This & That

The drumbeat for Attorney General Eric Holder’s resignation is growing.  Add New York Times Executive Editor Jill Abramson to the list of influential people expressing their concern over the actions of Holder’s Justice Department.  Appearing on “Face the Nation” Abramson told Bob Schieffer “…we are concerned that the process of news gathering is being criminalized.”  Any time the editorial departments of the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal are in agreement is not a good time for the administration.  Rumor is that West Wing insiders have jumped on the “Holder Must Resign” bandwagon. But President Obama has a history of resisting this type of political pressure.  Holder is a close personal friend of the president.  Holder’s wife and the First Lady are very close.  Still, it is hard to square how the Attorney General could testify before congress that he knew nothing of the seizure of AP and FOXNEWS phone records when he signed the warrant that authorized the seizure.

Darrel Issa is the Republican Chairman of the House Oversight and Reform Committee.  Darrel Issa is heading up the congressional investigation of the Benghazi, IRS and AP “scandals.”  Darrel Issa has accused the Attorney General of committing perjury and called White House press Secretary Jay Carney “a paid liar.”  Darrel Issa is full of himself.  Both of these characterizations may very well be true.  But Issa undermines his position, his character and his party by engaging in this type of inflammatory rhetoric.  Keep quiet Darrel…let the story sell itself.

Do you remember how the Bush administration sold us on the benefits of going to war in Iraq?  Not only would we rid the world of a brutal dictator who sponsored terrorism and threatened our security with weapons of mass destruction, but the war would prove to be an economic boondoggle for the good old US of A.  They said the rebuilding of Iraq would result in hundreds of thousands of American jobs.  They said that Iraq’s mammoth oil supply would flow freely into US ports, gas prices would plummet and the US economy would thrive.  According to the “Economic Times,” Iraq HAS become one of the world’s top oil producers.  However the biggest beneficiary of the Iraqi post war oil boom is not the US…it is China.  “We lost out,” said Michael Makovsky, a former Bush administration Defense Department official who worked on Iraq oil policy.  “The Chinese had nothing to do with the war, but from an economic standpoint they are benefitting from it, and our 5^th Fleet and air forces are assuring their supply.”

Violent protests in Turkey have escalated after police used tear gas to disperse the crowd.  In a scene reminiscent Egypt’s Tahrir Square, thousands of protestors flooded Istanbul’s main square, voicing their outrage over government crackdowns, political repression and religious interventions.  Turkey is a key US ally in the region.  It is only a matter of time before John McCain calls for American military intervention.  See comment above re: Iraq war.

Michael Douglas announced that his throat cancer was caused by performing oral sex on women.  We have nothing to add. 

The more you know...

            

Crazy Train!

Eight year old Josh Welsh was suspended by his school for chewing his Pop Tart into the shape of a gun.

The NRA contacted eight year old Josh Welsh and awarded him lifetime membership.

Eight year old Josh Welsh has become an icon in the eyes of gun advocates.

The president has been reluctant to provide arms to the Syrian rebels.

John McCain thinks he should.

John McCain snuck into Syria to meet with rebel leaders and express his solidarity.

John McCain intentionally undermined the president.

John McCain posed for pictures with rebel leaders.

Two of men posing with McCain are known kidnappers.

Tea Party Republicans love the constitution.

Tea Party Republicans hate wasteful spending.

Tea Party Republicans demand a balanced budget.

Tea Party Republicans control the Republican Party.

The Republican Party controls the House of Representatives.

The Republican controlled House passed a budget.

The Republican led House chastised the Democrat led Senate for failing to pass a budget for four years.

The Democrat led Senate finally passed a budget.

According to the constitution, the two budgets must go to “conference” to reach a compromise.

Tea Party Republican Senators Cruz, Rubio, Lee and Rand are blocking nominees to the conference committee, thereby obstructing the constitutional process and blocking a balanced budget.

    

Remembering Charles Bruce Brownson

The growing rift between the Justice Department and the media just keeps getting worse.

On orders from the president, Attorney General Eric Holder has agreed to meet with the Washington bureau chiefs of several media outlets to discuss guidelines for journalists in leak investigations.  Mr. Holder has requested that the discussion be kept off the record.

The New York Times, Washington Post and Associated Press have declined to attend, citing the “off the record” request as a non-starter.  Several other media outlets are expected to follow suit.

The Obama administration and the Justice Department in particular have a real obsession with “leaks.”  In the case of the AP scandal, the Justice Department alleges that the leak in question threatened national security and endangered the lives of American operatives.  They responded by subpoenaing the phone records of the Associated Press and FOXNEWS, reasoning that the records would trace back to the leak.  This ham-handed approach has infuriated the press and handed the president’s opponents grist for their conspiracy theory mill.

Democrat administrations generally get pretty favorable coverage from the media.  This president in particular has been given the benefit of the doubt more often than not.  Pissing off a strong political opponent can make life difficult.  Pissing off the media can be political suicide.

The media can attack with the ferocity of a shark when they smell blood in the water.  But they are terribly thin skinned when finding themselves on the other side of the barb.  They can turn on you in an instant.

Obama needs the media to help push through his second term agenda.  No, he doesn’t rely on the “lame stream” media to the degree his predecessors did because his administration has been so successful in using social media to carry his message.  But he DOES need the Fourth Estate if he has any hope of advancing his policies.

Is the Obama administration justified in wanting to ferret out leaks that may threaten national security and endanger the lives of American operatives and citizens?  Absolutely!  Did the Obama administration trample all over the 1^st amendment by pulling the phone records of the press?  Absolutely!  Did they add insult to injury by agreeing to discuss the matter with the media “off the record?” No doubt about it!

Former Indiana congressman Charles Bruce Brownson once famously said:  “Never argue with someone who buys ink by the barrel.”

Perhaps the president should pass that bit of wisdom along to Eric Holder.

            

People In Glass Houses...

There are a number of big stories in today’s news…

The economic recovery is gaining strength.  The markets are posting record “highs” while housing and auto sales are soaring.  The IRS investigation has moved from a handful of low level beaurocrats to officials occupying the highest levels of the tax collector’s food chain.  And the president and Governor Christie have renewed their “bromance” on the Jersey Shore.

But we would like to comment today on a story that is near and dear to our hearts…

Minnesota congresswoman Michelle Bachman has announced that she will not seek a fifth term in office.

In a lengthy, rambling convoluted video posted on her website Bachman tells us all the reasons that she is not quitting while leaving out the reasons she is.  She says she is not quitting because she faces a tough challenge for her seat and there is a distinct possibility that she will go out a loser.  She says that she is not quitting because the congressional ethics committee, the Justice Department, and the FBI are all looking into allegations that she mishandled campaign funds during her presidential run.  She says she IS quitting because “Eight years is simply enough.”

“Methinks the lady doth protest too much.”

Congresswomen Bachman’s litany, like so many of her statements throughout her career, is simply untrue.  Her decision to quit was not the result of a long thought out contemplative process.  This was quick kneejerk reaction to some very bad news coming Bachman’s way.  We know this because just last Thursday Bachman made a huge ad buy, running ads to kick off her re-election efforts eighteen months before the 2014 mid-terms.  Bachman had every intention of running…until something spooked her.  Now she can avoid going out a loser.  She can attempt to remake her image and, ala Sarah Palin, make millions on the speech circuit and book tours.

Michelle Bachman was a Tea Party Republican who liked to make headlines with her inflammatory language.  She liked to throw out catchphrases like liberty, religious freedom, family values and constitutional rights while criticizing individuals that didn’t practice those values the same way she did. 

She attacked the president mercilessly, questioning his faith, his birthright and his belief in the tenants of capitalism. And she sponsored or co-sponsored over 35 bills to overturn the Affordable Care Act on the basis that at its core “Obamacare” was the very embodiment of socialism, communism and Marxism that threaten the very ideals on which this nation was founded.

But it was not Congresswomen Bachman’s politics that made us cringe.  It was the self righteous, moral indignation that she spewed while demonizing gays and pro-choice advocates.  For Congresswomen Bachman saw gays as sub-human and their sexual predisposition as depraved, aberrant behavior.  She and her husband believed that one could simply “pray the gay away.”  She called pro-choice advocates as murders…plain and simple.  And she viewed those who disagreed with her position as flawed in their own right.

Now we know the Congresswomen Bachman is just like so many other public figures…preaching from the moral high ground while using their power and privilege to subvert the very values they have so righteously avowed.

People in glass houses should not throw stones.           

         

It Is Always About The Money

If this story is true…it really, really stinks.

We live in a world where access to information is the key to success.  Gaining access to a particular piece of information before the competition can often mean billions in return.  So it is not surprising that the information gathering business has become “big business,” particularly within the hallowed halls of Wall Street. 

And since money and politics go hand in hand it comes as no surprise that there is an growing class of consultants in Washington that specialize in providing information to Wall Street; dealing in what is referred to as the “political intelligence” business.

What is surprising is that according to several media outlets, the White House has allowed access to these political intelligence consultants and provided them with advanced information on major White House initiatives.

The Washington Post is reporting that “Wall Street investors repeatedly held private discussions with Obama Administration officials, including a top White House adviser helping to implement the Affordable Care Act....These White House meetings were reportedly arranged by political intelligence firms who specialize in providing information to Wall Street."

The Affordable Care Act will have huge financial implications on the insurance, pharmaceutical and health provider industries.  Advanced access to information could provide investors in these industries with an unfair advantage.

If these reports are true do they constitute some form of insider trading?  It is too early to tell.  At the very least it is just one more sign that the system is rigged.  The rich just keep getting richer and the chasm between the haves and the have nots grows ever wider.

      

            

Breaking News!

Have you noticed the change in message from the Republican Party?

It used to be all you heard them talk about were the president’s “failed policies” on the economy.  But that dog won’t hunt anymore because the “failed policies of the Obama administration” are working…much to the chagrin of Boehner and McConnell.

The economy has strengthened over the past two years.  Consumer spending is up and the polls show consumer confidence is growing.  Auto and housing sales are rising.  Just last week Ford announced that it will be hiring 44,000 additional workers to staff rising production demands.  The DOW is closing at record highs. The budget deficit is dropping faster than expected.  According to the CBO the deficit will drop this year to $642 billion after four straight years of red numbers over a trillion.

The president’s economic agenda is working.  On the international front, he got bin Laden has kept us safe. (Note to Republicans…you say Boston Marathon bombing…we say 9/11.)

So when the president’s policies are working and his favorability ratings are rising what the hell do you do if you are a Republican?

“Scandal”

You blame the president for the Benghazi attack, for the IRS improprieties and for the Justice department’s assault on the first amendment.

We have always said that a sitting president gets all the blame and all the glory for events that occur on his/her watch.  These three events will certainly stall the president’s agenda moving forward.

Thank God for “scandals” because without them there would be nothing for Republicans to talk about.

We have been saying for years that the president’s policies are working. 

Breaking news!  The AP just picked up the story.

Finally!  

This Is What We Call Our Foreign Policy

The president is expected to make give a major foreign policy speech today.  He is expected to announce new limits on the use of drones and renew his efforts to close Gitmo.

For those of you who may have forgotten… we are at war.  In fact we have been at war for over a decade. 

Weird, huh?  

There is in fact an ongoing military conflict in country called Afghanistan where tens of thousands of American soldiers have seen action.  There are zero prospects of us winning this war so we are trying to get out as gracefully as we can.  We are training the Afghans in the art of military warfare so they can defend themselves.  Some of the Afghans shoot and kill their American trainers.  Our partner in Afghanistan is a guy named Hamid Kharzai.  He is the Afghan president.  We pay him millions of dollars to say the he likes us.  He says he likes our enemies better.   But he encourages us to continue to pay him millions of dollars because, well, you never know. 

We are also engaged in military operations in a bunch of countries against whom we have not bothered to officially declare war.  We are engaging those enemies through the use of “drones.”  Drones are remote controlled unmanned aircraft capable of firing deadly missiles with less than precision accuracy.  The president reviews a “hit list” and personally authorizes these drone attacks.   Sometimes the drones kill innocent bystanders.  Sometimes they kill Americans.  While this is unfortunate it is deemed preferable to putting more American boots on the ground.

There is a place called Gitmo where we incarcerate people that we call enemy combatants.  We call them “enemy combatants” so we can hold them there indefinitely without filing any charges against them.  Sometimes we go to extreme measures to get them to get to tell us their military secrets.  The international community calls these measures torture.  We call them enhanced interrogation techniques.  We don’t call them torture because torturing people would be a violation of international law.  We would never violate international law because we are a nation of laws.  We like to say that a lot.  There is no evidence that these “enhanced interrogation techniques” provide us with any useful information…but we use them anyway.

At any rate, the president wants to close Gitmo because he thinks we should be trying these people in our federal courts and incarcerating the guilty in our federal prisons.  But his opponents don’t want to try these people in our courts because they might have to reveal a whole mess of secret stuff to get a conviction…like the fact that we torture people.

This is what we call our “foreign policy.” It’s all kind of a mess. 

The president is going to talk about it today.