January 31, 2009
Show Me the Money!
How to Shake Down the Wall Street Gangsters
By Werther*
In his January 29 photo-op cum press conference, President Obama showed, according to the pundits who talk about these things, a "rare flash of anger." He was addressing the issue of $18.4 billion in bonuses paid on Wall Street by the very firms that have dragged the U.S. economy — and taxpayer money with it — into what the Financial Times describes as the worst global economic crisis in 60 years.
January 27, 2009
On Filibusters and Cloture
Like certain other unremarked, established political practices (limiting, for example, the number of seats in the U.S. House of Representatives) neither filibusters nor cloture in the U.S. Senate possess any constitutional basis. Indeed, filibusters and cloture have no basis in law at all but exist solely thanks to tradition. So far as cloture goes it's a relatively recent tradition at that, begun only in 1917 when the Senate adopted Rule 22, which was amended in 1975 to reduce the number needed for cloture (to end a filibuster) to the "magic 60" so often discussed on the news. Catch-22 would be more like it.
January 26, 2009
I Want Health Insurance
According to John Conyers' office, which I spoke to a couple minutes ago, their plan is to offer up H.R. 676 this evening. H.R. 676 is the right way to go: single payer universal coverage — the government covers everybody. It essentially puts the health insurers out of business, but why not? Is the public's health just another commodity? If the experience of other advanced industrial countries is any guide, and it is, with H.R. 676 we as a nation would get much better health care results for a lot less money. We wouldn't be rationing health care according to ability to pay. And probably, though this is empirically not entirely clear, even the wealthy (according to epidemiologists) would wind up with better health. It's a sensible solution finding its way to us about a half a century late. But better late than never.
January 24, 2009
Robowar in Pashtunistan
By Chuck Spinney
It has been widely acknowledged that President Obama inherited a deteriorating situation in Afghanistan, and he has made it clear that he is determined to turn it around. Yet Mr. Obama just launched his first robotic strike on Al Qaeda targets in Pakistan, apparently continuing the counterproductive targeting policy begun by Mr. Bush. According to reports, American drones fired five missiles into houses holding suspected terrorists in separate villages in North and South Waziristan resulting, according to locals, in the deaths of at least 15 people including seven foreigners (code for Al Qaeda) and least 3 children.
January 21, 2009
Gitmo, Secret Prisons, and Torture
Give credit where credit is due. Mr. Obama has moved quickly to begin the process of shutting down the prison at Guantánamo Bay, secret prisons elsewhere, and — immediately, it appears — ending the practice of torture. Meanwhile Senate Republicans continue to block Eric Holder's nomination unless he renounces the possibility of prosecuting torturers. Senate Democrats better not cave on this one. And I would wonder whether Senator John Cornyn (R-Texas) might himself be liable for war crimes prosecutions as an accessory after the fact?
Hobbits Walked Among Us
Scientific evidence seems to be breaking in favor of the idea that Homo floresiensis was, indeed, another hominid species. One that seems to have gone extinct only about 17,000 years ago. Wouldn't it be amazing, though, if some pockets of them still survive somewhere? Smallfoot, as J.R.R. Tolkien might have had it. It's always imprudent to rule out the possibility based on assumptions regarding the comprehensiveness of our state of knowledge. (I remain, however, reluctant to credit reports of a Nazi UFO base in Antarctica.)
January 20, 2009
Underwhelming
Stumbling over his oath of office (thanks in part to Chief Justice Roberts fouling it up), President Obama has started off on an inauspicious error. Nor did he give a speech for the ages. In fact, it wasn't a speech even remotely commensurate with the current crisis. It wasn't, if you think about it, a speech about much of anything at all. Who is this guy? The crowds impressive, Mr. Obama couldn't settle on a theme, didn't provide leadership and seemed quite lost. I'm beginning to wonder whether his obsession with bipartisan compromise might indicate that, in contrast with his sharp organization skills, he doesn't really know what political leadership means. Airy fairy rhetoric won't cut it anymore. He must provide direction and he must provide it now.
January 19, 2009
No History for W
Now the Tyrant returns to Texas some are trying to take stock of his political legacy. It's barely worth the candle. The main things to catalogue belong to a court of law. One could adumbrate the rest but the essence of it is unambiguous: he's a profoundly stupid and evil man who abused the power of the presidency with nightmarish, catastrophic results. Historians, by all means, should dig into the rich dysfunction of early twenty first century America, but better, perhaps, to relegate the Tyrant so far as possible to a footnote, unworthy of emulation, best forgotten.
January 18, 2009
Israel and the Triple Standard
By Werther*
During the late 1960s, just after the Six-Day War in the Middle East, there arose in the United States a nonce phrase allegedly intended to describe the U.S. relationship with Israel. Sometimes spoken facetiously, sometimes as a half truth, it nevertheless conveyed something of the naive mindset of the time. Israel, so the saying went, was "the 51st state."
January 16, 2009
Vace
First of all, please don't come to DC for the inauguration. It'll be too cold, too crowded, and they'll only have about 5,000 porta-potties down on the mall. Besides, adding a million people to the DC greater metropolitan area will badly stress its carrying capacity, particularly as regards food. (Note to residents: stock up on groceries this weekend.) But if you or your sprouts insist on visiting, and you're wondering what to put on the table, here's a tip that's so good I hate to share. Buy a 3 lb. frozen lasagna from Vace, about $12, either spinach or meat. They're very fresh, very tasty, with very delicate, light noodles. Not made by little old Italian grandmothers but, so far as I can tell, by little old Laotian women covered in tattoos (you can see them working with pasta in the back of the shop). Easily accessible by car or Metro on Connecticut Ave., also in Bethesda. Highly recommended.
January 13, 2009
A Shambolic Process
How curious! The Senate today has a confirmation hearing for Hillary Clinton to be Secretary of State, with the aim of having the whole Senate confirm her appointment by the time that Mr. Obama is sworn in on January 20th. So who sent her name to the Senate? Mr. Obama, as he likes to remind us, has no official position yet. Have they done this on their own? By what authority? If she were to be confirmed before Mr. Obama is sworn in — and why not — what would be her status vis-à-vis Condoleezza Rice? And does the Senate, exercising its power of confirmation, think that Mrs. Clinton might be more forthcoming than the president-elect regarding policy, before he is sworn in? If not, and obviously she has almost nothing of substance to say, then why have a hearing to hear nothing unless it's purely a formality?
January 10, 2009
EP Podcast Schedule Resumes January 16
Well, I enjoyed having two weeks off, but I'm glad to get back to podcasting. So here's the starting lineup for the new season. Friday, January 16, my guest is Martin Fletcher of The Times of London (not to be confused with Martin Fletcher of NBC news). Martin is a roving reporter without portfolio and previously the Times' foreign editor, their Washington Bureau Chief, and a foreign correspondent. He talks to me from Israel. The Friday following, January 23, my guest is Dr. James Petras, who's got a lot to say about Zionism in America. After that, I'm not sure — a couple interviews are pending, on arms control and on the economy. So we'll see... And as I say, I'm glad to be back!
January 8, 2009
Three Simple Proposals
Gaza Seen From Paris
By Jean Bricmont and Diana Johnstone
PARIS — There are surely millions of us, invisible to each other, enraged and powerless as we watch the massacre of Gaza and listen to our media describe it as a "retaliation against terrorism", "Israel's right to defend itself". We have reached a point where answering the Zionist arguments is both useless and unworthy of humanity. So long as it is not recognized that the shells landing on Ashkelon are likely to have been fired by descendants of the inhabitants of that region who were driven out by the Zionists in 1948, talk of peace is a smoke screen for continued Israeli assault on the survivors of that great injustice.
January 7, 2009
Stupid Senate Democrats
Note to Senate Democrats re Roland Burris: Seat the guy as quick as you can and then quietly get rid of Harry Reid as Senate Majority Leader. Senator Reid was an embarrassment throughout the Tyrant's tenure. That he has astonishingly poor political judgment cannot be denied given his current confrontation with Senator-designate Burris. Where did Reid go wrong? In the first place, all the law is on Burris's side. In the second place, in the unlikely event — a "George probability score" of 5% — that Reid could win a protracted legal battle, what a battle it would be. Among the least aspects of its fallout would be an almost certain loss of the Illinois Senate seat in question in the next election. Politically it would be a huge black eye for the Democrats just as they are, supposedly, gearing up to save the economy. It's difficult to imagine a more clear "lose-lose" situation. As to accusations against bohunk Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich, what does Senator Reid think Caroline Kennedy brings to the table? It's money, and the hypocrisy factor for Democrats is breathtaking. Anyhow, Reid has always been a lightweight and it's well past time to dump him.
I Like Leon
Yesterday on the Lehrer News Hour Judy Woodruff had a segment on Mr. Obama's reported intelligence picks, with guests Ray McGovern and Michael Scheuer. I agree with Ray, Leon Panetta is a good choice for CIA, not least because of who doesn't like him. When Jane Harman, Diane Feinstein and Jay Rockefeller — prime W. enablers — all start muttering bad things that's got to be good. Something Ray couldn't say on the Lehrer program, that Leon Panetta is a Catholic, I also like. And the point Ray emphasized, that he's got a lot of managerial experience, is critically important, as is the fact that he's not compromised by 'old-boy' networks. What seals the deal is that Leon Panetta is on record having a bright line against water-boarding and all other forms of torture. Mr. Obama might have done a bit better but certainly could have done much, much worse. My only question is, Leon Panetta being low-key and self-effacing, will he stand up to Mr. Obama when necessary? Does he have the guts to threaten to resign if critical intelligence is in danger of being manipulated away from the truth? Regarding Afghanistan, for example, or China? Otherwise his personality seems quite suited to slip into the shadows...
January 5, 2009
How Republican Is Mr. Obama?
First it was photos of Mr. Obama golfing in Hawaii while Gaza burns. "We only have one President at a time," his minions solemnly explained. So no comment. Never mind that he's chosen to talk quite a bit already about other things. Now this: a reported $300 Billion in tax cuts as part of his "stimulus" plan. So, OK, the message is that he does talk when he's pursuing Republican policies in synch with W. And the word "change" in Mr. Obama's lexicon must mean "I will give the Republicans whatever they want and without any negotiation." It's none too soon to begin drawing conclusions.
January 1, 2009
Happy New Year
One thing I most like to remind myself of is that human beings are still a very primitive species. Written records only emerged five or six thousand years ago, perhaps several thousand years earlier if one liberally considers assorted pot-scratchings. Edison patented the light bulb only a hundred and twenty nine years ago. If we manage to not destroy ourselves, and our planet, five or ten thousand years from now should be an exciting time — and it's that sort of scale that makes me optimistic. Although we haven't yet made "official" contact with intelligent extraterrestrial civilizations I think we should also take some comfort from the speculation that there are many, many other worlds at a stage of development roughly comparable to our own. On some of them, they're probably having arguments about health care policy, too... In other words, we're not alone and I would guess that somewhere (Dreamland?) there's an "owner's manual" for the planet, if we have the wit to find it.
