It’s amateur hour in the White House briefing room, starring Pres. Obama, because he naively bet his whole position on the premise that he could serve up entitlements to seduce Republicans into making him look good with Independents, but instead gets caught in the age old Republican stiff-arm, which hit Obama and his team in the face like a fire hydrant breaking open on a smoldering summer city street. But instead of getting cooled off by the blast it sent Pres. Obama into orbit. Whenever you see him as pissed off as he was on Friday night you can bet he’s worried about his own political hide. Continue Reading →
Taylor Marsh has been writing on line since 1996, with the archives provided here a representation of that work.
Archive | July, 2011Progressive Notes: *BREAKING* Sanders Calls for Primary Challenger to Obama
Art offers his perspective as a movement progressive activist.
***BREAKING: Sen. Sanders has called for Obama to face a progressive primary challenger. Very significant announcement made on Tom Hartmann’s radio show***:
..So my suggestion is, I think one of the reasons the president has made the move so far to the right is that there is no primary opposition to him and I think it would do this country a good deal of service if people started thinking about candidates out there to begin contrasting a progressive agenda as opposed to what Obama believes he’s doing. [...] So I would say to Ryan, discouragement is not an option. I think it would be a good idea if President Obama faced some primary opposition.
Yes Sanders went there. I felt this was important enough to have it’s own post here. Sanders has injected into the debate this issue. Obama has touched the Holy Trinity- SS, Medicare, and Medicaid. Will he face a price in a primary?
Progressive Notes: Labor Goes to War over Gangs’ Cuts
Art offers his perspective as a movement progressive activist.
Labor goes to war over the Gangsters of Six criminal plan. The tone is changing fast. All I know now is labor must come out and announce no union help will come in 2012 to any Democrat who supports these kind of cuts.
AFL-CIO’s Trumka damns the deal makers:
” We need to keep asking our leaders: ‘Who got us into this mess?’ It wasn’t working people. The people who got us into this mess are getting off scot-free, and this Gang of Six proposal shows they have accomplices in both parties.”
Labor is targeting Blue Dog senators:
The ads are part of a broader effort the unions are mounting as the Aug. 2 debt limit approaches and pressure rises on lawmakers to make unpopular deals. In particular, they have targeted senators in North Carolina, Colorado, California, Virginia, Arkansas and Missouri to beat back any cuts to Medicaid, a source familiar with the effort said.
These ads will be brutal and:
..paid for by the AFSCME, the AFL-CIO, the National Education Association, the SEIU and the United Food and Commercial Workers…
“Does this look like shared sacrifice to you?” the ad asks. “This is no deal for working families. It’s long past time for Washington to focus on jobs, not protecting corporations and the wealthy.”
AFSCME union head Gerald McEntee charged the measure puts “Wall Street before Main Street,” and argued that the loss of health care deductions would destabilize the entire system of employer-provided health care.
“The proposal released by the Gang of Six is not a path forward for the country,” McEntee said. “It reserves almost all of the pain for ordinary Americans. It reduces taxes on the wealthy while cutting Social Security benefits for seniors and people with disabilities.”
“It would kill jobs and put our economy into another recession,” added McEntee, whose union is asking members to call their senators.
McEntee has it right. But labor will have to come out and say NO MONEY OR TROOPS if any Dem backs this crap.
SEIU is pressuring not just Dems but Tea freshmen in the House as well. So far they have picked four to start with. Note where these guys are located:
Wausau, Wis., home of Rep. Sean Duffy; Duluth, Minn., home of Rep. Chip Cravaack; Syracuse, N.Y., home of Rep. Richard Hanna; and Traverse City, Mich., home of Rep. Dave Camp.
SEIU head Mary Kay Henry:
“Congress should be focused on creating jobs, not finding ways to slash Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid,” Mary Kay Henry, president of the SEIU, said in a statement accompanying the new campaign. “Working families will not forget those who step forward for a balanced approach and those who wish to sacrifice the American Dream to satisfy an ideological agenda.”
Here is the targeted web ad launched in Tea Party Rep. Duffy’s district. Yikes:
NORWAY: Twin Domestic Terrorists Attacks, Gunman Confirmed as Norwegian
Even as police locked down a large area of the city, a man dressed as a police officer entered the camp on the island of Utoya, about 19 miles northwest of Oslo, a Norwegian security official said, and opened fire. “The situation’s gone from bad to worse,” said Runar Kvernen, spokesman for the National Police Directorate under the Ministry of Justice and Police, adding that most of the children at the camp were 15 and 16 years old. Panicked youths jumped in to the water to escape or went into hiding on the island, which has no bridge to the mainland, a witness said. Many could not flee in time. – 16 Die in Norway Shooting and Bombing
As you know by now, this happened this morning, with the back and forth on Twitter focusing on Al Qaeda by many. No group has claimed responsibility for the bombings in Oslo, but a Norwegian has been arrested as the suspected gunman in the Labour Party youth camp.
Norway has been hit by twin attacks – a massive bomb blast in the capital and a shooting attack on young people at a governing Labour Party youth camp.
At least seven people were killed in the bombing, which inflicted huge damage on government buildings in Oslo.
At least 10 more died at the camp, on an island outside Oslo, police say. One witness said he had seen 20 bodies.
Police arrested the suspected gunman at the camp and the government have confirmed that he is Norwegian.
Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg, whose Oslo offices were among those damaged by the bomb, described the attacks as “bloody and cowardly” in a news conference.
He said that Norway had been “shaken by evil” but that Norwegian democracy and ideals would not be destroyed.
What a tragic day for Norway.
As you hear any news, I’d really appreciate you putting links and other things you’re reading in the comments, because as I explained this morning I’m out of commission right now, but would like to keep this story updated.
Progressive Notes: Sanders Lays into “Deal” , Vows to Fight on the Floor
Art offers his perspective as a movement progressive activist.
Senator Sanders tears into this infamous deal from Hell and thanks the Gangsters of 6 for this disgrace. He details the programs we cherish which will be cut or eliminated. Dems bent over backwards to get Coburn to deal by offering cuts to Medicare and Medicaid. Isn’t that lovely!
Sanders on the floor July 20th 2011:
Sanders wrote in Huffington Post a moving piece:
…What we are talking about is that Social Security cuts would go into effect virtually immediately. Ten years from now, the typical 75-year-old person will see their Social Security benefits cut by $560 a year. The average 85-year-old will see a cut of $1,000 a year. Now, for some people here in Washington, maybe the big lobbyists who make hundreds of thousands a year, $560 a year or $1,000 a year may not seem like a lot of money, but if you are a senior trying to get by on $14,000, $15,000, $18,000 a year and you’re 85 years old, the end of your life, you’re totally vulnerable, you’re sick — a $1,000 per year cut in what you otherwise would have received is a major, major blow.
…
But it’s not just Social Security. We have 50 million Americans today who have no health insurance at all. Under the Gang of Six proposals, there will be cuts in Medicare over a 10-year period of almost $300 billion. There will be massive cuts in Medicaid and other health care programs. There will be caps on spending, which mean that there will be major cuts in education. If you are a working-class family, hoping that you’re going to be able to send your kid to college and thinking that you will be eligible for a Pell grant, think twice about that. Pell grants may not be there. If you’re a senior who relies on a nutrition program, that nutrition program may not be there. If you think it’s a good idea that we enforce clean air and clean water provisions so that our kids can be healthy, those provisions may not be there because there will be major cuts in environmental protection.
Sanders should mount a filibuster of this deal if it happens. He hints he might:
This senator is going to fight back. I was not elected to the United States Senate to make devastating cuts in Social Security, in Medicare, in Medicaid, in children’s programs while lowering tax rates for the wealthiest people in this country.
Dems ‘Volcanic’ Over Obama Being Obama
Democrats reacted with outrage as word filtered to Capitol Hill, saying the emerging agreement appeared to violate their pledge not to cut Social Security and Medicare benefits as well as Obama’s promise not to make deep cuts in programs for the poor without extracting some tax concessions from the rich. When “we heard these reports of these mega-trillion-dollar cuts with no revenues, it was like Mount Vesuvius. . . . Many of us were volcanic,” said Sen. Barbara A. Mikulski (D-Md.). – As Obama, Boehner rush to strike deal, Democrats are left fuming
Huffington Post Wins Debt Ceiling Headline of the Week
Only in the Obama era would Democrats be using Ronald Reagan to get Republicans to remember their revolution. So, Huffington Post wins the new media headline this week, which follows up on what Dems did as well.
I’m out until Monday because of an injury, so first I’d like to thank Joyce and Art for jumping in and helping out. [It's hell being a middle-aged jock, but a lot of fun (for those of you who follow my gym rat passion, no, it didn't happen lifting weights.] Anyway… I just had to write something quick on the latest story lines developing, as Pres. Obama gets ready for a town hall today, trying to schmooze the American people, likely using the premise of his gauzy op-ed in USA Today, into believing that what’s coming down the pike is remotely positive for the Democratic party’s health, let alone the country’s.
From Boehner and Obama Nearing Deal on Cuts and Taxes… to Debt talks have senators angry about being left out… as well as the story that Bill Daley’s playing bad guy to Pres. Obama’s good guy, all of these tales neglect the reality that what’s needed isn’t a big deal right now.
The only important thing to get done is a debt ceiling increase.
If we had Democrats in Congress that were there to do something other than prop up their own party’s guy in the Executive Branch there would be a lot less “volcanic” posturing and a lot more standing up for Democratic party principles. Obama’s legacy means little compared to the people who will suffer at the hands of his let’s make a big deal presidential approach. Though I question how serving up entitlements, while only getting promises on taxes and revenue, is any deal a Democrat should even think about at all.
And let’s not be gullible. Pres. Obama isn’t a potted plant. If Bill Daley is making concessions to Speaker Boehner, as is being reported, it’s because Obama wants it to go down that way.
If the final deal is what’s being talked about by the Gang of 7, Obama deserves to lose seniors in ’12 (and a lot of other Democrats, too).
Queer Talk: Panetta and Joint Chiefs Ready to Certify DADT
Joyce L. Arnold: Liberal, lesbian, Independent, equality activist, writer.
UPDATE 2
SLDN press release: Obama, Panetta and Mullen “formally issued their certification to the Armed Services committees of both houses of Congress, signifying that the military is ready for the transition. In 60 days, as prescribed in the law passed by Congress and signed by the President last December, repeal will be final. … Despite the certification issued today, it is still unsafe for service members to come out until September 20, 2011, when repeal of ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ will become final.”
UPDATE 1
Via AmericaBlog, Obama is scheduled to meet with Sec. of Def. Panetta and Admiral Mullen at 2:45 PM ET today, regarding the certification of the DADT repeal.
Yesterday news leaked that today Defense Secretary Leon Panetta and Adm. Mike Mullen, chair of the Joint Chiefs of staff, are ready to recommend certification of the repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell. Expectations are that the official announcement will come today. Once signed, DADT will remain in effect for 60 days, and Servicemembers Legal Defense Network continues to emphasize the “at risk” status of lesbian and gay servicemembers until the end of that congressional review period. Log Cabin Republicans, whose case challenging the constitutionality of DADT went to trial in July 2010, indicated they will continue the efforts.
Via MetroWeekly:
… the Wall Street Journal and NBC broke the certification news, with NBC News reporting that senior officials say that Panetta and the Joint Chiefs already have certified that the military is ready to repeal the 1993 law banning out gay, lesbian or bisexual individuals from military service.
Under the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell Repeal Act, Mullen and Panetta, as well as President Barack Obama, need to certify to Congress that the changes needed to implement repeal are ‘consistent with the standards of military readiness, military effectiveness, unit cohesion, and recruiting and retention of the Armed Forces. Mullen and Panetta are scheduled to have an afternoon meeting on Friday with Obama in the Oval Office.
Shortly after DADT was signed into law, one of the organizations created to provide support, including legal, for lesbian and gay servicemembers was Servicemembers Legal Defense Network. I still have their t-shirt with the simple words: “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell. Don’t Think So.” Eighteen years later, and after “more than 14,500” servicemembers have been fired, the simple fairness of those words put in practice is finally in sight.
(Photo via LGBT Nation)
Progressive Notes: Will Party Loyalty Kill the Party?
Art offers his perspective as a movement progressive activist.
Glenn Greenwald has done it again with a piece in the Guardian on how Obama is dismantling the core principles of the Democratic Party.
He notes how many progressives, like Atrios, predicted if Obama touched SS there would be such a uprising in the party Obama would be overwhelmed. This has yet to occur.
Why? Party loyalty has become so part of our politics that what Obama is doing to the core of the party is succeeding:
Obama is now on the verge of injecting what until recently was the politically toxic and unattainable dream of Wall Street and the American right – attacks on the nation’s social safety net – into the heart and soul of the Democratic party’s platform. Those progressives who are guided more by party loyalty than actual belief will seamlessly transform from virulent opponents of such cuts into their primary defenders.
And thus will Obama succeed – yet again – in gutting not only core Democratic policies, but also the identity and power of the American Left.
Read the whole thing. Will party loyalty be so blind to Obama it will destroy the Democratic Party? If the Dems don’t stand for the New Deal then the party itself stands for what?
Queer Talk: Advocacy Humor
Joyce L. Arnold: Liberal, lesbian, Independent, equality activist, writer.
Advocacy is generally about the day to day grind, with a few “big” moments thrown in, for better or worse. Humor is a necessity for survival. A couple of things caught my eye today:
A tweet from Dan Choi:
ltdanchoiDan Choi
I personally don’t care if @BarackObama gets fired in 2012… Wait, maybe that’s too hasty: Let me study and certify that first.
And via Think Progress:
Gay ‘Barbarians’ Demand Ex-Gay ‘Discipline’ From Bachmann Clinic
Today a group of gay ‘barbarians’ descended upon Marcus Bachmann’s Christian counseling center to protest the harmful ex-gay therapy offered there. During a radio interview in 2010, Bachmann compared gay people to ‘barbarians’ who need to be ‘disciplined.’ Organized by Nick Espinosa, who famously showered Newt Gingrich with glitter, the protest glittered Bachmann’s empty waiting room and reception area, chanting ‘You can’t pray away the gay — baby, I was born this way!’… ; a video is forthcoming.
Photo via Think Progress.
Obama’s Lost Moon Shot on Energy
“… We choose to go to the moon. We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard, because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills, because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one which we intend to win, and the others, too.” – President John F. Kennedy (September 12, 1962, at Rice University, Houston, Texas)
On this date in 1969, we landed the first man on the moon, and part of this adventure concludes for the United States tomorrow, with the final space shuttle mission set to land at 5:56:58 a.m. EDT at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
I cannot begin to express the joy I’ve had in watching this American passage, remembering the wonder of this visionary journey and accomplishment. Betsy Mason over at Wired has an amazing piece and photo gallery on what NASA did to train the APOLLO astronauts. Thanks to everyone at NASA and all the supporters of this amazing feat, as we all await the next journey, provided Congress understands that investment, research and development is critical for America’s future. There’s absolutely no evidence at this point our politicians get this fact.
Thinking about the anniversary of the moon landing today, I’m reminded of what is required to make the seemingly impossible manifest.
When Pres. Bill Clinton ruminates about the wondrous explosion of economic growth in the ’90s he experienced as president, he never forgets to cite the amazing technological expansion of the internet that helped make it happen. He often says how he just put the pedal to the metal and exploited every aspect to help it work for America as he led the country to peacetime prosperity and a booming economy that left George W. Bush a record surplus.
Thinking of both Pres. Kennedy’s vision and Clinton’s initiative to harness what was happening in technology, is something that leads me to be unforgiving of the wasted opportunity for what Pres. Obama’s presidency might have meant to this country.
When Pres. Obama won the presidency things had turned sour economically, so what he inherited was a horrendous mess, including wars waged off the budget and a country whose leaders were disrespected around the world. His presidency held the hope that all that was about to change.
With the American people behind him wholeheartedly when he was inaugurated, the press cowed and the world waiting for greatness, Barack Obama had a once in a generation opportunity to do big things, really big things. Like tackle our energy challenges, which would impact us domestically, as well as our foreign policy and military priorities, a situation that has bled this country dry of resources we’ll never recover. He could have harnessed business leaders of industries, mayors and governors to commit to having their cities be bullet train depots, so we could finally get high-speech rail from New York to the Midwest to the Pacific Coast, from north to south and across this country, creating jobs by the thousands along the way, including side industries of workers and support, with the results manifesting a new way to travel, at least for America.
People in Europe have been traveling this way for years.
All of a sudden a tax on gas wouldn’t be so onerous. “Drill, baby, drill” a bad memory of bankrupt celebrity politicians and their fans.
But to imagine, implement and sell a nationwide building extravaganza focused on changing our energy focus Mr. Obama would have had to have had a vision. He did not. Instead he doubled down on military actions, reneged on campaign pledges to remove the stench of the Bush-Cheney legacy by doubling down on drone attacks, starting another war in Libya and continuing rendition and allowing “secret” prisons to continue. If you want to see the final gasp of “hope and change” read Jeremy Scahill’s article about Somalia. Our Nobel Peace Prize President now turned to ash.
So, as we all trudge into another presidential election cycle we’re stuck dealing with meager men and women running for the highest office in the land and the world, people who talk to interest groups, factions and fans, without having the core character to speak about a larger human purpose.
John F. Kennedy spoke of choosing to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard, but then he did something about it at a time when American limitations didn’t exist. When leaders dreamed of big things and stuck their own neck out to sell them for the good of the country, not because it would help them win the Independent vote.
We are still a great nation, but we are now led by smaller men. …and women, because you can’t have a country in the mess it is today without a collapse of leadership from all quarters, including We The People. At some point the American public has simply got to walk away from the current political class to say enough is enough.
Last View This image of the International Space Station was taken by Atlantis' STS-135 crew during a fly around as the shuttle departed the station on Tuesday, July 19, 2011. STS-135 is the final shuttle mission to the orbital laboratory. Image Credit: NASA
Reuters: Fed Preparing for Default
Are you kidding me? There is absolutely no reason to default. None. Now, maybe this story from Reuters is bogus, but I came upon it and here it is:
The Federal Reserve is actively preparing for the possibility that the United States could default as a deadline for raising the government’s $14.3 trillion borrowing limit looms, a top Fed policymaker said on Wednesday.
Charles Plosser, president of the Philadelphia Federal Reserve Bank, said the U.S. central bank has for the past few months been working closely with Treasury, ironing out what to do if the world’s biggest economy runs out of cash on August 2.
“We are in contingency planning mode,” Plosser told Reuters in an interview at the regional central bank’s headquarters in Philadelphia. “We are all engaged. … It’s a very active process.”
First, Pres. Obama has the power to prevent it in an emergency. He might not like the job or the choice before him, but he ran for the presidency so he can’t now decide to run from it. He’s got to grab the boys and do what he has to.
If the 14th Amendment is all that’s standing between the U.S. and financial disaster, which includes stiffing people on Social Security checks, he’s got to pull the constitutional trigger, then let his lawyers figure out the rest.
So, if this story in Reuters is true and when the moment arrives that the White House believes it’s over and we’re about to go under, he’s got no choice. Pres. Obama must stand up and tell Speaker Boehner to raise the debt ceiling in 24 hours or he’s going to use the power given to him through the constitution to do the job the Republicans refuse to do.
PPP: ‘Obama in Perilous Shape’
President Barack Obama talks with Counsel to the President Kathryn Ruemmler in the Oval Office, July 19, 2011. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)
From Public Policy Polling comes evidence that the conventional wisdom among Republicans about Mitt Romney isn’t all that smart:
For the first time since last July Barack Obama does not lead Mitt Romney in PPP’s monthly national poll on the 2012 Presidential race. Romney has now pulled into a tie with the President at 45%.
Obama’s approval rating this month is 46% with 48% of voters disapproving of him. There are 2 things particularly troubling in his numbers: independents split against him by a 44/49 margin, and 16% of Democrats are unhappy with the job he’s doing while only 10% of Republicans give him good marks. Republicans dislike him at this point to a greater extent than Democrats like him and that will be a problem for him moving forward if it persists.
Here’s an important note on all of this early 2012 polling though: Obama’s numbers are worse than they appear to be on the surface. The vast majority of the undecideds in all of these match ups disapprove of the job Obama’s doing but aren’t committing to a candidate yet while they wait to see how the Republican field shakes out. Here’s an idea of where these various match ups might stand once all voters have made up their minds: …
But the paragraph from PPP on Obama versus Bachmann will blow your mind.
Allen West, Poster Child for the Republican War on Women
The above graphic is the headline on Emily’s List fundraising email (just click on it to support Wasserman-Schultz), as they capitalize off of the battle that’s ensued over DNC chairman Debbie Wasserman-Schultz taking it to Allen West.
“The gentleman from Florida. who represents thousands of Medicare beneficiaries, as do I, is supportive of this plan that would increase costs for Medicare beneficiaries, unbelievable from a Member from South Florida,” Wasserman Schultz said, saying the legislation “slashes Medicaid and critical investments essential to winning the future in favor of protecting tax breaks for Big Oil, millionaires, and companies who ship American jobs overseas.” – Allen West tirade: Wasserman Schultz ‘vile…despicable…not a Lady’
Wasserman-Schultz hit a nerve, a whole bundle of them. It started long before this brouhaha, with Republicans putting her in their sights from the start. Many of you’ll remember this hit video, which came with an aggressive campaign to paint the DNC chairman as, well, you know.
… Wasserman Schultz is kind of an easy target. Any “aggressive messenger” is. Extreme and shrill is always far easier to spoof than subtle and nuanced. – Hot Air
To Republicans, any strong female is considered shrill, extreme and aggressive. Unless, of course, she’s speaking their tune, like Ann Coulter; except when she gets to the top of the presidential wannabe heap, which makes the GOP boys’ club incredibly nervous.
Meanwhile, Emily’s list is making money off of his unhinged, ungentlemanly, unprovoked rant.
On Twitter, the hash tag being used is #actlikealady, which could be used in so many, many ways, if for no other reason than to have fun at West’s expense.
From: Z112 West, Allen
Sent: Tuesday, July 19, 2011 04:48 PM
To: Wasserman Schultz, Debbie
Cc: McCarthy, Kevin; Blyth, Jonathan; Pelosi, Nancy; Cantor, Eric
Subject: Unprofessional and Inappropriate Sophomoric Behavior from Wasserman-Schultz
Look, Debbie, I understand that after I departed the House floor you directed your floor speech comments directly towards me. Let me make myself perfectly clear, you want a personal fight, I am happy to oblige. You are the most vile, unprofessional ,and despicable member of the US House of Representatives. If you have something to say to me, stop being a coward and say it to my face, otherwise, shut the heck up. Focus on your own congressional district!
I am bringing your actions today to our Majority Leader and Majority Whip and from this time forward, understand that I shall defend myself forthright against your heinous characterless behavior……which dates back to the disgusting protest you ordered at my campaign hqs, October 2010 in Deerfield Beach.
You have proven repeatedly that you are not a Lady, therefore, shall not be afforded due respect from me!
Steadfast and Loyal
Congressman Allen B West (R-FL)
All this makes me ask, what exactly would it take for a female to be considered a lady by Mr. West. Silent, subservient and Schlafly-esque is the ticket, I have very little doubt.
Raising Taxes on Super Rich Makes More Sense than Cutting Social Security & Medicare
This latest polling data is like a page from the pieces I’ve been writing for months.
From the latest ABC News/Washington Post polling:
But unlike 1992 – or 2010 – the opposition party’s taking even more heat than the president. While President Obama for the first time has fallen under 40 percent approval for handling the economy, the Republicans in Congress do even worse, 28 percent approval. On handling the deficit, it’s a weak 38 percent approval for Obama, but a weaker 27 percent for the GOP. And on handling taxes, Obama has 45 percent approval, the GOP, 31 percent. Obama maintains 47 percent job approval overall in this poll…
However, Pres. Obama is taking hits he shouldn’t have to, but because of his capitulation to compromise, he’s being seen as part of the problem, too. From Dan Baltz:
There is also broad dissatisfaction with Obama’s unwillingness to reach across the aisle: Nearly six in 10 of those polled say the president has not been open enough to compromise. Among independents, 79 percent say Republicans aren’t willing enough to make a deal, while 62 percent say the same of Obama.
Just imagine if Pres. Obama had gone for a simple debt ceiling increase, which we’ll likely get with McConnell’s devious concoction, while also fighting for Social Security, because it’s not a cause of the debt or deficit? But instead he had to play in the Republican austerity card. It was just plain stupid.
All we need is a simple debt ceiling increase. The deficit fight is about 2012. Democrats shouldn’t fall for White House threats.
Queer Talk: Obama endorses the Respect for Marriage Act
Joyce L. Arnold: Liberal, lesbian, Independent, equality activist, writer.
UPDATE Today’s Senate Judiciary Committee hearings regarding The Respect for Marriage Act, and DOMA, will be streamed live, 9:45 AM ET, at the Committee website.
You can also listen at AmericaBlogGay
Tomorrow the Senate, for the first time ever, will hold hearings on repealing DOMA: “S.598, The Respect for Marriage Act: Assessing the Impact of DOMA on American Families.” It begins at 10 AM ET, and will include testimony from both opponents and proponents of DOMA.
Today, the Obama administration, for the first time, formally endorsed The Respect for Marriage Act.
Perhaps that means some significant evolving has taken place, including a realization that “God is in the mix” just might be a reason for supporting equality rather than perpetuating discrimination. Maybe it’s all 2012 politics, and the O campaign realizing it really is losing the support of significant numbers of LGBT people, and allies.
And maybe Obama, and/or his advisors, have also been influenced by what’s happening in New York. From Sudbay at AmericaBlog:
So many marriages are expected on July 24th in NYC that the Mayor has instituted a lottery system with a cap:
Demand for same-sex marriage in New York is so great that the city has decided to cap at 764 the number of couples who can be wed at clerks’ offices on Sunday ….
Mr. Bloomberg said the city would hold a lottery to determine which couples, gay or straight, will be allowed to marry at the five borough clerks’ offices. He said the 764 marriages would be the highest number ever performed by the city in a single day.
But as happy as that is, here’s the thing: as in other states, the marriage by same-gender couples in NY will not be recognized by the federal government. Repeal of DOMA would change that still very unequal part of “marriage equality.”
Via The Atlantic:
The president has ‘long called for a legislative appeal for the so-called Defense of Marriage Act, which continues to have a real impact on families,’ White House spokesman Jay Carney told reporters at Tuesday’s briefing. He said the president ‘is proud’ to support the Respect For Marriage Act, ‘which would take the Defense of Marriage Act off the books for once and for all.’ …
The bill was introduced in the Senate by Sens. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.).
In February, the Obama administration announced that the Department of Justice will no longer defend DOMA in court.
On Wednesday the Senate Judiciary Committee will hold a hearing on the new bill, which would repeal all three sections of DOMA – which federally defined marriage as a union between a man and a woman – including section 1, which is the name; section 2, which instructs states not to recognize same-sex marriages performed in other states; and section 3, which prohibits the federal government from recognizing legally performed same-sex marriages.
Representatives from both pro- and anti-gay marriage groups will testify before the panel.
At Think Progress, Igor Volsky writes:
Feinstein’s bill currently has 27 Democratic co-sponsors. It would extend over 1,000 federal laws and protections to same-sex couples, including: the right to file joint federal income taxes and claim certain deductions, receive spousal benefits under Social Security, take unpaid leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act when a loved one falls seriously ill, and obtain the protections of the estate tax when one spouse passes and wants to leave his or her possessions to another.
The Courage Campaign doesn’t get a lot of national attention, but the California based organization has played a key role related to marriage equality. Adam Bink provides this about today’s events:
This morning, we held an emotional press conference in a packed media room at the National Press Club with Sen. Feinstein and three couples who commuted to DC to tell their stories. It was just incredible. …
Then, we got word from the White House that President Obama would heed the call of over 25,000 Courage Campaign members, and formally endorse the Respect for Marriage Act. Why is this a big deal? Because the White House rarely, if ever, endorses legislation that hasn’t passed a house of Congress… and this one hasn’t even passed committee yet. It underscores the urgency of this issue, and it also generates huge momentum to our efforts to bring more Senators on board. How many pro-LGBT Senators are going to let President Obama be ahead of them on this?
I’m not going to pretend to know what Bink was thinking when he wrote that last sentence, but my first thoughts were that given how painfully slow and convoluted Obama’s “evolution” on marriage equality has been, to be seen as less advanced than him really wouldn’t be a good thing for any “pro-LGBT” Elected.
Anyway, another step has been taken. Who knows where Obama will go from here – past experience says it’s just as likely to be backwards as forwards. Or that he’ll tread water indefinitely. But credit to him for today’s announcement. Now let’s see what happens in the hearings.
Photo of Jay Carney via Washington Blade.
HIT PIECE: Michele Bachmann’s ‘Stress-Induced’ Headaches ‘Incapacitate’
Aw, come on, boys. If John F. Kennedy can do it on all the drugs he chugged, so can Michele Bachmann.
The Daily Caller headline is the tell:
Stress-related condition ‘incapacitates’ Bachmann; heavy pill use alleged.
It cannot possibly be a coincidence that with Rep. Michele Bachmann surging we now are privy to a potentially devastating report about the presidential candidate allegedly popping pills to alleviate pain.
Women have worked for over one hundred years to be taken seriously and considered as strong candidates for commander in chief. One has to wonder if this was leaked to make voters question her health, but also her strength. Headaches are not considered by most to be something serious, maybe even a frivolous complaint by someone with a weak constitution.
With such incredible details, it seems obvious Mrs. Bachmann has a very serious problem:
The Minnesota Republican frequently suffers from stress-induced medical episodes that she has characterized as severe headaches. These episodes, say witnesses, occur once a week on average and can “incapacitate” her for days at time. On at least three occasions, Bachmann has landed in the hospital as a result.
Ads by Google“She has terrible migraine headaches. And they put her out of commission for a day or more at a time. They come out of nowhere, and they’re unpredictable,” says an adviser to Bachmann who was involved in her 2010 congressional campaign. “They level her. They put her down. It’s actually sad. It’s very painful.”
As someone who has worked tirelessly to cure myself of migraines, I find this report alarming.
There is something horribly wrong with a professional person who isn’t dealing with deeper issues that trigger a migraine. As the Daily Caller reports, she’s been hospitalized and had to recuperate at home, away from her job, because of them, after having been incapacitated by them. Being treated with medication is dealing with the symptoms and staving off the results of something in your life that precipitates the event.
You cannot get rid of any health issue without finding the root of the cause of your problem, whether it’s diet, lifestyle, maybe a spouse or even your job.
Now, I don’t pretend to know any specifics about Mrs. Bachmann’s debilitating pain issues, but as someone who once had to live with migraines from the time I was a kid, had to perform while throwing up off stage between numbers because of them, as well as having my long ago past riddled with 24-hour vomiting over 3 days before they broke, I sure as hell know the answer isn’t medication, which offers no definitive solution. Thankfully, I cured myself. Solving the riddle of pain means discovering what in your life is causing the stress that leads your brain to the pain seizures of migraines.
But if you don’t, can’t or won’t, pills it is. At least today there are new drugs that make the days of injections a memory.
Of particular concern to some around her is the significant amount of medication Bachmann takes to address her condition.
The former aide says Bachmann’s congressional staff is “constantly” in contact with her doctors to tweak the types and amounts of medicine she is taking. Marcus Bachmann helps her manage the episodes.
Sources who spoke to The Daily Caller said they did so because they are terrified about the impact the condition could have on Bachmann’s performance if she actually became president. They also worry that the issue could blow up in the general election campaign, giving President Obama an easy path to re-election.
The drugs that kept Pres. John F. Kennedy alive went well beyond migraine medications, as historian Robert Dalek wrote in “An Unfinished Life,” which was just one of the hundreds of sources I relied on for my one woman show on J.F.K. If he had run for office today, let alone been president, there is no way he could have kept his double digit list of medications a secret. He had his women, his doctors and all the drugs that kept him alive:
- Anesthetic procaine, for his Addison’s disease
- Cytomel, for thyroid deficiency
- Lomitil
- Metamucil, now there’s a commercial for you
- Paregoric
- Phenobarbitol
- Trasentine, to control his colitic diarrhea
- Testosterone, to increase his energy and boost his weight after bouts of colitis
- Penicillin, for urinary tract flare ups
- Fluorinef, to increase his salt absorption due to Addison’s
- Cortisone
- Tuinal, for insomnia – a side effect of the cortisone
- Antihistamines, for an array of allergies
- Codeine
- Steroids… Oh, and Vitamin C and calcium.
J.F.K. also had lots of doctors who gave him his “vigah,” including injections. They also led to rumors that Nixon tried to steal his medical records. He had an allergist; an endocrinologist for his Addison’s disease; a gastroenterologist for his colitis; a urologist, because he’d gotten a urinary tract infection from venereal disease; an orthopedist for his degenerative spine, but no one knew.
What this report is meant to conjure up is Rep. Bachmann’s physical frailty. It’s a political attack by “former aides” trying to take the bitch out.
There’s a reason Tim Pawlenty had a former aide of Bachmann do an op-ed hit piece in Iowa. A reason Rick Perry is being pimped by the conservative boys’ club. It’s not that he’s got anything Michele Bachmann hasn’t. He’s chock full of crazy, too. But at least he’s not a f*#!ing girl.
Obama: Gang of 6 Offer Deal, ‘Modification’ to Entitlements ‘Include Revenue Component’
**UPDATED BELOW**
President Barack Obama meets with Warren Buffett, the Chairman of Berkshire Hathaway, in the Oval Office, July 18, 2011. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)
While the Tea Party amateurs in the House pretend to be congressmen and women by enjoying their political theater on Cup, Cap and Balance, because Speaker Boehner is powerless to stop them. It’s a real low for Mr. Boehner, but even Pres. Obama understands he’s screwed, as our House conservatives who have proven once again that campaigning to please their constituents is more important than our country’s financial health.
Pres. Obama spoke before the White House briefing to say there has been movement in a proposal from the Gang of 6 (now reportedly 7). It’s a bipartisan plan that’s “broadly consistent with the approach that I’ve urged,” though as a “fail safe,” the McConnell proposal is also being formulated too.
Sen. Mark Warner tweeted this FNC link that has some details:
Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, said she was “very encouraged,” and said she would be “reviewing the details.” The centrist Republican voiced the mood of many leaving the room, saying, “More than 50 senators went in and out of the room. Everyone felt a sense of relief.”
The plan raises about $1 trillion in revenue through closing loopholes and ending tax breaks, with some of it used for deficit reduction and most used for rate reduction through tax reform. As it would take time to enact such changes, the plan calls for an immediate $500 billion in spending cuts, something both Conrad and Coburn called “a downpayment.”
And though the plan would likely anger many Republicans and outside anti-tax groups, members were quick to note that though some revenue would be used for deficit reduction, because they do away with the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT), among other measures, the plan would represent, in total, a “1.5 trillion tax cut,” according to Conrad.
UPDATE 2: MoveOn.org statement from Justin Ruben, Executive Director, on proposal:
“While details are sketchy, the “Gang of 6″ proposal appears to ask seniors, the middle class and the poor to bear the burden of deficit reduction, with cuts to Social Security benefits, billions in stealth cuts to be named later, and no real effort to make corporations and millionaires pay their fair share. MoveOn’s 5 million members are counting on Leader Pelosi, Senate Majority Leader Reid, and other Democrats to stand by their promise to reject any benefit cuts to Social Security and Medicare. We cannot allow a minority of Tea Party led Republicans in the House to hold our nation’s economy hostage in order to protect tax breaks for the rich and corporations, while forcing cuts to programs families depend on. The President and Democrats in Congress must stand up for everyday Americans and not give into politicians more interested in protecting their corporate backers than ensuring our economy recovers.”
UPDATE: Here’s the summary:
A BIPARTISAN PLAN TO REDUCE OUR NATION’S DEFICITS
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
This bipartisan, comprehensive, and balanced plan consistent with the recommendations of the Bowles-Simpson fiscal commission that will:
- · Slash our nation’s deficits by $3.7 trillion/$3.6 trillion over ten years under CBO’s March 2011 baseline, or $4.65 trillion/$4.5 trillion under the original fiscal commission baseline (which used the President’s 2011 budget request as the starting point for discretionary spending).
- · Stabilize our publicly-held debt by 2014.
- · Reduce our publicly-held debt to roughly 70% of our economy by 2021.
- · Impose unprecedented budget enforcement.
A COMPREHENSIVE AND BALANCED PROPOSAL
The plan uses a two-step legislative process: (1) an initial bill that makes immediate cuts; and (2) a process for a second bill to enact comprehensive reform and put our nation on a stable fiscal path. The plan would:
Immediately implement aggressive deficit reduction down payment
- · Cut deficits by $500 billion.
Dramatically cut discretionary spending
- · Cut nonsecurity and security discretionary spending over 10 years.
- · Maintain investments that encourage economic growth, strengthen the safety net for those who truly need it, and preserve a strong national defense.
Carefully strengthen the solvency of our most important entitlement programs
- · Spend health care dollars more efficiently in order to strengthen Medicare and Medicaid, while maintaining the basic structure of these critical programs.
- · Fully pays for SGR (the “doc fix”) over 10 years.
Fundamentally reform our tax code
- · Reduce marginal income tax rates and abolish the $1.7 trillion Alternative Minimum Tax.
- · Encourage greater economic growth.
- · Enhance the competitiveness of American businesses and workers against global competition.
- · Reform spending through the tax code to eliminate investment distortions and tax gaming.
- · Change the debate about taxes in America from rate levels and carve outs to competitiveness, fairness and growth.
- · If CBO scored this plan, it would find net tax relief of approximately $1.5 trillion.
Strictly tighten the government’s budget processes
- · Impose spending caps and security/nonsecurity firewalls.
- · Sequester accounts at the end of the year to recoup any excessive spending by Congress.
- · Restrict the use of emergency designations that circumvent the spending caps.
- · Prevent Congress from exceeding the caps by requiring a stand-alone resolution subject to a 67-vote threshold, in order to isolate that vote to increase the deficit from any other policy items.
Reform Social Security for future generations
- · Ensure 75-year solvency of Social Security and provide for a decennial review of the program to ensure it remains solvent.
- · Reform Social Security on a separate track, isolated from deficit reduction – any savings from the program must go towards solvency.
Parliament Testimony Begins by Murdoch’s Being Denied Request to Make Statement
**UPDATED**
11:55 A.M. EST – HEARINGS SUSPENDED FOR 10 MINUTES… as someone seems to have lunged at Rupert Murdoch, though it’s not clear what happened. The Guardian reports Murdoch’s wife Wendy seemed to slap him away before man in checked shirt could reach her husband. Johnny Marbles tweeted his “attack.” Pictures of failed pie attack.
5.01pm: Jane Martinson reports from the hearing: “He was sitting four rows back, calmly walked up with a plate of shaving foam – smacked it in Rupert’s face – Wendi intervened.”
4.57pm: The suspect looks like he has a substance like white paint on his face.
My colleague Jackie Ashley tells Twitter: “Wendi [Murdoch's wife] can throw quite a punch.”
4.56pm: The BBC says the young man has been handcuffed. Sky showed the footage again – it seemed to be an attack from Rupert Murdoch’s left.
4.55pm: A young man in a checked shirt has been detained by police.
4.54pm: Someone has just tried to attack Rupert Murdoch. His wife Wendi seemed to slap the person.
More updates (original column) below…
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“This is the most humble day of my life.” – Rupert Murdoch
The hearings begin with Rupert Murdoch & his son James Murdoch asking to make opening statement, but were denied. Guardian has statement of Rupert Murdoch:
Mr. Chairman. Select Committee Members:
With your permission, I would like to read a short statement.
My son and I have come here with great respect for all of you, for Parliament and for the people of Britain whom you represent.
This is the most humble day of my career.
After all that has happened, I know we need to be here today.
Before going further, James and I would like to say how sorry we are for what has happened – especially with regard to listening to the voicemail of victims of crime.
My company has 52,000 employees. I have led it for 57 years and I have made my share of mistakes. I have lived in many countries, employed thousands of honest and hardworking journalists, owned nearly 200 newspapers and followed countless stories about people and families around the world.
At no time do I remember being as sickened as when I heard what the Dowler family had to endure – nor do I recall being as angry as when I was told that the News of the World could have compounded their distress. I want to thank the Dowlers for graciously giving me the opportunity to apologise in person.
I would like all the victims of phone hacking to know how completely and deeply sorry I am. Apologising cannot take back what has happened. Still, I want them to know the depth of my regret for the horrible invasions into their lives.
I fully understand their ire. And I intend to work tirelessly to merit their forgiveness.
I understand our responsibility to cooperate with today’s session as well as with future inquiries. We will respond to your questions to the best of our ability and follow up if we are not capable of answering anything today. Please remember that some facts and information are still being uncovered.
We now know that things went badly wrong at the News of the World. For a newspaper that held others to account, it failed when it came to itself. The behaviour that occurred went against everything that I stand for. It not only betrayed our readers and me, but also the many thousands of magnificent professionals in our other divisions around the world.
So, let me be clear in saying: invading people’s privacy by listening to their voicemail is wrong. Paying police officers for information is wrong. They are inconsistent with our codes of conduct and neither has any place, in any part of the company I run.
But saying sorry is not enough. Things must be put right. No excuses. This is why News International is cooperating fully with the police whose job it is to see that justice is done. It is our duty not to prejudice the outcome of the legal process. I am sure the committee will understand this.
I wish we had managed to see and fully solve these problems earlier. When two men were sent to prison in 2007, I thought this matter had been settled. The police ended their investigations and I was told that News International conducted an internal review. I am confident that when James later rejoined News Corporation he thought the case was closed too. These are subjects you will no doubt wish to explore today.
This country has given me, our companies and our employees many opportunities. I am grateful for them. I hope our contribution to Britain will one day also be recognised.
Above all, I hope that, through the process that is beginning with your questions today, we will come to understand the wrongs of the past, prevent them from happening again and, in the years ahead, restore the nation’s trust in our company and in all British journalism.
I am committed to doing everything in my power to make this happen.
Thank you. We are happy to answer your questions.
Submitted statement instead. Clearing room of noisy reporters or people, hard to tell which, came next. Testimony is being heard by the Committee for Culture, Media and Sport.
James Murdoch, chairman and chief executive, apologizes again.
Then he was interrupted by his father, Rupert Murdoch, who touched his arm and offered the quote shown at the top of this post.
The questions and testimony continues… The Lede is liveblogging the testimony…
HIGHLIGHTS…
Rupert Murdoch states he didn’t know he was being lied to. Murdoch obviously shaken, says “NOTW is less than 1% of our company.. I employ 56,000 people around the world… and I’m spread watching and appointing people that I trust…”
James Murdoch tries twice to interrupt Tom Watson’s questioning of his father, saying he can offer details, but Mr. Watson says he’ll come to him after he finishes, because it’s Rupert Murdoch who’s in charge of corporate governance.
“Nope.” That’s Mr. Murdoch’s one-word response about payments to Taylor. James says his father became aware after the “settlement” of “civil claim.”
At what point did you find out that “criminality was endemic” at NOTW? Mr. Murdoch objects to word “endemic,” saying it is prejudicial. Then says he was “shocked, appalled and ashamed…”
“You’re not really saying ‘amnesia,’ you’re saying lie,” Rupert Murdoch offers.
James Murdoch interrupts again to rescue his father from the line of questioning. Watson refuses again. Continues… James interrupts, trying again to answer what his father obviously cannot or will not.
Why did you risk the jobs of 200 people… ? RupertM states these people are being employed by other segments of his empire.
Watson: Did you close the paper down because of criminality? “We were ashamed… We had broken our trust with our readers…”
Keith Olbermann points out what is very obvious, which is that Rupert Murdoch has a script of patterned apologies he is using.
“What happened at News of the World was wrong,” James Murdoch continues. “We have admitted liability…”
Do you accept you are responsible for this whole fiasco? “No,” is Rupert Murdoch’s one word answer. Mr. Murdoch continued, saying he relied on people he employed and trusted.
I found this observation from BBC’s Nick Robinson poignant, while revealing how small Rupert Murdoch appears today.
It is hard to equate the man sitting a few feet away from me with the global media mogul feared by political leaders throughout my adult lifetime.
James Murdoch: No “no immediate plans” to start new Sunday paper.
Are you familiar with the term “willful blindness”? James Murdoch asks for an explanation. Then Mr. Sanders invokes Enron. “I’m not aware of that particular phrase,” says James. RMurdoch adds that he’s familiar with the phrase and denies it applies.
“To say that we are hands off is wrong,” RMurdoch states. “News of the World, perhaps, I lost site of…” Murdoch continues, saying he works 10-12 hours a day and once again saying NOTW was “so small.”
James Murdoch also admits settlement was for illegal phone hacking by News of the World employees.
Later in the testimony James Murdoch delivered Rumsfeldesque known knowns & unknown unknowables on alleged criminality. Classic Murdoch moment of obfuscation and incomprehensible elite media idiocy.
AFTER FAILED PIE ATTACK… allegedly made by Jonnie Marbles, a comedian…
Tide turns for a time… MP now apologizing to Murdochs, including wife Wendy, one using word “guts” to describe her willingness to be present during questioning. Rupert Murdoch now jacketless.
Have you considered resigning? Murdoch, “No.” Why not? People I hired let me down, they should pay. I’m the best person to clean this up.
“Mr. Murdoch, your wife has a very good left hook.”
Rupert Murdoch allowed to read closing statement. “… In all that’s happened, we needed to be here today. … “ “Sickened” by what the Dowler Fowler had to endure and grateful he was able to apologize in person. Will “work tirelessly to earn their forgiveness.” Murdoch says while trying to hold others to account, they failed on themselves. Paying off police and listening to people’s voicemail is “wrong,” “no excuses,” saying your sorry “isn’t enough.” When people went to prison in 2007, Murdoch thought it was over, as did his son. “I hope our contributions to Britain will one day be recognized.”
Committee thanks the Murdochs, apologizes for the comedic pie event.
Rebekah Brooks testifies next.
