Good morning! Some links to go with your morning coffee…
But first, on this day in history: on May 30, 1431, Joan of Arc, condemned as a heretic, was burned at the stake in Rouen, France.
~Here is a round-up of who will be on the Sunday talk shows today (h/t Firedoglake).
~As everyone now knows by now, the “top kill” failed to stop the oil from gushing into the Gulf of Mexico and BP has now turned its attention to placing a containment cap on the leak, something which they had previously tried but which also failed. Unfortunately, BP is saying it could take four to seven days just to get the cap in place.
~Speaking of BP, legal experts and conservationists have been analyzing BP’s response to the oil spill and it should come as no surprise to anyone, except perhaps the White House, that every step the corporation has taken has been with two goals in mind- limit their legal liability down the road and protect the interests of their shareholders.
~After Obama’s trip to the Gulf on Friday, reports surfaced that BP bussed in temporary workers prior to his arrival to spruce up the place and make it look like BP had things under control, only to have all the workers leave immediately after Obama left. The independent contractor (of course) hired by BP to do coastal clean-up, is denying those reports. The question is, what happened to all the workers?
~As of 10:06a.m. today we will have spent one trillion dollars on the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. So says Representative John Conyers.
~A sad milestone- the the 1,000th GI killed in the Afghan War was Texas Marine Jacob C. Leitch. He had been injured in a roadside bomb and had begged to rejoin his fellow troops on the front lines. He was killed this week when he stepped on a land mine in the Helmand Province.
~Writing in today’s Washington Post, Jessica Velenti analyzes the new strategy of Sarah Palin- specifically, how she is incorporating feminist catch-phrases into her speeches in order to rally more women to the conservative cause. This is an about-face from her earlier position as VP candidate where she told Katie Couric she didn’t want to be “labeled.”
~The House voted to extend jobless benefits on Friday and the Senate….went on vacation. This will cause the benefits to lapse five days before the Senate returns from their ten day recess. Ok, raise your hand if YOU get ten days paid vacation off for Memorial Day? Didn’t think so. Indulge me for a moment, but now is hardly the time, in the midst of the disaster in the Gulf Coast, for the Democrats to turn their backs on people who don’t have jobs because there are no jobs to be had.
~The U.S. military has released a report finding that the operators of predator drones were responsible for the deaths of 23 Afghan civilians earlier this year.
~Roy Ashburn, a California legislator who made a career of being the anti-gay defender of family values, is now changing his tune. On Friday he spoke out on the California Senate floor in support of gay rights. As a side note, Mr. Ashburn came out as gay after being arrested for drunken driving upon leaving a gay club. Here’s the object lesson- he says he was so ardently anti-gay in his politics to try to hide the fact that he was gay.
~Apparently some on the political right are having a kitten over the fact that a Muslim community center will be built close to Ground Zero in NYC. Originally it appeared the opposition was comprised of a small group of Tea Party-types but now the circle is widening to include other members of the right, with the Washington Times and others chiming in.
~Rand Paul continues to be the best one man reality show on television and the internet. A video has surfaced of an interview he gave to a Russian news outlet after his primary victory, which has him claiming that children born to illegal immigrants should not be granted citizenship. So much for his strict constructionist interpretation of the Constitution. Perhaps given his views of civil rights, he wants to pretend that the Fourteenth Amendment doesn’t exist?
~A report issued by the Guantanamo Review Task Force has found that the vast majority of the prisoners at Gitmoare low-level fighters and some have no known link to terrorism whatsoever.
~Politico thinks they smell a Clinton scandal brewing. That’s debatable.
Roy Ashburn……
If it wasn’t so predictable it would almost be funny.
Speaking of Roy Ashburn, the following is also quite instructive, although from the other side of the pond.
http://2su.de/hiX
Ramsgate- what’s interesting about that article you linked to is it seems that the real issue across the pond was the impropriety of the expense accounts, not the fact that he was gay. Here in the U.S., people would probably would find both things equally scandalous.
Remember the mini-controversy over a while back about David Dreier who has the highest paid Chief of Staff in all of Congress and with whom he lived – certain media outlets purposely avoided the question of his sexuality even though it was relevant in so far as he also seems to use his public stance against gay rights to help shield him from being formally outed. It’s all so sad and pathetic.
http://www.rawstory.com/exclusives/byrne/david_dreier_outed_brad_smith_gay_920.htm
ooh… I’ll take one of those delicious coffee drinks, and I’m not even a coffee drinker! Great news round-up, SCB.
Poor Joan. …and women today think people are sexist!
Yes… where can I get a latte like the above! We have some gorgeous ones here in PDX but nothing like the pic!
Hasn’t the time arrived for the federal governmet to take control of the oil industry in America for national security reasons? Isn’t it way past time for America to be relying on fossil fuels to meet the bulk of its energy needs? Shouldn’t the burning of oil and coal stop? Aren’t 1000 dead Americans and $300 billion dollars enough to convince Americans that the war in Afghanistan is a fool’s errand and should end now? Peace
The major oil companies have a higher GDP than two-thirds of industrialized nations without the need to answer to anyone but shareholders (mainly other corporations). An attempt to nationalize these corporate nations is probably near impossible…especially with the GOP backing them in the name of unchecked Capitalism, the free market, and deregulation.
We’ve been divided and conquered (see Citizen’s United vs. The Federal Election Commission), so while you may be right, I wouldn’t hold your breath. IMO, we would need the country united to fight the Military/Industrial Complex and win, and as it stands now, we are closer to civil war than kum-ba-ya.
OT- Adm. Mullen was on the Sunday talk shows criticizing Congressional action on DADT. I find this interesting:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/05/30/mike-mullen-dadt-repeal-j_n_594763.html
“There is worry among some in the military and in Congress that the House vote short-circuited the process of consulting with troops and their families.
“It is really critical to understand the points of view of those it will affect the most as we look at the implementation challenges, should the law change,” said Mullen, who favors lifting the ban.
“So we will complete that review and certainly incorporate what we learned from that into implementation when that time comes.”
***
I understand wanting to be prepared for any changes that take place and not just winging it, but since when does the paternalistic military consult troops and their families about major changes in military policy? I’m sorry, that is just a lame excuse. It sounds to me like Gates, Mullen and the other Joint Chiefs are sending a very clear message to the troops and more worrisome still, the top brass- “when we ask you about how you FEEL about this policy change change, make a big, loud fuss…”
So I guess if the the report indicates the troops and their families are uncomfortable with the repeal, then, what? DADT stays in place? Is this how they dealt with segregation way back when? If they had, we’d probably still have a segregated military. Lets also poll the troops and their families and the top brass about women in combat. Or how about sexual harassment policies. Or maybe we could do a study to determine how they feel about a possible war with Iran?
This thing is not only fishy; it sucks.
All major change is difficult. Needless to say it takes commitment and strong leadership.
One day we will have a commander-in-chief who will instruct his commanders to simply end all discrimination in the military and enforce the new policy. Those who have a problem with it could simply retire if they so choose. Rather than going through all this rigmarole whereby the commanded are in a position to command the commander-in-chief.
Time and again this President who seems afraid to lead, surrenders his power to others. Think BP.
“As your commander in chief I hereby instruct you to immediately end ALL discrimination against gays forthwith.” It is what was expected of him when he entered the white house. He just didn’t have the nerve to do it.
So, what’s Obama doing for the long weekend? Off to Chicago apparently. He has no damn business taking any kind of holiday.
I will admit, while at times I adamantly have opposed aspects of Obama’s policies, I really thought he was smarter than this- the more I watch/listen to him the more perplexed I am. Can he really be so politically tone-deaf so as to not see what is happening? He actually showed more leadership after the earthquake hit Haiti. While I am glad that he responded so forcefully to the situation there, I can’t understand why he thinks this is somehow less important. Yes, I understand the loss of human life was huge in Haiti, but the U.S. response was unbelievably quick. It was treated as priority #1, causing the Secy of State to immediately leave a foreign trip and cancel a pending one. Sure, there were problems but there was no doubt in my mind the administration was very sincere, and quite effective, in their efforts.
I don’t like blaming presidential advisers for everything because I think there is a point where that can become a cop-out, but I can’t help but wonder what the hell is wrong with his advisers? Do they really think fundraisers and vacations are the order of the day? Leadership doesn’t come from a teleprompter.
And Ken Salazar has to go. If Obama is not willing to do anything other than offer up the head of some MMS bureaucrat no one has ever heard of, then he’s finished.
I hope they repeal DADT soon. It would be great since June is Gay Pride Month. Ken Salazar is aweful !! I am sorry to say that but thats what I think. BP only cares about BP !!!