Politics, open government, and safe streets. And the constant incursion of cycling.

Category: Politics Page 18 of 73

Obama v. Obama on Secrecy

Greg Sargent catches this gem – Obama’s campaign site slamming the same Bush Admin secrecy policies that now he appears willing to keep.   Sargent further notes:

This underscores what a major turnabout this is and how difficult it will be for the Obama administration to justify this politically going forward. Yesterday White House spokesman Robert Gibbs visibly struggled as he defended the current use of the state secrets privilege while saying Obama still condemns Bush’s use of it.

This also creates a major political dilemma for some Democratic Senators, such as Russ Feingold and Patrick Leahy, who have aggressively criticized use of the state secrets privilege but have been largely silent on Obama’s current use of it.

The public heat needs to be turned up on all involved.  “Oh, that was just a campaign line” is not an acceptable excuse.

The Continuing Imaginary Attacks on Conservatives

Once again, the active right fights more with its own imagination than anything else:

I’m sort of fascinated by the latest ACORN conspiracy theory, that ACORN activists are crashing right wing “tea parties” in order to sabotage them. I’m fascinated, because like Steve Benen, I don’t know anyone who actually cares about these things. Obama’s approval rating is in the 60s. The country is growing more optimistic about his presidency. I could see being concerned about the tea parties if they legitimately comprised some sort of mass movement centered around widespread public discontent with the president, but it just seems to be a bunch of sour grapes from hardcore conservatives who would hate Obama no matter what. The far right also seems to have a hard time mobilizing without an evil enemy, someone to hate.

Check out the rest, as Ezra Klein walks it back to – yes – a single post on the internet.    It’s just a part of a real blossoming of the wingers imaginations, lately.  Community service is slavery!  They’re going to put us in camps!  There’s a New World Order coming! Or maybe it’s not so much imagination, as following a script.  Because I’ve seen this story before, in the early 90s- service is slavery, they’re going to round us up, the New World Order is upon us!  Same shit, different administrations.

DC Represent!

The DC City Council voted today to recognize same-sex marriages performed in states that have adopted equality laws.  It’s a solid step towards DC’s bringing same-sex marriage within its own laws.  There will, no doubt, be the challenge of overcoming Congress (which can overturn any DC law, no matter how petty).  It’ll be an interesting illustration of 1) the Democratic Party’s commitment to equality and 2) the hollowness of the Republican Party’s supposed commitment to states’ rights.

Funny

how things change between the campaign trail and the office.  Sometimes the gap is very understandable – you tell people what you want to do when you’re campaigning, and when you’re in office, you find out what you *can* do.  I get that.  But things like this?  Just . . . why?

Someone Should Ask Creigh Deeds . . .

whether he will be helping Iowa politicians put forward a constitutional amendment to ensure that discrimination is built into the Iowa Constitution.  He’s got relevant experience.

Think AIG’s Bonuses Were Bad? Read This.

Megan Slack, over at Alternet, reports on what appears to be an important story that has yet to be picked up by bigger news organizations:

Dennis Kucinich sent out a round of letters to top Treasury officials Monday morning, questioning how much they knew about bonuses paid to Merrill Lynch executives that totaled $3.62 billion, nearly 22 times the total bonuses paid to AIG executives. The payouts made up more that 36 percent of the TARP funds the financial institution received from the Federal government. [emphasis supplied]

Kucinich points out that unlike AIG, the bonuses were not locked in by preexisting contracts and were performance bonuses, as opposed to retention bonuses.

From Rep. Kucinich’s letter:

The Merrill bonuses were 22 times larger than those paid by AIG ($3,620 million versus $165 million). They were also very large relative to the TARP monies allocated to Merrill. The Merrill bonuses were the equivalent of 36.2% of TARP monies Treasury allocated to Merrill and awarded to BOA after their merger. The bonuses, awarded mostly as cash, were made only to top management at Merrill. To be eligible for the bonuses, Merrill employees had to have a salary of at least $300,000 and attained the title of Vice President or higher.

The Merrill bonuses were determined by Merrill’s Compensation Committee at its meeting of December 8, 2008, shortly after BOA shareholders approved the merger but before financial results for the Fourth Quarter had been determined. This appears to be a departure from normal company practice, since the type of bonus Merrill awarded was a performance bonus that, according to company policy, was supposed to reflect all four quarters of performance and was paid in January or later. In this case, however, the bonuses were awarded in December before Fourth Quarter performance had been determined.

Why aren’t we seeing more on this?

Georgia and English-Only Driver’s Tests

The Georgia legislature, as usual, is focuing on the important stuff:

Georgia would require that new drivers take a written license test in English under a bill being considered by state lawmakers, and the proposal has some employers and immigrant advocates worried it would keep people unfamiliar with the language from being able to work.

The measure is the latest in a series of English-only legislation around the country, but Georgia is believed to be the only state that would have a law requiring that drivers take the written test in English without a translator or other aid.

I would just like to point out that when I moved to Georgia as a teenager – a teenager with a fairly solid grasp of the English language – I had a pretty hard time understanding what in the hell half the people were saying.   More than once, I needed a translator to understand the teachers – apparently “Green Witch” is that place in England where they tell the time, and “licks” are what the principle does to you when you’re sent to the office.   We’re not even going to touch syntax.  Oh, and as to the importance of the driving test itself?  This is how mine went:

Tester: “Hey, it says here you live at 193 Little Joe Court [No, really.].  Do you know Alex?”

Me: “Yeah, he lives across the street.  Cool guy.”

Tester: “Yeah, cool guy.  Pull around the side and park the car.”

Passed on the spot.  So I suggest Georgia focus less on trying to compete with South Carolina for The Most Militantly Ignorant State in the Nation Award and more on fundamental needs like, oh, not running out of water because no one can think more than a month or two ahead.

Credit to Kaine: Vetoing the Death Penalty Expansions

I missed this last Friday, and think it’s worth repeating:

Gov. Timothy M. Kaine vetoed several bills Friday, including those that would have expanded the death penalty to criminals who assist in murders or who kill fire marshals or auxiliary police officers.

“Virginia is already second in the nation in the number of executions we carry out,” Kaine said in a statement. “While the nature of the offenses targeted by this legislation is very serious, I do not believe that further expansion of the death penalty is necessary to protect human life.”

The death penalty is an abomination, but it’s one that has become a fundamental part of this country’s psyche and politics.  It won’t be defeated any time soon, yet the (slow) trend is in that direction.  Credit to Kaine and other politicians who brave the cheap rhetoric of its supporters and do the right thing.

Aww, Blue Commonwealth Quits

Blue Commonwealth collapsed under a pile of childishness, self-obsession, and pointlessness today, and it appears to be done for.  If you’re a reader looking for an alternative, I suggest checking out the New Dominion Project.  I’m a fan of the primary authors, and while there are still some rough edges in the site itself, I think that place has a good future.  If you’re a regular BC front-pager?  Please don’t go over to NDP.  Just sit and think about what a ridiculous mess you made, and go do penance by doing something useful, for once.   Like volunteering.  Offline.  For a while.   Through June, at least.

[Update: While I’m recommending places, I might as well toss in a link to the Angry Potato.   Funny and foul, but most of all – smart.  Not a combination I’ve seen anywhere else in VA online Dem politics (well, Blueweeds gets the funny and smart nod, but it gets totally outclassed in the foul dept.)]

Steele: I Meant To Do That

Michael Steele?  Is the gift that keeps on giving:

And then came this exchange, when he insisted that his public face-off with Rush Limbaugh was all part of his plan — to scope out the state of the Republican field, and see who was with him or against him:

Lemon: There’s a rationale behind Rush, all that stuff?

Steele: Yup. Yup.

Lemon: You want to share it with us?

Steele: Sure, I want to see what the landscape looks like. I want to see who yells the loudest, I wanted to know who says they’re with me but really isn’t.

Lemon: How does that help you?

Steele: It helps me understand my position on the chess board. It helps me understand, you know, where the enemy camp is and where those who are inside the tent are.

Lemon: It’s all strategic?

Steele: It’s all strategic.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vJXU7EVXs2A[/youtube]

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