As Jack Balkin at Balkinization points out, the Cheney plan to use the military to arrest terrorists in the United States amounted to a suspension of the Fourth Amendment.
The central problem with the Cheney/Yoo/Addington theory was that it allowed the President to declare anyone in the United States an enemy combatant. Then, once the President made this declaration, the person would lose all their civil rights. The military could arrest and imprison the person without charges or any of the procedural protections of the Bill of Rights; it could torture them for information (under the theory that these techniques did not shock the conscience under the Eighth Amendment), and it could hold them indefinitely in a military prison. The problem with the Cheney/Yoo/Addington theory, in short, was that it embraced elements of military dictatorship within the United States.
Frankly, until Republicans come to terms with this, I really can't see trusting them with executive ranch power again. Ever.
Showing posts with label power. Show all posts
Showing posts with label power. Show all posts
Saturday, July 25, 2009
Video proves police corruption
The more these kinds of things happen the mroe I think video should be a regular part of all police operations. It will protect the good gops and deter the bad ones.
http://news.aol.com/article/video-clears-suspects/526114
http://news.aol.com/article/video-clears-suspects/526114
Cheney wanted to send the Army into Buffalo!!!
Can you imagine!!
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/25/us/25detain.html?_r=2&hp
It would have been quite the wake-up call, I suppose. And suppose they had screwed up? Imagine if there was collateral damage in Buffalo?
And I wonder if the military brass would have been willing to go along? I suspect that there would have been a real pushback on this one, had it gone that far.
My God, Cheney was out of control.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/25/us/25detain.html?_r=2&hp
It would have been quite the wake-up call, I suppose. And suppose they had screwed up? Imagine if there was collateral damage in Buffalo?
And I wonder if the military brass would have been willing to go along? I suspect that there would have been a real pushback on this one, had it gone that far.
My God, Cheney was out of control.
Friday, July 10, 2009
US like Rome in decline?
It's one of those popular little political analogies, comparing the United States to late Republican Rome, or alternatively, to Imperial Rome.
While there certainly are some interesting parallels, especially in the relative political, military and economic dominance of the world,* it's easy to get carried away.
Firstly, it's highly debatable whether the US is in decline at all. Every generation feels its crisis are unprecedented and that things were better in the old days -- moral rot and all that. Now, I won't argue that everything is great in the USA. Some things are better and some things are worse, but we should also remember that the good old days including things like lynchings, disenfranchisement, sexism, racism, civil war etc. If there's truly a decline going on, we're not well-placed to spot it. I think the decline was very well along in Rome before people recognized it.
And Rome was different in many critical ways from the US. This doesn't make the US immune from decline, but it does suggest that it will decline in different ways and from different causes. Personally, I think analogies to Britain's experience may be more on target.
Among the differences that I think are critical is that the US is a federal republic, not a city state that acquired and empire. There's necessarily a different relationship between the parts and the whole. The US is, geo-politically, an island and naval power, secure from physical invasion. Rome was a land power, with very long and indefensible borders. Despite regional differences and ethnic politics, the US is a remarkably homogeneous society and culture, while Roman culture, while widespread, was often confined to the elites and did not displace local cultures in many places. Finally, technology and cultural development have created a far different world from 2,000 years ago, making analogies questionable. To the extent that human nature has not changed, you can learn something from Rome's experiences, just as Plato's Republic can be mined for insights today. But too much as changed to make that your primary source material. There are no steppe barbarians to keep at bay.
While there certainly are some interesting parallels, especially in the relative political, military and economic dominance of the world,* it's easy to get carried away.
Firstly, it's highly debatable whether the US is in decline at all. Every generation feels its crisis are unprecedented and that things were better in the old days -- moral rot and all that. Now, I won't argue that everything is great in the USA. Some things are better and some things are worse, but we should also remember that the good old days including things like lynchings, disenfranchisement, sexism, racism, civil war etc. If there's truly a decline going on, we're not well-placed to spot it. I think the decline was very well along in Rome before people recognized it.
And Rome was different in many critical ways from the US. This doesn't make the US immune from decline, but it does suggest that it will decline in different ways and from different causes. Personally, I think analogies to Britain's experience may be more on target.
Among the differences that I think are critical is that the US is a federal republic, not a city state that acquired and empire. There's necessarily a different relationship between the parts and the whole. The US is, geo-politically, an island and naval power, secure from physical invasion. Rome was a land power, with very long and indefensible borders. Despite regional differences and ethnic politics, the US is a remarkably homogeneous society and culture, while Roman culture, while widespread, was often confined to the elites and did not displace local cultures in many places. Finally, technology and cultural development have created a far different world from 2,000 years ago, making analogies questionable. To the extent that human nature has not changed, you can learn something from Rome's experiences, just as Plato's Republic can be mined for insights today. But too much as changed to make that your primary source material. There are no steppe barbarians to keep at bay.
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
They are so stupid it hurts
As Greenwald points out as the Right Wing suddenly rediscovers the dangers of unbridled governmental power: All of the enabling legislation underlying this Surveillance State -- from the Patriot Act to the Military Commissions Act, from the various FISA "reforms" to massive increases in domestic "counter-Terrorism" programs -- are the spawns of the very right-wing movement that today is petrified that this is all being directed at them.
They are really so incredibly stupid that it hurts to even think of it. For years I have wondered why they thought this was a good idea. Did they ever stop to consider if they wanted Hillary to have this kind of power, for example? They're just lucky it's Obama.
They are really so incredibly stupid that it hurts to even think of it. For years I have wondered why they thought this was a good idea. Did they ever stop to consider if they wanted Hillary to have this kind of power, for example? They're just lucky it's Obama.
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
That unipolar moment didn't last long
Housing Doom reacts to news that China wants the world to consider a new reserve currency other than the US Dollar: After Wednesday’s festivities I’m confident that China has now made the opening gambit in its inevitable confrontation with America. The process will take a bit over 60 years and we might as well be civilized about it — since it’s going to take a while …
http://housingdoom.com/2009/03/25/public-radio-the-us-dollar-and-threats/
http://housingdoom.com/2009/03/25/public-radio-the-us-dollar-and-threats/
Monday, March 23, 2009
Class warfare?
The rising economic inequality of the last few decades has been raising alarms in some quarters for quite some time, but a number of factors disguised it until recently.
Perhaps one of the most important was the entry of women into the workforce, which allowed most middle-class families to maintain a middle-class standard of living even though it took more hours of labor to do so. Women derived some benefits in self-actualization and independence from this trend, so it was not entirely unwelcome. But there was a natural limit on how far this could go.
A second factor disguising the inequality was the rise of Wal-Mart and other discounters and the ability to keep costs down by inports from China and other low-labor cost countries. It became possible to maintain the essentials of life at a lower cost.
A third factor was the rise in home values and the stock market rise, both of which made it seem as if people were building wealth (in home equity and 401k balances) even as they tapped out their savings and credit limits to maintain the middle class lifestyle they aspired to.
Not the fact that all this was built on sand and could not be sustained was recognized by some. There have been no shortages of Cassandras. But it was politically expedient to dismiss them and the rich and powerful could marshal a lot of resources to marginalize those voices.
But the market will, as it always will, eventually rule. And despite the fact that the rich and powerful pay lip service to the "Market" they don't really want the market to freely operate. What, after all, is the use of riches and power if it can't protect you from bad things?
Unfortunately one of the major parties lost sight of its responsibility to all the citizens and one of the major intellectual movements was hijacked by powerful interests to the point that timeless conservative principles such as rule of law and limited government were completely perverted to the point where "conservatives" would seriously argue for unlimited executive powers including the ability to disappear people, engage in torture and simply ignore Congress when the executive decided it was proper, and all of this without judicial review.
Well, it may very well be that the worm has turned.
There are people screaming that AIG's contracts are sacrosanct and that the government has no power to void them. Well, folks, if the government has the power to arrest you without charges, torture you to madness and detain you as long as it wants without trial, what chance do your little pieces of paper stand?
Fools.
Perhaps one of the most important was the entry of women into the workforce, which allowed most middle-class families to maintain a middle-class standard of living even though it took more hours of labor to do so. Women derived some benefits in self-actualization and independence from this trend, so it was not entirely unwelcome. But there was a natural limit on how far this could go.
A second factor disguising the inequality was the rise of Wal-Mart and other discounters and the ability to keep costs down by inports from China and other low-labor cost countries. It became possible to maintain the essentials of life at a lower cost.
A third factor was the rise in home values and the stock market rise, both of which made it seem as if people were building wealth (in home equity and 401k balances) even as they tapped out their savings and credit limits to maintain the middle class lifestyle they aspired to.
Not the fact that all this was built on sand and could not be sustained was recognized by some. There have been no shortages of Cassandras. But it was politically expedient to dismiss them and the rich and powerful could marshal a lot of resources to marginalize those voices.
But the market will, as it always will, eventually rule. And despite the fact that the rich and powerful pay lip service to the "Market" they don't really want the market to freely operate. What, after all, is the use of riches and power if it can't protect you from bad things?
Unfortunately one of the major parties lost sight of its responsibility to all the citizens and one of the major intellectual movements was hijacked by powerful interests to the point that timeless conservative principles such as rule of law and limited government were completely perverted to the point where "conservatives" would seriously argue for unlimited executive powers including the ability to disappear people, engage in torture and simply ignore Congress when the executive decided it was proper, and all of this without judicial review.
Well, it may very well be that the worm has turned.
There are people screaming that AIG's contracts are sacrosanct and that the government has no power to void them. Well, folks, if the government has the power to arrest you without charges, torture you to madness and detain you as long as it wants without trial, what chance do your little pieces of paper stand?
Fools.
Saturday, March 14, 2009
Power will always be abused if unchecked
Here's a Texas county that uses the drug forfeiture laws to shake down black motorists passing through.
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-texas-profiling11-2009mar11,0,507135.story
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-texas-profiling11-2009mar11,0,507135.story
Friday, March 13, 2009
Policeman doesn't tell the truth
I know, it's shocking.
Right.
Still, it's part of a pattern of disdain for First Amendment and other constitutional rights that seems to have become ingrained in law enforcement recently.
In this case (Details here: http://www.philly.com/philly/wires/ap/news/nation_world/20090313_ap_videoraisesquestionsaboutconnpriestsarrest.html)
a police officer's statement seems to claim that he didn't know that the "shiny metal object" in the priest's hands was a video camera even though the camera's videotape itself shows differently. I guess the priest should be thankful the police officer didn't decide the camera looked like a gun and that the officer was in "reasonable" fear of death or injury and needed to shoot him.
It's hard to fight off the cynicism.
Right.
Still, it's part of a pattern of disdain for First Amendment and other constitutional rights that seems to have become ingrained in law enforcement recently.
In this case (Details here: http://www.philly.com/philly/wires/ap/news/nation_world/20090313_ap_videoraisesquestionsaboutconnpriestsarrest.html)
a police officer's statement seems to claim that he didn't know that the "shiny metal object" in the priest's hands was a video camera even though the camera's videotape itself shows differently. I guess the priest should be thankful the police officer didn't decide the camera looked like a gun and that the officer was in "reasonable" fear of death or injury and needed to shoot him.
It's hard to fight off the cynicism.
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
The Vote
I'll admit I was a bit surprised that the "bailout" bill failed, but not shocked. I've felt that the chances that something would be done this time were slimmer than the conventional wisdom suggested. Not based on any analysis, of course, just on a gut feeling that they were going to the well one too many times.
The entire unfolding of this crisis has caught most of the mainstream figures by surprise, although there have been no shortage of voices in the wilderness warming that trouble was ahead. Checkout http://housingpanic.blogspot.com/ for example.
While the exact course of things has been hard to predict, there has been one constant, and that is whatever the government says and does will be too little and too late. This "bailout" seems to be just another chapter in that story.
I don't have the expertise to judge the plan on its details, but if past performance is any guide, time will prove that this plan will be inadequate.
It's certainly possible that there is nothing the government can do that would actually stop the meltdown, of course. It may be that some future Bernanke-like scholar will determine that the last chance for effective intervention passed many years ago.
The entire unfolding of this crisis has caught most of the mainstream figures by surprise, although there have been no shortage of voices in the wilderness warming that trouble was ahead. Checkout http://housingpanic.blogspot.com/ for example.
While the exact course of things has been hard to predict, there has been one constant, and that is whatever the government says and does will be too little and too late. This "bailout" seems to be just another chapter in that story.
I don't have the expertise to judge the plan on its details, but if past performance is any guide, time will prove that this plan will be inadequate.
It's certainly possible that there is nothing the government can do that would actually stop the meltdown, of course. It may be that some future Bernanke-like scholar will determine that the last chance for effective intervention passed many years ago.
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
The disappointment of John McCain
Andrew Sullivan sums it up:
So far, he has let us all down. My guess is he will continue to do so. And that decision, for my part, ends whatever respect I once had for him. On core moral issues, where this man knew what the right thing was, and had to pick between good and evil, he chose evil. When he knew that George W. Bush's war in Iraq was a fiasco and catastrophe, and before Donald Rumsfeld quit, McCain endorsed George W. Bush against his fellow Vietnam vet, John Kerry in 2004. By that decision, McCain lost any credibility that he can ever put country first. He put party first and his own career first ahead of what he knew was best for the country.
And when the Senate and House voted overwhelmingly to condemn and end the torture regime of Bush and Cheney in 2006, McCain again had a clear choice between good and evil, and chose evil.
He capitulated and enshrined torture as the policy of the United States, by allowing the CIA to use techniques as bad as and worse than the torture inflicted on him in Vietnam. He gave the war criminals in the White House retroactive immunity against the prosecution they so richly deserve. The enormity of this moral betrayal, this betrayal of his country's honor, has yet to sink in. But for my part, it now makes much more sense. He is not the man I thought he was.
The rest is here: http://andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com/the_daily_dish/2008/09/mccains-integri.html
I, too, am disappointed. Of all the GOP candidates I liked John McCain the best. I thought he was a man of honor and I expected, for a change, that we would be treated to an above-board, issues-based campaign between these two men.
Instead we're getting the Rovian politics that have robbed the Republican party of its soul in a Faustian bargain for power. It's evident now that it didn't matter who the GOP picked (with the possible exception of Huckabee), the Republicans no longer even know how to campaign on issues. The Reagan era is dead. Issues no longer matter.
For the good of the party, (not to mention the country) McCain must lose. Perhaps, out of that wreckage someone can rebuild the party based on some authentic conservative values. Maybe it will be Huckabee, with his populist and faith-based but optimistic vision. Maybe it can be Petraeus, who will be a bona fide war hero and is apparently a "Northeastern Republican" (a nearly dead breed, but one that could actually win over independents) in the mold of Eisenhower. Perhaps there is some Obama-like young Republican who can take the party in a new direction.
So far, he has let us all down. My guess is he will continue to do so. And that decision, for my part, ends whatever respect I once had for him. On core moral issues, where this man knew what the right thing was, and had to pick between good and evil, he chose evil. When he knew that George W. Bush's war in Iraq was a fiasco and catastrophe, and before Donald Rumsfeld quit, McCain endorsed George W. Bush against his fellow Vietnam vet, John Kerry in 2004. By that decision, McCain lost any credibility that he can ever put country first. He put party first and his own career first ahead of what he knew was best for the country.
And when the Senate and House voted overwhelmingly to condemn and end the torture regime of Bush and Cheney in 2006, McCain again had a clear choice between good and evil, and chose evil.
He capitulated and enshrined torture as the policy of the United States, by allowing the CIA to use techniques as bad as and worse than the torture inflicted on him in Vietnam. He gave the war criminals in the White House retroactive immunity against the prosecution they so richly deserve. The enormity of this moral betrayal, this betrayal of his country's honor, has yet to sink in. But for my part, it now makes much more sense. He is not the man I thought he was.
The rest is here: http://andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com/the_daily_dish/2008/09/mccains-integri.html
I, too, am disappointed. Of all the GOP candidates I liked John McCain the best. I thought he was a man of honor and I expected, for a change, that we would be treated to an above-board, issues-based campaign between these two men.
Instead we're getting the Rovian politics that have robbed the Republican party of its soul in a Faustian bargain for power. It's evident now that it didn't matter who the GOP picked (with the possible exception of Huckabee), the Republicans no longer even know how to campaign on issues. The Reagan era is dead. Issues no longer matter.
For the good of the party, (not to mention the country) McCain must lose. Perhaps, out of that wreckage someone can rebuild the party based on some authentic conservative values. Maybe it will be Huckabee, with his populist and faith-based but optimistic vision. Maybe it can be Petraeus, who will be a bona fide war hero and is apparently a "Northeastern Republican" (a nearly dead breed, but one that could actually win over independents) in the mold of Eisenhower. Perhaps there is some Obama-like young Republican who can take the party in a new direction.
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
Bainbridge on the Calvo case
Conservative blogger Steven Bainbridge takes note:
The Calvo case, however, had several other factors working for it that I think help explain why it got so much media attention. Mayor Calco and his wife are white, middle class progressives, who live in a two-story, red-brick house in a Washington suburb. In addition to being a part-time mayor, Calvo works at a nonprofit foundation that runs boarding schools. His wife is a state finance officer. All of which suggests they’re in precisely the same demographic as most MSM reporters. The Washington Post or NY Times reporters look at this case and immediately think: “It could happen to me!” So the story gets saturation coverage--even in Great Britain!
Meanwhile, the MSM ignores the plight of African-American and Latino minority communities caught in the War on Drugs’ crossfire between paramilitary SWAT stormtroopers and gang thugs. How many brown and black families per year are terrorized by cops erroneously executing no knock warrants on the wrong premises? We don’t know because the media only pays attention to collateral damage from the War on Drugs when it happens to people like Mayor Calvo.
What happened to Calvo and his dogs is inexcusable. But the real tragedy is that the same sort of thing happens every day in places like South-Central Los Angeles and nobody cares.
It’s time to declare a cease fire in the failed war on drugs. It’s time for a rational program of legalization and regulation. It’s time for common sense.
The Calvo case, however, had several other factors working for it that I think help explain why it got so much media attention. Mayor Calco and his wife are white, middle class progressives, who live in a two-story, red-brick house in a Washington suburb. In addition to being a part-time mayor, Calvo works at a nonprofit foundation that runs boarding schools. His wife is a state finance officer. All of which suggests they’re in precisely the same demographic as most MSM reporters. The Washington Post or NY Times reporters look at this case and immediately think: “It could happen to me!” So the story gets saturation coverage--even in Great Britain!
Meanwhile, the MSM ignores the plight of African-American and Latino minority communities caught in the War on Drugs’ crossfire between paramilitary SWAT stormtroopers and gang thugs. How many brown and black families per year are terrorized by cops erroneously executing no knock warrants on the wrong premises? We don’t know because the media only pays attention to collateral damage from the War on Drugs when it happens to people like Mayor Calvo.
What happened to Calvo and his dogs is inexcusable. But the real tragedy is that the same sort of thing happens every day in places like South-Central Los Angeles and nobody cares.
It’s time to declare a cease fire in the failed war on drugs. It’s time for a rational program of legalization and regulation. It’s time for common sense.
Tuesday, August 5, 2008
The McMaster Promotion board
Kaplan has a good article in slate about something that's real important, but usually flies well under the radar of the Media and the public. He notes how the latest Army general officer promotion board may represent a very important seismic shift in the Army's leadership: http://www.slate.com/id/2196647/
The guy at the top always matters, for good or ill. In the case of the ill, for example, we can't really expect a major across-the-board improvement in the U.S. strategic situation so long as Bush is president.
But, to the extent that lower-ranking officials have quality they can make improvements within their sphere. There may be no clearer example of this than the Department of Defense. The shortcomings of Rumfeld are made starkly evident by the dramatic improvements under Gates, who may be one of the most important and effective SecDefs ever.
Gates has brought back to the Pentagon something that has been sorely lacking otherwise in the Bush administration -- accountability. Gates has been willing to fire failures. And now we are also seeing that he's interested in rewarding successes.
Unhappy with the kinds of decisions being made by the all-important Army one-star general promotion boards he brought back Gen. Petraeus from the war zone to oversea a promotion board. This alone can't help but send a powerful message how important Gates considered this board.
One of the biggest scandals of the last few years was the failure of two successive promotion boards to promote COL H.R. McMaster. There's hardly a more famous -- and justly so -- O-6 in the Army and it's failure to give him a star was nothing short of scandalous. Anyone who has been following McMaster's career has little doubt that he is one of the most outstanding officers of his generation -- bearing comparison with luminaries such as George C. Marshall and Creighton Abrams.
So Gates filled the board with the kind of outstanding successful combat officers the Army needs. Officers who had managed to rise to the top despite the system, but who could now reform that system to promote like-minded juniors in sufficient numbers to make a difference, as Kaplan points out.
I sure as hell hope the Navy names an aircraft carrier after this guy someday.
The guy at the top always matters, for good or ill. In the case of the ill, for example, we can't really expect a major across-the-board improvement in the U.S. strategic situation so long as Bush is president.
But, to the extent that lower-ranking officials have quality they can make improvements within their sphere. There may be no clearer example of this than the Department of Defense. The shortcomings of Rumfeld are made starkly evident by the dramatic improvements under Gates, who may be one of the most important and effective SecDefs ever.
Gates has brought back to the Pentagon something that has been sorely lacking otherwise in the Bush administration -- accountability. Gates has been willing to fire failures. And now we are also seeing that he's interested in rewarding successes.
Unhappy with the kinds of decisions being made by the all-important Army one-star general promotion boards he brought back Gen. Petraeus from the war zone to oversea a promotion board. This alone can't help but send a powerful message how important Gates considered this board.
One of the biggest scandals of the last few years was the failure of two successive promotion boards to promote COL H.R. McMaster. There's hardly a more famous -- and justly so -- O-6 in the Army and it's failure to give him a star was nothing short of scandalous. Anyone who has been following McMaster's career has little doubt that he is one of the most outstanding officers of his generation -- bearing comparison with luminaries such as George C. Marshall and Creighton Abrams.
So Gates filled the board with the kind of outstanding successful combat officers the Army needs. Officers who had managed to rise to the top despite the system, but who could now reform that system to promote like-minded juniors in sufficient numbers to make a difference, as Kaplan points out.
I sure as hell hope the Navy names an aircraft carrier after this guy someday.
Friday, August 1, 2008
So at what point do citizens say enough?
Is it when cops taser a man with a broken back 19 times because he can't get up? http://www.newshoggers.com/blog/2008/07/cant-think-of-a.html
Or is it when a police SWAT team shoots to death the two dogs of a town's mayor during a no-knock raid? http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/07/30/AR2008073003299_2.html
Or maybe it's when witnesses who don't parrot the police side of the story are detained, interrogated and intimidated: http://www.reason.com/blog/show/126284.html
Here is a list of drug war victims: http://blogs.salon.com/0002762/stories/2003/08/17/drugWarVictims.html
Or is it when a police SWAT team shoots to death the two dogs of a town's mayor during a no-knock raid? http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/07/30/AR2008073003299_2.html
Or maybe it's when witnesses who don't parrot the police side of the story are detained, interrogated and intimidated: http://www.reason.com/blog/show/126284.html
Here is a list of drug war victims: http://blogs.salon.com/0002762/stories/2003/08/17/drugWarVictims.html
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
You have to hand it to the Bushies ...
... no matter how many times you think that "they can't top this!" -- they do:
http://www.usdoj.gov/oig/special/s0807/final.pdf
The link is to the official DOJ report about how the Bush administration broke the law by using nakedly partisan considerations to fill career lawyer positions in DOJ. In one case a top anti-terror prosecutor didn't get hired because his wife was a Democrat.
Oh yeah, and Goodling asked some candidates "what is it about George W. Bush that makes you want to serve him?" (Page 18) Gee, I thought career DOJ lawyers were serving the people of the United States.
Eerily similar to the hapless GOP flunky some months back who told Sen. Leahy about her oath to the president, provoking an impromptu civics lesson from the senator to the clueless lackey that her oath was to the Constitution!
http://www.usdoj.gov/oig/special/s0807/final.pdf
The link is to the official DOJ report about how the Bush administration broke the law by using nakedly partisan considerations to fill career lawyer positions in DOJ. In one case a top anti-terror prosecutor didn't get hired because his wife was a Democrat.
Oh yeah, and Goodling asked some candidates "what is it about George W. Bush that makes you want to serve him?" (Page 18) Gee, I thought career DOJ lawyers were serving the people of the United States.
Eerily similar to the hapless GOP flunky some months back who told Sen. Leahy about her oath to the president, provoking an impromptu civics lesson from the senator to the clueless lackey that her oath was to the Constitution!
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
Kasparov stalked by a flying penis
I guess it is possible to go even lower in public discourse than what we've seen in America.
Check out the harassment of opposition leader and former chess champ Kasparov in Russia as he's attacked by an RC flying penis, of all things.
http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/world-news/article3720115.ece
Check out the harassment of opposition leader and former chess champ Kasparov in Russia as he's attacked by an RC flying penis, of all things.
http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/world-news/article3720115.ece
Friday, May 16, 2008
Torpedo amidships
When Peggy Noonan's good, she's real good. (Emphasis mine)
This was a real wakeup call for us," someone named Robert M. Duncan, who is chairman of the Republican National Committee, told the New York Times. This was after Mississippi. "We can't let the Democrats take our issues." And those issues would be? "We can't let them pretend to be conservatives," he continued. Why not? Republicans pretend to be conservative every day.
Check out the whole read here: http://online.wsj.com/article/declarations.html
This was a real wakeup call for us," someone named Robert M. Duncan, who is chairman of the Republican National Committee, told the New York Times. This was after Mississippi. "We can't let the Democrats take our issues." And those issues would be? "We can't let them pretend to be conservatives," he continued. Why not? Republicans pretend to be conservative every day.
Check out the whole read here: http://online.wsj.com/article/declarations.html
Six ways the GOP can save itself
There's an article about six ways the GOP can save itself here: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0508/10370_Page2.html
The first one has promise -- "Get a Clue" but they go downhill from there.
Here's my suggestions for how the GOP can rescue itself without becoming liberals or Dems-lite.
1. Get a Clue. That's good advice. It means recognizing that the party has strayed badly off track and that it needs to jettison Bush and his baggage.
2. Renounce torture. It taints everything else, directly or indirectly. A government that tortures and a party that supports torture can never win over the American people, who are, at heart very decent.
3. Rediscover the virtues of limiting government. Not just the government's ability to harass businesses but also the government's ability to bother private citizens, snoop into their affairs and abuse their rights. Tort reform and torture reform are not opposing principles.
4. Don't cut taxes without cutting spending. Don't spend for things we're not willing to pay taxes for. Borrowing to pay for routine government activities in nonsense.
5. War. End this one and don't look for any new ones.
6. Remember that American values are accessible to all ethnic groups, all races, both genders, any age, an income and any sexual orientation. Any party that identifies itself primarily with affluent white males has no future. Adjust your message until it starts to make sense to everybody.
The first one has promise -- "Get a Clue" but they go downhill from there.
Here's my suggestions for how the GOP can rescue itself without becoming liberals or Dems-lite.
1. Get a Clue. That's good advice. It means recognizing that the party has strayed badly off track and that it needs to jettison Bush and his baggage.
2. Renounce torture. It taints everything else, directly or indirectly. A government that tortures and a party that supports torture can never win over the American people, who are, at heart very decent.
3. Rediscover the virtues of limiting government. Not just the government's ability to harass businesses but also the government's ability to bother private citizens, snoop into their affairs and abuse their rights. Tort reform and torture reform are not opposing principles.
4. Don't cut taxes without cutting spending. Don't spend for things we're not willing to pay taxes for. Borrowing to pay for routine government activities in nonsense.
5. War. End this one and don't look for any new ones.
6. Remember that American values are accessible to all ethnic groups, all races, both genders, any age, an income and any sexual orientation. Any party that identifies itself primarily with affluent white males has no future. Adjust your message until it starts to make sense to everybody.
Thursday, May 15, 2008
Welcome to America
Check out how crazy things have gotten here:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/14/us/14visa.html?_r=1&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss&oref=slogin
The real lesson here is that if you give petty bureaucrats unlimited power without meaningful review then some of them will abuse it. This is common sense, well-known since ancient times and why there must ALWAYS be some system for oversight over the exercise of ANY power.
Whether its the power of a border agent to bar someone entry or the power to authorize NSA wiretaps there must ALWAYS be some outside review available to prevent mistakes and abuse. Conservatives used to know this.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/14/us/14visa.html?_r=1&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss&oref=slogin
The real lesson here is that if you give petty bureaucrats unlimited power without meaningful review then some of them will abuse it. This is common sense, well-known since ancient times and why there must ALWAYS be some system for oversight over the exercise of ANY power.
Whether its the power of a border agent to bar someone entry or the power to authorize NSA wiretaps there must ALWAYS be some outside review available to prevent mistakes and abuse. Conservatives used to know this.
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