 children, were subjected to beatings, burns, electric shocks and other abuse.
The group says it believes all of those who died were arrested after taking part in anti-government protests.
Maybe we're now getting to the stage of hyperbole about the Syrian government, but the fact that this doesn't sound ridiculous should be an indicator of the depravity of the regime there. It's worth noting that they have exceeded the Iranians at this point in subduing their own people, which is saying a lot, and there is literally no going back. Spasmodic violence, like the repression of the Prague Spring for instance, is one thing. A sustained war on your own people is a hard thing to recover from, especially while the world is watching.
Hurricane Cost Seen as Ranking Among Top Ten - Micheal Cooper
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/31/us/31floods.html?_r=2&hp
This is the post-hype story: the hurricane didn't knock New York over so it was dismissed, but the flooding is the worst in a century for much of New England, and much of the $7 - $10 billion is not covered by insurance.
This is the post-hype story: the hurricane didn't knock New York over so it was dismissed, but the flooding is the worst in a century for much of New England, and much of the $7 - $10 billion is not covered by insurance.
Remembering Why Americans Loathe Dick Cheney - Conor Friedersdorf
http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2011/08/why-dick-cheney-left-office-unpopular-and-reviled/244306/
Dick Cheney was a self-aggrandizing criminal who used his knowledge as a Washington insider to subvert both informed public debate about matters of war and peace and to manipulate presidential decisionmaking, sometimes in ways that angered even George W. Bush.
Dick Cheney was a self-aggrandizing criminal who used his knowledge as a Washington insider to subvert both informed public debate about matters of war and peace and to manipulate presidential decisionmaking, sometimes in ways that angered even George W. Bush.
Never-Wrong Pundit Picks Obama to Win in 2012 - Paul Bedard , Lauren Fox
http://www.usnews.com/news/blogs/washington-whispers/2011/08/30/never-wrong-pundit-picks-obama-to-win-in-2012
Working for the president are several of Lichtman’s keys, tops among them incumbency and the scandal-free nature of his administration.Undermining his re-election is a lack of charisma and leadership on key issues, says Lichtman, even including healthcare, Obama’s crowning achievement.
Lichtman developed his 13 Keys in 1981. They test the performance of the party that holds the presidency. If six or more of the 13 keys go against the party in power, then the opposing party wins.
Working for the president are several of Lichtman’s keys, tops among them incumbency and the scandal-free nature of his administration.Undermining his re-election is a lack of charisma and leadership on key issues, says Lichtman, even including healthcare, Obama’s crowning achievement.
Lichtman developed his 13 Keys in 1981. They test the performance of the party that holds the presidency. If six or more of the 13 keys go against the party in power, then the opposing party wins.
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
Rick Perry Is A Lot Closer To The 2012 GOP Presidential Nomination Than You Think - John Ellis
http://www.businessinsider.com/rick-perry-is-a-lot-closer-to-the-2012-gop-presidential-nomination-than-you-think-2011-8?op=1
Romney's problem is four-fold: he's politically "fungible" (to put it politely), he's from the wrong region of the country (New England), he's of the wrong religion (Mormonism) and he's too closely identified with Wall Street (Bain Capital). The Republican base would prefer to nominate a strong conservative, evangelical Christian from the Sunbelt who, at the least, shares their disdain for Wall Street's reckless stewardship of the nation's financial system.
Romney's problem is four-fold: he's politically "fungible" (to put it politely), he's from the wrong region of the country (New England), he's of the wrong religion (Mormonism) and he's too closely identified with Wall Street (Bain Capital). The Republican base would prefer to nominate a strong conservative, evangelical Christian from the Sunbelt who, at the least, shares their disdain for Wall Street's reckless stewardship of the nation's financial system.
Nary a “philosopher king”: The long road from Plato to American politics - Louis René Beres
http://blog.oup.com/2011/08/philosopher-king/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+oupblog+%28OUPblog%29&utm_content=Google+Reader
The story is told of an admiring friend who charms a young mother, “My, that’s a beautiful baby you have there.” The mother replies, “Oh, that’s nothing — you should see his photograph.” In this obviously weird colloquy lies a sorely bitter truth.
Routinely, in all politics, we Americans are presented not with authentic individuals, but with choreographed reproductions. Inevitably, to our chagrin, we discover that these carefully touched up images disguise a multitude of virulent pathologies. In a stunning, if unwitting, misunderstanding of Plato’s thought, which explicitly emphasizes the core reality of ideas, most Americans now fully accept this very odd substitution of image for reality.
Maybe summed up best by a marketing axiom: Republicans want authenticity and little else, Democrats want optimism. Either can be faked and manipulated more easily than just about any other product feature, especially when all the actual features are flawed or don't work as promised.
The story is told of an admiring friend who charms a young mother, “My, that’s a beautiful baby you have there.” The mother replies, “Oh, that’s nothing — you should see his photograph.” In this obviously weird colloquy lies a sorely bitter truth.
Routinely, in all politics, we Americans are presented not with authentic individuals, but with choreographed reproductions. Inevitably, to our chagrin, we discover that these carefully touched up images disguise a multitude of virulent pathologies. In a stunning, if unwitting, misunderstanding of Plato’s thought, which explicitly emphasizes the core reality of ideas, most Americans now fully accept this very odd substitution of image for reality.
Maybe summed up best by a marketing axiom: Republicans want authenticity and little else, Democrats want optimism. Either can be faked and manipulated more easily than just about any other product feature, especially when all the actual features are flawed or don't work as promised.
Why We Need Taiwan - John F Copper
http://nationalinterest.org/commentary/why-we-need-taiwan-5815
China’s reunification of Taiwan will be its Wounded Knee. It will no longer need to focus on territorial matters and will doubtless look to realize power ambitions further from its shores.
Its navy has already, for twenty years, been the benefactor of large budget increases (bigger than the air force or army), indicating China’s naval power (enhanced by the recent addition of an aircraft carrier) is ready to break out.
If the 21st century is to be the Chinese century, how can they proceed with the Taiwanese question unanswered? Without Taiwanese acquiescence, the Chinese cannot proceed, psychologically or geographically. That means that at some point in the next thirty years or so there is either a confrontation or humiliating resolution between the Chinese and the Americans.
China’s reunification of Taiwan will be its Wounded Knee. It will no longer need to focus on territorial matters and will doubtless look to realize power ambitions further from its shores.
Its navy has already, for twenty years, been the benefactor of large budget increases (bigger than the air force or army), indicating China’s naval power (enhanced by the recent addition of an aircraft carrier) is ready to break out.
If the 21st century is to be the Chinese century, how can they proceed with the Taiwanese question unanswered? Without Taiwanese acquiescence, the Chinese cannot proceed, psychologically or geographically. That means that at some point in the next thirty years or so there is either a confrontation or humiliating resolution between the Chinese and the Americans.
We’re All Cheneyites Now - Zev Chafets
http://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/2011/08/28/dick-cheney-defends-his-legacy-in-new-book-in-my-time.html
But he’s still fighting the good fight—taking shots in the book at members of the national-security team who didn’t share his Manichaean view. George Tenet let the president down by bailing under fire, in Cheney’s telling; Condi Rice was wobbly on Iraq and suspect in her dealings with North Korea (Rice can return fire this fall, when her own book comes out). He’s rough on Colin Powell: “It was as though he thought the proper way to express his views was by criticizing administration policy to people outside the government.
So Barack Obama continued a policy set for him in Afghanistan and Guantanamo. That hardly equates him with a man whose blunders and incompetence set the stage for the Tea Party and caused a generation to wholly reject the 1990-2006 model of the Republican party. This man personally, literally his motions and ideas, gave rise to the Tea Party and all that came with it. How he constantly returns from the dead to croak about this or that and is roundly cheered is beyond me.
For whatever reason he is the GOP Luca Brasi, but the truth is that the people rejected him and blamed him for his failures. His popularity is a perfect example of the absurdity of the modern GOP: I hate your ideas, but because you drive liberals nuts, you are great and should have your ideas implemented.
But he’s still fighting the good fight—taking shots in the book at members of the national-security team who didn’t share his Manichaean view. George Tenet let the president down by bailing under fire, in Cheney’s telling; Condi Rice was wobbly on Iraq and suspect in her dealings with North Korea (Rice can return fire this fall, when her own book comes out). He’s rough on Colin Powell: “It was as though he thought the proper way to express his views was by criticizing administration policy to people outside the government.
So Barack Obama continued a policy set for him in Afghanistan and Guantanamo. That hardly equates him with a man whose blunders and incompetence set the stage for the Tea Party and caused a generation to wholly reject the 1990-2006 model of the Republican party. This man personally, literally his motions and ideas, gave rise to the Tea Party and all that came with it. How he constantly returns from the dead to croak about this or that and is roundly cheered is beyond me.
For whatever reason he is the GOP Luca Brasi, but the truth is that the people rejected him and blamed him for his failures. His popularity is a perfect example of the absurdity of the modern GOP: I hate your ideas, but because you drive liberals nuts, you are great and should have your ideas implemented.
Libya rebels demand Algeria return Gaddafi family - Samia Nakhoul
http://af.reuters.com/article/topNews/idAFJOE77T00320110830?sp=true
Whether or not Gaddafi is hiding in Sirte to make a last stand, the city would be a strategic and symbolic prize for Libya's new rulers as they tighten their grip on the vast North African country.
Rebel forces were advancing towards Sirte from east and west even as negotiations continued for its surrender. Their eastern column had pushed past the village of Bin Jawad and secured the Nawfaliya junction By Monday.
Marwan Mustapha, an ambulance worker at Nawfaliya, said: "God willing, the rebels will enter the city without bloodshed and the negotiations will have succeeded. But if they have to enter by force, there will be blood."
Whether or not Gaddafi is hiding in Sirte to make a last stand, the city would be a strategic and symbolic prize for Libya's new rulers as they tighten their grip on the vast North African country.
Rebel forces were advancing towards Sirte from east and west even as negotiations continued for its surrender. Their eastern column had pushed past the village of Bin Jawad and secured the Nawfaliya junction By Monday.
Marwan Mustapha, an ambulance worker at Nawfaliya, said: "God willing, the rebels will enter the city without bloodshed and the negotiations will have succeeded. But if they have to enter by force, there will be blood."
Storm’s Push North Leaves Punishing Inland Floods - ABBY GOODNOUGH and DANNY HAKIM
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/30/us/30vermont.html?_r=1&partner=rss&emc=rss
While most eyes warily watched the shoreline during Hurricane Irene’s grinding ride up the East Coast, it was inland — sometimes hundreds of miles inland — where the most serious damage actually occurred. And the major culprit was not wind, but water.
As blue skies and temperate breezes returned on Monday, a clearer picture of the storm’s devastation emerged, with the gravest consequences stemming from river flooding in Vermont and upstate New York.
While most eyes warily watched the shoreline during Hurricane Irene’s grinding ride up the East Coast, it was inland — sometimes hundreds of miles inland — where the most serious damage actually occurred. And the major culprit was not wind, but water.
As blue skies and temperate breezes returned on Monday, a clearer picture of the storm’s devastation emerged, with the gravest consequences stemming from river flooding in Vermont and upstate New York.
Romney’s plan to beat Perry - Marc A. Thiessen
http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/romneys-plan-to-beat-perry/2011/08/29/gIQAKbaRnJ_story.html
Why should Romney attack Perry directly when the Democrats, the liberal media and Michele Bachmann will do it for him? Romney’s strategists note that Perry will have to survive five debates in six weeks — ample opportunity for Bachmann to “rip his eyes out” (as she did to Tim Pawlenty) or for Perry to blow himself up.
Keep in mind that Marc Thiessen is a massive douchebag and a card-carrying member of the conservative cynic class, formerly pumping whatever white evangelicals would believe in order to fund wars and keep taxes low. Now that the cynic class watches Rick Perry kick their guy into a coma, they started to attempt to thread a needle while in a full blown panic: how to defeat Rick Perry while not criticizing him. They managed to semi-marginalize Sister Sarah and Crazy Michele, but Perry is a freight train. How do they tear him down while attempting to appear to like him? Point out that he can never win. Exactly why they kept the John Birch wing in the back of the bus for so long.
Until now.
Why should Romney attack Perry directly when the Democrats, the liberal media and Michele Bachmann will do it for him? Romney’s strategists note that Perry will have to survive five debates in six weeks — ample opportunity for Bachmann to “rip his eyes out” (as she did to Tim Pawlenty) or for Perry to blow himself up.
Keep in mind that Marc Thiessen is a massive douchebag and a card-carrying member of the conservative cynic class, formerly pumping whatever white evangelicals would believe in order to fund wars and keep taxes low. Now that the cynic class watches Rick Perry kick their guy into a coma, they started to attempt to thread a needle while in a full blown panic: how to defeat Rick Perry while not criticizing him. They managed to semi-marginalize Sister Sarah and Crazy Michele, but Perry is a freight train. How do they tear him down while attempting to appear to like him? Point out that he can never win. Exactly why they kept the John Birch wing in the back of the bus for so long.
Until now.
Not Helping - Ta-Nehisi Coates
http://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2011/08/not-helping/244260/
It's worth remember that people brought their spouses and children to lynchings, that they kept gory reminders of the work on store counters. I'm sure many of these people were good parents, good spouses and deeply committed to their society. But it's much more comforting to imagine them racists as Lex Luthor evil and Jeffrey Dahmer depraved
For if we admit that racists--and by extension homophobes and misogynists--are not some alien species, but that they walk among us, then we must also admit that we are subject to looking past their flaws, and that we, ourselves, are subject to the same impulses. And then finally we must begin to see how easily we could have lived, in that time, and done nothing. Or done something horrible.
Monday, August 29, 2011
Michele Bachmann: Natural disasters a warning to D.C. - ALEXANDER BURNS
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0811/62217.html
"I don't know how much God has to do to get the attention of the politicians. We've had an earthquake; we've had a hurricane. He said, 'Are you going to start listening to me here?' Listen to the American people because the American people are roaring right now. They know government is on a morbid obesity diet and we've got to rein in the spending."
"I don't know how much God has to do to get the attention of the politicians. We've had an earthquake; we've had a hurricane. He said, 'Are you going to start listening to me here?' Listen to the American people because the American people are roaring right now. They know government is on a morbid obesity diet and we've got to rein in the spending."
CNN's Robertson on finding Lockerbie bomber - Nic Roberston
http://edition.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/africa/08/28/libya.lockerbie.robertson/
As I walk up the grand staircase towards the front door, I'm mentally composing my questions -- what I'll ask Abdel Basset al-Megrahi first. Did you do it? Did Gadhafi give you the orders?
I've been waiting for the moment for a long time.
As I walk up the grand staircase towards the front door, I'm mentally composing my questions -- what I'll ask Abdel Basset al-Megrahi first. Did you do it? Did Gadhafi give you the orders?
I've been waiting for the moment for a long time.
Perry calls Social Security 'monstrous lie' - PEGGY FIKAC
http://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/article/Perry-calls-Social-Security-a-monstrous-lie-for-2144460.php
More worrisome than that:
On foreign policy, Perry when asked about Israel cited a statement by Obama that Israel-Palestine borders should be based on the 1967 lines with mutually agreed swaps - a position Perry called "throwing Israel under the bus."
"I'm going to stand with Israel," he said.
Asked whether he'd consider preemptive strikes on Iran's nuclear facilities, Perry said there are "a lot of different ways to deal with Iran," including diplomatically and financially, But he added, "I'm never going to take off the table our ability to have a military solution to a country like Iran."
The image of Perry in control of military decisions and military action is a chilling specter. If he executed a man who might have been innocent, just so he could appear "tough", how do you like the prospect of that man deciding whether your country will be at war?
More worrisome than that:
On foreign policy, Perry when asked about Israel cited a statement by Obama that Israel-Palestine borders should be based on the 1967 lines with mutually agreed swaps - a position Perry called "throwing Israel under the bus."
"I'm going to stand with Israel," he said.
Asked whether he'd consider preemptive strikes on Iran's nuclear facilities, Perry said there are "a lot of different ways to deal with Iran," including diplomatically and financially, But he added, "I'm never going to take off the table our ability to have a military solution to a country like Iran."
The image of Perry in control of military decisions and military action is a chilling specter. If he executed a man who might have been innocent, just so he could appear "tough", how do you like the prospect of that man deciding whether your country will be at war?
Sunday, August 28, 2011
Musing on Apple Building a Television - Jeremy Toeman
http://www.livedigitally.com/2011/08/26/musing-on-apple-building-a-television/
People also need to remember that ten years ago Apple was on the ropes. Apple is not infallible.
I get wanting to enter the TV business, as Apple wants to conquer the family room and be the "hub" of family entertainment and communication. The Apple TV would offer that, plus make using only Apple's exclusive services that much easier, like iTunes and iTV.
As Toeman points out, TVs are a low margin business with a long replacement cycle (getting a new television every 7 to 8 years is the norm), not Apple's usual forte. But the TV business is not the business they are going for, it's the loss leader. The business is the services and the bundles that would, in theory, emanate from a singular hub that run's a family's entertainment menu and their communications like phones and e-mail. What Apple wants, what everyone wants, is to have such a foothold in the family room that then they can dictate to producers of entertainment what the terms will be, or else those producers are shut out of the market. That is the business they are going for, one which they are willing to lose some dollars on gaining that foothold.
People also need to remember that ten years ago Apple was on the ropes. Apple is not infallible.
I get wanting to enter the TV business, as Apple wants to conquer the family room and be the "hub" of family entertainment and communication. The Apple TV would offer that, plus make using only Apple's exclusive services that much easier, like iTunes and iTV.
As Toeman points out, TVs are a low margin business with a long replacement cycle (getting a new television every 7 to 8 years is the norm), not Apple's usual forte. But the TV business is not the business they are going for, it's the loss leader. The business is the services and the bundles that would, in theory, emanate from a singular hub that run's a family's entertainment menu and their communications like phones and e-mail. What Apple wants, what everyone wants, is to have such a foothold in the family room that then they can dictate to producers of entertainment what the terms will be, or else those producers are shut out of the market. That is the business they are going for, one which they are willing to lose some dollars on gaining that foothold.
Apple kills TV rentals, subscription offer not coming - By: Greg Sandoval
http://news.cnet.com/8301-31001_3-20098058-261/apple-kills-tv-rentals-subscription-offer-not-coming/
Despite Apple's best efforts, most of the top networks weren't willing to offer shows for that price. News Corp.-owned Fox Television and Disney's ABC were the only two majors that were involved and even they offered a limited amount of content at 99 cents.
Despite Apple's best efforts, most of the top networks weren't willing to offer shows for that price. News Corp.-owned Fox Television and Disney's ABC were the only two majors that were involved and even they offered a limited amount of content at 99 cents.
US official: Al-Qaida's No. 2 killed in Pakistan - MATT APUZZO
http://news.yahoo.com/us-official-al-qaidas-no-2-killed-pakistan-171822400.html
Al-Rahman was killed Aug. 22 in the lawless Pakistani tribal region of Waziristan, according to a senior administration who also insisted on anonymity to discuss intelligence issues.
The official would not say how al-Rahman was killed. But his death came on the same day that a CIA drone strike was reported in Waziristan. Such strikes by unmanned aircraft are Washington's weapon of choice for killing terrorists in the mountainous, hard-to-reach area along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border.
Rahman has been thought to be dead before. Last year, there were reports that Rahman was killed in a drone strike but neither senior U.S. administration officials nor al-Qaida ever confirmed them.
Al-Rahman, believed to be in his mid-30s, was a close confidant of bin Laden and once served as bin Laden's emissary to Iran.
BREAKING: Perry Says He Hasn’t ‘Backed Off Anything’ In His Book, Still Thinks Social Security Is Unconstitutional - Scott Keyes
http://thinkprogress.org/politics/2011/08/27/306126/rick-perry-social-security-still-unconstitutional/
KEYES: But should states-rights supporters be worried that, as governor you said that Social Security is not something that falls in the purview of the federal government, but in your campaign, have backed off that?
PERRY: I haven’t backed off anything in my book. Read the book again, get it right. Next question.
Friday, August 26, 2011
Tougher Questions for the Candidates - Bill Keller
http://6thfloor.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/08/25/tougher-questions-for-the-candidates/
This is an excellent piece making the rounds of the interweb. Tough but fair questions for the candidates.
This is an excellent piece making the rounds of the interweb. Tough but fair questions for the candidates.
Clock ticking on Sarah Palin entry into 2012 presidential race - MOLLY BALL
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0811/62090.html
“Getting closer to making a decision, of course, for legal reasons, for practical reasons,” she told Fox News’s Sean Hannity earlier this month. “But I still haven’t made up my mind yet, Sean.”
Just run and lose dammit!
“Getting closer to making a decision, of course, for legal reasons, for practical reasons,” she told Fox News’s Sean Hannity earlier this month. “But I still haven’t made up my mind yet, Sean.”
Just run and lose dammit!
Nikki Haley joins Michele Bachmann town hall - MARIN COGAN
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0811/62105.html
This is somewhat significanteven though this is not an endoresement. It takes an endorsement off the board for Rick Pery and, in theory, Sarah Palin.
This is somewhat significanteven though this is not an endoresement. It takes an endorsement off the board for Rick Pery and, in theory, Sarah Palin.
Gaddafi's desperate bid to save regime revealed - Luke Harding
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/aug/25/libya-letters-gaddafi-nato-obama
I finally understand why ancient kings killed themselves before capture. At this point he is hiding in a tunnel like a rat. Telling, but still.
I finally understand why ancient kings killed themselves before capture. At this point he is hiding in a tunnel like a rat. Telling, but still.
Will Rick Perry’s ‘Homosexuality Is Like Alcoholism’ Comparison Hinder His Campaign? - Igor Volsky
http://thinkprogress.org/lgbt/2011/08/25/304588/will-rick-perrys-homophobia-is-like-alcoholism-comparison-hinder-his-campaign/
Not until it counts. That is, not until the general election. This question will almost have to come up in a debate or one of the Sunday talkers. But, what if Perry rips a page from Sarah and simply never goes into a non-scripted interview? How would that hurt him?
Not until it counts. That is, not until the general election. This question will almost have to come up in a debate or one of the Sunday talkers. But, what if Perry rips a page from Sarah and simply never goes into a non-scripted interview? How would that hurt him?
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
Is Ireland A Model For How The West Can Recover? - Die Welt
http://www.worldcrunch.com/ireland-model-how-west-can-recover/3566
Lower salaries and a well-structured bailout have made Ireland competitive again, though its export-driven growth is still vulnerable to the fallout of a reeling world economy. Looking for signs of a way out for us all.
Lower salaries and a well-structured bailout have made Ireland competitive again, though its export-driven growth is still vulnerable to the fallout of a reeling world economy. Looking for signs of a way out for us all.
Perry campaign distances him from book’s call for repeal of 16th Amendment - Greg Sargent
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line/post/perry-campaign-distances-him-from-books-call-for-repeal-of-16th-amendment/2011/03/03/gIQA9gkFZJ_blog.html
This is the second time the Perry camp has distanced him from his own book’s assertions. Yesterday the campaign clarified that his book’s suggestion that Social Security might be unconstitutional did not reflect Perry’s current views or his prescription for the program’s future.
A couple of observations:
1) This book was essentially Rick Perry's policy handbook for his presidential run. Rick Perry may have only been officially running for president for a few weeks, but in reality he has been running since the summer of 2010. This book, released in a more radical atmosphere, was his case to be elected president.
2) The book is only nine months old. This was not something he wrote in college that he can disavow as a misguided youth. He literally just wrote it.
Famously, he recenly stuffed a popover in his mouth at a New Hampshire bakery when asked about his book's solution for Social Security, pleading that he could not answer because his mouth was full. I hope for his sake they serve popovers at the debates.
This is the second time the Perry camp has distanced him from his own book’s assertions. Yesterday the campaign clarified that his book’s suggestion that Social Security might be unconstitutional did not reflect Perry’s current views or his prescription for the program’s future.
A couple of observations:
1) This book was essentially Rick Perry's policy handbook for his presidential run. Rick Perry may have only been officially running for president for a few weeks, but in reality he has been running since the summer of 2010. This book, released in a more radical atmosphere, was his case to be elected president.
2) The book is only nine months old. This was not something he wrote in college that he can disavow as a misguided youth. He literally just wrote it.
Famously, he recenly stuffed a popover in his mouth at a New Hampshire bakery when asked about his book's solution for Social Security, pleading that he could not answer because his mouth was full. I hope for his sake they serve popovers at the debates.
Party Ends at For-Profit Schools - MELISSA KORN
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424053111904279004576524660236401644.html
For-profit colleges are facing a tough test: getting new students to enroll.
New-student enrollments have plunged—in some cases by more than 45%—in recent months, reflecting two factors: Companies have pulled back on aggressive recruiting practices amid criticism over their high student-loan default rates. And many would-be students are questioning the potential pay-off for degrees that can cost considerably more than what's available at local community colleges.
If the mission at these schools were to provide an affordable college degree to people whose location, background, or schedule prevented a traditional path to a degree, I would be saddened by this news. But their real mission was essentially to route money from the federal government, via loans, grants, and other forms of student aid, to their shareholders. The default rates on these loans were substantially higher than default rates for loans on traditional education and the dropout rates for these students much, much higher. The schools couldn't have cared less, nor did the banks making these loans. Unlike mortgages, you can't escape these debts in bankruptcy. So the unholy combination of these two factos has led to a 500% increase in student debt just in the last 10 years.
So instead I welcome this news, as both a moral person and a taxpayer.
For-profit colleges are facing a tough test: getting new students to enroll.
New-student enrollments have plunged—in some cases by more than 45%—in recent months, reflecting two factors: Companies have pulled back on aggressive recruiting practices amid criticism over their high student-loan default rates. And many would-be students are questioning the potential pay-off for degrees that can cost considerably more than what's available at local community colleges.
If the mission at these schools were to provide an affordable college degree to people whose location, background, or schedule prevented a traditional path to a degree, I would be saddened by this news. But their real mission was essentially to route money from the federal government, via loans, grants, and other forms of student aid, to their shareholders. The default rates on these loans were substantially higher than default rates for loans on traditional education and the dropout rates for these students much, much higher. The schools couldn't have cared less, nor did the banks making these loans. Unlike mortgages, you can't escape these debts in bankruptcy. So the unholy combination of these two factos has led to a 500% increase in student debt just in the last 10 years.
So instead I welcome this news, as both a moral person and a taxpayer.
How to make Sarah Palin disappear - By Steve Kornacki
http://www.salon.com/news/2012_elections/index.html?story=/politics/war_room/2011/08/23/sarah_palin_2012
Rove may just have been trying to spoil the campaign rollout of his old nemesis, Rick Perry, and Palin is now tamping down the speculation.
Which is sort of a shame. Because if you're tired of all of this, and if you're tired of all of the media oxygen that the former half-term Alaska governor still manages to consume, then you really should be hoping that Palin actually does get into the race: It may be the best way of making her disappear for good.
Why? Because a presidential campaign would almost certainly end in defeat for Palin. And not just any kind of defeat -- epic, humiliating defeat, the sort of disaster that might once and for all convince the political and media worlds that the empress has no clothes.
Rove may just have been trying to spoil the campaign rollout of his old nemesis, Rick Perry, and Palin is now tamping down the speculation.
Which is sort of a shame. Because if you're tired of all of this, and if you're tired of all of the media oxygen that the former half-term Alaska governor still manages to consume, then you really should be hoping that Palin actually does get into the race: It may be the best way of making her disappear for good.
Why? Because a presidential campaign would almost certainly end in defeat for Palin. And not just any kind of defeat -- epic, humiliating defeat, the sort of disaster that might once and for all convince the political and media worlds that the empress has no clothes.
Perry Leads Romney Nationally By Double-Digits - Bluegrass Pundit
http://www.bluegrasspundit.com/2011/08/perry-leads-romney-nationally-by-double.html
PPP is set to release a poll showing Perry in "double-digit" lead over Romney. Perry also just took the lead in Iowa.
In John Heilman's piece a few days ago he commented that Perry is the perfect candidate for the GOP. he sets a perfect contrast between the moderates and the tea-vangeleicals. How Mitt Romney reacts to this challenge will tell us a lot about him. It will also tell us a lot about how the Republican voter has changed (or not changed) since 2008.
It looks like we have our answer.
PPP is set to release a poll showing Perry in "double-digit" lead over Romney. Perry also just took the lead in Iowa.
In John Heilman's piece a few days ago he commented that Perry is the perfect candidate for the GOP. he sets a perfect contrast between the moderates and the tea-vangeleicals. How Mitt Romney reacts to this challenge will tell us a lot about him. It will also tell us a lot about how the Republican voter has changed (or not changed) since 2008.
It looks like we have our answer.
Tuesday, August 23, 2011
Perry's New Image Problem - Ben Sherman
http://www.burntorangereport.com/diary/11309/perrys-new-image-problem
Last week, Perry literally stuffed his mouth to avoid answering a direct question about another crucial issue. At restaurant Popovers on the Square in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, a local resident asked Perry whether he believes Social Security is unconstitutional.
"Social Security's going to be there for those folks," Perry answered.
"But you said Social Security is unconstitutional," his questioner repeated.
"I don't think I -- I'm sorry, you must have," Perry said before stopping himself.
Instead of answering the simple question, Perry stuffed a huge piece of popover in his mouth. "I've got a big mouthful," Perry mumbled, ordering a glass of water and then walking away.
Last week, Perry literally stuffed his mouth to avoid answering a direct question about another crucial issue. At restaurant Popovers on the Square in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, a local resident asked Perry whether he believes Social Security is unconstitutional.
"Social Security's going to be there for those folks," Perry answered.
"But you said Social Security is unconstitutional," his questioner repeated.
"I don't think I -- I'm sorry, you must have," Perry said before stopping himself.
Instead of answering the simple question, Perry stuffed a huge piece of popover in his mouth. "I've got a big mouthful," Perry mumbled, ordering a glass of water and then walking away.
Will Palin be in by Labor Day? 'I doubt it' - Peter Hamby
http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2011/08/22/will-palin-be-in-by-labor-day-i-doubt-it/
At some point she just becomes a private citizen traipsing around Iowa, making videos about herself and her patriotism, and showing up a rallies. Scratch that, being the subject of rallies. She had a movie come out, a campaign commercial about herself, set off on a nationwide tour that ended up in Iowa of all states (plainly because of where the national political media is), and constantly says she's coming to a decision about running for the presidency. I think the odds are better than 50-50 at this point, though Karl Rove does not know anything more than you or I, but Sarah Palin is flighty and stupid, so how can you predict what can happen?
At some point she just becomes a private citizen traipsing around Iowa, making videos about herself and her patriotism, and showing up a rallies. Scratch that, being the subject of rallies. She had a movie come out, a campaign commercial about herself, set off on a nationwide tour that ended up in Iowa of all states (plainly because of where the national political media is), and constantly says she's coming to a decision about running for the presidency. I think the odds are better than 50-50 at this point, though Karl Rove does not know anything more than you or I, but Sarah Palin is flighty and stupid, so how can you predict what can happen?
Obama in Close Race Against Romney, Perry, Bachmann, Paul - Frank Newport
http://www.gallup.com/poll/149114/Obama-Close-Race-Against-Romney-Perry-Bachmann-Paul.aspx
Obama is vulnerable, but only Romney was able to best him in this poll. That's a bad sign as the real question poll takers are hearing is "do you think Obama is doing a satisfactory job?" 46% against Romney is not a bad place to start, and his meager leads against the other candidates is, as I stated, more of a contrast with how you feel about his job as President, and also before any of them have had a run through the gauntlet of a bruising campaign.
Michele Bachman ain't getting 40% in a general election. That I can tell you.
Obama is vulnerable, but only Romney was able to best him in this poll. That's a bad sign as the real question poll takers are hearing is "do you think Obama is doing a satisfactory job?" 46% against Romney is not a bad place to start, and his meager leads against the other candidates is, as I stated, more of a contrast with how you feel about his job as President, and also before any of them have had a run through the gauntlet of a bruising campaign.
Michele Bachman ain't getting 40% in a general election. That I can tell you.
Blankfein Lawyers Up - Nomi Prins
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2011/08/23/lloyd-blankfein-why-goldman-sachs-ceo-hired-lawyer-reid-weingarten.html
The top lesson I learned before leaving Goldman in the wake of Enron was Goldman’s foremost internal policy is to protect Goldman. It’s also to protect the most powerful members. When cracks manifest in the corporate armor, those two policies are at odds.
The executives running Goldman are exceedingly wealthy, not least because when the firm faced its darkest hour and lowest stock price in years during the bank-created crisis of fall 2008, the government provided it billions of dollars in the form of cheap loans, FDIC debt guarantees, TARP, AIG make-wholes, and a late-night moniker change from investment bank to bank holding company, giving the firm access to excessive Federal Reserve aid.
Goldman's stock plunged 4% in 15 minutes upon news that their executives had retained lawyers, just as the market closed and erasing much of the S&P 500 rally that took place yesterday.
Goldman's stock plunged 4% in 15 minutes upon news that their executives had retained lawyers, just as the market closed and erasing much of the S&P 500 rally that took place yesterday.
Libya: the hunt is on for Col Gaddafi - Martin Evans
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/libya/8716572/Libya-the-hunt-is-on-for-Col-Gaddafi.html
With thousands of miles of hidden tunnels criss-crossing Libya, Gaddafi and his supporters would be able to move quickly and undetected around Tripoli and beyond.
The tunnels were built in the mid-1980s as part of a vast irrigation project, but intelligence experts believe they have been used more effectively as a way of transporting troops and weapons around the country.
If Gaddafi has left Libya, one of the most likely places for him to head would be to the western city of Sirte, where he was born and where he still enjoys widespread support.
With thousands of miles of hidden tunnels criss-crossing Libya, Gaddafi and his supporters would be able to move quickly and undetected around Tripoli and beyond.
The tunnels were built in the mid-1980s as part of a vast irrigation project, but intelligence experts believe they have been used more effectively as a way of transporting troops and weapons around the country.
If Gaddafi has left Libya, one of the most likely places for him to head would be to the western city of Sirte, where he was born and where he still enjoys widespread support.
Monday, August 22, 2011
Rove: Palin will run - Byron York
http://campaign2012.washingtonexaminer.com/blogs/beltway-confidential/rove-palin-will-run
Rove is tyring to goad her into running, and Byron York is glad to help him. If Palin runs, her power is destroyed. Right now she is always a moving target, free to spout vapid platitudes and nonsense without many repurcussions. If she runs she has to sit still and answer questions, participate in debates. She has to become a solid, if you will. No longer will she be able to interfere with the spotlight at her leisure if she runs, she will have her schedule set for her, she will have to be certain places, and she will have to answer the question that is being asked. Plus, Hannity won't be able to treat her as nicely.
If she runs it will be a hilario-tragedy as she burns and self destructs within 30 days. She won't have piles of people helping her in debate prep. It will be all her. But if she does not run her act becomes tiresome as she keeps ending up where the press is, maybe making her look a little desperate fo attention, which she is, but the moment she needs the media more than they need her is a tremendous turn of the tables.
Rove is tyring to goad her into running, and Byron York is glad to help him. If Palin runs, her power is destroyed. Right now she is always a moving target, free to spout vapid platitudes and nonsense without many repurcussions. If she runs she has to sit still and answer questions, participate in debates. She has to become a solid, if you will. No longer will she be able to interfere with the spotlight at her leisure if she runs, she will have her schedule set for her, she will have to be certain places, and she will have to answer the question that is being asked. Plus, Hannity won't be able to treat her as nicely.
If she runs it will be a hilario-tragedy as she burns and self destructs within 30 days. She won't have piles of people helping her in debate prep. It will be all her. But if she does not run her act becomes tiresome as she keeps ending up where the press is, maybe making her look a little desperate fo attention, which she is, but the moment she needs the media more than they need her is a tremendous turn of the tables.
The Great Tripoli Uprising - Juan Cole
http://www.juancole.com/2011/08/the-great-tripoli-uprising.html
One of my favorite Middle Eastern experts comments on events.
One of my favorite Middle Eastern experts comments on events.
Barrage of rockets from Gaza strike Israel; sites in Gaza targeted
http://www.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/meast/08/21/israel.violence/
The rockets and mortars fired from Gaza on Saturday forced more than 500,000 people into bomb shelters, Israeli defense officials said.
Thursday's string of attacks was the deadliest against the Israeli population in two years.
The attacks occurred about 20 kilometers (12 miles) from the Israeli city of Eilat, close to the Israeli-Egyptian border. Israeli soldiers exchanged gunfire with the assailants and killed seven militants, the military said.
Early Saturday, the Hamas military wing Izzedine al Qassam Brigades, announced it was ending a de facto two-year truce with Israel.
The infiltrators came from Egypt, according to repoirts, explaining a lot of what Israel had to be concerned about when Mubarak fell. While Israel's old enemies Egypt and Syria are weakened militarily by events, the danger to Israel actually increases. No longer is the threat from an armored invasion, but from internal protests coupled with chaos on their borders.
The rockets and mortars fired from Gaza on Saturday forced more than 500,000 people into bomb shelters, Israeli defense officials said.
Thursday's string of attacks was the deadliest against the Israeli population in two years.
The attacks occurred about 20 kilometers (12 miles) from the Israeli city of Eilat, close to the Israeli-Egyptian border. Israeli soldiers exchanged gunfire with the assailants and killed seven militants, the military said.
Early Saturday, the Hamas military wing Izzedine al Qassam Brigades, announced it was ending a de facto two-year truce with Israel.
The infiltrators came from Egypt, according to repoirts, explaining a lot of what Israel had to be concerned about when Mubarak fell. While Israel's old enemies Egypt and Syria are weakened militarily by events, the danger to Israel actually increases. No longer is the threat from an armored invasion, but from internal protests coupled with chaos on their borders.
Wall Street Aristocracy Got $1.2 Trillion in Loans from Fed - Bradley Keoun and Phil Kuntz
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-08-21/wall-street-aristocracy-got-1-2-trillion-in-fed-s-secret-loans.html
This story will fall under the radar because of the events in Libya, but it's a scandal level revelation. Many if not all of the largest Wall Street banks took a total of $1.2 trillion (!) in loans as the melt down hit full stride in 2008. That's larger than TARP. That's as much as the 6 million mortgages in default or foreclosure added together. Further, peruse the list and see how many of these banks made over a billion in profits last year.
This story will fall under the radar because of the events in Libya, but it's a scandal level revelation. Many if not all of the largest Wall Street banks took a total of $1.2 trillion (!) in loans as the melt down hit full stride in 2008. That's larger than TARP. That's as much as the 6 million mortgages in default or foreclosure added together. Further, peruse the list and see how many of these banks made over a billion in profits last year.
How you know the fight is over
http://twitter.com/#!/matthewwprice
The overall picture in Tripoli is patchy. There are certainly large areas, where the opposition is in control. But some areas are still under government control. However, one of the most vivid signs of the collapse of the Gaddafi regime is that government employees have been slowly leaving our hotel - the place from where Libya's state TV has been broadcasting.
The overall picture in Tripoli is patchy. There are certainly large areas, where the opposition is in control. But some areas are still under government control. However, one of the most vivid signs of the collapse of the Gaddafi regime is that government employees have been slowly leaving our hotel - the place from where Libya's state TV has been broadcasting.
Fighting rages near Gaddafi's compound
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/africa/2011/08/201182261941319259.html
The final fall of Lybia. Not only am I pleased I was wrong about how this resolved, I'm just pleased that a tyrant has fallen. I am also amazed at the speed with which the regime forces simply melted away. Perhaps it was fear as they watched thousands stream into the city, or perhaps Qaddhafy ran out of money to pay them. Whatever the conditions, the results are magnificent.
The final fall of Lybia. Not only am I pleased I was wrong about how this resolved, I'm just pleased that a tyrant has fallen. I am also amazed at the speed with which the regime forces simply melted away. Perhaps it was fear as they watched thousands stream into the city, or perhaps Qaddhafy ran out of money to pay them. Whatever the conditions, the results are magnificent.
Sunday, August 21, 2011
Friday, August 19, 2011
Huntsman: 'Call me crazy,' I believe in evolution, global warming - Justin Sink
http://thehill.com/blogs/e2-wire/677-e2-wire/177429-huntsman-call-me-crazy-i-believe-in-evolution-global-warming
It's not crazy to believe either of those. It's just crazy if you think you are going to get nominated to the GOP presidential candidate if you believe either of those.
It's not crazy to believe either of those. It's just crazy if you think you are going to get nominated to the GOP presidential candidate if you believe either of those.
Rick Perry: Evolution is 'theory' with 'gaps' - Catalina Camia,
http://content.usatoday.com/communities/onpolitics/post/2011/08/rick-perry-evolution-presidential-race-/1
I don't know if he really believes this or this is a 'dogwhistle' to evangelical voters, and he hopes the rest of us will forget by next November.
I don't know if he really believes this or this is a 'dogwhistle' to evangelical voters, and he hopes the rest of us will forget by next November.
When the United States says "jump," Syria says.... - Daniel W. Drezner
http://drezner.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2011/08/18/when_the_united_states_says_jump_syria_says
When the rest of the policy quiver has been exhausted, sure, why not call for Assad to leave? As a general rule, all else equal, I see no reason why the U.S. government should not express its actual preferences rather than hide behind diplomatese. Or, as Douglas Adams would put it, this rhetorical move counts as "harmless."
When the rest of the policy quiver has been exhausted, sure, why not call for Assad to leave? As a general rule, all else equal, I see no reason why the U.S. government should not express its actual preferences rather than hide behind diplomatese. Or, as Douglas Adams would put it, this rhetorical move counts as "harmless."
The markets are falling, not panicking - Felix Salmon
http://blogs.reuters.com/felix-salmon/2011/08/18/the-markets-are-falling-not-panicking/
What I’m not seeing here is deep-seated existential fear — the idea that certain companies might well wind up seeing their stocks go all the way to zero, and then defaulting on their debts. During the crisis, we had the worst possible flavor of that fear — that it was banks which were insolvent. Now, by contrast, bank stocks are low, but the famous TED spread, for instance — one of the best indicators of the degree of faith that financial institutions have in each other — is still less than 30 basis points. It spiked to more than 400bp at the height of the crisis.
What I’m not seeing here is deep-seated existential fear — the idea that certain companies might well wind up seeing their stocks go all the way to zero, and then defaulting on their debts. During the crisis, we had the worst possible flavor of that fear — that it was banks which were insolvent. Now, by contrast, bank stocks are low, but the famous TED spread, for instance — one of the best indicators of the degree of faith that financial institutions have in each other — is still less than 30 basis points. It spiked to more than 400bp at the height of the crisis.
Thursday, August 18, 2011
AP source: Obama calls on Assad to resign - Ben Feller
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_SYRIA_OBAMA?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT
Of course, in his case resigning means death, but I guess we can accept either.
Of course, in his case resigning means death, but I guess we can accept either.
A Paul Ryan Campaign? Are Republicans Out of Their Minds? - Ed Kilgore
http://www.tnr.com/article/the-permanent-campaign/93831/paul-ryan-run-president-nomination
Indeed, Democrats (especially those in Congress) have been plotting for months to make Paul Ryan’s budget proposal, and particularly its radical treatment of Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security, the centerpiece of their 2012 campaign. After all, the proposal drew the support of nearly every Republican in Congress, despite abundant public opinion research (and at least one special election) showing the potential for a strong public backlash against its specific provisions. A Ryan candidacy, in other words, would rigidly align the GOP with its least popular ideas at the very moment that all Democrats, from the president to the lowliest House candidate, are desperate to make this a “comparative” election instead of a temperature reading on life in the Obama era. So why would prominent Republicans be interested in making Democrats so very happy?
Indeed, Democrats (especially those in Congress) have been plotting for months to make Paul Ryan’s budget proposal, and particularly its radical treatment of Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security, the centerpiece of their 2012 campaign. After all, the proposal drew the support of nearly every Republican in Congress, despite abundant public opinion research (and at least one special election) showing the potential for a strong public backlash against its specific provisions. A Ryan candidacy, in other words, would rigidly align the GOP with its least popular ideas at the very moment that all Democrats, from the president to the lowliest House candidate, are desperate to make this a “comparative” election instead of a temperature reading on life in the Obama era. So why would prominent Republicans be interested in making Democrats so very happy?
Turkey’s Arab-Spring Problem - PETER VINE
http://www.warisboring.com/2011/08/18/turkeys-arab-spring-problem/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+WarIsBoring+%28War+Is+Boring%29&utm_content=Google+Reader
Most worryingly of all, as the protests inch closer and closer to home, Turkey faces an unprecedented foreign policy challenge as a tense Lebanon combines with a mass protest movement in Israel, a surge in violence in Iraq and a Syria in meltdown.
This has seen Turkey in some ways revert to type as its unilateral tendencies start to re-appear. Already Turkey has darkly hinted that what is happening in Syria is an “internal Turkish matter” as it frets about the possibility of a long porous border becoming a backdoor for Kurdish terrorism. Nobody is predicting a Turkish intervention in Syria, but then again few had predicted the Turkish invasion of Cyprus in 1974.
Most worryingly of all, as the protests inch closer and closer to home, Turkey faces an unprecedented foreign policy challenge as a tense Lebanon combines with a mass protest movement in Israel, a surge in violence in Iraq and a Syria in meltdown.
This has seen Turkey in some ways revert to type as its unilateral tendencies start to re-appear. Already Turkey has darkly hinted that what is happening in Syria is an “internal Turkish matter” as it frets about the possibility of a long porous border becoming a backdoor for Kurdish terrorism. Nobody is predicting a Turkish intervention in Syria, but then again few had predicted the Turkish invasion of Cyprus in 1974.
Perry’s War With the Bushies - Matt Latimer
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2011/08/17/rick-perry-s-war-with-the-bushies-why-karl-rove-is-fighting-his-2012-bid.html
The origins of the Rove grudge against Perry really matter only to a handful of people. Suffice it to say it stems from some decade-old feud over power and money. And Rove has lassoed the entire Bush family in on it. The former presidents Bush have made it a great point not to comment on the actions of their successors—Clinton and Obama, respectively. They think there is a nobility to staying out of the fray and not making things more difficult for the next commander in chief. Yet the Bushes have shown no compunction about doing just that to a fellow Republican and fellow Texan (though Perry is the only one of them actually born in the state).
The origins of the Rove grudge against Perry really matter only to a handful of people. Suffice it to say it stems from some decade-old feud over power and money. And Rove has lassoed the entire Bush family in on it. The former presidents Bush have made it a great point not to comment on the actions of their successors—Clinton and Obama, respectively. They think there is a nobility to staying out of the fray and not making things more difficult for the next commander in chief. Yet the Bushes have shown no compunction about doing just that to a fellow Republican and fellow Texan (though Perry is the only one of them actually born in the state).
When birds go to town - Susan Milius
http://www.sciencenews.org/view/feature/id/333206/title/When_birds_go_to_town
Clark and McGowan are running a long-term study of what urban life is like for a group of Ithaca’s crows, tagging and following them as they grow up, take over or lose territories, and succeed or not in raising the next generation of research subjects. Even in a university town, the birds probably aren’t lured to the Subaru by the thrill of scientific discovery, but rather by the scientists’ occasional ploy of flinging peanuts and dog food out the window to engineer some bird activity.
Clark and McGowan are running a long-term study of what urban life is like for a group of Ithaca’s crows, tagging and following them as they grow up, take over or lose territories, and succeed or not in raising the next generation of research subjects. Even in a university town, the birds probably aren’t lured to the Subaru by the thrill of scientific discovery, but rather by the scientists’ occasional ploy of flinging peanuts and dog food out the window to engineer some bird activity.
What Is Business Waiting For? - Joe Nocera
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/16/opinion/nocera-what-is-business-waiting-for.html?_r=1&hp
As for the government, President Obama’s idea of job creation is extending unemployment insurance, on the one hand, and painting grandiose pictures of far-off “green jobs,” on the other. He is bereft of ideas for creating jobs in the here and now. Meanwhile, the Republicans insist — despite mounds of evidence to the contrary — that more tax cuts would create jobs. By now, most Americans have lost hope that our current government will come up with a viable jobs program. It won’t.
I am coming more and more to think that with the government essentially paralyzed for the foreseeable future, the only way we’re going to get jobs is by turning to actual job creators: business itself.
As for the government, President Obama’s idea of job creation is extending unemployment insurance, on the one hand, and painting grandiose pictures of far-off “green jobs,” on the other. He is bereft of ideas for creating jobs in the here and now. Meanwhile, the Republicans insist — despite mounds of evidence to the contrary — that more tax cuts would create jobs. By now, most Americans have lost hope that our current government will come up with a viable jobs program. It won’t.
I am coming more and more to think that with the government essentially paralyzed for the foreseeable future, the only way we’re going to get jobs is by turning to actual job creators: business itself.
Lessons learned from the Palin debacle - David Frum
http://theweek.com/bullpen/column/218384/lessons-learned-from-the-palin-debacle
Each of these possible running mates had her weaknesses, but any of them would have been more experienced, more knowledgeable, and more disciplined than Sarah Palin. But there was one clear advantage that Palin did possess over her more traditionally plausible rivals: her looks.
Had women participated in the selection process, one of them would have issued a warning: "Boys, I gotta tell you — whatever she's doing for you, she's not doing for me."
Each of these possible running mates had her weaknesses, but any of them would have been more experienced, more knowledgeable, and more disciplined than Sarah Palin. But there was one clear advantage that Palin did possess over her more traditionally plausible rivals: her looks.
Had women participated in the selection process, one of them would have issued a warning: "Boys, I gotta tell you — whatever she's doing for you, she's not doing for me."
Poll: Romney rocks, Perry pops, Bachmann doesn’t bounce - Patrick Hynes
http://nhjournal.com/2011/08/17/poll-romney-rocks-perry-pops-bachmann-doesn%E2%80%99t-bounce/
With Perry in the race, the question begs, who needs Michele Bachmann?
With Perry in the race, the question begs, who needs Michele Bachmann?
German Growth Stalls - Megan McArdle
http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2011/08/german-growth-stalls/243697/
This is obviously a huge problem for the eurozone. Those who think that the euro can muddle through this without losing the periphery have been counting on Germany (and to a lesser extent, France) to deliver a bailout. A recession is going to erode Germany's economic ability to funnel cash into the PIIGS, but more importantly, it is going to make German voters much less patient with the notion.
This is obviously a huge problem for the eurozone. Those who think that the euro can muddle through this without losing the periphery have been counting on Germany (and to a lesser extent, France) to deliver a bailout. A recession is going to erode Germany's economic ability to funnel cash into the PIIGS, but more importantly, it is going to make German voters much less patient with the notion.
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
Bachmann-Perry Overdrive
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424053111903480904576507933332443602.html
The questions about Mr. Perry concern how well his Lone Star swagger will sell in the suburbs of Ohio, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania, where the election is likely to be decided. He can sound more Texas than Jerry Jones, George W. Bush and Sam Houston combined, and his muscular religiosity also may not play well at a time when the economy has eclipsed culture as the main voter concern.
The emergence of Mr. Perry and Mrs. Bachmann is nonetheless more evidence that GOP voters continue to have doubts about their candidates
If your strategy includes elevating Sarah Palin to the national stage and encouraging the uglier fringes of the movement to question the President's birthplace and religion, maybe you should have a different endgame than "find candidate with a unifying theme".
The whole point of the Tea Party was that there was too much compromise, not finding common ground with independents. Wall Street conservatives encouraged divisiveness because it helped bludgeon Obama and now they heartbroken at the divisive candidates that they find. Their bets became worthless the minute reporters started asking questions about Mitch Daniels marriage situation, causing him to drop out.
The whole kabuki theater enacted by the sane portion of the conservative movement from the summer of 2010 on, in which the president was weakened by a hail of ridiculous fury from the John Birch wing, was supposed to end in a catharthis of the Tea Party rage, which would subside in time to elect Romney or Daniels. Sorry. The story is not going to end that way. The debt limit battle was the nadir of the Tea Party movement, but they still own the GOP.
Time to pay the devil his due.
The questions about Mr. Perry concern how well his Lone Star swagger will sell in the suburbs of Ohio, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania, where the election is likely to be decided. He can sound more Texas than Jerry Jones, George W. Bush and Sam Houston combined, and his muscular religiosity also may not play well at a time when the economy has eclipsed culture as the main voter concern.
The emergence of Mr. Perry and Mrs. Bachmann is nonetheless more evidence that GOP voters continue to have doubts about their candidates
If your strategy includes elevating Sarah Palin to the national stage and encouraging the uglier fringes of the movement to question the President's birthplace and religion, maybe you should have a different endgame than "find candidate with a unifying theme".
The whole point of the Tea Party was that there was too much compromise, not finding common ground with independents. Wall Street conservatives encouraged divisiveness because it helped bludgeon Obama and now they heartbroken at the divisive candidates that they find. Their bets became worthless the minute reporters started asking questions about Mitch Daniels marriage situation, causing him to drop out.
The whole kabuki theater enacted by the sane portion of the conservative movement from the summer of 2010 on, in which the president was weakened by a hail of ridiculous fury from the John Birch wing, was supposed to end in a catharthis of the Tea Party rage, which would subside in time to elect Romney or Daniels. Sorry. The story is not going to end that way. The debt limit battle was the nadir of the Tea Party movement, but they still own the GOP.
Time to pay the devil his due.
Sentiment moving against Walker recall
http://publicpolicypolling.blogspot.com/2011/08/sentiment-moving-against-walker-recall.html
I think most everyone, including those who would actually have been affected by this recall, has moved on. Scott Walker survives until the next election.
I think most everyone, including those who would actually have been affected by this recall, has moved on. Scott Walker survives until the next election.
Perry Points to ‘Idiotic’ U.S. Rule That Doesn’t Exist -Jonathan Weisman
http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2011/08/16/perry-points-to-idiotic-u-s-rule-that-doesnt-exist/
I hesitate to say that The Journal is now to be classified as anti-Perry, but it won't take long. I can't imagine his dumb-schtick is going to play well when he starts in on Wall Street.
I hesitate to say that The Journal is now to be classified as anti-Perry, but it won't take long. I can't imagine his dumb-schtick is going to play well when he starts in on Wall Street.
Chris Christie’s Cue - Ross Douthat
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/15/opinion/chris-christies-cue.html?ref=rossdouthat
Imagine if the Democratic Party nominated a combination of Al Franken and Nancy Pelosi for the presidency, and you have a sense of the kind of gamble Republicans would be taking with Perry. And even if that gamble worked, little in his record suggests that he’s prepared to preside over a polarized country, or negotiate his way through a divided Washington.
Exactly. Except Chris Christie is not coming to the rescue. This is it.
Imagine if the Democratic Party nominated a combination of Al Franken and Nancy Pelosi for the presidency, and you have a sense of the kind of gamble Republicans would be taking with Perry. And even if that gamble worked, little in his record suggests that he’s prepared to preside over a polarized country, or negotiate his way through a divided Washington.
Exactly. Except Chris Christie is not coming to the rescue. This is it.
Gov. Rick Perry's big donors fare well in Texas - By Matea Gold and Melanie Mason, Washington Bureau
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-0816-perry-donors-20110816,0,6024689,full.story
Perry has received a total of $37 million over the last decade from just 150 individuals and couples, who are likely to form the backbone of his new effort to win the Republican presidential nomination. The tally represented more than a third of the $102 million he had raised as governor through December, according to data compiled by the watchdog group Texans for Public Justice.
Nearly half of those mega-donors received hefty business contracts, tax breaks or appointments under Perry, according to a Los Angeles Times analysis
There is a danger to Rick Perry's candidacy: he was hailed as such a savior, a hero to finally give the GOP a serious contender, that his self destruction may be magnified and damage the party he has brought along for the ride.
Perry has received a total of $37 million over the last decade from just 150 individuals and couples, who are likely to form the backbone of his new effort to win the Republican presidential nomination. The tally represented more than a third of the $102 million he had raised as governor through December, according to data compiled by the watchdog group Texans for Public Justice.
Nearly half of those mega-donors received hefty business contracts, tax breaks or appointments under Perry, according to a Los Angeles Times analysis
There is a danger to Rick Perry's candidacy: he was hailed as such a savior, a hero to finally give the GOP a serious contender, that his self destruction may be magnified and damage the party he has brought along for the ride.
Syrian Enclave of Palestinians Nearly Deserted After Assault - ANTHONY SHADID and ISABEL KERSHNER
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/17/world/middleeast/17syria.html?_r=2&hp
Latakia, on the country’s Mediterranean coast, is the third locale to bear the full brunt of military and security forces this month, though the government has also persisted in its crackdown on the suburbs of Damascus and Homs, the third-largest city. The violence has provoked international condemnations that have grown sharper, but still stopped short of demanding that President Bashar al-Assad step down.
“It’s not going to be any news if the United States says Assad needs to go,” Mrs. Clinton said at the National Defense University. “O.K., fine, what’s next? If Turkey says it, if King Abdullah says it, if other people say it, there is no way the Assad regime can ignore it.”
Latakia, on the country’s Mediterranean coast, is the third locale to bear the full brunt of military and security forces this month, though the government has also persisted in its crackdown on the suburbs of Damascus and Homs, the third-largest city. The violence has provoked international condemnations that have grown sharper, but still stopped short of demanding that President Bashar al-Assad step down.
“It’s not going to be any news if the United States says Assad needs to go,” Mrs. Clinton said at the National Defense University. “O.K., fine, what’s next? If Turkey says it, if King Abdullah says it, if other people say it, there is no way the Assad regime can ignore it.”
Tuesday, August 16, 2011
All shook up: Bachmann flubs Elvis birthday - CNN Political Unit
http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2011/08/16/all-shook-up-bachmann-flubs-elvis-birthday/
Aren't these the guys her campaign pushed around the other day? I'll do my part to give page views.
Aren't these the guys her campaign pushed around the other day? I'll do my part to give page views.
Karl Rove thinks Chris Christie and Paul Ryan are wavering on 2012 - ALEXANDER BURNS
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0811/61463.html
So here are your remaining saviors:
Bachelor #1: overweight, Catholic, easterner, supported TARP, does not hate gays, appointed to a judgeship a Muslim who defended those taken up in the post 9/11 sweep. Has posted numerous videos of himself shouting at constituents in angry confrontations. Masterful marketer. Personifies the modern GOP's obsession over what you say over how you say it.
Bachelor #2: Soft-spoken author of a plan to get rid of Medicare, Ayn Rand devotee. Videos of him gushing about her philosophy juxtaposed with interviews from Rand herself calling for the end of religion, generosity, etc. have already floated around.
Sorry. Rick Perry is it.
So here are your remaining saviors:
Bachelor #1: overweight, Catholic, easterner, supported TARP, does not hate gays, appointed to a judgeship a Muslim who defended those taken up in the post 9/11 sweep. Has posted numerous videos of himself shouting at constituents in angry confrontations. Masterful marketer. Personifies the modern GOP's obsession over what you say over how you say it.
Bachelor #2: Soft-spoken author of a plan to get rid of Medicare, Ayn Rand devotee. Videos of him gushing about her philosophy juxtaposed with interviews from Rand herself calling for the end of religion, generosity, etc. have already floated around.
Sorry. Rick Perry is it.
Rick Perry’s Serious Unforced Error - John Podhoretz
http://www.commentarymagazine.com/2011/08/15/perry-bernanke-treason-2/
If Perry can't keep these guys, who can he keep?
Perry has come out guns blazing, calling Geithner "treasonous" and remaining non-comittal on whether Barack Obama loves America. That's just in one day. However, the guns blazing act may not fit well with him and it really, really helps to bring to mind another Texan that shot from the hip and didn't worry about what the media thought of him. That worked out well, didn't it?
The early take: this guy is not ready for prime-time and just another kooky distraction. The GOP did not need to sub-divide into yet another angry faction, yet here they allow the South to hold them hostage again.
If Perry can't keep these guys, who can he keep?
Perry has come out guns blazing, calling Geithner "treasonous" and remaining non-comittal on whether Barack Obama loves America. That's just in one day. However, the guns blazing act may not fit well with him and it really, really helps to bring to mind another Texan that shot from the hip and didn't worry about what the media thought of him. That worked out well, didn't it?
The early take: this guy is not ready for prime-time and just another kooky distraction. The GOP did not need to sub-divide into yet another angry faction, yet here they allow the South to hold them hostage again.
GOP Still Has No Chance - John Batchelor
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2011/08/15/iowa-straw-poll-republican-field-faces-tough-test-in-rust-belt.html
So far, the GOP is not constructing a candidate who can prosper in the states in which the 2012 election will turn. And the two major candidates, Romney and Perry, fail to deliver outside their own narrow, predictable records. Romney’s governorship in deeply blue Massachusetts is a waste and provides no momentum in the heartland, especially given his role in leveraged buyouts that helped transfer America’s manufacturing jobs to Asia. Perry’s governorship in red Texas is equally a waste, as the GOP hardly needs a hog-calling country parson lite from West Texas to carry the Old South. How does Perry go North with the shopworn baggage of Johnny Reb superiority and an unapologetic evangelical paternalism?
It's telling that immediately after the arrival of one of the "saviors", there is already talk of Christie or Rubio entering the race. Perry, unlike Bachmann, is not gaffe-proof, and will shower confusing and divisive comments along the campaign trail. This is one cadidate where there is no confusion about whether he can also be the president of people who are from states who did not vote from them. How could he? Afterall, they aren't real Americans anyway.
So far, the GOP is not constructing a candidate who can prosper in the states in which the 2012 election will turn. And the two major candidates, Romney and Perry, fail to deliver outside their own narrow, predictable records. Romney’s governorship in deeply blue Massachusetts is a waste and provides no momentum in the heartland, especially given his role in leveraged buyouts that helped transfer America’s manufacturing jobs to Asia. Perry’s governorship in red Texas is equally a waste, as the GOP hardly needs a hog-calling country parson lite from West Texas to carry the Old South. How does Perry go North with the shopworn baggage of Johnny Reb superiority and an unapologetic evangelical paternalism?
It's telling that immediately after the arrival of one of the "saviors", there is already talk of Christie or Rubio entering the race. Perry, unlike Bachmann, is not gaffe-proof, and will shower confusing and divisive comments along the campaign trail. This is one cadidate where there is no confusion about whether he can also be the president of people who are from states who did not vote from them. How could he? Afterall, they aren't real Americans anyway.
Saturday, August 13, 2011
Friday, August 12, 2011
Mike Huckabee: Rick Perry timing 'bad form,' 'tactical blunder' - Alexander Burns
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0811/61140.html
Hucks is the lone dissent in the Rick Perry lovefest going on right now. I think Perry is pretty on the mark for announcing in South Carolina on the day of the Iowa straw polls. Yeah, they'll be mad and they'll snipe at him, but he's here to kick their asses, not make friends with them.
Hucks is the lone dissent in the Rick Perry lovefest going on right now. I think Perry is pretty on the mark for announcing in South Carolina on the day of the Iowa straw polls. Yeah, they'll be mad and they'll snipe at him, but he's here to kick their asses, not make friends with them.
Bachmann campaign targeting Pawlenty behind the scenes - Cameron Joseph
http://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/presidential-races/176583-bachmann-campaign-targeting-pawlenty-behind-the-scenes
Poor Tim Pawlenty. In 2008 he was the odds on for McCain's VP only to be jilted for Saint Sarah. This time he thought he had a legitimate shot as the alternative to Mitts, only to be scalped by the PTA Avenger. What is it about this unimposing nerd that makes the mean girls want to be so, well, mean?
Poor Tim Pawlenty. In 2008 he was the odds on for McCain's VP only to be jilted for Saint Sarah. This time he thought he had a legitimate shot as the alternative to Mitts, only to be scalped by the PTA Avenger. What is it about this unimposing nerd that makes the mean girls want to be so, well, mean?
Thursday, August 11, 2011
Bachmann: Obama Told Me The Affordable Care Act Eliminates Medicare -Alex Seitz-Wald
http://thinkprogress.org/politics/2011/08/10/292620/bachmann-obamacare-endsmedicare/
See? Gaffe-proof. Bachmann is so over-the-top that no one takes her seriously.
Perhaps it is best to think of her right now as a placeholder for Rick Perry or Sarah Palin. She gives those voters a home until either of those two declare, so they really don't care much about her looney statements.
See? Gaffe-proof. Bachmann is so over-the-top that no one takes her seriously.
Perhaps it is best to think of her right now as a placeholder for Rick Perry or Sarah Palin. She gives those voters a home until either of those two declare, so they really don't care much about her looney statements.
23 Polls Say People Support Higher Taxes to Reduce the Deficit - Bruce Bartlett
http://capitalgainsandgames.com/blog/bruce-bartlett/2341/23-polls-say-people-support-higher-taxes-reduce-deficit
Not surprisingly Rasmussen has the lowest spread, but even they have a majority favoring taxes. The trick is this: who are you going to tax? What most people mean to say is that they want taxes...on someone else, not themselves.
Not surprisingly Rasmussen has the lowest spread, but even they have a majority favoring taxes. The trick is this: who are you going to tax? What most people mean to say is that they want taxes...on someone else, not themselves.
Simpson blasts Baucus, Murray - Jennifer Epstein
http://dyn.politico.com/printstory.cfm?uuid=5017259A-C4C8-40BF-BF57-B8D31B8BAC6D
Alan Simpson is America's awesome grandpa right now, letting loose on all the family members that have disappointed him in one way or another.
Alan Simpson is America's awesome grandpa right now, letting loose on all the family members that have disappointed him in one way or another.
TRENDING: Palin bus tour to roll into Iowa - Peter Hamby
http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2011/08/10/palin-bus-tour-to-roll-into-iowa/
Is this no longer a family vacation?
In case you thought that the word "circus" was going to stop being applied to this primary season, here you have a something or other dimwit interrupting the W impersonator's weekend announcement and trouncing on the crazy-eyed PTA avenger's ascendancy. Perfect tone.
Is this no longer a family vacation?
In case you thought that the word "circus" was going to stop being applied to this primary season, here you have a something or other dimwit interrupting the W impersonator's weekend announcement and trouncing on the crazy-eyed PTA avenger's ascendancy. Perfect tone.
It’s the Economy, Dummkopf! - Michael Lewis
http://www.vanityfair.com/business/features/2011/09/europe-201109#gotopage1
How the coporphiliac Germands intend to deal with their erstwhile cousins the Greeks: by shouting at them. How the Greeks intend to respond: by ignoring them until it is too late.
How the coporphiliac Germands intend to deal with their erstwhile cousins the Greeks: by shouting at them. How the Greeks intend to respond: by ignoring them until it is too late.
Over the Horizon: What Price Victory in Afghanistan? - Robert Farley
http://www.worldpoliticsreview.com/articles/9732/over-the-horizon-what-price-victory-in-afghanistan
A U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan is unlikely to lead to a catastrophic "defeat" in the sense of the Taliban regaining full control of the territory and urban centers of Afghanistan. Indeed, withdrawal of combat forces might make it easier for the Afghan government to sell itself as a genuinely independent actor, willing to represent and advocate for genuinely Afghan interests. Nevertheless, a serious assessment of U.S. policy in Afghanistan, made as part of an evaluation of U.S. grand strategic objectives, would ask, "What are the consequences of defeat, and what price are we willing to pay in order to avoid them?" Unfortunately, this question is rarely asked in anything but a rhetorical fashion, used as a bludgeon to force acquiescence in the continuation of a war that may make little strategic sense.
Interesting piece by an assistant professor at UK.
A U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan is unlikely to lead to a catastrophic "defeat" in the sense of the Taliban regaining full control of the territory and urban centers of Afghanistan. Indeed, withdrawal of combat forces might make it easier for the Afghan government to sell itself as a genuinely independent actor, willing to represent and advocate for genuinely Afghan interests. Nevertheless, a serious assessment of U.S. policy in Afghanistan, made as part of an evaluation of U.S. grand strategic objectives, would ask, "What are the consequences of defeat, and what price are we willing to pay in order to avoid them?" Unfortunately, this question is rarely asked in anything but a rhetorical fashion, used as a bludgeon to force acquiescence in the continuation of a war that may make little strategic sense.
Interesting piece by an assistant professor at UK.
Wednesday, August 10, 2011
The Rick Perry that Texans know - Dan Balz
http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/the-perry-texans-know/2011/08/09/gIQAC1H14I_story.html
Asked what non-Texans may understand least about Perry, McKinnon said: “What they don’t know is that he’s probably much more tested than people think. He’s been through some very, very tough campaigns. He’s pretty battle-tested. The national scene is a different deal, but he is a vigorous, aggressive, disciplined campaigner — and knuckles-out.”
Asked what non-Texans may understand least about Perry, McKinnon said: “What they don’t know is that he’s probably much more tested than people think. He’s been through some very, very tough campaigns. He’s pretty battle-tested. The national scene is a different deal, but he is a vigorous, aggressive, disciplined campaigner — and knuckles-out.”
Wisconsin Democrats fail to take back state Senate - Rachel Weiner
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-fix/post/wisconsin-democrats-fail-to-take-back-state-senate/2011/08/10/gIQAbEh05I_blog.html
It's all over but the lawsuits. Big Labor's failure to deliver votes on what amounted to an existential battle for them does not bode well. What else could motivate them more?
It's all over but the lawsuits. Big Labor's failure to deliver votes on what amounted to an existential battle for them does not bode well. What else could motivate them more?
The Books And Beliefs Shaping Michele Bachmann - Ryan Lizza
http://www.npr.org/2011/08/09/139084313/the-books-and-beliefs-shaping-michele-bachmann
This woman is gaffe proof because everything she says and does is a gaffe already. She stays within the bounds of our constructed reality for her, which is to say that because we already think and know that she is dim and batshit crazy, we're never phased by the insane things she does or says.
"For a number of years, Michele Bachmann's personal website had a list of books she recommended people read. It was called 'Michelle's must-read list.' I was looking over the list and noticed this biography of Lee by Wilkins. [I had] never heard of Wilkins and started looking at who he was. And frankly couldn't believe that she was recommending this book."
"Wilkins has combined a Christian conservatism with neo-confederate views and developed what is known as the theological war thesis. This is an idea that says the best way to understand the Civil War is to see it in religious terms, and [that] the South was an Orthodox Christian nation attacked by the godless North and that what was really lost after the Civil War was one of the pinnacles of Christian society. This insane view of the Civil War has been successfully injected into some of the Christian home-schooling movement curriculums with the help of [Wilkins]. My guess is this is how she encountered the guy at some point. ... She recommended this book on her website for a number of years. It is an objectively pro-slavery book and one of the most startling things I learned about her in this piece.
This woman is gaffe proof because everything she says and does is a gaffe already. She stays within the bounds of our constructed reality for her, which is to say that because we already think and know that she is dim and batshit crazy, we're never phased by the insane things she does or says.
"For a number of years, Michele Bachmann's personal website had a list of books she recommended people read. It was called 'Michelle's must-read list.' I was looking over the list and noticed this biography of Lee by Wilkins. [I had] never heard of Wilkins and started looking at who he was. And frankly couldn't believe that she was recommending this book."
"Wilkins has combined a Christian conservatism with neo-confederate views and developed what is known as the theological war thesis. This is an idea that says the best way to understand the Civil War is to see it in religious terms, and [that] the South was an Orthodox Christian nation attacked by the godless North and that what was really lost after the Civil War was one of the pinnacles of Christian society. This insane view of the Civil War has been successfully injected into some of the Christian home-schooling movement curriculums with the help of [Wilkins]. My guess is this is how she encountered the guy at some point. ... She recommended this book on her website for a number of years. It is an objectively pro-slavery book and one of the most startling things I learned about her in this piece.
SEAL Team Six: Obama honors troops killed in helicopter crash - Linda Feldmann
http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Politics/2011/0809/SEAL-Team-Six-Obama-honors-troops-killed-in-helicopter-crash
The sad fact about this loss is that it is probably the only news story about Afghanistan that anyone will have read for months. This depressing slog only shows up when horrific losses occur. Now that bin-Laden is dead and there are clearly terrorist threats emerging from many other places, does it make sense to maintain tens of thousands of soldiers in Afghanistan, rather than spread them judicously to address "hot spots" around the world? Hasn't the George Bush model of invading a country to address terror threats been discredited enough?
I know that the blowback that led to 9/11 was supposed to be that we left the Afghans high and dry and never picked up when the Soviets left, allowing the Taliban to moive to power. But it's exactly what we are doing now and it's not working. They're not becoming Belgians because they have roads.
It's time to leave.
The sad fact about this loss is that it is probably the only news story about Afghanistan that anyone will have read for months. This depressing slog only shows up when horrific losses occur. Now that bin-Laden is dead and there are clearly terrorist threats emerging from many other places, does it make sense to maintain tens of thousands of soldiers in Afghanistan, rather than spread them judicously to address "hot spots" around the world? Hasn't the George Bush model of invading a country to address terror threats been discredited enough?
I know that the blowback that led to 9/11 was supposed to be that we left the Afghans high and dry and never picked up when the Soviets left, allowing the Taliban to moive to power. But it's exactly what we are doing now and it's not working. They're not becoming Belgians because they have roads.
It's time to leave.
Tuesday, August 9, 2011
Historic recall elections put spotlight on Wisconsin - Jason Stein and Tom Tolan
http://www.jsonline.com/news/statepolitics/127252818.html
I'm watching this closer than any stupid overnight poll or random debate that lasts for a news cycle. This will tell us more about the electorate in 2011 than just about anything out there. Unions see this as a place for them to hold the line and force back losses sustained over the last 30 years. Republicans see this as a foot on the coffin lid, and they desperately want to force it shut.
If the Republicans suffer in the recall, union power may cause other legislatures to shy away from the sort over far-reaching legislation that passed in Wisconsin. Or, they may simply avoid Scott Walker's tactic of being an utter asshole about it and try the Chris Christie or Andrew Cuomo method instead.
I'm watching this closer than any stupid overnight poll or random debate that lasts for a news cycle. This will tell us more about the electorate in 2011 than just about anything out there. Unions see this as a place for them to hold the line and force back losses sustained over the last 30 years. Republicans see this as a foot on the coffin lid, and they desperately want to force it shut.
If the Republicans suffer in the recall, union power may cause other legislatures to shy away from the sort over far-reaching legislation that passed in Wisconsin. Or, they may simply avoid Scott Walker's tactic of being an utter asshole about it and try the Chris Christie or Andrew Cuomo method instead.
Bashar al-Assad is going down - Blake Hounshell
http://blog.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2011/08/08/bashar_al_assad_is_going_down_0
I don't agree but I certainly and wholeheartedly hope Hounshell is right.
I don't agree but I certainly and wholeheartedly hope Hounshell is right.
Obama plan: Destroy Romney - BEN SMITH & JONATHAN MARTIN
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0811/60921.html
A plan so obvious we leaked it over a year ahead of time.
Seriously? This is the secret weapon? The things that have tripped Romney up over and over? "We plan to use our opponent's weaknesses against him".
Hope and change, we harldy knew ya.
A plan so obvious we leaked it over a year ahead of time.
Seriously? This is the secret weapon? The things that have tripped Romney up over and over? "We plan to use our opponent's weaknesses against him".
Hope and change, we harldy knew ya.
The fate of mobile phone brands - Horace Dediu
http://www.asymco.com/2011/08/08/the-fate-of-mobile-phone-brands/
Smartphones, or whatever you want to call them, are what people have wanted ever since they were using smoke signals or posting notices between communities hundreds of years ago. It is no wonder that they have displaced the almost-what-we-wanted first generation of Blackberries and flip phones so quickly.
Smartphones, or whatever you want to call them, are what people have wanted ever since they were using smoke signals or posting notices between communities hundreds of years ago. It is no wonder that they have displaced the almost-what-we-wanted first generation of Blackberries and flip phones so quickly.
Dow Skids 600, Worst Day Since Credit Crisis - JeeYeon Park
http://www.cnbc.com/id/44058141
Right now I don't see a financial market in the world that is completely stable that capital can flee to. I don't think this is a market correction as I don't think there is a bubble in anything other than a few "social media" companies. This is fear and confusion about what is going to happen next.
Right now I don't see a financial market in the world that is completely stable that capital can flee to. I don't think this is a market correction as I don't think there is a bubble in anything other than a few "social media" companies. This is fear and confusion about what is going to happen next.
Who 'made $10bn on 10/1 bet that U.S. credit rating would be downgraded'? -Mark Duell
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2023809/Did-George-Soros-win-10-1-return-S-Ps-US-credit-rating-downgrade.html
I don't know, but I want to give him my money. Shorting the US debt rating? How positively evil!
I don't know, but I want to give him my money. Shorting the US debt rating? How positively evil!
Some Thoughts on the S&P Downgrade - Clive Crook
http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2011/08/some-thoughts-on-the-s-p-downgrade/243209/
I tend to agree with Mr. Cook, that perhaps the US no longer deserves a AAA rating. But if not, do the many countries in Europe? Africa? These ratings are at the hands of private companies, companies staffed by the leftovers of the financial industry that could not get employment on Wall Street. They are paid by the companies they rate and beholden to them to a large extent. What is their rating worth when compared to an analysis from any grad student? Sure, you have to read a bit more, but at least we know the math is correct.
Everyone is arguing that since the credit crisis of '08, these ratings are worthless anyway. I don't agree totally, but they're close. But what equation tells you that Scottish national debt or Belgian national debt is a better investment than US debt? That's just stupid. The real revelation is that perhaps investing in sovereign debt, a port of safety in rough times, is becoming unstable. That would be a revelation that could strike panic into financial markets, but that's not what they said. Yet.
I tend to agree with Mr. Cook, that perhaps the US no longer deserves a AAA rating. But if not, do the many countries in Europe? Africa? These ratings are at the hands of private companies, companies staffed by the leftovers of the financial industry that could not get employment on Wall Street. They are paid by the companies they rate and beholden to them to a large extent. What is their rating worth when compared to an analysis from any grad student? Sure, you have to read a bit more, but at least we know the math is correct.
Everyone is arguing that since the credit crisis of '08, these ratings are worthless anyway. I don't agree totally, but they're close. But what equation tells you that Scottish national debt or Belgian national debt is a better investment than US debt? That's just stupid. The real revelation is that perhaps investing in sovereign debt, a port of safety in rough times, is becoming unstable. That would be a revelation that could strike panic into financial markets, but that's not what they said. Yet.
Rick Perry to make 2012 intentions clear Saturday - JONATHAN MARTIN & MAGGIE HABERMAN & MIKE ALLEN
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0811/60884.html
The most likely scenario is that he knocks poor Michele out of the race and pretty quickly becomes the odd-on VP nominee to Romney. He is as red state as it can get and he exudes what they love, but he is far from ready from prime time and I think he is going to turn into a gaffe machine. This man talks, walks and governs like he is turning back the clock on the Republican party, so he contains a lot of risk in running.
The most likely scenario is that he knocks poor Michele out of the race and pretty quickly becomes the odd-on VP nominee to Romney. He is as red state as it can get and he exudes what they love, but he is far from ready from prime time and I think he is going to turn into a gaffe machine. This man talks, walks and governs like he is turning back the clock on the Republican party, so he contains a lot of risk in running.
Obama's job approval - Susan Page
http://www.usatoday.com/news/politics/2011-08-08-poll-gallup-election_n.htm
I simply don't see this as sustainable. Outside of something like, oh, I don't know, an opponent spouting looney rehtoric, this is probably a one-term president.
I simply don't see this as sustainable. Outside of something like, oh, I don't know, an opponent spouting looney rehtoric, this is probably a one-term president.
Monday, August 8, 2011
Bachmann: Tea Party Queen - Lois Romano
http://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/2011/08/07/michele-bachmann-tea-party-queen-for-america.html
Herein lies a possibly fatal GOP vulnerability.
Michele Bachmann is crazy. She is identified with the Tea Party. The Republicans are idenitified with the Tea Party. The Tea Party is not afraid of John Boehner.
Meaning that Michele Bachmann, newly emboldened by her "success" during the debt crisis, is going to advance further and further from the party line and farther and farther into the spotlight. Wishing to retain the Tea Party votes but unable to tame their wilder notions the GOP is going to have to squirm and wiggle to communicate that they agree with her, but also that they don't really agree with her. This will require taking up some positions and stances that are decidedly out of the mainstram and will drag the entire conversation off the beaten path. Democrats are going to furiously message that the "tea party downgrade" is just another mis-step in Republican economic recent history and will be able to point to Mrs. Bachmann, glassy-eyed and shrill, and ask the country "do you really want these guys in charge?"
Herein lies a possibly fatal GOP vulnerability.
Michele Bachmann is crazy. She is identified with the Tea Party. The Republicans are idenitified with the Tea Party. The Tea Party is not afraid of John Boehner.
Meaning that Michele Bachmann, newly emboldened by her "success" during the debt crisis, is going to advance further and further from the party line and farther and farther into the spotlight. Wishing to retain the Tea Party votes but unable to tame their wilder notions the GOP is going to have to squirm and wiggle to communicate that they agree with her, but also that they don't really agree with her. This will require taking up some positions and stances that are decidedly out of the mainstram and will drag the entire conversation off the beaten path. Democrats are going to furiously message that the "tea party downgrade" is just another mis-step in Republican economic recent history and will be able to point to Mrs. Bachmann, glassy-eyed and shrill, and ask the country "do you really want these guys in charge?"
Leap of Faith - Ryan Lizza
http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2011/08/15/110815fa_fact_lizza?currentPage=all
Michele Bachmann is scary. Not her personally, but the fact that someone so unhinged is connecting with so many people. I've said a number of times that she is not the "real" leader in the race for the GOP nomination. A vote for her is a vote for protest, a way to strike back at those that her fans perceive as looking down on them from urban America, Mitt Romney included. The current voices tabulated for her once roared for The Donald and Herman Cain, before they imploded or washed away, and after she does the same they will return to their natural home by Sarah's side.
This article closely examines her worldview, the prism that she looks at the world through. In short, the government is wholly focused on brainwashing and collectivizing everything, and those like her can frustrate their efforts at every turn. Paranoia is something more like vigilance in her world, liberty an Orwellian term for nationalism.
According to Intrade she has a 6% chance of gaining the GOP nomination. Even that small number is very, very firghtening.
Michele Bachmann is scary. Not her personally, but the fact that someone so unhinged is connecting with so many people. I've said a number of times that she is not the "real" leader in the race for the GOP nomination. A vote for her is a vote for protest, a way to strike back at those that her fans perceive as looking down on them from urban America, Mitt Romney included. The current voices tabulated for her once roared for The Donald and Herman Cain, before they imploded or washed away, and after she does the same they will return to their natural home by Sarah's side.
This article closely examines her worldview, the prism that she looks at the world through. In short, the government is wholly focused on brainwashing and collectivizing everything, and those like her can frustrate their efforts at every turn. Paranoia is something more like vigilance in her world, liberty an Orwellian term for nationalism.
According to Intrade she has a 6% chance of gaining the GOP nomination. Even that small number is very, very firghtening.
Saudi Arabia calls for Syrian reforms
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2011/08/201187213922184761.html
This is sort of a Crossing of the Rubicon. Obviously the Saudis and the Turks have been harassing the Syrians behind the scenes for some time before they went public. There is probably also some self interest involved here, to stay on the right side of the current public mood in the middle east.
Syria has definitely put themselves on an island. Whatever the result, Assad will survive this round, but Syria's ability to remain stable is forever changed.
This is sort of a Crossing of the Rubicon. Obviously the Saudis and the Turks have been harassing the Syrians behind the scenes for some time before they went public. There is probably also some self interest involved here, to stay on the right side of the current public mood in the middle east.
Syria has definitely put themselves on an island. Whatever the result, Assad will survive this round, but Syria's ability to remain stable is forever changed.
Axelrod: This is a "Tea Party downgrade" - Lucy Madison
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2011/08/07/ftn/main20089207.shtml
Give a bit of credit to the Democrats. Generally they are spineless, fearful of shadows and loud noises, and arrive at a good idea after it's time has passed. In this case however they have seized upon Friday's finger pointing at the GOP in the text of the S&P downgrade release, coupling it with the mixed feelings and misgivings that independents hold towards the tea party. The ideas are conflating the economic turmoil and the looniness of well-known tea party spokespeople like Palin and Bachmann. They openly pined for default, people can remember this, and here we have roiling stock markets and a downgrade on our ability to pay debts that names them specifically. They're not to blame (as I said, I blame Italy more for the markets being upset than anything) but why would Democrats not rush to plant some blame? They can't foul up messaging every single time, right?
This word is going to appear a lot of places. Get used to seeing it.
Give a bit of credit to the Democrats. Generally they are spineless, fearful of shadows and loud noises, and arrive at a good idea after it's time has passed. In this case however they have seized upon Friday's finger pointing at the GOP in the text of the S&P downgrade release, coupling it with the mixed feelings and misgivings that independents hold towards the tea party. The ideas are conflating the economic turmoil and the looniness of well-known tea party spokespeople like Palin and Bachmann. They openly pined for default, people can remember this, and here we have roiling stock markets and a downgrade on our ability to pay debts that names them specifically. They're not to blame (as I said, I blame Italy more for the markets being upset than anything) but why would Democrats not rush to plant some blame? They can't foul up messaging every single time, right?
This word is going to appear a lot of places. Get used to seeing it.
No Chance of Default, US Can Print Money: Greenspan - Patrick Allen
http://www.cnbc.com/id/44051683
'The United States was actually doing relatively well, sluggish but going forward until Italy ran into trouble," he said. "That destabilized the European system, and the crisis re-emerged. Europe is very critical to the United States in the sense not only do we have a fourth of our experts there, but more importantly, significant proportion of the foreign affiliate profits, in fact half of U.S. corporations, are in Europe."
"When Italy showed signs of significant weakness in selling its bonds—the yield is now over 6 percent, which is an unsustainable level—it created a massive problem within Europe because Italy is a very large country, cannot be easily bailed out and, indeed, cannot be bailed out," Greenspan added.
I tend to agree; I saw more of the euro crisis in the stock market retreat than I did the debt crisis. I kind of assumed everyone else did as well until the S&P downgrade Friday named the GOP specifically. That will kind of muddy the waters a bit, which is unfortunate. Italy is a Top Ten world economy and it's teetering. It is a country that has never had a stable government in place and a population that looks to strong leaders and strong individuals. Facists and communists have all been very fashionable in their day and the political extremes there make our differences look petty. The concern with Greece isn't a fraction of what could go wrong with Italy.
Don't Be a Stranger - Josh Rothman
http://articles.boston.com/2011-08-03/bostonglobe/29847328_1_generosity-interaction-evolutionary-psychologists
Evolutionary psychology fascinates me. What evoultionary benefit would being kind get you? Wouldn't the subject that muscles his way into taking as much as possible get the leg up in the evolutionary game? Maybe not. This article posits that the interaction have with each other might not be the only one we ever have, so we are more cautious about who we offend. In other words, you don't cut in line because you may be cutting in front of someone who someday might be interviewing you for a job.
I would go deeper. Being kind is simply more efficient by evolutionary standards. We can assume that our ancestors lived in tenuous circumstances. Think of the number of diseases and possible injuries and the lack of medical care available. Those that could work within a group and sacrifice for greater good stood a better chance at survival than did those that sought conflict as a means of obtaining resources. To be sure, there was inter-group conflict. What I am saying is that people that could keep peace within the tiny social circle, being kind to their neighbors even if it meant helping your neighbors slaughter the neighbors a bit farther up the valley, those people stood a better chance because their interest in cooperating made survival more efficient and more likely.
Evolutionary psychology fascinates me. What evoultionary benefit would being kind get you? Wouldn't the subject that muscles his way into taking as much as possible get the leg up in the evolutionary game? Maybe not. This article posits that the interaction have with each other might not be the only one we ever have, so we are more cautious about who we offend. In other words, you don't cut in line because you may be cutting in front of someone who someday might be interviewing you for a job.
I would go deeper. Being kind is simply more efficient by evolutionary standards. We can assume that our ancestors lived in tenuous circumstances. Think of the number of diseases and possible injuries and the lack of medical care available. Those that could work within a group and sacrifice for greater good stood a better chance at survival than did those that sought conflict as a means of obtaining resources. To be sure, there was inter-group conflict. What I am saying is that people that could keep peace within the tiny social circle, being kind to their neighbors even if it meant helping your neighbors slaughter the neighbors a bit farther up the valley, those people stood a better chance because their interest in cooperating made survival more efficient and more likely.
Sunday, August 7, 2011
Rick Perry prayer rally speech decries U.S. condition - Kasie Hunt
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0811/60799.html
Not satisfied to be a George W Bush caricature, Perry feels compelled to exceed all of the things that creeped us out about W. Here we have a would be presidential candidate doubling as a revival preacher, fully unaware of how his association kooks and homophobes will drive independents away, at the same time acting as the "savior" of the Republican party.
Not satisfied to be a George W Bush caricature, Perry feels compelled to exceed all of the things that creeped us out about W. Here we have a would be presidential candidate doubling as a revival preacher, fully unaware of how his association kooks and homophobes will drive independents away, at the same time acting as the "savior" of the Republican party.
Saturday, August 6, 2011
Reinhart Says Household Debt Restructuring in U.S. Would Stimulate Growth - Craig Torres
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-08-05/household-debt-restructuring-would-spur-growth-reinhart-says.html
A restructuring of U.S. household debt, including debt forgiveness for low-income Americans, would be most effective in speeding economic growth, said Carmen Reinhart, a senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics in Washington.
“Until we deal head-on with the fact that some of those debts are not ever going to be repaid, we will continue to have this shadow” over growth, Reinhart said today in an interview on Bloomberg Television’s “Political Capital with Al Hunt,” airing this weekend.
Reinhart is about as "free market" as you are going to get, but here she advocates reality: taxes are going to have to be raised and some good portion of those billions of dollars worth of loans given to non-credit worthy Americans are going to have to be written off, taken off the books as future revenues.
A restructuring of U.S. household debt, including debt forgiveness for low-income Americans, would be most effective in speeding economic growth, said Carmen Reinhart, a senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics in Washington.
“Until we deal head-on with the fact that some of those debts are not ever going to be repaid, we will continue to have this shadow” over growth, Reinhart said today in an interview on Bloomberg Television’s “Political Capital with Al Hunt,” airing this weekend.
Reinhart is about as "free market" as you are going to get, but here she advocates reality: taxes are going to have to be raised and some good portion of those billions of dollars worth of loans given to non-credit worthy Americans are going to have to be written off, taken off the books as future revenues.
A few quick thoughts on the likely pending S&P downgrade - Tyler Cowen
http://marginalrevolution.com/marginalrevolution/2011/08/a-few-quick-thoughts-on-the-likely-pending-sp-downgrade.html
This is one voice I trust on this issue. Leaning anti-liberal, Cowen's indictment of Boehner, and by extension the tea party, is telling.
Clearly entitlements are going to have to be dealt with and this would have been Boehner's chance to do it.But I think it is underspoken just how much Boehner is a hostage as well. He was visibly uncomfortable with his position late in the process and I think his natural instinct was to make the grand bargain. Alas, had he done so, he would have been shuffled off to the side. It is important to remember that at this point the Speaker's power and opinion, as well as those of most conservative economists, take a back seat to two sharp-tongued but not-so-bright women.
This is one voice I trust on this issue. Leaning anti-liberal, Cowen's indictment of Boehner, and by extension the tea party, is telling.
Clearly entitlements are going to have to be dealt with and this would have been Boehner's chance to do it.But I think it is underspoken just how much Boehner is a hostage as well. He was visibly uncomfortable with his position late in the process and I think his natural instinct was to make the grand bargain. Alas, had he done so, he would have been shuffled off to the side. It is important to remember that at this point the Speaker's power and opinion, as well as those of most conservative economists, take a back seat to two sharp-tongued but not-so-bright women.
Thursday, August 4, 2011
Revealed: Operation Shady RAT - Dmitri Alperovitch
http://blogs.mcafee.com/mcafee-labs/revealed-operation-shady-rat
What we have witnessed over the past five to six years has been nothing short of a historically unprecedented transfer of wealth — closely guarded national secrets (including from classified government networks), source code, bug databases, email archives, negotiation plans and exploration details for new oil and gas field auctions, document stores, legal contracts, SCADA configurations, design schematics and much more has “fallen off the truck” of numerous, mostly Western companies and disappeared in the ever-growing electronic archives of dogged adversaries.
The implications are not just military or political. You have South Korean construction firms that were spied on, perhaps an attempt to gain insight before purchasing an equity in one stock or another. Olympic teams had intrusions, perhaps an effort by rivals to gain an inside view into training methods or progress of their rivals.
This in a nutshell is the war we will all fight in the coming decades. Rivals, whether they be political, business, or sporting rivals, will seek information on each other and will pay huge sums to get that information. It's not that they haven't always done that, this is a human trait. It's just that now we have newer methods that yield much better information from people that have no idea they are being watched.
Trust in our electronic communications is the Achilles heel of the modern world, and until we relearn to use these communications and pair them with other communications (like verbal, or paper) again, perhaps we deserve this.
What we have witnessed over the past five to six years has been nothing short of a historically unprecedented transfer of wealth — closely guarded national secrets (including from classified government networks), source code, bug databases, email archives, negotiation plans and exploration details for new oil and gas field auctions, document stores, legal contracts, SCADA configurations, design schematics and much more has “fallen off the truck” of numerous, mostly Western companies and disappeared in the ever-growing electronic archives of dogged adversaries.
The implications are not just military or political. You have South Korean construction firms that were spied on, perhaps an attempt to gain insight before purchasing an equity in one stock or another. Olympic teams had intrusions, perhaps an effort by rivals to gain an inside view into training methods or progress of their rivals.
This in a nutshell is the war we will all fight in the coming decades. Rivals, whether they be political, business, or sporting rivals, will seek information on each other and will pay huge sums to get that information. It's not that they haven't always done that, this is a human trait. It's just that now we have newer methods that yield much better information from people that have no idea they are being watched.
Trust in our electronic communications is the Achilles heel of the modern world, and until we relearn to use these communications and pair them with other communications (like verbal, or paper) again, perhaps we deserve this.
GOP ponders Perry: Savior or flop? - Alexander Burns and Maggie Haberman
http://dyn.politico.com/printstory.cfm?uuid=A1B30E84-4008-465D-AE24-2BED58E229E7
There is roughly one year until the presidential election, an election where the GOP will be running against a president who has backed down from them time and time again who has little to no record to run on. Under these circumstances they are looking for a "savior" because their current crop of choices are so underwhelming. Then there is the fact you are looking to Rick Perry to save you, which almost by definition means you are screwed.
When you look to a man who by all appearances is doing an imitation of Will Ferrel imitating George W Bush as your last option, perhaps the other options need to be reexamined.
There is roughly one year until the presidential election, an election where the GOP will be running against a president who has backed down from them time and time again who has little to no record to run on. Under these circumstances they are looking for a "savior" because their current crop of choices are so underwhelming. Then there is the fact you are looking to Rick Perry to save you, which almost by definition means you are screwed.
When you look to a man who by all appearances is doing an imitation of Will Ferrel imitating George W Bush as your last option, perhaps the other options need to be reexamined.
Tim Pawlenty to pull ads ahead of Ames Straw Poll - By KENDRA MARR
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0811/60627.html
Ha! Remember this guy? Well, if you don't, he's quit Iowa, which was really his only chance of staying in.
Ha! Remember this guy? Well, if you don't, he's quit Iowa, which was really his only chance of staying in.
Why Damascus, Aleppo are silent for now - Sami Moubayed
http://gulfnews.com/opinions/columnists/why-damascus-aleppo-are-silent-for-now-1.845867
This article explains my theory of why this is the first run or draft version of this uprising. There is no unity amongst the various opposition groups and the Syrian military is strong and has sided with the regime, to the point that they are willing to shell civillians. It may be years, or maybe never, before Assad falls as he and his father assiduously made sure that their interests were intermeshed with those of the economic elite and military elite. The message being "if I fall, we all swing".
This article explains my theory of why this is the first run or draft version of this uprising. There is no unity amongst the various opposition groups and the Syrian military is strong and has sided with the regime, to the point that they are willing to shell civillians. It may be years, or maybe never, before Assad falls as he and his father assiduously made sure that their interests were intermeshed with those of the economic elite and military elite. The message being "if I fall, we all swing".
Wednesday, August 3, 2011
Syria Sends In Tanks to Storm Center of Rebellious City - NADA BAKRI and RICK GLADSTONE
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/04/world/middleeast/04syria.html?_r=1&partner=rss&emc=rss
Is it a coincidence that Mubarak goes on trial today? A combination "look over there" distraction and a realization by Assad that he will receive no trial.
More specifically, Assad's trial would never be televised. Just the aftermath of the sentence.
Is it a coincidence that Mubarak goes on trial today? A combination "look over there" distraction and a realization by Assad that he will receive no trial.
More specifically, Assad's trial would never be televised. Just the aftermath of the sentence.
Palin: If Tea Partiers Were Terrorists, Obama Would Pal With Us - Katrina Trinko
http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/273525/palin-if-tea-partiers-were-terrorists-obama-would-pal-us-katrina-trinko
Everyone watches when Sister Sarah says what Obama says, that he didn't say. The act wears thin, and she made me look stupid for not jumping in on July 4th, and I think the window on her campaign run has closed. But she is still relevant. She's savaging Mittens. He and his educated hair and smarmy shoes and impeccable English. He'll pay for his education all right, his education at the hands of the Saracudda.
I hadn't even anticipated this since she stopped her world tour for jury duty. She's going to deliver hate upon Mittens and his campaign, and by definition the grown ups in the Republican party, until she either destroys them or people stop caring what she says, which by definition of you reading this is not happening. To put this into prespective, when Mittens blows the Paul Revere story, no ones coming to his aid to defend stupidity.
Sarah has found her calling: re-electing Obama one way or the other.
Everyone watches when Sister Sarah says what Obama says, that he didn't say. The act wears thin, and she made me look stupid for not jumping in on July 4th, and I think the window on her campaign run has closed. But she is still relevant. She's savaging Mittens. He and his educated hair and smarmy shoes and impeccable English. He'll pay for his education all right, his education at the hands of the Saracudda.
I hadn't even anticipated this since she stopped her world tour for jury duty. She's going to deliver hate upon Mittens and his campaign, and by definition the grown ups in the Republican party, until she either destroys them or people stop caring what she says, which by definition of you reading this is not happening. To put this into prespective, when Mittens blows the Paul Revere story, no ones coming to his aid to defend stupidity.
Sarah has found her calling: re-electing Obama one way or the other.
Eurozone crisis reignites as investors lose faith in rescue package - Alex Hawkes and Jill Treanor
http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2011/aug/02/european-debt-crisis-spain-italy
The Eurozone's last days. It never prevented a war, and did bring economic boom in a way, but in the end the weak sisters of the South would be cast off to fend for themselves (and better, since they could manipulate their own currencies) while Europe's Big Three realized they no longer needed twenty countries to match American might. Perhaps it was better that Turkey never gained entry, free to be corrupt as they wanted and free to meddle endlessly in the middle east instead of being the dark skinned european.
The Eurozone's last days. It never prevented a war, and did bring economic boom in a way, but in the end the weak sisters of the South would be cast off to fend for themselves (and better, since they could manipulate their own currencies) while Europe's Big Three realized they no longer needed twenty countries to match American might. Perhaps it was better that Turkey never gained entry, free to be corrupt as they wanted and free to meddle endlessly in the middle east instead of being the dark skinned european.
GOP winning the larger argument over government - Greg Sargent
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line/post/republicans-winning-the-larger-argument-over-government/2011/03/03/gIQAnVtupI_blog.html
I think this is true, to some extent but it's also possible that people are just angry and the Republicans are selling anger. People equate "big government" with high taxes, mostly because the two are conflated in speeches so often, so it's no surprise when people are asked in polls about whether they wish the government was larger, they answer no, The reason is they are hearing the question as "do you want to pay higher taxes?"
More accurate is the attitude of people when disasters happen or their 401k sags: government had better get its ass in gear and fix this.
No one was arguing that the country went super liberal in the 2008 election.
I think this is true, to some extent but it's also possible that people are just angry and the Republicans are selling anger. People equate "big government" with high taxes, mostly because the two are conflated in speeches so often, so it's no surprise when people are asked in polls about whether they wish the government was larger, they answer no, The reason is they are hearing the question as "do you want to pay higher taxes?"
More accurate is the attitude of people when disasters happen or their 401k sags: government had better get its ass in gear and fix this.
No one was arguing that the country went super liberal in the 2008 election.
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