Paging Dr. Ron Reagan, Jr. . . . On Morning Joe today, Carl Bernstein insisted Sarah Palin was “ignorant,” but couldn't remember why.
Continue reading …
By Juan Cole Every state and movement in the Middle East is reading into the events in Tunisia its own anxieties and aspirations. Related Entries January 16, 2011 With Friends Like These, Who Needs Democracy? January 13, 2011 Healer in Chief
Continue reading …By Eugene Robinson In the spirit of civil discourse, I’d like to humbly suggest that Sarah Palin please consider being quiet for a while. Perhaps a great while. Related Entries January 16, 2011 With Friends Like These, Who Needs Democracy? January 13, 2011 Healer in Chief
Continue reading …
A new study by the Department of Health and Human Services has found that 129 million Americans under the age of 65—roughly half of that demographic —have medical conditions that could keep them from getting insurance, reports say. The president’s health care law, which is about to come under attack in the House, makes it more difficult to discriminate against customers with preexisting conditions.
Continue reading …Dana Milbank: It’s Important That People are Held to Account for Nasty Rhetoric
January 18, 2011 No Comment
Click here to view this media Looks like Howard Kurtz isn’t done carrying water for Sarah Palin yet this week. He went after Dana Milbank for his op-ed in the Washington Post where he wrote this: While the accusations sometimes go too far – there’s no evidence that either Palin or Beck inspired the Tucson suspect – the heat is well deserved. Both are finally being held to account for recklessly playing with violent images in a way that is bound to incite the unstable. In Beck’s case, as I reported last year , it already has – repeatedly. Milbank defended his column and pointed out that yes it is fair to hold these people accountable for their nasty rhetoric and that in Beck’s case there’s a direct line to the people he’s incited. KURTZ: Let me go back to Dana Milbank, because I want to bring up a column you that wrote this week in “The Washington Post.” You wrote about, among others, Glenn Beck and Sarah Palin. You mentioned that that drives traffic and ratings. And undoubtedly it does. They’re both of course on Fox. And you said two things. You said, one, “There’s no evidence that they inspired the Tucson gunman.” And then you said, and I’m quoting here, “Both are being finally held to account for recklessly playing with violent images in a way that is bound to incite the unstable.” “Bound to incite the unstable.” You’re connecting the dots between their rhetoric and violence. MILBANK: Well, between violence, but not in this case, the Loughner case. What I — in a sense, it’s rough justice. I think it is very important that people are held to account for this nasty rhetoric that is causing — in Glenn Beck’s case, I’ve documented a few cases in which it’s led a crazy person to snap in the opinion of — KURTZ: Well, wait a minute. Hold on, Dana. You just used the verb “led.” There was a case — we talked about this last time you were on — where somebody wounded two California police officers who was very angry — MILBANK: And said he was driven to do so by what he heard from Glenn Beck. (CROSSTALK) KURTZ: OK. So it’s fair to hold a talk show host responsible for what some violent or perhaps unbalanced person does because they like what this person says on the airwaves? MILBANK: Yes, Howie, in the aggregate. I don’t think — you can’t say in every individual case. You know, who knows what any one crazy person is going to do? But the problem is there’s developing a pattern here. That’s why I’m saying yes, I think it’s irresponsible, and I think it’s a bit of a straw man, that people are claiming that, you know, Beck and Palin are being blamed. Mostly, people are saying they’re not being blamed for this particular incident. They are being blamed, as well as some on the left should be blamed, for inciting people generally. It probably — we don’t know for sure. It probably wasn’t a driver in this case, but it’s a driver in so many other cases. And I agree with David that you need to look out for the effect your words are having on the sane people. But I think you also need to worry about that fraction of one percent who just might be driven over the edge.
Continue reading …While we were all paying attention to Tucson last week, I missed some terrific articles. I’m betting some of you did too, so here’s my top list of “you must read these” articles. Take a few minutes and enjoy. Here we go… Howie Klein, on lessons Obama should learn from last week’s stunning defeat of England’s Conservative/LibDem coalition. And via Howie, everything you didn’t know about Reince Priebus that you really must know. AlterNet has a great article on unemployment and Martin Luther King’s legacy . The Atlantic’s in-depth look at the new global elite is a must-read, if you read nothing else. Over on The Nation, you can meet the New Mad Tea Party . Also on The Nation, an article about kabuki democracy and why we need to fix it. Max Blumenthal says Arizona is drowning in a sea of extremism (ya think?). If you’re in the mood for a really long read, the full National Commission report on the Deepwater Horizon is out — all 398 pages of it. I’m on about page 120. They did a great job documenting the timeline and causes. Bottom line: BP, Transocean and Halliburton have some ‘splainin’ to do. On the book list, I have Matt Taibbi’s latest, Griftopia , on audio. His characteristic snark plays well as an audiobook. Highly recommended. I’m also reading Greg Mitchell’s Campaign of the Century , taking us back to the 30′s and Upton Sinclair’s famous campaign. When I feel like debunking a few tea party myths, I head for some oldies, like Gore Vidal’s Inventing a Nation , which reminds that today’s tea party is comprised of yesterday’s illegal aliens. All of this goes nicely with a C Street chaser, courtesy of Jeff Sharlett . Great books, all. What’s on your Kindle/Nook/iPad today?
Continue reading …ABC Fuels Myth Discourse Caused Shooting, Sawyer Astounded by Falling Support for Gun Control
January 18, 2011 No Comment
“The country is pretty unified behind the idea that President Obama found the right words, the right tone at the right time,” ABC’s George Stephanopoulos announced Monday night in touting how a new ABC News/Washington Post poll found “78 percent approve of how he handled” the Tucson shooting, in contrast to Sarah Palin, “not so much, only 30 percent approve of her response.” When Stephanopoulos noted “the support for stricter gun control has dropped over the last few years,” anchor Diane Sawyer expressed astonishment: “Stricter has dropped?” Instead of detailing that trend, Stephanopoulos concentrated on some specific policies with overwhelming support. The ABC duo ignored how their poll advanced a false media narrative in asking: “As you may know, a gunman shot a U.S. Congress member and 18 other people in Arizona late last week. Is it your impression that the political discourse in this country did or did not contribute to this incident?” [ PDF rundown of the poll] By 54 to 40 percent respondents rejected the media-fueled proposition – maybe why Stephanopoulos skipped it — but the ideological split illustrated how the media line last week matched liberal thinking. ABC News polling chief Gary Langer explained in an ABCNews.com summary of the survey: [O]n the Tucson incident itself, 59 percent of liberals and 51 percent of Democrats think the tone of political discourse played some role; 28 percent of conservatives and 27 percent of Republicans agree. Langer also outlined the falling support for gun control not explored by Stephanopoulos: Fifty-two percent of Americans in this survey favor stricter gun control laws in general; 45 percent are opposed. That fairly close division is a shift from before fall 2008. In 2006 and 2007 alike, for instance, 61 percent supported stricter gun control. The decrease in support may have been associated with the impending election of a Democratic president and Congress. The 9-point drop in support for gun control from 2007 to now is mirrored in views specifically on banning semi-automatic handguns, which automatically re-load each time the trigger is squeezed. Fifty-five percent supported banning such weapons then, compared with 48 percent now. Likewise, there has been a 7-point decline in support for banning the sale of handguns overall, from 38 percent in 2007 to 31 percent now. From the Monday, January 17 ABC World News: DIANE SAWYER: Also tonight, a first look at our new ABC News poll taken in the wake of the Tucson shootings. For all the talk about political division, some headlines tonight in this poll from George Stephanopoulos. What is it, George?
Continue reading …
enlarge “There – I said it, and I’m glad I said it” . Click here to view this media A significant day for a lot of reasons. First, it’s Martin Luther King Day but it’s also the 50th anniversary of the famous Eisenhower Farewell Address, or the “Military-Industrial Complex” address as it’s come to be known. Pres. Eisenhower: “A vital element in keeping the peace is our military establishment. Our arms must be might, ready for instant action, so that no potential aggressor may be tempted to risk his own destruction. . . . American makers of plowshares could, with time and as required, make swords as well. But now we can no longer risk emergency improvisation of national defense; we have been compelled to create a permanent armaments industry of vast proportions. . . . This conjunction of an immense military establishment and a large arms industry is new in the American experience. . . .Yet we must not fail to comprehend its grave implications. . . . In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist.” Where one is a celebration of a life of peace, the other is an acknowledgment of a world in turmoil. Still is.
Continue reading …
Click here to view this media Gov. Chris Christie is the GOP’s new Great Hope to overtake the White House and on FOX News, Chris Wallace was practically begging him to run for President in 2012. From Lexis Nexis: WALLACE: You have repeatedly rejected calls to run for president in 2012. In fact, you said, short of suicide, you don’t know what you could do to convince people that you’re not running. But I want to put up — because I’m still not convinced, I want to put up a poll, a new poll of all the potential GOP candidates. And the only one who currently beats President Obama is a fellow named Chris Christie, 43 percent to 40 percent. Don’t you think you’re up to being president? CHRISTIE: Listen, the president, rather, can rest easy, because the only guy who is beating him in that poll isn’t running. I have a state to run. I love New Jersey. WALLACE: But why not? You obviously feel strongly about this. You think you have got a better way to do it and that everybody else is messing it up. Why not go for it? CHRISTIE: Listen, two reasons. One, I have a commitment to my state. I have been governor for a year. New Jersey’s problems are not fixed. We have a lot of hard work to do. (CROSSTALK) WALLACE: You don’t think you could help more in the White House than in the state house? CHRISTIE: No, I don’t think I can help New Jersey more in the White House than I can help it in the state house. And secondly, you have got to believe in your heart that you’re personally ready to be president, and I’m not there. WALLACE: Why not? I mean, seriously. You say you answer the questions. In what way are you not ready to be president? CHRISTIE: Listen, I think every year you have as a governor in an executive position in a big state like New Jersey would make you better prepared to be president. And after one year as governor, I am not arrogant enough to believe that after one year as governor of New Jersey and seven years as the United States attorney that I’m ready to be president of the United States, so I’m not going to run. WALLACE: Yes, but you know, and I heard you say it might make more sense somewhere down the line, 2016, 2020, whatever. But one of the things that Obama learned and showed us all in 2007, when it’s your moment, you have got to move. CHRISTIE: Listen, that is a decision that he made. And he’s obviously was successful in winning the presidency. My view is I want to, if I ever would have run for the presidency, if I was ever to do it, I want to make sure in my heart I feel ready. And I don’t think you run just because political opportunity is there. That’s how we wind up with politicians who aren’t ready for their jobs. WALLACE: Governor Christie, we want to thank you so much for coming in. And please come back, sir. It’s a pleasure to talk to you. CHRISTIE: I will. Thanks, Chris. Their love affair with Christie is rooted basically in only two facts I can see at this time. A) He’s a good communicator on TV. He’s fairly articulate and appears like a guy you’d want to have a beer and a hot dog with. B) He loves bullying state and union workers around during town halls while canceling a major tunnel project that would have meant many jobs for NJ . The Teachers Union is in line this time for his authoritarian act. He loved to tell this teacher that if she didn’t like his merit pay idea it she could stop teaching. And the Tea Party loves him because of this. Already the merit pay scheme has been discredited. Education experts say Gov. Christie’s teacher merit pay can do more harm than good for students And here’s a study that proves the point of the useless merit pay scam he’s trying to pull on teachers. Paying teachers bonuses to improve student test scores may not work after all, according to a new study researchers say is the first scientifically rigorous test of merit pay. Vanderbilt University researchers studied a program in Nashville that offered bonuses of $5,000 to $15,000 to middle school math teachers if their students scored higher than expected on a statewide exam, according to a report released today. After three years, the program proved to be a bust, the study said. Except for some temporary gains, students did not progress any faster in classrooms where teachers were offered bonuses. Christie and NJ are in crisis and he hasn’t fixed a thing there yet except making job cuts and refusing tunnel projects. He’s also didn’t distinguish himself with his latest showing of arrogance when he stayed on a Florida vacation instead of helping NJ when the snow came. Rudy Giuliani blasted him for it. On Morning Joe today, Rudy Giuliani looked back at Chris Christie’s much-discussed absence from New Jersey during the snow storm. “Chris should’ve come back. I mean, if he asked me my advice, I would’ve said ‘They elected you governor, they’ve got an emergency, they expect you to be there.’ You know, you’ve got to be there if you’re a governor, a mayor, or even a president, if it’s important enough.” The Zogby poll which shows Christie beating Obama 43-40 has FOX and their friends in a dizzy. Funny how they didn’t mention the PPP poll which shows that Obama whipping Christie in NJ, 55-38. Expect to see more FOX News love heaped upon Christie. If they could get away with it, he’d probably be on their payroll already.
Continue reading …