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Taylor Marsh has been writing on line since 1996, with the archives provided here a representation of that work.

Tag Archives | Mexico

Eric Holder on a Spit

By on 12 October 2011

Listening to Sean Hannity briefly today, because I can only take this cretin in short stints, he had Rep. Issa on for an interview over the “Fast and Furious” imbroglio that is lighting up the right. Between the two of them they flayed A.G. Holder until only bones were left, symbolically speaking, of course.

Whether this is felonious stupidity or managerial malpractice, it was hardly anything nefarious from what I can tell from the reporting. However, it hardly matters at this rate.

Earth to the Administration: Right wing radio is eating Holder alive.

It makes me wonder if they realize what they’ve got on their hands. Are they going to mount an aggressive push back on this or are you going to serve up Holder for turkey dinner (to take a question spincitysd asked in his “In the News” diary that starts with quite an article)? But spincitysd had an even better question: Sweet Baby Jesus On A Pogo Stick, is there any adult supervision going on at Holder’s romper room?

Good question.

Anyone know a good crisis manager? Calling Eli Gold.

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RAILROADED? Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko Gets 7 Years in Jail

By on 11 October 2011

**UPDATED**

While most people are pondering the odd intersection between Iran and a Mexico drug cartel in the alleged assassination attempt of the Saudi ambassador, which sounds like a weird spy novel, at least so far, about which I’m extremely skeptical [update: See interview with Bob Baer]. What caught my eye is something else.

This is a disturbingly tragic development:

Former Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko on Tuesday was found guilty of abuse of office and sentenced to seven years in jail, in a trial widely condemned in the West as politically motivated.

Judge Rodion Kireyev also barred Tymoshenko, now the country’s top opposition leader, from occupying government posts for three years after the completion of her prison term and fined her 1.5 billion hryvna ($190 million; euro140 million) in damages to the state.

Tymoshenko remained calm, but didn’t wait for Kireyev to finish reading the lengthy ruling, standing up from her seat and addressing reporters in the courtroom as he spoke. She compared her verdict, which she claimed was written by her longtime foe, President Viktor Yanukovych, to the horrific purges by Soviet dictator Josef Stalin.

“The year 1937 has returned to Ukraine with this verdict and all the repression of citizens,” she said, adding that she would contest the ruling. “As for me, be sure that I will not stop my fight even for a minute. I will always be with you as long as it is necessary.”

“Nobody, not Yanukovych, not Kireyev, can humiliate my honest name. I have worked and will continue to work for Ukraine’s sake,” Tymoshenko told reporters earlier.

h/t to DB for the link on Tymoshenko.

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The Sunday News Round-Up

By on 10 July 2011

On this day in history, July 10, 1509, theologian John Calvin, a key figure of the Protestant Reformation, was born France.

Some news that caught my eye this fine morning:

~Elizabeth Warren for Senate?

~The GOP has predictably rebuffed the President’s so-called Grand Bargain, which is really a Grand Capitulation to corporate interests on the backs of the middle class, so perhaps its a good thing. Interestingly, polls consistently show that the American people are on the Democrats’ side with this- they see no problem whatsoever with tax increases for the richest Americans, closing some of the ridiculous tax loopholes that create subsidies for big business etc. So now we are back to the cuts/revenue increases that were part of the Biden-led negotiations.

~Witchita, Kansas, again becomes Ground Zero in the battle for abortion rights.

~The Washington Post’s resident right wing hack, Jennifer Rubin, thinks that defense spending has nothing to do with the deficit. I still can’t believe the WaPo gave her a platform. Oh, wait, Fred Hiatt, Jackson Diehl, Krauthammer. Never mind, yes I can.

~Mitchell Plitnick over at LobeLog has a good piece on why the U.S. is so frantic about the possible upcoming UN vote about Palestinian statehood. In addition to putting Israel and the U.S. in a very, very tricky spot, the reality is that things have changed since the Arab Spring and the release of the Palestinian Papers- something which the Obama administration seems reluctant to take to heart. The Palestinians can no longer enter negotiations without achieving substantive results, end of story. That’s the new reality. The U.S., meanwhile, has nothing to offer but the same old, failed formula of never-ending negotiations that achieve nothing other than the further entrenchment of the occupation beyond the Green Line and the Palestinians know this. Hence, the UN vote.

~Ann Coulter thinks we bombed Egypt, which caused Hosni Mubarak to leave. Jesus Christ! WHY CAN’T THE REPUBLICANS DO FOREIGN POLICY?!?

~Eric Cantor cancels the July 18th House recess. Isn’t every day recess in the House?

~Winning hearts and minds in Afghanistan.

~The life of Betty Ford.

~John Aravosis thinks Obama should appoint a top level LGBT adviser. Dream on.

~It’s nice to know that James Murdoch is just as much a scum-bag as his father.

~For a great article on the cozy relationship between the elder Murdoch and British politicians, check out this article. The sad thing is, the same corrosive media/political cronyism is right here in our own Beltway.

~ Dick Morris’ makes stuff up. Again. Note to the right: Using Israel as a political wedge issue is a really bad idea…for Israel.

~South Sudan declares independence.

~Glenn Greenwald points out that in our effort to fight terrorism, we’re actually creating more terrorists. It’s like a hamster wheel of sorts.

~Ever wonder what happened to the so-called American Taliban, John Walker Lindh? Read this article from his father with a rather disturbing update. Now remember, Lindh is in jail as part of a plea deal for joining and fighting with the Taliban (the govt had no proof he was a “terrorist”, a with whom we are [right now unofficially] negotiating with.

~Alex Pareene over at Salon’s ‘War Room’ points out that when it comes to terrorism-foreign policy-national security coverage, the Washington Post has No. Standards. Whatsoever.

~Keeping Michele Bachmann from letting go of the reins is probably more than a full-time job for her fancy new advisor Ed Rollins, but she clearly slipped away from him for a moment to be the first (and hopefully only) Presidential candidate to sign “The Marriage Vow – A Declaration of Dependence upon Marriage and Family.” Naturally, anything with the word “family” in coming from the far, far, far right includes stuff about gay people, Sharia Law and porn. Or something. Naturally, Pamela Gellar is thrilled.

~The feds have ruled that marijuana has no acceptable medical use. You can read more about Obama’s War on Pot here. The admin. seems to be harder on medical marijuana growers/users than he is on the Big Banks that caused the global financial crisis. #fail.

~Over-react much?

~Forty people are dead in a mere 24 hours in Mexico- drug and gang related violence.

The End.

[cross-posted over at USFoPo and the Middle East]

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Beyond Afghanistan: Mass Graves in Mexico

By on 25 April 2011

Question: Which country is more important to United States interests right now, Afghanistan, Libya or Mexico?

You really have to wonder about our leadership when we’re spending hundreds of billions of dollars in Afghanistan and Iraq, while on our southern border there is such violence, carnage and anarchy that the State Dept. warns against nonessential to huge areas of Mexico. Actually, I take it back, on foreign policy there is no leadership anymore. We’re throwing darts at board these days. …maybe we always have.

From the Washington Post:

At the largest mass grave site ever found in Mexico, where 177 bodies have been pulled from deep pits, authorities say they have recovered few bullet casings and little evidence that the dead were killed with a gun.

[...] In the past four years, more than 35,000 people have been killed and thousands more have simply disappeared, since Calderon sent the military to battle Mexican organized crime with $1.6 billion in U.S. support. U.S. officials in Mexico worry that criminal gangs are taking over sections of the vital border region not by overwhelming firepower but sheer terror.

… The U.S. State Department issued new warnings Friday advising Americans to defer nonessential travel to the entire border state of Tamaulipas and large swaths of Mexico because of the threat of armed robbery, carjacking, kidnapping and murder by organized crime.

It’s not as sexy to say we’re going to engaged in a new level in Mexico, maybe the politics are rough, too. But as strategic and vital interests go, what’s happening in Mexico is horrifying. What needs to be done also goes well beyond the American xenophobia of Gov. Brewer. Maybe the problem is that U.S. leaders don’t know what to do about the war going on inside Mexico, because nobody takes it seriously enough since it’s in our own back yard.

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Sunday Politics and Japan’s Nuclear Catastrophe

By on 13 March 2011

[...] Tokyo Electric Power Co., owner of the two heavily damaged complexes, took the unprecedented step of pumping seawater mixed with boric acid into the core of another reactor, Fukushima Daiichi’s unit 1 reactor, to tame ultra-high temperatures from fuel rods that had been partially exposed. In keeping with the natural as well as mechanical challenges of the week, the company had to delay the plan briefly after another, more mild, earthquake rocked the area and led to another tsunami warning. The battle at that reactor was just one of several being waged in the worst nuclear power crisis in a quarter-century. – Japanese nuclear plants’ operator scrambles to avert meltdowns

There can be no doubt that the “partial meltdown” of at least two of Japan’s nuclear plants will be big news on the Sunday shows. The Guardian talked to Greenpeace, driving home that nuclear power doesn’t come cheap and will never be safe.

Those opposed to nuclear power will not let the incident be forgotten, as Jan Beranek, head of Greenpeace’s international nuclear campaign, made clear. “How many more warnings do we need before we finally grasp that nuclear reactors are inherently hazardous? The nuclear industry always tells us that situation like this cannot happen with modern reactors, yet Japan is currently in the middle of a potentially devastating nuclear crisis,” he said.

Chuck Todd will step in on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” which means it will be a lot more interesting. Gov. Mitch Daniels is the big guest, as is Sen. Chuck Schumer. I’m hoping he’ll repeat his thinking that it’s time for a mil-billionaire surtax, which would be a start down the shared sacrifice road.

ABC’s “This Week” and Christiane Amanpour will be live from Japan, with The Hill having the details on what subjects will be covered this morning.

CBS’s “Face the Nation’s” guests are Senators Joe Lieberman and Mary Landrieu talking Japan, Libya and the Middle East.

CNN’s “State of the Union” with Candy Crowley has Sen. Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.), Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) and Sen. Dick Durbin.

“Fox News Sunday” has Mitch McConnell, Sen. Mark Warner, Sen. Saxby Chambliss.

Other than that, what are you hearing or reading today? Serve up links in the comments.

While we fight in Afghanistan and Iraq, on our southern border an American professor was kidnapped by armed men in Mexico. She was unadvisedly visiting her family in Ciudad Juarez, which was a foolish move. Pres. Obama and our entire government isn’t taking our real challenges in Mexico seriously, while the Right thinks the problem is illegal immigration. We’ve got a bunch of fools in charge.

And let’s hope everyone remembered to set your clocks forward.

Screen capture from WashingtonPost.com.

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My $0.02: In Memory of MLK and Jeannette Rankin

By on 15 January 2011

"Martin Luther King, Jr." by Danny Daurko (click image to visit fineartamerica.com for a larger view)

Good morning, news junkies!

Today is January 15, 2011… Eighty-two years ago, in 1929, Martin Luther King, Jr. was born. Thirty-nine years later, in 1968, the Jeannette Rankin Brigade gathered in DC to protest the Vietnam War (links go to two great photos). At the end of the march, the 88-year old Rankin–on behalf of a delegation of women that included Coretta Scott King–presented to then-House Speaker John McCormack a petition calling for an end to the war (link takes you to another amazing photo).

I dedicate my Saturday offerings this weekend to Dr. King, his family, congresswoman Rankin, and everyone who stood with them in the fight for nonviolence, a movement largely spurred on in the twentieth century by Gandhi and his strategy of nonviolent resistance — satyagraha.

And, with that, I’ll dive right into my current event picks, the first of which takes us to Gandhi’s homeland. From earlier in the week, at the NYT Opinionator: “A Light in India,” in which David Bornstein discusses the exciting new ‘frugal innovation’ of turning rice husks into electricity that is “reliable, eco-friendly and affordable for families that can spend only $2 a month for power.”

Husk Power is bringing electricity AND jobs to poor villagers — what a story! Check it out.

The top story on memeorandum right now is the developments coming out of Tunisia with President Ben Ali fleeing amid protests. Mother Jones‘ Nick Bauman has a helpful primer up which brings the Wikileaks connection into focus: ” What’s Happening in Tunisia Explained.” Joe Coscarelli at the VV‘s Runnin’ Scared blog also has a post up called “Tunisia in Turmoil: Where to Learn the Most Quickly” with some good links to CNN, Salon, and an AOL News piece by Theunis Bates.

Is a video game really grist for a reality show to "bring Pac Man to life"? Click on image to read the rest of the story.

Also, saw this story on Runnin’ Scared while I was there — it’s a bizarre headline that I heard yesterday as well: “Pac Man to Get Reality Series…” I’m a child of the ’80s. I grew up on Pac Man. I really don’t get it. The blogger at VV says suggests that this is the moment “‘reality tv’ jumped the shark.” Funny, I would have said that television jumped the shark with infotainment and reality tv!

And, while we’re on the subject of games–in national political news, looks like the RNC played musical chairs on Friday. “CNN: RNC bounces Steele, taps Wisconsin GOP leader as new chairman.” The NYT has more info on the new head of the RNC, Reince Priebus.

Over at US News & World Report‘s Washington Whispers blog, Paul Bedard has the scoop on Ron Reagan’s upcoming book: “Reagan Son Claims Dad Had Alzheimer’s as President.”

I have a lot of ground to cover from this week, so stay tuned for more after the fold.

There are several headlines of interest on the AZ shooting circulating at the moment, I am just going to link to a few of them briefly:

“In an Online Game Forum, Tucson Suspect Lashed Out” (NYT); “Tucson Shooting Survivor: ‘It Looks Like Palin, Beck, Sharron Angle and the Rest Got Their First Target’” (Democracy Now interview with survivor Eric Fuller). From the Gray Lady op-ed section: Charles Blow: “The Tucson Witch Hunt” — Blow basically criticizes Dems for counterproductively turning what I call the Sarah Palin footnote (and it is valid and constructive to discuss as a footnote, imho) into the entire byline of the Tucson story (not so constructive); Bob Herbert: “Helpless in the Face of Madness” — Herbert takes on the issue of gun control and asks, “Are we really helpless in the face of the astounding toll that guns take on this society?”

Susie Madrak started an interesting discussion on gun control at C&L yesterday — “A Modest Proposal: What If We Required Mandatory Gun Insurance?” Be sure to take a look at the comments. Some of them are a hoot. Here’s a taste: “Not a mandatory insurance fan.. I think we should all have equal access to free weapons. Why not socialize all violence?”

Speaking of ever-present violence, sad story from across the border this week. In an ugly twist of fate, the BBC reports that Mexican activist Susana Chavez, who herself led protests against the unsolved killings of hundreds of women in Juarez, has been identified as the victim of a gruesome murder.

Peter Daou also has a powerful read up right now called “On human violence.”

Next up, two MLK-related stories… first, an unsettling statement from the Obama Pentagon’s general counsel, Jeh Johnson, made at the Defense Department’s commemoration of King’s legacy on Thursday: “I believe that if Dr. King were alive today, he would recognize that we live in a complicated world, and that our nation’s military should not and cannot lay down its arms and leave the American people vulnerable to terrorist attack.”

If Dr. King were alive today, I think he would be speaking out against the American war machine and advocating for America’s marginalized, who have been ill-served by unnecessary war. I think it is quite sad and revealing to see someone from the current Administration posit otherwise. D-Day at FDL has more on the context of Jeh Johnson’s remarks, but I have to say that Johnson’s acknowledgment of King’s belief in nonviolence only makes the above statement even more jarring.

Here’s the other MLK-related item, as reported by Veronica Roberts at allvoices.com — “Snowday Makeup In Tennessee Causes Controversy: Should Schools Open On MLK Holiday?” This story gets curiouser when you delve into it, because apparently the decision to open the schools on MLK Day came from Jimmie Garland, who is himself chairman of the local NAACP chapter.

Obama, Hillary, and Bill, at the Holbrooke memorial.

In other memorial news, at Politics Daily, WH correspondent Alex Wagner reports on Friday’s gathering at the Kennedy Center in honor of a foreign policy giant: “Obama, Bill and Hillary Clinton Pay Tribute to Richard Holbrooke at Memorial.” Wagner quotes Obama as saying, “Richard possessed a hard-headed, clear-eyed realism about how the world works. He was not naïve. But he also believed that America has a unique responsibility in the course of human events.”

I doubt there was any mention of Holbrooke’s dying words about ending the war in Afghanistan–if there was, it was probably passed off as a joke between him and the medical staff again. I did catch most of Hillary’s remarks on C-SPAN, and they were very moving (video here). You could tell this is not just a brilliant statesman that many people in the room had lost but a friend and a fixture in their lives. RIP, Ambassador Holbrooke.

Here is a handy State Department link on Holbrooke’s passing, btw. Lots of links to official statements and tributes.

In Texas news, Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX) announced this Thursday on facebook that she will not be running for re-election in 2012. As one of Kay’s constituents, I’m not sure how to feel about that. From the WSJ‘s Washington Wire: “The 67-year-old Texan is a social moderate, fiscal conservative and the Senate Republicans’ longest-serving woman.” I’d rather have Hutchison as my Senator than a tea partier. On the other hand, if Democrat Bill White makes a go for Kay’s seat, this could get interesting.

Tom Jensen at Public Policy Polling had this to say about Hutchison’s plans for retirement: “The fact that someone like Hutchison who has generally been among the more popular Senators in the country and has always won by wide margins has been at least partially pushed out by the Tea Party is indicative of a new reality for Republican Senators- pretty much no incumbent is safe if these folks decide to target them.”

Keeping my fingers crossed that some genuine liberals break through during the next primary cycle and that the tea party continues to expose its ideology for the callous, irresponsible social darwinism that it is underneath the small gov’t rhetoric. (Truly “small” government would stay out of our bedrooms and our uteruses.)

Oh, and hey, remember when the Obamaphiles used to scream bloody murder at any mention of DLC? Ezra Klein has something for the kiddos that they’ll have to read with their blinders on: “The White House brings in Bruce Reed.” This story dovetails right into a Roll Call headline that caught my eye on Monday: “Bitter Blue Dogs Ready to Cut Deals.”

Wise words on the subject from Glen Ford over at BAR: “Indeed, in order for Obama to reach his comfort zone, it was necessary that the Democrats be defeated. Only then could New Democrat Obama’s collaboration with the GOP in furtherance of corporate rule appear to be an act of statesmanship, a grand compromise (as the tax deal was pitched) in the interest of orderly government by the ‘grownups.’”

Briefly, a bit of comic relief — in”WTF, how did this person get elected” news, via Reason.com’s Hit & Run blog: “Iowa Legislator Seeks to Criminalize Cocktails.” Hmm, makes me think of the RNC cocktails that the Boehner of our existence was having instead of attending the Tucson memorial.

In economic headlines, from Arvind Subramanian at the IIE — “Is China Already Number One? New GDP Estimates.” From the link: “When the presidents of China and the United States meet next week in Washington, neither will likely be aware that, measured in terms of purchasing power, it is Hu Jintao not Barack Obama who represents the world’s largest economy. Some time in 2010, the Chinese economy overtook that of the United States. My calculations of GDP for 2010—which of course are subject to the uncertainty associated with all such exercises—are based on new estimates of GDP that will soon be published by the Penn World Tables (PWT) under the guidance of Professor Alan Heston at the University of Pennsylvania.”

Staying on the wonkish track but turning to science news, from Tuesday’s Gray Lady: “ESP Report Sets Off Debate on Data Analysis.” In a nutshell, the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology will be publishing a study this year purporting to prove the existence of extrasensory perception, and this report has sparked the age-old controversy in social science research of whether to measure the significance of results by classical significance testing or Bayesian inference. This story ties in to an earlier one about the scientific method and the decline effect — from last month in the New Yorker, “The Truth Wears Off” (h/t to commenter Inky).

Both stories, with their focus on research, vaguely reminded me of an NYT story from last Saturday that I had wanted to touch on but didn’t have time to weave into my roundup then: “Journal Showcases Dying Art of the Research Paper.” William Fitzhugh, publisher of said journal , says he recently inquired to a NJ high school department head as to whether he assigned research papers: “‘Not anymore,’ Mr. Fitzhugh quoted the teacher as saying. ‘I have my kids do PowerPoint presentations.’”

What do you guys think? Is powerpoint an adequate substitute for a research paper? Personally, I had to write several research papers in my AP classes in high school and didn’t do powerpoint until college, and even then only as a supplement to present actual papers I had to write first. I can’t imagine doing one in lieu of the other.

Click book cover to go to the Amazon listing.

Two fascinating art reads, one from a couple of weeks ago in the NYT Sunday Book Review: “The Nonconformist,” and another from last weekend at the NYT Lens: “Adding Islam to a Latino Identity.” The former is a review of Phoebe Hoban’s biography of the artist Alice Neel, titled Alice Neel: The Art of Not Sitting Pretty, and the latter is an interview with freelance photographer Eirini Vourloumis featuring a slideshow of some of her work.

While I’m at it, if you missed C. Roger Denson’s spotlight on Shirin Neshat’s stunning photography and films over at Huffpo at the end of last month, you need to go see it now!

If you’re in need of a super silly pick-me-up, try the Craig Ferguson and Lauren Graham puppet show. It’s from a little over a year ago, but my sister recently pointed me to it, and it left me in stitches. (Here’s Part 2 of the puppet show).

I’ll close with some Hillary fluff from NYDN‘s Gatecrasher: “Designer Diane Von Furstenberg looks toward Hillary Clinton for political inspiration…Diane Von Furstenberg surprised us at Tuesday’s YMA Geoffrey Beene National Awards Scholarship Dinner when we asked her which contemporary political figure inspires her. We half expected Mrs. Barry Diller to name Michelle Obama or Carla Bruni, but she shocked us by choosing Hillary Clinton. Will next month’s DVF fall 2011 collection be filled with boxy pantsuits in radioactive pastels? We wonder, especially after von Furstenberg told us at the Waldorf that our nation’s secretary of state is ‘the most amazing woman in the world.’”

Have a great MLK weekend, and as always–if you get a chance, please stop by in the comments and share what you’re reading and ruminating on this Saturday.

Originally published by Wonk the Vote at Let Them Listen. Crossposted at Sky Dancing and Liberal Rapture.

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Dem Polis Pushes Bill to Decriminalize Pot

By on 05 January 2011

Congressman Polis (D-CO) is introducing legislation to decriminalize marijuana use. Its an idea with great traction these days. Folks go to jail say for an ounce of pot then they cant get a job etc.. Worse, the pot issue is greatly impacting border states. Since its illegal -and of course people in America want it- drug runners are causing all kinds of violence and death on the border. We see it daily on TV.

In these economic times people like Polis see potential legalization of some marijuana use as a major new revenue stream- just like alcohol. Whatever we are doing now progressive would say- on the “war on drugs” surely is NOT working. Nancy Reagan’s “Just Say No” didn’t do much and I don’t know one kid I went to school with at the tie who suddenly didn’t try pot because of Nancy. Or Barbara Bush.

At minimum there is strong sentiment in the public for medicinal use of marijuana. Arizona- Guv Brewer’s state- passed a binding referendum this past November allowing for medical marijuana. I know folks with so many painful illnesses, in such torture and agony with MS for instance, that it seems incredibly cruel to deny them anything that might make their quality of life somewhat better.

Perhaps a kind of libertarian Right wing pols and Left wing ones could off passing such a law federally. More on Polis’ actions:

Denver Post:

..If Colorado was allowed to treat marijuana like alcohol — or any other medicine, for that matter — pot dispensaries could freely set up business bank accounts without fear of federal prosecution and marijuana could, like corn and wheat, be grown openly in national forests.

This is according to U.S. Rep. Jared Polis, a Boulder Democrat, who said he plans to push a law in the new Congress that would decriminalize marijuana at the federal level so that states with medicinal laws on the books, like Colorado, could treat it as they wish.

Under Polis’ structure, marijuana laws would be extremely local — similar to states that have so-called dry, alcohol- free counties.

“It’s not in the federal government’s realm,” Polis said. “I’m proud of Colorado being a pioneer in this regard and setting up a regulatory structure. We’ve benefited in tax revenues and I think it’s dealt a big blow to criminalize it.”

Polis is gaining help from libertarians on this effort.

Polis has supporters in the libertarian movement, who believe that legalizing marijuana would be kind to already- clogged courts and, perhaps, cause less havoc because people “are a lot less danger to themselves and society when they are smoking marijuana than when they drink too much alcohol,” said David Kopel, an adjunct law professor at the University of Denver.

“Marijuana was legal from the time when the pilgrims showed up through the 1930s, and the country grew from humble beginnings to a world superpower with legal marijuana,” Kopel said. “I think it’s a waste of criminal justice resources,” to prosecute pot cases.

Colorado will once again have a referendum on legalizing pot in 2012. If Democrats were smart they would have such measures in other states. Polls show strongest support for legalizing pot is with Americans under 40. If Obama wants that youth turnout the pot issue could drive them to the polling places in droves. Since younger voters lean strongly Democratic- in fact as strongly Dem as in the 1930s- such ballot measures would boost youth turnout for the party.

Boy the conservatives will squirm on this one- as they shout states rights and “tea party liberty” will they kill this effort? Probably in the House- for now.

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Waiting for Snow, News Edition

By on 26 December 2010



Washington, D.C. has been on a winter storm snow watch for over 24 hours. It started snowing yesterday morning, then stopped, then last night started again. The forecasters, who we’ve found are always on the mark, say it’s coming. We can’t wait.

…as for the picture, it’s one of the many birds, Mr. Woodpecker, that gift us with his presence. Yesterday we even caught sight of one of the Bald Eagles the live in our area. Nature’s Christmas gift, of the daily nature.

Now for a little news, starting with Congress, not exactly Crooks ‘r Us (also see t4h’s In the News diary) but certainly offensive, though unsurprising.

For three weeks in June, for instance, the members of a joint House and Senate committee worked to draft final rules for regulating the financial industry in the wake of its 2008 meltdown. During that time, the 35 members of the drafting committee collected $440,000 in donations from that same industry, which was then lobbying heavily for looser rules.

Earlier this month, the chairman of the Senate committee overseeing tax policy, Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont.), gave himself a birthday-party fundraiser – on the same day that the chamber took its first vote on an $858 billion tax package that would provide breaks to wealthy citizens and business interests.

Members of Congress contacted for this article declined to answer questions about ethics rules and the possible appearance of impropriety. Instead, they stressed that their votes can’t be bought.

“Money has no influence on how Senator Baucus makes his decisions,” Baucus spokeswoman Kate Downen said. “The only factor that determines Senator Baucus’s votes is whether a policy is right for Montana and right for our country.”

One piece of news that caught my eye. Let’s just say we could be hearing a revived Sarah Palin “death panels” cry coming to a cable channel near you very soon. From the New York Times:

Under the new policy, outlined in a Medicare regulation, the government will pay doctors who advise patients on options for end-of-life care, which may include advance directives to forgo aggressive life-sustaining treatment.

Congressional supporters of the new policy, though pleased, have kept quiet. They fear provoking another furor like the one in 2009 when Republicans seized on the idea of end-of-life counseling to argue that the Democrats’ bill would allow the government to cut off care for the critically ill.

The final version of the health care legislation, signed into law by President Obama in March, authorized Medicare coverage of yearly physical examinations, or wellness visits. The new rule says Medicare will cover “voluntary advance care planning,” to discuss end-of-life treatment, as part of the annual visit.

No doubt this will be used to make the case that “Obamacare,” as the Right calls it, should be defunded, because they won’t be able to repeal it. That can only happen if Obama loses in ’12, with Republicans needing a strong candidate to prove they can achieve it, which so far they do not have.

Bradley Manning is “frazzled.” I bet.

Pres. Obama and Congress won’t deal with it, but Mexico continues to unravel on our southern border, something that threatens us a hell of a lot more than Iraq or Afghanistan.

What the (ahem) ‘smart set” is reading, may the gods help us. Obviously, the people who could keep us from cratering further into the abyss missed this list. Best one for the money remains Andrew Ross Sorkin’s “Too Big To Fail.” Buy it. Read it.

POLITICO’s best & worst of YouTube brings back memories of just how incompetent Tim Kaine was as DNC chairman. If there was a worse choice it was Michael Steele at the RNC, with both men completely worthless in their jobs.

Now it’s your turn. The floor is yours. Enjoy your Sunday. For a little history see spincitysd’s In the News diary, and for fun try Sandman’s “In the News” kitty cartoon. Hilarious.

Hope your Christmas was half as relaxing, music and fun-filled as mine.

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DRUG WAR: Mexican Drug Gangs Exacting Control Over Press

By on 02 August 2010

Nevada, a swing state, has twice rejected pot legalization initiatives in the past, though support increased to 44 percent in 2004, the last time it was on the ballot. Supporters plan to put it on again in 2012. Whether it can pass isn’t some Democrats’ top concern: As long as it can get unlikely voters to a polling station they’d otherwise avoid, it’s a success. – Could Pot Drive Turnout In Key Elections?

Two weeks ago when all hell broke loose on the border just across from Laredo, Texas, not a single word about it appeared in the local news media in Mexico. Kidnapping journalists is nothing new there, which shows no signs of abating. Meanwhile, drug cartels are now using car bombs in their attacks, a clear escalation that CBS dubbed “al Qaeda tactics.” Christian Science Monitor did another side of the al Qaeda – Latin American drug cartel story back in January. From CBS:

“There’s a lot of homicides in any hour, any day of the week,” said Marco Flores Lopez, a crime reporter for TV Azteca Sonora. Nowhere is bloodier than Juarez. This city just across from El Paso, Texas is more dangerous than Baghdad — with more than 1,000 drug related slayings so far this year.

Gov. Brewer’s walking while Hispanic law that codifies racial profiling won’t do anything to curb the reality in Mexico, but instead makes a mockery of what’s happening across the border. Neither Ms. Brewer’s law or Sen. Kyl’s demagoguery about curtailing birthright citizenship address Mexico’s challenge.

Mexico has areas that now threaten the country’s populace and could turn it further towards a burgeoning narcostate. We need a much more aggressive immigration policy beyond Pres. Obama’s strong and laudable efforts, including legal visa expansion, but Pres. Obama and Congress should be highlighting what’s happening beyond our southern border, including that Pres. Calderon is failing to do what any president must, keep the Mexican people safe. Calderon seems to have lost control over areas of his country.

So, while we focus on terrorism in Afghanistan and Central Asia, closer to home a disturbing reality has been unfolding for a very long time, getting much worse over the last year, but not in Arizona.

Carlos Lauria, the Latin America director of the Committee to Protect Journalists commented that “The Mexican government cannot lose this fight over information. It is at the very center of democracy.”

Nuevo Laredo has three television news channels, four daily newspapers and at least five radio stations that broadcast news, but every outlet ignored the biggest story of the year. Nuevo Laredo is not an isolated village but the busiest city along the U.S.-Mexico border, a vital U.S. trade partner with a population of 360,000, professional sports teams, universities and an international airport.

Fearing for their lives and the safety of their families, journalists are adhering to a near-complete news blackout, under strict orders of drug smuggling organizations and their enforcers, who dictate — via daily telephone calls, e-mails and news releases — what can and cannot be printed or aired.

“We are under their complete control,” said a veteran reporter, who spoke on the condition of anonymity. Editors and managers of news organizations who agreed to speak with The Washington Post insisted that the interviews take place away from their offices, at back tables in empty bars. “The cartels have eyes and ears inside our company,” one editor said. [...]

What Mexico is facing, which could impact U.S. border states immensely as it grows, goes well beyond Gov. Brewer’s push to double down on what’s already in federal law. This is a federal national security issue that Pres. Obama should deal with openly, loudly and directly with Congress’ help that should have happened years ago under George W. Bush, but our leaders simply couldn’t get it done.

U.S. southern border security is a political hot potato, because neither political party will come at it as a national security issue first. Answers like building a fence, as well as xenophobic anti immigrant laws, are not only anti-American but cosmetic and don’t address the Mexican/South American cartel issue.

President Calderon blames U.S. drug consumption: “The way they see it, they are fighting our war on drugs,” said Jenkins, the Rand Corp. analyst who was quoted recently by CBS. Calderon declared war on the cartels, deploying over 45,000 troops. But Mexico’s drug enemies bring in over $25 billion. He’s got a war alright, which means we’ve got one raging, not in Arizona, but across the border that is percolating.

A bunch of Brewer state laws won’t do anything to address this.

If the press is muzzled, parts of Mexico are clearly on the verge of imploding. A larger issue nobody, including Gov. Brewer, Republicans and Democrats, especially conservatives in both parties and Pres. Obama seem to want to take on directly.

There is also simply no evidence whatsoever that the U.S. political structure is mature enough to address the drug issue beyond “declaring war,” which simply assures an unending cycle of insanity. Ask Pres. Calderon. Certainly someone in the U.S. national security structure under Obama has a clue that Mexico is at war, not unlike Afghanistan is with the narcotraffickers.

So, what’s the plan? So far there isn’t one that comes close to working.

It seems the entire U.S. political establishment, but especially people like Gov. Brewer and her allies, think that this is all about immigrants on our side. No one is educating the public, so the knee jerk reaction is to support a law because it’s seen to do something as the feds hide their heads and do nothing. But no amount of state anti-immigrant laws will take on Mexico’s internal combustion.

The collective naïveté, which on the conservative side is rank stupidity, on the “drug war” reveals that no one is learning anything as the bodies and territory seized by the cartels pile up in Mexico. Throwing a bevy of state laws aimed at immigrants, as Mexico’s teetering status violently tips, won’t do squat.

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Legalize Marijuana, Erase the Deficit

By on 14 April 2010

The death toll from the Mexican government’s three-year war on drug cartels is far higher than previously reported — more than 22,000, according to news reports published Tuesday that cited confidential government figures. – Mexico death toll in drug war higher than previously reported

Okay, so I’m being flip.

But seriously, how long is it going to take before someone admits what we all know. That the drug war is costing us billions, including in U.S. prisons, and is more ineffectual than a war for oil. It’s clear President Felipe Calderon of Mexico needs another strategy, because his army-led focus hasn’t worked. So does the U.S. Let’s hope the initiative on the California ballot this November passes, though there’s no guarantee that it will. At the very least it should mobilize younger voters to get it done. I hope so.

To be successful nationally I guess we’d have to wrangle, tie down and politically gag the marijuana is a gateway drug crowd, along with our politicians who moralize about its evil impact while downing Scotch, beer and your favorite wine by the jug.

Certainly we could start with legalizing medicinal marijuana. It’s criminal to keep a natural weed from someone who might be suffering all because the pharmaceutical industry doesn’t want to lose profits. Someone needs to take on the pharmaceutical industry’s strangle hold on the health industry before we can get it done, but as we saw with health care, don’t look to the Democrats or so called “progressives.”

As for the deficit angle, regulate it and tax it. Make it legal to farm and sell. Same laws to apply for driving under the influence, minors getting it, etc.

Just legalize it.

It won’t keep us from buying the liquor we love, so distributors shouldn’t worry. It’s just ridiculously clear that the war on drugs is an abominable waste of time, energy, money and lives. It hasn’t worked.

But legalization in the United States might even shift the ongoing nightmare in Mexico and along border states. It could bring a crime into the light of exports and save Mexico from itself and our southern states from drug-trafficking thugs.

Just imagine the money we’d have to pay down the deficit and get out of hock from the Chinese. We’d get a snappy new slogan, too: Buy U.S. – Wars or Weed.

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Around the World

By on 24 May 2009

–updated–

Starting at home, with one lone Republican thinking casting Speaker Pelosi as “Pussy Galore” is “reprehensible, irresponsible and unpersuasive.”

Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah) told Politico Saturday:

“I thought it was reprehensible, irresponsible and unpersuasive. If we’re going to regain the credibility of the American people, we’re going to have to stop with silly antics like that. It may get a snide chuckle inside the Beltway, but it offends most people. We have to get away from the politics of personal destruction,” he said of the video.

Of course, some in the conservative chorus would prefer to keep the R(Rush) N(Newt) C(Cheney) Party relegated to minority status. Fine with me, but the fact they are so defensive, while attacking what I wrote yesterday (see Memeorandum today), illustrates how cluelessly tone deaf the Republican base remains, even after getting shellacked in November. What Republicans refuse to admit, even when they are dragged to admit Steele’s ad is not helping them, is that implying that any woman, but especially the first female Speaker of the House in U.S. history, be called “Pussy” is undeniably offensive in the real world. But according to right wing bloggers I’m “hyperventilating.” The most hilarious part of the attacks are their lack of analytic prowess, opining that my problem is of the nudity implied in the “Pussy Galore” imagery. Evidently, not only can’t conservatives understand the offense, but they can’t even get the attack on the messenger (me) correct. If right wing bloggers are attacking you, you’re winning.

From STARS (and Stripes): Troops prepare to counter opium-poppy harvest in Afghanistan.

Tom Ridge opines on Rush:

Pennsylvania Republican Tom Ridge is taking direct aim at Rush Limbaugh, telling CNN’s John King the conservative talk radio host can be “shrill” and uses language in a way “that offend very many.”

Maybe this is part of the “emerging” Republican Party to which Colin Powell spoke about recently. To add, that Gen. Powell has become the latest veteran to run into the conservative buzz saw, which happens with any soldier or veteran who dares to buck the Republican line.

Next to the subject of Israeli settlements. Bush-Cheney may be gone, but they’re still gumming up the works in progress:

The Obama administration is pressing the Israeli government to halt the expansion of Jewish settlements in Palestinian areas, U.S. and Israeli officials said, seeking a visible symbol of progress on peace that might inspire Arab states to consider normalizing relations with Jerusalem. The administration’s effort is being accompanied by greater willingness by U.S. lawmakers to complain publicly about settlements, but it has been complicated by an unwritten agreement on the issue between Israel and the United States reached during the Bush administration. …


Video: Mexico Jailbreak.

LA Times has a story on Al Qaeda: Al Qaeda recruits back in Europe, but why?

Onward to Pakistan, where reporting is that Pakistan has “intensified” their offensive against the Taliban.

BBC has a story on this as well.

The military says the city is surrounded, most of the militants’ ammunition dumps are destroyed and their supply routes cut off.

The BBC’s Shoaib Hassan, in Islamabad, says it is the most important battle yet in the army’s offensive against the Taliban in Swat.

A swift victory would bolster public support for a greater fight against the militants, our correspondent adds.

Long War Journal has more, with an Al Qaeda twist.


Video: Sri Lanka.

And a question, What will Obama do?

.. In the past 10 months, for example, about a half-dozen midlevel financiers and logistics experts working with Al Qaeda have been captured and are being held by intelligence services in four Middle Eastern countries after the United States provided information that led to their arrests by local security services, a former American counterterrorism official said. …

Hope everyone is enjoying the Memorial Day weekend. Fly the flag. Thank a soldier.

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Sect. Vilsack: Don’t Be Afraid to Eat Pork

By on 29 April 2009
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It’s not “Swine flu.” It’s “H1N1 virus.” Got that? Who comes up with these names? Where’s your “Mad Men” who you need them?

That seemed to be Tom Vilsack’s main message on Andrea Mitchell’s show today, as he pushed hard on the Administration’s efforts to save the hog industry. “Swine flu” is a killer in more ways than one.

But the California Nurses Association didn’t get the memo. They do, however, have a plan. The CNA/NNOC action plan includes:

  • Reinstate the $870 million for pandemics that was cut from the economic stimulus bill.
  • Recruit and mobilize teams of scientists to create the appropriate effective vaccine for the virus.
  • Cease and desist any reductions in public health programs at federal, state, and local levels. Lift any freezes on public health funding currently in place.
  • Implement a moratorium on any closures of emergency rooms, layoffs of direct healthcare personnel, and reductions of hospital beds.
  • Allocate funding for recruitment and retention of school nurses, public health nurses.
  • Expand the network of community clinics, especially in medically underserved areas.
  • Add thousands of additional ventilators/respirators, which are critically needed in the event of epidemics.
  • Assure the availability of protective equipment for all healthcare personnel.
  • Require all insurance companies to suspend or waive all out-of-pocket expenses, including co-pays, deductibles, or co-insurance that discourage individuals from seeking preventive care for early signs of infection.

Better ideas than we heard from new HHS head Kathleen Sebelius,  whose press conference, besides being awful on all delivery points, basically said to “wash your hands, wash your hands,” and cover your mouth when you cough. I won’t say it was her duck tape moment, but it wasn’t exactly reassuring either.

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Swine Flu, So What?

By on 27 April 2009

–updated–

People wearing masks while walking down the street? That is the scene in Mexico and is frightening to see.

Tell that to Republicans (and some obtuse Democrats) who believe government has no role in our lives, not even on issues where only they can do the job.

Meanwhile, Obama can’t get his Health and Human Services (HHS) choice, Kathleen Sebelius, on the job because Republicans are playing politics with our health system.

John Nichols nails it today:

…When House Appropriations Committee chairman David Obey, the Wisconsin Democrat who has long championed investment in pandemic preparation, included roughly $900 million for that purpose in this year’s emergency stimulus bill, he was ridiculed by conservative operatives and congressional Republicans.

… But former White House political czar Karl Rove and key congressional Republicans — led by Maine Senator Susan Collins — aggressively attacked the notion that there was a connection between pandemic preparation and economic recovery.

Now, as the World Health Organization says a deadly swine flu outbreak that apparently began in Mexico but has spread to the United States has the potential to develop into a pandemic, Obey’s attempt to secure the money seems eerily prescient. …

It’s impossible to respect government’s role in society when you don’t understand what it can do for average citizens. We’ve seen what lack of regulations can do to our banking system. But the same lack of seriousness applies to public health. Republicans haven’t got a clue.

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Meeting in Mexico Revives Talks on Assault Weapons Ban

By on 16 April 2009

A prerequisite for all Dems should be to first run their theories on guns past Jim Webb (or some equally qualified gun expert) to see if their notions pass the smell test. They rarely do.

Backdrop: Mexico.

As Obama lands, President Calderon is calling for our Congress to reinstitute the assault weapons ban in the U.S., though this doesn’t address the million (plus or minus) assault weapons already in circulation. What Calderon is doing is passing the buck to the U.S. because he thinks that politically, with Obama in office, the Democrats will bite. We shouldn’t.

As with all my posts dealing with firearms, because I’m not an expert on the subject, I turn to my gun expert husband, Mark, a good Democrat who is easily infuriated when uninformed Democratic politicians run amok on the subject of guns. (He considers himself a Jim Webb type Dem – as do I.)

Segue to Gov. Ed Rendell, of whom I’ve always been a fan, who was interviewed by Andrea Mitchell today talking about re-instituting the “ban” on assault weapons. In the middle of his harangue I heard footsteps coming towards my office. Uh-oh. No doubt Mark heard what Rendell was saying and wanted to see the person attached to the comments.

“Who is this bozo?” Mark asked. Well, he’s not a bozo– then I was interrupted, with Mark adding, “He is if he’s saying things like that.” Talking politics for votes, because he doesn’t know what he’s talking about, he continued.

“An assault weapon is not made for long-distance firing. The Navy Seals who killed the pirates would never have used an assault weapon.” – Ed Rendell

Not even close.

Earlier this year a team of Marine Scout Snipers were deployed to the region for counter piracy work. They are armed with the SR-25 (Mk 11) 7.62×51mm semi-automatic, an AR-10 style rifle. They may well have been the men that were deployed to take out the pirates. (source)

Translation: 308 semi-auto was likely used, which looks and works exactly like an M-16.

There is a lot of guessing as to what weapon the Navy Seal snipers recently used to take out the pirates, with one of the best accounts coming in the form of an essay: Details will emerge, but I’m guessing the three SEALs were each equipped with a rifle called the SR-25, said to be the choice of SEAL snipers. It’s a semiautomatic, for fast follow-up shots, and looks like an M-16 on growth hormones.

Another review, staying with the Navy Seals since Rendell chose to use this situation, is that the “DevGru” team, which is considered the Navy version of Delta Force, likely used the MK-11, which is the 308 semiauto rifle: Poole figures the DevGru frogmen removed the “overpowered” standard-issue Leupold scopes and opted for the Aimpoint CCO augmented by the PVS-14 night vision monocular. Though the SEAL version of the MK-11 Mod 0 is issued with suppressors, it’s unclear whether the operators used them, but I’d bet a million bucks they did.

I realize we’re in the weeds for some of you, but the point is that an “assault weapon” is exactly what the Navy Seals used, unbeknownst to Ed Rendell who went on MSNBC to flatly state the opposite of what was true.

“It is for short distance firing and they can spray out a ton of bullets at one time…” – Ed Rendell

Mr. Rendell, really, now you’re talking about a full auto, which even I know. These are extremely difficult weapons to get and incredibly expensive, that is if you possess the right paperwork.

As for Mr. Rendell talking about the cop killers piercing a cop car door, quoting my husband, “most pistol bullets would do that and so would any rifle.” Again, even I knew that.

I’ve said it before, but an assault weapons “ban” doesn’t necessarily ban assault weapons. For instance, during the “ban” people were only prohibited from buying certain configurations. The Brady Bill didn’t stop the importation of all assault weapons, it only banned folding stocks, bayonet lugs, magazines over 10 rounds, and other variations on the theme. However, you could still get an assault weapon; they just couldn’t have the banned features.

Tell me how that’s “banning” assault weapons.

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When Iran Thinks of Afghanistan, Think U.S. Battles with Mexico over Drugs

By on 15 April 2009
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John Bolton, fresh from suggesting military action in Somalia, said today (on Fox) that not only would Israel likely act on Iran before the end of the year, but it’s the best option since diplomacy hasn’t worked. No wonder Republicans find themselves in the wilderness. As to Mr. Bolton’s reaction to Iran’s offer on nuclear talks, he simply shrugged it off as it would likely spoil his “regime change” fun.

John Tirman, Executive Director, MIT Center for International Studies held a conference call on the findings of a new report on Iran (pdf) that’s just now being released.

Tirman said the purpose of the report is to think deeper about how to improve diplomatic relations with Iran, and move policy away from a place of hostility that has been in place for decades. The “policy of coercion,” specifically sanctions, have not worked and have not produced “much economic pain,” Tirman said on the call. “Leverage” through sanctions just doesn’t work.

Unfreezing assets and engaging is not a threat to U.S. national security. Disavowing regime change is also a primary point as well, as is lifting sanctions.

On the nuclear question, a better relationship with Iran could likely inspire Iran to live up to their obligations on NPT.

“Israeli security can be enhanced” by the U.S. having a better relationship with Iran, though Tirman acknowledged that Israelis likely won’t see it this way.

“President Obama must be deeply involved. … The gestures he’s made so far have been positive, but he needs to do more. … Iranians appreciate his change in tone. … Now they want to see something concrete.” – John Tirman

Questions from media on the call were few (I’ve yet to have a chance to read the report), first Bloomberg: Comparing N. Korea with Iran, Tirman rejected the notion, saying N.K. is not exactly run by the sane (not his words, my paraphrase, because connection horrible on their end, with Tirman being cut off), but that there is plenty of time re: Iran’s nuclear ambitions. Once back on the line, Tirman said: A better U.S. – Iran relationship will help us deal with nuclear issue.

Question re: What about Afghanistan, especially the opium problem, since its trafficked through Iran, with their being a “huge addiction problem” in Iran? Tirman: Didn’t deal with drug trafficking issue, but Ahmadinejad recently mentioned it, because it’s “clearly a high priority” with Iran, and will push them to cooperate on Afghanistan.

“When you look at the whole region… unstable, threatening and important (because of oil), there aren’t many nations we can rely on as allies… (but) Iran is one of them… if we can improve the relationship.” Tirman then mentions Hillary Mann Leverett (whom I’ve interviewed) and Flynt Leverett’s work on the subject of Iran engagement.

One observation: When was the last time you heard a politician raising the drug issue as a reason Iran would be a good ally for us on Afghanistan? (Scott Kesterson, who is back in Afghanistan, talked about Iran’s positive involvement building up Afghanistan in the south when I interviewed him a couple of years ago. So I look forward to talking about some of these issues re: Afghanistan & Iran when we speak in the future.)

As an analogy, when Iranian officials are thinking Afghanistan, at least where lawlessness and drugs intersect, no small challenge given the scope of the problem, it’s not far off from the way we are battling Mexico. Segue to L.A. Times:

Two days later, police in eastern Iran, near Afghanistan, stopped a pickup packed with a quarter of a ton of opium in compartments under the floorboards, according to local news reports. And cops in the border town of Zabol recently seized another quarter-ton of Afghan opium.

Whatever Iranian officials might feel about U.S. troubles in Afghanistan and Pakistan, there is a rising alarm in Tehran over the torrent of drug dealing, human trafficking and violence connected to the mayhem in the region that is washing across Iran’s eastern border.

[...]There are practical matters as well. Iranian officials say the drug war has cost their nation more than $600 million in the last two years. About 3,700 Iranian security officials were killed and 11,000 maimed in more than 12,000 clashes between traffickers and police officers between 1989 and 2003, according to Iranian statistics cited in a United Nations report.

All indications are that the problem is worsening as Afghanistan descends further into lawlessness. From 2006 to ’07, drug seizures, as measured by weight, jumped 35% for heroin, 37% for opium and 52% for hashish, according to figures on the website of Iran’s Drug Control Headquarters.

Total drug seizures rose from 155 tons in 2001 to 618 tons in 2007, almost all of it opium, heroin and hashish from Afghanistan; addiction is rapidly becoming Iran’s top public health problem.

Tehran has been digging canals, raising earthen berms and laying out barbed wire. Still, the drugs flow in, sometimes strapped to camels crossing the desert, sometimes protected by well-armed gangsters equipped with satellite technology and automatic weapons. …

Self-interest is a powerful motivator.

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Yucking It Up About Pot

By on 26 March 2009

While I was at New America Foundation’s G-20 symposium, Obama had an online townhall meeting. Evidently, marijuana is on the minds of many.

… The more than 92,000 people who responded either have Cheech and Chong senses of humor or there is a deep concern in America — undetected by the media — about the decriminalization of marijuana, its possible use for medicinal purposes and its potential as a new source of tax revenue.

[...] After taking questions lower on the list, Obama addressed the pot issue head on, noting the huge number of questions about marijuana legalization and remarking with a chuckle, “I don’t know what that says about the online audience.”

“The answer is no, I don’t think that is a good strategy to grow our economy,” he said, as the audience in the room applauded and joined him in a laugh.

Andrew Sullivan takes Mr. Obama to task for his “dismissiveness,” then goes on to question whether the President understands who elected him. I’m not even going to try to dissect the meaning of that one.

Now imagine the headlines if Obama had come out for decriminalization in order to promote jobs and help the economy. I’ve gotten emails from colleagues and friends today that pretty much mimic the text: Obama Pot Plan to Pump Up the Economy Seen as Salvation. … Republicans and Democrats Join together – Obama’s Pot Plan Up in Smoke.

This leads me to something George Soros said about President Obama this morning, though it was directed at economics, but is relevant on Obama’s pot reaction today. Soros said Obama is lagging, “because he wants to be the great uniter,” which makes him behind the curve, because consensus lags. An email friend agreed with Soros, then added something even more description through my Facebook page (which logs Tweets): Very true. Visionaries leap ahead, and consensus builders get everyone to agree to move as one. You absolutely *need* both, but you can’t *be* both.

That’s Obama’s biggest problem as far as I can see it, which Soros nailed. It surfaced today. I have no doubt that he would have been creamed in the press and politically if he’d come out for legalization, which was never going to happen. The trouble with Obama’s response is his flippant attitude, encouraging the crowd’s snickering, about a subject that requires leadership. It’s not as if America’s “war on drugs” is working, now is it. Laughter and joking about marijuana is seen as the very “grown up” response, but it dismisses an issue that deserves to at the very least be talked about seriously. Not only did Obama miss that chance today, but he ducked it, instead preferring the safety of the crowd, laughing along with them. It’s not too much to ask that a 21st century American president talk about marijuana and our drug policies seriously, which begins by saying something like: “Now waiting a minute, folks, this isn’t all that funny of an issue. Look at what’s happening at our border. Is the drug war working? When you look at medicinal marijuana there is proof of effectiveness. We need to have a serious discussion… (etc. – insert political cover on not legalizing pot here)”. Any substance that is medicinal, which marijuana certainly is, deserves more attention and consideration, at least in the discussion process. When you look at our problems south of the border, which Clinton has addressed as well, anyone not taking our drug problem seriously is not doing his or her job. He blew it today.

President Obama may please the political mob, helping unite the “war on drugs” crowd, but laughing about the question is anything but inspiring. I never expected him to say he was for legalization, and anyone who thought he would needs to put down the bong. But at the very least he could have taken the opportunity to discuss it seriously. No change here.

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Hillary to Mexico

By on 25 March 2009

UPDATE: Today in Mexico Secretary Clinton brought U.S. responsibility for problems we’re facing on the border with her.

“Our insatiable demand for illegal drugs fuels the drug trade,” Clinton said as she headed on her third trip abroad since taking office. “Our inability to prevent weapons from being illegally smuggled across the border to arm these criminals causes the deaths of police officers, soldiers and civilians,” the chief US diplomat said. “So yes, I feel very strongly we have a co-responsibility, and part of what we are trying to do is not only acknowledge that but working with the Mexicans to create very best possible responses.”

Clinton’s trip comes the day after Napolitana announced Obama’s border security initiative. But Hillary arrives in Mexico as things have gotten a bit tense let’s say on our southern border. ABC’s Blotter has gone the extra mile driving this one home.

The Obama administration may have announced its $700 million plan to help the Mexican government fight the powerful drug cartels, but the cartels have already geared up for a battle undergoing a “transition from the gansterism of traditional narco hit men to paramilitary terrorism with guerilla tactics,” according to a confidential federal law enforcement assessment obtained by ABC News.
U.S. agents say the cartels are now transitioning to paramilitary terrorism.

“We have a criminal insurgency by organized crime that may well be a precursor to civil anarchy in part or all of Mexico,” warns the assessment.

Clinton’s approval continues at a high, with nine out of 10 Dems approving of her in her new job, with Republicans think she’s doing good too.

Seventy-one percent of people questioned in a CNN/Opinion Research Corporation survey released Wednesday say they approve of how Clinton is handling her job as America’s top diplomat. Fewer than one in four disapprove.

“Nine in 10 Democrats approve of Clinton — that’s no surprise,” says CNN Polling Director Keating Holland. “But by a 50 percent to 43 percent margin, Republicans also think she is doing a good job at the State Department. That’s an interesting result for a polarizing figure like Clinton.”

The challenges we face in Mexico have been heading this way for many years. It’s a warning that we’ve got problems over here that could cause us more immediate and direct challenges than anything we’re fighting over there.

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Iraq for $1 Trillion, Mr. President

By on 24 March 2009

Double, double toil and trouble; Fire burn, and cauldron bubble. Money. Money. Bailouts and budget; while Iraq turns on pressing trouble. Or something like that, as President Obama does a major news conference with Mexico and Israel the only issues making the foreign policy question list, though neither answer fazed or awoke the press. It’s like if nobody looks we can just leave Iraq in a walk. Good luck with that. Oh, and about Pakistan? Afghanistan? … .. …

Christopher Hill finally gets his nomination hearing tomorrow (9:00 a.m. eastern), which will certainly please Centcom commander Gen. David Petraeus, lead commander Gen. Raymond Odierno, and Defense Secretary Robert Gates, who Laura Rozen reported last week were all a bit miffed at the hold out on his confirmation. An update to Rozen’s original post is priceless (emphasis added):

UPDATE: The U.S. military’s chief spokesman, Geoff Morrell, told The Cable Thursday: “Generals Odierno and Petraeus have come out very publicly and very forcefully in support of Ambassador Hill’s nomination. I know they support it. They know him from previous assignments, they like him, they believe he is well suited to the job and are anxiously awaiting his confirmation because they do need help, frankly. … Everybody involved with Iraq wants to find a way to replicate that arrangement” — the effective interaction between Generals Odierno and Petraeus and former Ambassador Crocker. “So that you have an even yoke that on the civilian/diplomatic side and on the military side which share the burden and are working together to get the job done. It’s what’s in the best interest of the Iraqi people and the American people. “With regards to [Senate] members who have issue with him, I would say this,” Morrell added. “We appreciate their steadfast support of the Iraq mission. But you can’t be bullish in support of that mission and not send an ambassador in a timely fashion.”

I want to draw attention to something else. Tom Ricks, who is judging President Obama as being overly optimistic about his withdrawal plan for Iraq, which he’s saying a lot lately (including during a forum at Cato recently). Ricks says the war is only half-way done. Obviously, Ricks’ new book is out, so he’s making noise anyway…

But recently several people have been writing about the progress in Iraq (not counting Dick Cheney), some citing this recent article by Anthony Shadid, “New Alliances In Iraq Cross Sectarian Lines.” They evidently missed another piece just a couple of days later warning that “..Chaos feared as U.S. Closes Prison,” which is chilling.

Although none of them predicted a return to the anarchy and sectarian carnage of 2006-2007, when scores of bodies might show up in the street on any day, officials suggested that the groups were preparing for the onset of a U.S. military withdrawal.

Their warnings make for an irony at the beginning of the end of the American presence here. As the United States dismantles Bucca, viewed by many as an appalling miscarriage of justice where prisoners were not charged or permitted to see evidence against them, freed detainees may end up swelling the ranks of a subdued insurgency. [...]

There are other signs as well, including Sunnis getting stiffed.

Back to Ricks, this time on “Meet the Press” back in February:

MR. RICKS: And finally, none of the basic problems that the surge was meant to solve have been solved. All of the basic issues facing Iraq are still there.

MR. GREGORY: You suggested–while the administration has said the surge was successful, undeniably violence has gone down, you suggested kick the can down the road. What do you mean?

MR. RICKS: Well, basically the surge succeeded military, failed politically. And that was its purpose; not just to improve security, but to create a political breathing space in which national reconciliation, in which major change could occur in Iraq that hasn’t changed. What General Odierno says in the book–he’s the U.S. commander there now. What Odierno says is that Iraqis, many of them use the breathing space we created to step backwards, to become more sectarian. They’ve become more divided.

[...] MR. GREGORY: You write in the book that Obama will be torn between what his supporters expect and what his generals advise.

MR. RICKS: I think that’s right, and I think we may see a confrontation between Obama and the generals by the end of this year. …

Consider this a foreshadowing while remembering neither Obama, Clinton or Edwards pledged to get all troops out by 2013, with the press oblivious even after a “60 Minutes” interview that had the President joking that no one expected Iraq not to be a significant challenge when he got into office. I’m not so sanguine about that evaluation.

There’s more afoot in foreign affairs, including in Iraq (even though people think it’s over), than most Americans are reading (or care) about now. This includes the press. We’ve got the makings of some messy confrontations and I’m not just talking about Iraq, but it’s still on the list. Keep it in mind.

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In Our World, and Cato Institute Event

By on 15 March 2009
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Don’t look now, but Nawaz Sharif has been arrested in Pakistan.

It seems fitting that Pakistanis have begun to worry about extremism. While Osama’s popularity softens from around 50% to 34% thinking he will “do the right thing in world affairs:

Overwhelmingly, Pakistanis are worried about the impact of extremism on their country and people, says a new survey conducted by PEW (IRI) global research.

In 2008 72 per cent said they were concerned about Islamic extremism in their country, and over half — 54 per cent — said they were very concerned, the highest per centage among the eight countries on the survey where the question was asked (the others were Egypt, Jordan, Indonesia, Lebanon, Nigeria, Tanzania, and Turkey). [...]

Meanwhile, “the long march” continues, as does the crackdown in Pakistan, with opposition party leaders and other activists going into hiding to keep from being arrested.

A story floated about Russia, Venezuela and Cuba have the wingnuts spinning Cuban missile crisis theories, because “if” and “could” equals action to jumpy Republicans. Memeorandum has the roundup.

Secretary Clinton to Mexico later this month.

Clinton’s talks in Mexico would cover the global financial crisis, trade and the war against drugs, as well as the explosion of narcotics-related violence, Duguid said.

[...] The State Department last month warned U.S. citizens of the recent surge in violence, particularly near the border, and advised traveling only on main roads during daylight, sticking to well-known tourist spots and avoiding areas frequented by prostitutes or drug dealers.

With due respect to the State Department, there should be an all out travel advisory regarding Mexico that should read like this: You’re thinking about traveling where? Are you nuts?

That brings me to the forum on Friday at the Cato Institute, Can the Pentagon be Fixed? One of the people on the panel was Col. Douglas Macgregor. One specific point Col. Macgregor (retired) made I’ve come to the conclusion is unassailable. The Caribbean basin will likely become an increasing challenge for the U.S., though Macgregor’s assessment is much more dire. He believes firmly that homeland security is more urgent than the troubles we are facing in the Af-Pak region, something that is sobering in the extreme. However, that’s looking forward, because for my money, right now nothing is more urgent than the situation in Pakistan.

Macgregor believes “high impact, low footprint” missions will be more important going forward, because the era of the U.S. being “indispensable is over.” Macgregor: We are not going to garrison the world. The world doesn’t want it and we can’t afford it. That’s as close to a quote as I can get, but you catch the drift.

But it was on the Mexico cartel question from the audience that Macgregor hit on something very rarely covered. It’s not the drug cartels, in his opinion, that are so dangerous. “The transportation structure is enormous,” but also deadly lethal to the United States. The people in charge of the transportation system only want to be paid and they don’t care what they’re transporting. The drug cartels have one product they’re interested in pushing and selling, so they’re focused on it. The transportation structure, vast and unlimited, is different. In Macgregor’s judgment, though he’s not alone, the Coast Guard is vastly underfunded and underequipped, but he also believes the U.S. Navy should have a larger presence in the Caribbean basin.

Oh, and by the way, Macgregor thinks we should be out of Iraq yesterday. Containment worked before and can again. I remember the first time I wrote something along those lines, pushing for this tried form of strategy to be utilized again. I was pilloried with mail. Let’s hope colonels have clout.

But one question from a reporter from Military.com was very interesting: If you had 2 minutes with Robert Gates what would you tell him?

Winslow Wheeler: Tear up the phony stuff like the Levin-McCain legislation. Do what you talked about in your Foreign Affairs article. (–Notes via tweets on Twitter.–)

Col. Macgregor: “Persistent warfare” needs to end; develop containment policies.

Danielle Brian: Stop saying top guy at Raytheon is the right guy. Learn to say no.

Tom Ricks: Ten percent (10%) of new brigadier generals should be people who have been blackballed.

Let me just say that Tom Ricks is priceless. (See my tweets during the forum for more.)

Oh, and as for the F-22, Winslow Wheeler was blunt: “It’s a dog.” Danielle Brian thinks it’s part of a larger test for President Obama. “This is going to be a real test of Obama’s administration” says Danielle Brian, which she’s said before, as a staunch critic of the F-22, but also someone pushing for real change at the Pentagon. If Obama yields to Congress it will be the same old stuff all over again. Taxpayers paying for a military force structure that used to protect us, but in its current form isn’t ready for the 21st century threats we face.

How about we at least test the weapons we purchase before we order dozens of them? …and while we’re at it, Congress needs to quit thinking and saying that defense budget cutting is not supporting the troops. The Pentagon’s bloated budget hides behind that lie.

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