Despite the overwhelming din of right-wing noise, the President gave a speech. It’s one worth watching. Speaking to a fired-up crowd in Ohio at the Brent Spence Bridge, the President gave his best shot at getting people to understand the value of shoring up our crumbling infrastructure, while bringing back echoes of Ronald Reagan’s speech at the Berlin Wall. The gloves are off in this battle, and anyone who doubted this President’s will to fight should rethink that idea. No more compromising, no more calling out of “Congress”. It’s all about Republicans and Republican (lack of) leadership. Here’s the snippet of the transcript where he calls them out by name: So my question is, what’s Congress waiting for? Why is it taking so long? Now, the bridge behind us just happens to connect the state that’s home to the Speaker of the House — AUDIENCE: Booo — THE PRESIDENT: — with the home state of the Republican leader in the Senate. AUDIENCE: Booo — THE PRESIDENT: Now, that’s just a coincidence. (Laughter.) Purely accidental that that happened. (Laughter.) But part of the reason I came here is because Mr. Boehner and Mr. McConnell, those are the two most powerful Republicans in government. They can either kill this jobs bill, or they can help pass this jobs bill. (Applause.) And I know these men care about their states. They care about businesses; they care about workers here. I can’t imagine that the Speaker wants to represent a state where nearly one in four bridges are classified as substandard — one in four. I know that when Senator McConnell visited the closed bridge in Kentucky, he said that, “Roads and bridges are not partisan in Washington.” That’s great. I know that Paul Ryan, the Republican in charge of the budget process, recently said that “you can’t deny that infrastructure does creates jobs.” That’s what he said. Well, if that’s the case, there’s no reason for Republicans in Congress to stand in the way of more construction projects. There’s no reason to stand in the way of more jobs. Mr. Boehner, Mr. McConnell, help us rebuild this bridge. (Applause.) Help us rebuild America. Help us put construction workers back to work. (Applause.) Pass this bill. It’s past time, in my opinion, for us to stand up and get this President’s back. We can either let him give these speeches and pretend he isn’t, or we can start trying to get past the ridiculous right-wing nonsense flooding every airwave in the land and put some eyes and ears on what the man is saying. We need this bill. We need these infrastructure projects. The right-wing took right on off today on how the Brent Spence Bridge wouldn’t be eligible under the President’s proposal. So what? Republicans are in charge of the House, let them amend it to include it! If the damn bridge needs to be rebuilt, then they should be responsible enough to include provisions to rebuild it. For way too long, Republicans have owned all of the narratives about spending and the economy, but narratives aren’t fact, and the facts are pretty clear on who is responsible for keeping it suppressed. This isn’t a question of Keynes versus Friedman at this point. It’s a question of supply and demand, which will remain low until jobs are available. Infrastructure spending is one way to create jobs and create them rapidly. As Robert Reich pointed out, we could actually do an entire remake of the WPA right now and it probably wouldn’t be enough, but still, it would stimulate the economy. Here’s another classic moment: Now, the Republicans, when I talked about this earlier in the week, they said, well, this is class warfare. You know what, if asking a billionaire to pay their fair share of taxes, to pay the same tax rate as a plumber or a teacher is class warfare, then you know what, I’m a warrior for the middle class. (Applause.) I’m happy to fight for the middle class. I’m happy to fight for working people. (Applause.) Because the only warfare I’ve seen is the battle against the middle class over the last 10, 15 years. I would have stretched that back farther, but I’m guessing he didn’t want to step on Bill Clinton. Clinton, by the way, had this to say about the ridiculous austerity “screw them all” tea party nonsense: You know, there’s not a single solitary example on the planet, not one, of a country that is succesful because the economy has triumphed over the government and choked it off and driven the tax rates to zero, driven the regulations to nonexistent and abolished all government programs, except for defense, so people in my income group never have to pay a nickel to see a cow jump over the moon. There is no example of a succesful country that looks like that. President Obama is doing what everyone said he should have done during the debt-ceiling debate. I am of the opinion that there was a broader strategy to what he did there and what he is now doing here — a carrot and stick strategy. But we are past the debt ceiling debate and onto one that will, in my opinion, be a make-or-break debate. He can’t stand out there and call for people to “pass the whole bill” or “rebuild this bridge” if we’re not behind him. If his speech doesn’t inspire you, and the insanity of the last three Republican debates don’t do it, maybe John Dean’s warning about the resurgence of Nixonian politics on the right, and their efforts to game American democracy will convince you, beginning with his analysis of how the media has been gamed via advertising revenue: There is a second reason for the disinterest, too—and an even more troubling one. Today’s mainstream news organizations are largely controlled by major corporations, which are profit-driven like never before. Most members of corporate management lean toward Republican views, and while top corporate executives typically give their news editors and producers great leeway, news organizations do not go out of their way to annoy their corporate bosses. The big money that is involved in reshaping America’s political processes has been, and will continue to be, a wonderful source of revenue for these organizations. News organizations need advertisers, and they love all the disingenuous advertisements that this political undertaking is generating. To those of you who might be inclined to say that I am writing from a purely partisan standpoint, rest assured that indeed, I am. Because I see absolutely no reason to give these insane, power-hungry, greedy people any more traction than they already have. You don’t have to love everything this president has done to understand that we’re on the precipice of a very, very deep, dark chasm, a place where no bridge will save us.
Continue reading …Despite the overwhelming din of right-wing noise, the President gave a speech. It’s one worth watching. Speaking to a fired-up crowd in Ohio at the Brent Spence Bridge, the President gave his best shot at getting people to understand the value of shoring up our crumbling infrastructure, while bringing back echoes of Ronald Reagan’s speech at the Berlin Wall. The gloves are off in this battle, and anyone who doubted this President’s will to fight should rethink that idea. No more compromising, no more calling out of “Congress”. It’s all about Republicans and Republican (lack of) leadership. Here’s the snippet of the transcript where he calls them out by name: So my question is, what’s Congress waiting for? Why is it taking so long? Now, the bridge behind us just happens to connect the state that’s home to the Speaker of the House — AUDIENCE: Booo — THE PRESIDENT: — with the home state of the Republican leader in the Senate. AUDIENCE: Booo — THE PRESIDENT: Now, that’s just a coincidence. (Laughter.) Purely accidental that that happened. (Laughter.) But part of the reason I came here is because Mr. Boehner and Mr. McConnell, those are the two most powerful Republicans in government. They can either kill this jobs bill, or they can help pass this jobs bill. (Applause.) And I know these men care about their states. They care about businesses; they care about workers here. I can’t imagine that the Speaker wants to represent a state where nearly one in four bridges are classified as substandard — one in four. I know that when Senator McConnell visited the closed bridge in Kentucky, he said that, “Roads and bridges are not partisan in Washington.” That’s great. I know that Paul Ryan, the Republican in charge of the budget process, recently said that “you can’t deny that infrastructure does creates jobs.” That’s what he said. Well, if that’s the case, there’s no reason for Republicans in Congress to stand in the way of more construction projects. There’s no reason to stand in the way of more jobs. Mr. Boehner, Mr. McConnell, help us rebuild this bridge. (Applause.) Help us rebuild America. Help us put construction workers back to work. (Applause.) Pass this bill. It’s past time, in my opinion, for us to stand up and get this President’s back. We can either let him give these speeches and pretend he isn’t, or we can start trying to get past the ridiculous right-wing nonsense flooding every airwave in the land and put some eyes and ears on what the man is saying. We need this bill. We need these infrastructure projects. The right-wing took right on off today on how the Brent Spence Bridge wouldn’t be eligible under the President’s proposal. So what? Republicans are in charge of the House, let them amend it to include it! If the damn bridge needs to be rebuilt, then they should be responsible enough to include provisions to rebuild it. For way too long, Republicans have owned all of the narratives about spending and the economy, but narratives aren’t fact, and the facts are pretty clear on who is responsible for keeping it suppressed. This isn’t a question of Keynes versus Friedman at this point. It’s a question of supply and demand, which will remain low until jobs are available. Infrastructure spending is one way to create jobs and create them rapidly. As Robert Reich pointed out, we could actually do an entire remake of the WPA right now and it probably wouldn’t be enough, but still, it would stimulate the economy. Here’s another classic moment: Now, the Republicans, when I talked about this earlier in the week, they said, well, this is class warfare. You know what, if asking a billionaire to pay their fair share of taxes, to pay the same tax rate as a plumber or a teacher is class warfare, then you know what, I’m a warrior for the middle class. (Applause.) I’m happy to fight for the middle class. I’m happy to fight for working people. (Applause.) Because the only warfare I’ve seen is the battle against the middle class over the last 10, 15 years. I would have stretched that back farther, but I’m guessing he didn’t want to step on Bill Clinton. Clinton, by the way, had this to say about the ridiculous austerity “screw them all” tea party nonsense: You know, there’s not a single solitary example on the planet, not one, of a country that is succesful because the economy has triumphed over the government and choked it off and driven the tax rates to zero, driven the regulations to nonexistent and abolished all government programs, except for defense, so people in my income group never have to pay a nickel to see a cow jump over the moon. There is no example of a succesful country that looks like that. President Obama is doing what everyone said he should have done during the debt-ceiling debate. I am of the opinion that there was a broader strategy to what he did there and what he is now doing here — a carrot and stick strategy. But we are past the debt ceiling debate and onto one that will, in my opinion, be a make-or-break debate. He can’t stand out there and call for people to “pass the whole bill” or “rebuild this bridge” if we’re not behind him. If his speech doesn’t inspire you, and the insanity of the last three Republican debates don’t do it, maybe John Dean’s warning about the resurgence of Nixonian politics on the right, and their efforts to game American democracy will convince you, beginning with his analysis of how the media has been gamed via advertising revenue: There is a second reason for the disinterest, too—and an even more troubling one. Today’s mainstream news organizations are largely controlled by major corporations, which are profit-driven like never before. Most members of corporate management lean toward Republican views, and while top corporate executives typically give their news editors and producers great leeway, news organizations do not go out of their way to annoy their corporate bosses. The big money that is involved in reshaping America’s political processes has been, and will continue to be, a wonderful source of revenue for these organizations. News organizations need advertisers, and they love all the disingenuous advertisements that this political undertaking is generating. To those of you who might be inclined to say that I am writing from a purely partisan standpoint, rest assured that indeed, I am. Because I see absolutely no reason to give these insane, power-hungry, greedy people any more traction than they already have. You don’t have to love everything this president has done to understand that we’re on the precipice of a very, very deep, dark chasm, a place where no bridge will save us.
Continue reading …Despite the overwhelming din of right-wing noise, the President gave a speech. It’s one worth watching. Speaking to a fired-up crowd in Ohio at the Brent Spence Bridge, the President gave his best shot at getting people to understand the value of shoring up our crumbling infrastructure, while bringing back echoes of Ronald Reagan’s speech at the Berlin Wall. The gloves are off in this battle, and anyone who doubted this President’s will to fight should rethink that idea. No more compromising, no more calling out of “Congress”. It’s all about Republicans and Republican (lack of) leadership. Here’s the snippet of the transcript where he calls them out by name: So my question is, what’s Congress waiting for? Why is it taking so long? Now, the bridge behind us just happens to connect the state that’s home to the Speaker of the House — AUDIENCE: Booo — THE PRESIDENT: — with the home state of the Republican leader in the Senate. AUDIENCE: Booo — THE PRESIDENT: Now, that’s just a coincidence. (Laughter.) Purely accidental that that happened. (Laughter.) But part of the reason I came here is because Mr. Boehner and Mr. McConnell, those are the two most powerful Republicans in government. They can either kill this jobs bill, or they can help pass this jobs bill. (Applause.) And I know these men care about their states. They care about businesses; they care about workers here. I can’t imagine that the Speaker wants to represent a state where nearly one in four bridges are classified as substandard — one in four. I know that when Senator McConnell visited the closed bridge in Kentucky, he said that, “Roads and bridges are not partisan in Washington.” That’s great. I know that Paul Ryan, the Republican in charge of the budget process, recently said that “you can’t deny that infrastructure does creates jobs.” That’s what he said. Well, if that’s the case, there’s no reason for Republicans in Congress to stand in the way of more construction projects. There’s no reason to stand in the way of more jobs. Mr. Boehner, Mr. McConnell, help us rebuild this bridge. (Applause.) Help us rebuild America. Help us put construction workers back to work. (Applause.) Pass this bill. It’s past time, in my opinion, for us to stand up and get this President’s back. We can either let him give these speeches and pretend he isn’t, or we can start trying to get past the ridiculous right-wing nonsense flooding every airwave in the land and put some eyes and ears on what the man is saying. We need this bill. We need these infrastructure projects. The right-wing took right on off today on how the Brent Spence Bridge wouldn’t be eligible under the President’s proposal. So what? Republicans are in charge of the House, let them amend it to include it! If the damn bridge needs to be rebuilt, then they should be responsible enough to include provisions to rebuild it. For way too long, Republicans have owned all of the narratives about spending and the economy, but narratives aren’t fact, and the facts are pretty clear on who is responsible for keeping it suppressed. This isn’t a question of Keynes versus Friedman at this point. It’s a question of supply and demand, which will remain low until jobs are available. Infrastructure spending is one way to create jobs and create them rapidly. As Robert Reich pointed out, we could actually do an entire remake of the WPA right now and it probably wouldn’t be enough, but still, it would stimulate the economy. Here’s another classic moment: Now, the Republicans, when I talked about this earlier in the week, they said, well, this is class warfare. You know what, if asking a billionaire to pay their fair share of taxes, to pay the same tax rate as a plumber or a teacher is class warfare, then you know what, I’m a warrior for the middle class. (Applause.) I’m happy to fight for the middle class. I’m happy to fight for working people. (Applause.) Because the only warfare I’ve seen is the battle against the middle class over the last 10, 15 years. I would have stretched that back farther, but I’m guessing he didn’t want to step on Bill Clinton. Clinton, by the way, had this to say about the ridiculous austerity “screw them all” tea party nonsense: You know, there’s not a single solitary example on the planet, not one, of a country that is succesful because the economy has triumphed over the government and choked it off and driven the tax rates to zero, driven the regulations to nonexistent and abolished all government programs, except for defense, so people in my income group never have to pay a nickel to see a cow jump over the moon. There is no example of a succesful country that looks like that. President Obama is doing what everyone said he should have done during the debt-ceiling debate. I am of the opinion that there was a broader strategy to what he did there and what he is now doing here — a carrot and stick strategy. But we are past the debt ceiling debate and onto one that will, in my opinion, be a make-or-break debate. He can’t stand out there and call for people to “pass the whole bill” or “rebuild this bridge” if we’re not behind him. If his speech doesn’t inspire you, and the insanity of the last three Republican debates don’t do it, maybe John Dean’s warning about the resurgence of Nixonian politics on the right, and their efforts to game American democracy will convince you, beginning with his analysis of how the media has been gamed via advertising revenue: There is a second reason for the disinterest, too—and an even more troubling one. Today’s mainstream news organizations are largely controlled by major corporations, which are profit-driven like never before. Most members of corporate management lean toward Republican views, and while top corporate executives typically give their news editors and producers great leeway, news organizations do not go out of their way to annoy their corporate bosses. The big money that is involved in reshaping America’s political processes has been, and will continue to be, a wonderful source of revenue for these organizations. News organizations need advertisers, and they love all the disingenuous advertisements that this political undertaking is generating. To those of you who might be inclined to say that I am writing from a purely partisan standpoint, rest assured that indeed, I am. Because I see absolutely no reason to give these insane, power-hungry, greedy people any more traction than they already have. You don’t have to love everything this president has done to understand that we’re on the precipice of a very, very deep, dark chasm, a place where no bridge will save us.
Continue reading …Despite the overwhelming din of right-wing noise, the President gave a speech. It’s one worth watching. Speaking to a fired-up crowd in Ohio at the Brent Spence Bridge, the President gave his best shot at getting people to understand the value of shoring up our crumbling infrastructure, while bringing back echoes of Ronald Reagan’s speech at the Berlin Wall. The gloves are off in this battle, and anyone who doubted this President’s will to fight should rethink that idea. No more compromising, no more calling out of “Congress”. It’s all about Republicans and Republican (lack of) leadership. Here’s the snippet of the transcript where he calls them out by name: So my question is, what’s Congress waiting for? Why is it taking so long? Now, the bridge behind us just happens to connect the state that’s home to the Speaker of the House — AUDIENCE: Booo — THE PRESIDENT: — with the home state of the Republican leader in the Senate. AUDIENCE: Booo — THE PRESIDENT: Now, that’s just a coincidence. (Laughter.) Purely accidental that that happened. (Laughter.) But part of the reason I came here is because Mr. Boehner and Mr. McConnell, those are the two most powerful Republicans in government. They can either kill this jobs bill, or they can help pass this jobs bill. (Applause.) And I know these men care about their states. They care about businesses; they care about workers here. I can’t imagine that the Speaker wants to represent a state where nearly one in four bridges are classified as substandard — one in four. I know that when Senator McConnell visited the closed bridge in Kentucky, he said that, “Roads and bridges are not partisan in Washington.” That’s great. I know that Paul Ryan, the Republican in charge of the budget process, recently said that “you can’t deny that infrastructure does creates jobs.” That’s what he said. Well, if that’s the case, there’s no reason for Republicans in Congress to stand in the way of more construction projects. There’s no reason to stand in the way of more jobs. Mr. Boehner, Mr. McConnell, help us rebuild this bridge. (Applause.) Help us rebuild America. Help us put construction workers back to work. (Applause.) Pass this bill. It’s past time, in my opinion, for us to stand up and get this President’s back. We can either let him give these speeches and pretend he isn’t, or we can start trying to get past the ridiculous right-wing nonsense flooding every airwave in the land and put some eyes and ears on what the man is saying. We need this bill. We need these infrastructure projects. The right-wing took right on off today on how the Brent Spence Bridge wouldn’t be eligible under the President’s proposal. So what? Republicans are in charge of the House, let them amend it to include it! If the damn bridge needs to be rebuilt, then they should be responsible enough to include provisions to rebuild it. For way too long, Republicans have owned all of the narratives about spending and the economy, but narratives aren’t fact, and the facts are pretty clear on who is responsible for keeping it suppressed. This isn’t a question of Keynes versus Friedman at this point. It’s a question of supply and demand, which will remain low until jobs are available. Infrastructure spending is one way to create jobs and create them rapidly. As Robert Reich pointed out, we could actually do an entire remake of the WPA right now and it probably wouldn’t be enough, but still, it would stimulate the economy. Here’s another classic moment: Now, the Republicans, when I talked about this earlier in the week, they said, well, this is class warfare. You know what, if asking a billionaire to pay their fair share of taxes, to pay the same tax rate as a plumber or a teacher is class warfare, then you know what, I’m a warrior for the middle class. (Applause.) I’m happy to fight for the middle class. I’m happy to fight for working people. (Applause.) Because the only warfare I’ve seen is the battle against the middle class over the last 10, 15 years. I would have stretched that back farther, but I’m guessing he didn’t want to step on Bill Clinton. Clinton, by the way, had this to say about the ridiculous austerity “screw them all” tea party nonsense: You know, there’s not a single solitary example on the planet, not one, of a country that is succesful because the economy has triumphed over the government and choked it off and driven the tax rates to zero, driven the regulations to nonexistent and abolished all government programs, except for defense, so people in my income group never have to pay a nickel to see a cow jump over the moon. There is no example of a succesful country that looks like that. President Obama is doing what everyone said he should have done during the debt-ceiling debate. I am of the opinion that there was a broader strategy to what he did there and what he is now doing here — a carrot and stick strategy. But we are past the debt ceiling debate and onto one that will, in my opinion, be a make-or-break debate. He can’t stand out there and call for people to “pass the whole bill” or “rebuild this bridge” if we’re not behind him. If his speech doesn’t inspire you, and the insanity of the last three Republican debates don’t do it, maybe John Dean’s warning about the resurgence of Nixonian politics on the right, and their efforts to game American democracy will convince you, beginning with his analysis of how the media has been gamed via advertising revenue: There is a second reason for the disinterest, too—and an even more troubling one. Today’s mainstream news organizations are largely controlled by major corporations, which are profit-driven like never before. Most members of corporate management lean toward Republican views, and while top corporate executives typically give their news editors and producers great leeway, news organizations do not go out of their way to annoy their corporate bosses. The big money that is involved in reshaping America’s political processes has been, and will continue to be, a wonderful source of revenue for these organizations. News organizations need advertisers, and they love all the disingenuous advertisements that this political undertaking is generating. To those of you who might be inclined to say that I am writing from a purely partisan standpoint, rest assured that indeed, I am. Because I see absolutely no reason to give these insane, power-hungry, greedy people any more traction than they already have. You don’t have to love everything this president has done to understand that we’re on the precipice of a very, very deep, dark chasm, a place where no bridge will save us.
Continue reading …Despite the overwhelming din of right-wing noise, the President gave a speech. It’s one worth watching. Speaking to a fired-up crowd in Ohio at the Brent Spence Bridge, the President gave his best shot at getting people to understand the value of shoring up our crumbling infrastructure, while bringing back echoes of Ronald Reagan’s speech at the Berlin Wall. The gloves are off in this battle, and anyone who doubted this President’s will to fight should rethink that idea. No more compromising, no more calling out of “Congress”. It’s all about Republicans and Republican (lack of) leadership. Here’s the snippet of the transcript where he calls them out by name: So my question is, what’s Congress waiting for? Why is it taking so long? Now, the bridge behind us just happens to connect the state that’s home to the Speaker of the House — AUDIENCE: Booo — THE PRESIDENT: — with the home state of the Republican leader in the Senate. AUDIENCE: Booo — THE PRESIDENT: Now, that’s just a coincidence. (Laughter.) Purely accidental that that happened. (Laughter.) But part of the reason I came here is because Mr. Boehner and Mr. McConnell, those are the two most powerful Republicans in government. They can either kill this jobs bill, or they can help pass this jobs bill. (Applause.) And I know these men care about their states. They care about businesses; they care about workers here. I can’t imagine that the Speaker wants to represent a state where nearly one in four bridges are classified as substandard — one in four. I know that when Senator McConnell visited the closed bridge in Kentucky, he said that, “Roads and bridges are not partisan in Washington.” That’s great. I know that Paul Ryan, the Republican in charge of the budget process, recently said that “you can’t deny that infrastructure does creates jobs.” That’s what he said. Well, if that’s the case, there’s no reason for Republicans in Congress to stand in the way of more construction projects. There’s no reason to stand in the way of more jobs. Mr. Boehner, Mr. McConnell, help us rebuild this bridge. (Applause.) Help us rebuild America. Help us put construction workers back to work. (Applause.) Pass this bill. It’s past time, in my opinion, for us to stand up and get this President’s back. We can either let him give these speeches and pretend he isn’t, or we can start trying to get past the ridiculous right-wing nonsense flooding every airwave in the land and put some eyes and ears on what the man is saying. We need this bill. We need these infrastructure projects. The right-wing took right on off today on how the Brent Spence Bridge wouldn’t be eligible under the President’s proposal. So what? Republicans are in charge of the House, let them amend it to include it! If the damn bridge needs to be rebuilt, then they should be responsible enough to include provisions to rebuild it. For way too long, Republicans have owned all of the narratives about spending and the economy, but narratives aren’t fact, and the facts are pretty clear on who is responsible for keeping it suppressed. This isn’t a question of Keynes versus Friedman at this point. It’s a question of supply and demand, which will remain low until jobs are available. Infrastructure spending is one way to create jobs and create them rapidly. As Robert Reich pointed out, we could actually do an entire remake of the WPA right now and it probably wouldn’t be enough, but still, it would stimulate the economy. Here’s another classic moment: Now, the Republicans, when I talked about this earlier in the week, they said, well, this is class warfare. You know what, if asking a billionaire to pay their fair share of taxes, to pay the same tax rate as a plumber or a teacher is class warfare, then you know what, I’m a warrior for the middle class. (Applause.) I’m happy to fight for the middle class. I’m happy to fight for working people. (Applause.) Because the only warfare I’ve seen is the battle against the middle class over the last 10, 15 years. I would have stretched that back farther, but I’m guessing he didn’t want to step on Bill Clinton. Clinton, by the way, had this to say about the ridiculous austerity “screw them all” tea party nonsense: You know, there’s not a single solitary example on the planet, not one, of a country that is succesful because the economy has triumphed over the government and choked it off and driven the tax rates to zero, driven the regulations to nonexistent and abolished all government programs, except for defense, so people in my income group never have to pay a nickel to see a cow jump over the moon. There is no example of a succesful country that looks like that. President Obama is doing what everyone said he should have done during the debt-ceiling debate. I am of the opinion that there was a broader strategy to what he did there and what he is now doing here — a carrot and stick strategy. But we are past the debt ceiling debate and onto one that will, in my opinion, be a make-or-break debate. He can’t stand out there and call for people to “pass the whole bill” or “rebuild this bridge” if we’re not behind him. If his speech doesn’t inspire you, and the insanity of the last three Republican debates don’t do it, maybe John Dean’s warning about the resurgence of Nixonian politics on the right, and their efforts to game American democracy will convince you, beginning with his analysis of how the media has been gamed via advertising revenue: There is a second reason for the disinterest, too—and an even more troubling one. Today’s mainstream news organizations are largely controlled by major corporations, which are profit-driven like never before. Most members of corporate management lean toward Republican views, and while top corporate executives typically give their news editors and producers great leeway, news organizations do not go out of their way to annoy their corporate bosses. The big money that is involved in reshaping America’s political processes has been, and will continue to be, a wonderful source of revenue for these organizations. News organizations need advertisers, and they love all the disingenuous advertisements that this political undertaking is generating. To those of you who might be inclined to say that I am writing from a purely partisan standpoint, rest assured that indeed, I am. Because I see absolutely no reason to give these insane, power-hungry, greedy people any more traction than they already have. You don’t have to love everything this president has done to understand that we’re on the precipice of a very, very deep, dark chasm, a place where no bridge will save us.
Continue reading …MSNBC’s Thomas Roberts: GOP Wants to Go Back to When No Women Voted, ‘Slavery Was Cool’
September 23, 2011 No CommentOpenly gay MSNBC anchor Thomas Roberts is aggressively using his daily soapbox for gay activism. On Friday morning, Roberts was outraged with the rest of the left that the Republican candidates did not denounce the boos after openly gay soldier Thomas Hill asked on video if the Republicans would “circumvent the progress that has been made” for gays if elected. No one seems to question why Fox News and Megyn Kelly would pluck this question out of thousands of submissions and throw it directly at Rick Santorum. It seems like they were wearing a bracelet asking “What Would CNN Do?” Roberts, speaking very calmly, said something very wild. These Republican candidates would like to build a time machine and go back to when women couldn't vote and slavery was cool: THOMAS ROBERTS: And the [Santorum] phrase of “social experimentation.” I get out of all of these things that many of these candidates would rather take legislation to build a time machine and go back in time to where, uh, we had, you know, no women voting, slavery was cool. I mean, it's just kind of ridiculous. CHRIS HAYES: Well — I also thought was interesting about the response, he seemed to imply there is no sex in the armed forces. Basically saying, this is — everybody should be — ROBERTS: Nothing happens on shore leave. HAYES: Nothing happens in the armed forces. And it was like, really? Have you talked to to any members who served? ROBERTS: Been to Fleet Week in New York? Notice how Hayes tried not to agree with the crazy talk and changed the subject. Roberts began the segment by disdaining the trend of “strange crowd reactions and candidate responses” in GOP debates: ROBERTS: So, boos from the crowd, the debate crowd last night after hearing from a service member protecting our nation, followed by that response. Well, everybody really failing to thank him for serving our country. It’s just the latest in the series of strange crowd reactions and candidate responses in these Republican debates. Let's bring in Chris Hayes….What is your reaction? The audience response, especially last night. We’re on the heels of the repeal of Don't Ask, Don't Tell. Bravely, courageously, this person fighting in Iraq submits that question, publicly asks it of the panelists, you know, the GOP hopefuls, and Santorum — that’s his response. Hayes agreed, and then expressed admiration for how the soldier was “jacked.” Roberts returned to his point: ROBERTS: But It was a missed opportunity for a lot of people to stand up because they love to stand and wave their military support all the time and funding for our military. This was a missed opportunity. Hayes agreed, and said the Republican base is still “very hung up on cultural issues.” As if MSNBC and Thomas Roberts are not.
Continue reading …MSNBC’s Thomas Roberts: GOP Wants to Go Back to When No Women Voted, ‘Slavery Was Cool’
September 23, 2011 No CommentOpenly gay MSNBC anchor Thomas Roberts is aggressively using his daily soapbox for gay activism. On Friday morning, Roberts was outraged with the rest of the left that the Republican candidates did not denounce the boos after openly gay soldier Thomas Hill asked on video if the Republicans would “circumvent the progress that has been made” for gays if elected. No one seems to question why Fox News and Megyn Kelly would pluck this question out of thousands of submissions and throw it directly at Rick Santorum. It seems like they were wearing a bracelet asking “What Would CNN Do?” Roberts, speaking very calmly, said something very wild. These Republican candidates would like to build a time machine and go back to when women couldn't vote and slavery was cool: THOMAS ROBERTS: And the [Santorum] phrase of “social experimentation.” I get out of all of these things that many of these candidates would rather take legislation to build a time machine and go back in time to where, uh, we had, you know, no women voting, slavery was cool. I mean, it's just kind of ridiculous. CHRIS HAYES: Well — I also thought was interesting about the response, he seemed to imply there is no sex in the armed forces. Basically saying, this is — everybody should be — ROBERTS: Nothing happens on shore leave. HAYES: Nothing happens in the armed forces. And it was like, really? Have you talked to to any members who served? ROBERTS: Been to Fleet Week in New York? Notice how Hayes tried not to agree with the crazy talk and changed the subject. Roberts began the segment by disdaining the trend of “strange crowd reactions and candidate responses” in GOP debates: ROBERTS: So, boos from the crowd, the debate crowd last night after hearing from a service member protecting our nation, followed by that response. Well, everybody really failing to thank him for serving our country. It’s just the latest in the series of strange crowd reactions and candidate responses in these Republican debates. Let's bring in Chris Hayes….What is your reaction? The audience response, especially last night. We’re on the heels of the repeal of Don't Ask, Don't Tell. Bravely, courageously, this person fighting in Iraq submits that question, publicly asks it of the panelists, you know, the GOP hopefuls, and Santorum — that’s his response. Hayes agreed, and then expressed admiration for how the soldier was “jacked.” Roberts returned to his point: ROBERTS: But It was a missed opportunity for a lot of people to stand up because they love to stand and wave their military support all the time and funding for our military. This was a missed opportunity. Hayes agreed, and said the Republican base is still “very hung up on cultural issues.” As if MSNBC and Thomas Roberts are not.
Continue reading …MSNBC’s Thomas Roberts: GOP Wants to Go Back to When No Women Voted, ‘Slavery Was Cool’
September 23, 2011 No CommentOpenly gay MSNBC anchor Thomas Roberts is aggressively using his daily soapbox for gay activism. On Friday morning, Roberts was outraged with the rest of the left that the Republican candidates did not denounce the boos after openly gay soldier Thomas Hill asked on video if the Republicans would “circumvent the progress that has been made” for gays if elected. No one seems to question why Fox News and Megyn Kelly would pluck this question out of thousands of submissions and throw it directly at Rick Santorum. It seems like they were wearing a bracelet asking “What Would CNN Do?” Roberts, speaking very calmly, said something very wild. These Republican candidates would like to build a time machine and go back to when women couldn't vote and slavery was cool: THOMAS ROBERTS: And the [Santorum] phrase of “social experimentation.” I get out of all of these things that many of these candidates would rather take legislation to build a time machine and go back in time to where, uh, we had, you know, no women voting, slavery was cool. I mean, it's just kind of ridiculous. CHRIS HAYES: Well — I also thought was interesting about the response, he seemed to imply there is no sex in the armed forces. Basically saying, this is — everybody should be — ROBERTS: Nothing happens on shore leave. HAYES: Nothing happens in the armed forces. And it was like, really? Have you talked to to any members who served? ROBERTS: Been to Fleet Week in New York? Notice how Hayes tried not to agree with the crazy talk and changed the subject. Roberts began the segment by disdaining the trend of “strange crowd reactions and candidate responses” in GOP debates: ROBERTS: So, boos from the crowd, the debate crowd last night after hearing from a service member protecting our nation, followed by that response. Well, everybody really failing to thank him for serving our country. It’s just the latest in the series of strange crowd reactions and candidate responses in these Republican debates. Let's bring in Chris Hayes….What is your reaction? The audience response, especially last night. We’re on the heels of the repeal of Don't Ask, Don't Tell. Bravely, courageously, this person fighting in Iraq submits that question, publicly asks it of the panelists, you know, the GOP hopefuls, and Santorum — that’s his response. Hayes agreed, and then expressed admiration for how the soldier was “jacked.” Roberts returned to his point: ROBERTS: But It was a missed opportunity for a lot of people to stand up because they love to stand and wave their military support all the time and funding for our military. This was a missed opportunity. Hayes agreed, and said the Republican base is still “very hung up on cultural issues.” As if MSNBC and Thomas Roberts are not.
Continue reading …MSNBC’s Thomas Roberts: GOP Wants to Go Back to When No Women Voted, ‘Slavery Was Cool’
September 23, 2011 No CommentOpenly gay MSNBC anchor Thomas Roberts is aggressively using his daily soapbox for gay activism. On Friday morning, Roberts was outraged with the rest of the left that the Republican candidates did not denounce the boos after openly gay soldier Thomas Hill asked on video if the Republicans would “circumvent the progress that has been made” for gays if elected. No one seems to question why Fox News and Megyn Kelly would pluck this question out of thousands of submissions and throw it directly at Rick Santorum. It seems like they were wearing a bracelet asking “What Would CNN Do?” Roberts, speaking very calmly, said something very wild. These Republican candidates would like to build a time machine and go back to when women couldn't vote and slavery was cool: THOMAS ROBERTS: And the [Santorum] phrase of “social experimentation.” I get out of all of these things that many of these candidates would rather take legislation to build a time machine and go back in time to where, uh, we had, you know, no women voting, slavery was cool. I mean, it's just kind of ridiculous. CHRIS HAYES: Well — I also thought was interesting about the response, he seemed to imply there is no sex in the armed forces. Basically saying, this is — everybody should be — ROBERTS: Nothing happens on shore leave. HAYES: Nothing happens in the armed forces. And it was like, really? Have you talked to to any members who served? ROBERTS: Been to Fleet Week in New York? Notice how Hayes tried not to agree with the crazy talk and changed the subject. Roberts began the segment by disdaining the trend of “strange crowd reactions and candidate responses” in GOP debates: ROBERTS: So, boos from the crowd, the debate crowd last night after hearing from a service member protecting our nation, followed by that response. Well, everybody really failing to thank him for serving our country. It’s just the latest in the series of strange crowd reactions and candidate responses in these Republican debates. Let's bring in Chris Hayes….What is your reaction? The audience response, especially last night. We’re on the heels of the repeal of Don't Ask, Don't Tell. Bravely, courageously, this person fighting in Iraq submits that question, publicly asks it of the panelists, you know, the GOP hopefuls, and Santorum — that’s his response. Hayes agreed, and then expressed admiration for how the soldier was “jacked.” Roberts returned to his point: ROBERTS: But It was a missed opportunity for a lot of people to stand up because they love to stand and wave their military support all the time and funding for our military. This was a missed opportunity. Hayes agreed, and said the Republican base is still “very hung up on cultural issues.” As if MSNBC and Thomas Roberts are not.
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Republican Guards clash with renegade soldiers as President Ali Abdullah Saleh flies in after months recuperating in Riyadh Tentative hopes for a way out of Yemen’s eight-month political crisis have been plunged into confusion by the sudden return of President Ali Abdullah Saleh after three months spent recovering in Saudi Arabia from an assassination attempt. Saleh’s abrupt reappearance follows five days of brutal violence in the capital in which more than 100 protesters have been shot dead, some by government troops using anti-aircraft guns. Sana’a is now gripped by street battles and exchanges of shelling between Republican Guards led by Saleh’s son and a division of renegade soldiers who have been backing the pro-democracy demonstrators. Hours after touching down, Saleh called for a truce between the two sides. “The solution is not in the mouths of rifles and guns, it is in dialogue and stopping bloodshed,” the defence ministry cited him as saying. But it was not immediately clear whether those battling with Saleh’s troops were willing to heed his call for peace. The sound of mortars echoed off the mountains surrounding the capital late into the evening as clashes continued. Word of the president’s dawn arrival was spread with the sound of celebratory gunfire. A brief clip on Yemeni state television showed Saleh clutching a walking stick and tentatively descending steps from a private jet at Sana’a airport. For many the president’s arrival came as a shock. Western diplomats in Sana’a, even members of Saleh’s ruling party, seemed to have no clue it was planned. Saudi princes and US diplomats are now scrambling to embrace a new political scenario with Saleh back in Yemen instead of having him cornered in a luxurious, marbled palace in Riyadh. By noon Sana’a was a divided city. Thousands gathered outside the president’s mosque hoping to catch a glimpse of Saleh. “Thank God for his safe arrival. This is the best day in Yemen’s history, no man can rule Yemen except Ali Saleh,” said an emotional middle-aged man, flipping out an ID card to prove his name, Ali Abdullah Saleh, matched that of the president. A few miles north 100,000 anti-government protesters filled a two-mile stretch of motorway for a Friday prayer ceremony. Faizah Suleiman, one of a number of prominent female leaders at the march, said she expected Saleh’s return to coincide with an even more brutal crackdown on their movement, saying: “If we’re still alive we’ll march this afternoon.” This time last week Change Square – the tented shantytown in the heart of the capital – was a sanctuary for Yemen’s pro-democracy dissidents. On Friday Yesterday it was a scene of chaos and despair. A blood-splattered tent, slashed open at the seams, marked the spot where an anti-aircraft missile landed on Wednesday , killing its occupier. Protesters distributed plastic helmets in a desperate effort to protect themselves from the bullets of plain-clothed pro-government snipers prowling the rooftops of nearby houses. Saleh’s motives remain unclear. Rumours that he was preparing to address his party, the General People’s Congress, and announce his resignation proved to be unfounded. Experts say that by returning to Yemen and then resigning, Saleh could expose himself to the risk of prosecution, a possible explanation for his hesitancy. Gregory Johnson, a Yemen scholar from Princeton University, said the timing of his return was “a characteristic Saleh move … He has done this many times in the past, setting himself up as national saviour between two competing sides.” Many are concerned that Saleh’s sudden reappearance may draw Yemen’s powerful tribal leaders into the fray. When Saleh was airlifted to Saudi Arabia for treatment after an explosion ripped through his compound in June , Sadeq Al-Ahmar, the sheikh at the head of Yemen’s most influential tribe, the Hashed, swore “by God” that he would never let Saleh rule again. The last time hostilities between the Saleh and Ahmar families turned violent in May, a week’s worth of mortar battles erupted, flattening an entire neighbourhood in the capital’s east and killing hundreds. Yemen Middle East Arab and Middle East unrest Protest Tom Finn guardian.co.uk
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