Multibillion-dollar jobs plan faces stiff opposition from Republicans who are already branding it a re-election gimmick Republicans have signalled their opposition to Barack Obama’s multibillion dollar jobs plan, even before he was due to unveil it in a crucial speech to a joint session of Congress. Republican members of Congress said on Thursday morning that, based on leaks to the media, there was nothing new in the speech, which would be just a rehash of proposals Obama has put forward since his days on the campaign trail in 2008. Some Republican members even announced publicly they intend to boycott the speech, a rare snub for a sitting president. The Republican leader in the Senate, Mitch McConnell, dismissed Obama’s jobs plans as retreads. “What is surprising is the president’s apparent determination to apply the same government-driven policies that have already been tried and failed,” he said in a speech to the Senate. ‘”The definition of insanity, as Albert Einstein once famously put it, is to do the same thing over and over again and expect a different result. Frankly, I can’t think of a better description of anyone who thinks the solution to this problem is another stimulus. The first stimulus didn’t do it. Why would another one?” He added: “This isn’t a jobs plan. It’s a re-election plan.” Obama’s proposals, which will cost at least $300bn, include about $100bn in spending on construction of roads, bridges and other huge infrastructure projects as well as extra cash for states to prevent teachers, police and others being laid off. He is also proposing an extension of a payroll tax cut due to expire at the end of the year, an extension of unemployment benefit, and more training and subsidies for the long-term unemployed. The jobs plan is part of Obama’s attempt to reverse a rapid drop in the polls because of the 9.1% unemployment rate, up from the 7.8% when he took office in January 2009. A Gallup poll this week gave the president an approval rating of only 42%, perilously low for a president seeking re-election next year. Even though speeches by a president to a joint session of Congress are relatively rare, such is the polarisation in Washington that many Republicans said they intended to boycott it rather than participate in what they see as an election gimmick. The Republican Speaker, John Boehner, at a press conference in Congress on Thursday, urged his House colleagues not to mount a boycott, saying it would be disrespectful of the president. But Republican congressman Joe Walsh said speeches by the president at joint sessions of Congress should be saved for special occasions. It was time for action, not speeches. “You can’t lead this country by speeches,” Walsh said in an interview with CNN. The unhappiness of many Republicans is shared on the other side, with Democrats regarding Obama’s proposals as too timid and seeking a much more ambitious stimulus package. Fourteen million Americans are out of work, according to official figures . Almost all of Obama’s plans require congressional approval and he is to send the proposals to the Hill next week, setting up a third major clash with Republicans this year. A standoff between Republicans and the White House before the summer recess over the debt crisis left Washington paralysed for weeks, while earlier this year Republicans threatened to close down the federal government. House Republicans, reluctant to be cast as the villains, were in public unwilling to dismiss Obama’s plans out of hand. Boehner, at the press conference, said: “I’m hopeful that after the president gives his speech that we’ll be able to sit down, in a bipartisan way, and find common ground that will help improve our economy, and improve the job picture for the American people.” But behind the scenes, House Republicans, who voted against Obama’s first stimulus package and see little reason to vote for a second, were sceptical. A Republican congressional source said that if the president had been genuine about seeking a bipartisan approach he would have consulted them beforehand. The source said Boehner had written to the White House asking for a meeting this week but had not received a reply. If, as the White House expects, the Republicans boycott his speech, Obama is planning to go out on the road in the months ahead portraying his opponents as obstructionist. The president is to hold the first of a series of meetings on jobs in Richmond, Virginia, on Friday. Barack Obama Republicans US economy US elections 2012 United States Ewen MacAskill guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …Texas Show Down at GOP Debate: During a Commercial Perry Wags Finger in Paul’s Face
September 8, 2011 No Comment
enlarge At last night’s debate, it seems there was a bit of a mostly-verbal confrontation between Ron Paul and Rick Perry during a commercial break, which the Ron Paul people are in full-throated protest over. Via Mediaite : According to Paul fansite RonPaul.com , here’s how it went down: During a commercial break at Wednesday’s Republican debate, Rick Perry and Ron Paul continued their spirited exchange on stage. Suddenly, Perry grabbed Ron Paul’s forearm while aggressively pointing his index finger towards the Congressman’s face. Alerted by Perry’s menacing gestures, Ron Paul’s bodyguard (front left) was standing by, ready to protect the Congressman. While it looks like it may have been a heated verbal exchange, I think it may be a tiny bit of hyperbole to call it “menacing.” Whatever happened in that moment, rest assured there was no space between the media and the candidates, and if anything had happened that was remotely interesting, someone would have heard it. I know this because I had hoped to be able to stay in the main debate room just a bit longer than five minutes, and try and capture some of those off-camera moments. It would have been simple enough to do, had I been allowed to stay, but alas, I didn’t have the right credentials and there were more cameras, reporters and other people in that room who did have them than you could shake a Texas-sized stick at. Nevertheless, I was able to capture some of my own “caption this” images in the time I was there. I was in the main debate room for about five minutes when the candidates came out to the stage and were introduced. First Cain and Huntsman, then Paul, Perry and Romney. I caught this rather interesting picture of the three of them together. enlarge Credit: Karoli Doesn’t Perry look like he just ate raw meat for dinner? All snarly and ready to go, he was. Romney looked a little surprised he was standing there, and I guess Ron Paul was looking down for his bodyguard? Or maybe he was just talking to someone down in front. Here’s John Huntsman and Herman Cain, looking reverent: enlarge Credit: Karoli There was a long pause — and I DO mean long — before Michele Bachmann made her entrance. She seems to have a thing for making delayed entrances, and yesterday was no exception. But finally she came onstage, with Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum following behind. How about these two as a Republican ticket? enlarge Credit: Karoli Seems like Bachmann is a little more relaxed with Newt than she is with Romney. She has just a little bit of a gritted-teeth-wildeyed-fiery stare in this one. enlarge Credit: Karoli In all of these pictures, some of the candidates seem to be missing something. That’s right. A FLAG PIN . Who are these unpatriotic pretenders who think they can get away with showing up at the shrine of Republican politics without a flag pin? How dare Rick Perry wear a pin that puts the Texas star on TOP of the American flag? I’ll bet those flag pin slackers don’t say the pledge of allegiance, either. When will the mainstream media ask them about it? When will we know the truth?
Continue reading …Texas Show Down at GOP Debate: During a Commercial Perry Wags Finger in Paul’s Face
September 8, 2011 No Commentenlarge At last night’s debate, it seems there was a bit of a mostly-verbal confrontation between Ron Paul and Rick Perry during a commercial break, which the Ron Paul people are in full-throated protest over. Via Mediaite : According to Paul fansite RonPaul.com , here’s how it went down: During a commercial break at Wednesday’s Republican debate, Rick Perry and Ron Paul continued their spirited exchange on stage. Suddenly, Perry grabbed Ron Paul’s forearm while aggressively pointing his index finger towards the Congressman’s face. Alerted by Perry’s menacing gestures, Ron Paul’s bodyguard (front left) was standing by, ready to protect the Congressman. While it looks like it may have been a heated verbal exchange, I think it may be a tiny bit of hyperbole to call it “menacing.” Whatever happened in that moment, rest assured there was no space between the media and the candidates, and if anything had happened that was remotely interesting, someone would have heard it. I know this because I had hoped to be able to stay in the main debate room just a bit longer than five minutes, and try and capture some of those off-camera moments. It would have been simple enough to do, had I been allowed to stay, but alas, I didn’t have the right credentials and there were more cameras, reporters and other people in that room who did have them than you could shake a Texas-sized stick at. Nevertheless, I was able to capture some of my own “caption this” images in the time I was there. I was in the main debate room for about five minutes when the candidates came out to the stage and were introduced. First Cain and Huntsman, then Paul, Perry and Romney. I caught this rather interesting picture of the three of them together. enlarge Credit: Karoli Doesn’t Perry look like he just ate raw meat for dinner? All snarly and ready to go, he was. Romney looked a little surprised he was standing there, and I guess Ron Paul was looking down for his bodyguard? Or maybe he was just talking to someone down in front. Here’s John Huntsman and Herman Cain, looking reverent: enlarge Credit: Karoli There was a long pause — and I DO mean long — before Michele Bachmann made her entrance. She seems to have a thing for making delayed entrances, and yesterday was no exception. But finally she came onstage, with Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum following behind. How about these two as a Republican ticket? enlarge Credit: Karoli Seems like Bachmann is a little more relaxed with Newt than she is with Romney. She has just a little bit of a gritted-teeth-wildeyed-fiery stare in this one. enlarge Credit: Karoli In all of these pictures, some of the candidates seem to be missing something. That’s right. A FLAG PIN . Who are these unpatriotic pretenders who think they can get away with showing up at the shrine of Republican politics without a flag pin? How dare Rick Perry wear a pin that puts the Texas star on TOP of the American flag? I’ll bet those flag pin slackers don’t say the pledge of allegiance, either. When will the mainstream media ask them about it? When will we know the truth?
Continue reading …If there is a standard liberal line on Ronald Reagan today, it is this bizarre notion that Reagan is so far left of the current Republican contenders that they'd rip him to pieces if he were alive. Today's case in point: Washington Post columnist/blogger Ezra Klein insists Reagan “would have been destroyed” on the stage last night, since he had such a deep pragmatic streak as president. Yes, that's the same president the media often portrayed during his two terms as an ultra-conservative nut. (Not so much Ezra Klein, who was born in 1984.) Klein wrote: There’s no doubt who won last night’s Republican presidential debate: Ronald Reagan. He even got a montage set to the Verve’s Bittersweet Symphony. But the funny thing is that if the actual Ronald Reagan had been on that stage defending his actual record , he would almost certainly have lost. In fact, he would have been destroyed. Klein trotted out the old line that Reagan raised taxes four times from 1982 to 1984, and his 1986 tax reform supposedly would have made Walter Mondale proud (so grumped old adviser William Niskanen). I want to be very clear: My point isn’t to suggest that Reagan was some closet liberal. This is still the president who signed one of the largest tax cuts in history. My point is to say Reagan was a conservative who was willing to compromise with reality. And that’s not something I heard a lot of on the stage last night. In this perfunctory exercise of How Wacky to the Right Are They?, Klein seemed unwilling to consider that perhaps a President Romney or Perry or Bachmann or Santorum would be more pragmatic once they sat down in the Oval and looked at the votes in Congress. After all, Barack Obama on the campaign trail in 2007 sounded a lot more radical than President Obama — especially on Iraq and the war on terror.
Continue reading …More coordinated strike action planned over pension negotiations ‘charade’
September 8, 2011 No Comment
PCS union leader Mark Serwotka gives warning after executive rules to stage second mass walkout Unions are preparing for a second mass walkout over public sector pension reforms, a union leader has warned. Mark Serwotka, general secretary of the Public and Commercial Services union – which took part in coordinated strike action on 30 June alongside three education unions – laid out the prospect of further mass industrial unrest after the PCS executive ruled to take fresh strike action to force the government to “compromise” over the proposed reforms to pension schemes. Serwotka said he expected other unions to join a day of coordinated action “significantly” bigger than that in June, over pension negotiations which he described as nothing short of a “charade”. More than 10 unions could be involved in strikes in November, with industrial action continuing into 2012 if the dispute is not resolved, said Serwotka. The leader of the unaffiliated union said more targeted action on specific services was also likely, and warned of the possibility of a big impact if PCS members who issue passports and driving licences went on strike. Asked about the level of support across public sector unions for a national walkout, Serwotka said the magnitude of the one-day strike would become clear when the unions debate public sector pensions at the TUC congress in London next week. “We are moving towards a strike potentially involving millions,” he said. A number of other unions are threatening industrial action, including those representing firefighters, teachers and other civil servants. A meeting of union leaders will be held after the TUC congress to finalise details for a coordinated day of action. Serwotka said he expected the day of action to take place in mid to late November. Speaking ahead of a meeting on Thursday afternoon between union leaders and Francis Maude, the cabinet minister, and Danny Alexander, chief secretary to the Treasury, he described talks to date as “a farce with bells on”. “We are supposed to be in negotiations but to negotiate you should be prepared to compromise,” Serwotka told a press conference. “On plans to make people work longer, pay more and receive less they have not moved one jot.” He threw down the gauntlet to the government. “The government now has a choice. Either it can put its head in the sand and just sit back and do nothing while we are seeing bigger and bigger amounts of the public sector going on strike, or it can get down and negotiate. We’ve been clear all along in negotiations you have to compromise. We are prepared to do that, but they have not budged a single inch.” The cabinet office said was it committed to “genuine and meaningful dialogue” to achieve necessary reforms. “The government is committed to ongoing talks with the unions,” a spokesman said. “It is committed to keeping public service pensions among the best available but also recognises the need to address rising costs due to increased longevity. It is very disappointing that there has been another call for industrial action while these talks are ongoing. We hope the unions will recognise that rational discussion and open dialogue are more appropriate methods of reaching a solution that works to the benefit of all, rather than engaging in industrial action.” Serwotka said any actions will see unions gather around a mantra of “fair pensions for all”, in a nod to efforts to divide those working in the public and private sector over pension provision. He said the government’s attempt to “try to divide” by claiming that public sector workers had more generous pension schemes had only served to expose the “appalling level” of provision in the private sector. “The idea that in anyway the way forward is to put everybody at a lower level is completely wrong,” he said. “And therefore the petition we are working on with the unions is very clear: it’s about fair pensions for all, public and private.” And he insisted that any action taken by unions would register with wider public anger at government cuts. “The reason I think we got so much support on the 30th is that a lot of people recognised the arguments we made about pensions, but probably more than that, it’s because people welcome somebody is fighting back and standing up for what is going on. And in that sense, it’s fairly clear that this is about much more than pensions, because if we all lose our pensions, it follows the government will be even more emboldened to carry on with its austerity plan.” A lobby of parliament by seven education unions – including three who took action in June – over proposed reforms to the teachers’ pension scheme is due to take place on 26 October. Christine Blower, general secretary of the National Union of Teachers, said it would be the government’s “last chance” to “think again”. “Negotiations have so far made no progress,” she said. “There has still been no valuation of the teachers’ pension scheme, and the switch from RPI to CPI is already causing members to lose money. The lobby of parliament on 26 October by seven teachers’ unions is the last chance for the government to think again. If they do not do so further industrial action will be inevitable”. Trade unions Public sector pensions Public services policy Mark Serwotka Hélène Mulholland guardian.co.uk
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Click here to view this media This is great! Just keep this dude talking. We don’t even need Katie Couric – just put a mike in front of Texas Governor Rick Perry, and let him speak. If he were smarter he’d know how dumb he is – but he’s not. So he says things like he did at his first ever national debate, Wednesday night at the Reagan Library. This was after Jon Huntsman said, “Listen, when you make comments that fly in the face of what 98 out of 100 climate scientists have said, when you call into question the science of evolution, all I’m saying is that, in order for the Republican Party to win, we can’t run from science. We can’t run from mainstream conservative philosophy. We’ve got to win voters.” Yes. No applause from the L.L. Bean catalog audience. Silence on pro-science. A brave moment for Huntsman, fell flat (like the shape of the Earth). Then the question went to ” Crotch :” PERRY: Well, I do agree that there is — the science is — is not settled on this. The idea that we would put Americans’ economy at — at — at jeopardy based on scientific theory that’s not settled yet, to me, is just — is nonsense. I mean, it — I mean — and I tell somebody, I said, just because you have a group of scientists that have stood up and said here is the fact, Galileo got outvoted for a spell. Yes. Because zealot extremists doubted Galileo, the father of modern science (who, turns out, was right…and brilliant) – we should act like those zealot extremists?! What? Remember Perry’s Texas A&M transcripts are on the Internet . He got an AVERAGE D in science classes and C in history. But, like I said – if he were smarter – he’d be quieter. But he kept on digging: PERRY: But the fact is, to put America’s economic future in jeopardy, asking us to cut back in areas that would have monstrous economic impact on this country is not good economics and I will suggest to you is not necessarily good science. Find out what the science truly is before you start putting the American economy in jeopardy. HARRIS: Just to follow up quickly. Tell us how you’ve done that. Are there specific — specific scientists or specific theories that you’ve found especially compelling, as you… PERRY: Let me tell you what I find compelling, is what we’ve done in the state of Texas, using our ability to regulate our clean air. We cleaned up our air in the state of Texas, more than any other state in the nation during the decade. Nitrous oxide levels, down by 57 percent. Ozone levels down by 27 percent. Bonk. Texas has the worst pollution in the country . “Texas Soup” is Houston’s air. This sums it up for me. I tweeted this during the second half of the debate : BTW: I love Perry. He’s awesome. He’s like Palin without the charm, facts or brains. Love love love him. #reagandebate I mean it. Let’s give him the nomination already. But speaking of science and math (classes Perry should have dropped before getting a grade in them) – just to cleanse your pallet – I’d like to share what a reader sent me this morning. It’s his letter that was published in NYT : To the Editor: You do not study mathematics because it helps you build a bridge. You study mathematics because it is the poetry of the universe. Its beauty transcends mere things. JONATHAN DAVID FARLEY Orono, Me., Aug. 25, 2011 The writer is an associate professor of computer science at the University of Maine. Commie.
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Jeremy Hunt stresses difference between off-the-record briefings and payments to police revealed by phone-hacking investigation The culture secretary, Jeremy Hunt, has criticised the decision by police to question a Guardian journalist over alleged leaks from Scotland Yard’s phone-hacking inquiry. The cabinet minister told MPs: “There is an important difference between off-the-record briefing and the payment of money by or to the police in return for information. “Journalists must operate within the law, but, as the prime minister told the [parliamentary] liaison committee, as we go through this entire process we must be careful not to overreact in a way that would undermine the foundations of a free society.” Hunt was responding to a question by Tom Watson, the Labour MP for West Bromwich East, who said: “There is a world of difference between a journalist who bribes a police officer for information and a journalist who gets information from a police officer, freely given. The former corrodes our democracy, while the latter protects it.” Guardian journalist Amelia Hill, who part of the Guardian’s team reporting on the News of the World phone-hacking scandal, was questioned by police under caution several days ago in a move that has been condemned by the NUJ and media watchdog the Media Standards Trust. A 51-year-old detective was arrested last month in connection with alleged leaks from the Scotland Yard phone-hacking investigation. At the time there were reports that the officer had passed information to the Guardian. However, the newspaper said at the time it had “no comment to make on the sources of our journalism”. • To contact the MediaGuardian news desk email editor@mediaguardian.co.uk or phone 020 3353 3857. For all other inquiries please call the main Guardian switchboard on 020 3353 2000. If you are writing a comment for publication, please mark clearly “for publication”. • To get the latest media news to your desktop or mobile, follow MediaGuardian on Twitter at and Facebook . Phone hacking The Guardian Press freedom Newspapers & magazines National newspapers Newspapers James Robinson guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …Reagan Library Debate Audience Ghoulishly Cheers for Rick Perry’s Record Executions
September 8, 2011 No CommentThere was a lot not to like during the Reagan Library GOP Debate last night, where presidential candidates attacked science, 999 , and called Social Security a Ponzi scheme among a host of other insane ideas , but nothing shocked me more than when the audience started cheering Rick Perry’s appalling record of executions in Texas. Video Cafe: Republican voters at Wednesday night’s Republican presidential debate expressed their approval of the death penalty by giving Gov. Rick Perry’s record on executions some of the loudest applause of the night. “Your state has executed 234 death row inmates, more than any other governor in modern times,” NBC’s Brian Williams told Perry as the conservative audience broke into cheers and applause. “Have you struggled to sleep at night with the idea that any one of those might have been innocent?” “No, sir, I’ve never struggled with that at all,” Perry flatly stated. “In the state of Texas, if you come into our state and you kill one of our children, you kill a police officer, you’re involved with another crime and you kill one of our citizens, you will face the ultimate justice in the state of Texas, and that is you will be executed.” The audience again cheered at Perry’s mention of “the ultimate justice.” “What do you make of that dynamic that just happened here, the mention of the execution of 234 people drew applause?” Williams asked. “I think Americans understand justice,” Perry explained. “I think Americans are clearly in the vast majority of cases, supportive of capital punishment. When you have committed heinous crimes against our citizens, and it’s a state-by-state issue, but in the state of Texas, our citizens have made that decision, and they made it clear, and they don’t want you to commit those crimes against our citizens, and if you do, you will face the ultimate justice.” These people don’t believe in real justice because if they did they would be screaming at the top of their lungs for justice against the corruption Wall Street imposed on the world’s entire financial sector after it collapsed because of the mortgage scandal. No, these people were cheering just for blood. In 2009, the New Yorker published a huge article written by David Grann about the execution of Cameron Todd Willingham called: Trial by Fire … Did Texas execute an innocent man? And on September 1st, 2011, the NY Times did a piece on the rest of his unsavory record when it comes to the death penalty. As Gov. Rick Perry touts his tough-on-crime policies on the national political stage, the case of Cameron Todd Willingham will continue to be scrutinized. Scientists have raised questions about whether Mr. Willingham set the blaze that killed his three daughters and led to his 2004 execution. But Mr. Willingham’s execution is not the only controversial one the governor has presided over. During nearly 11 years in office, Mr. Perry has overseen more than 230 executions — by far the most of any recent governor in the United States — and has rarely used his power to grant clemency. He has granted 31 death row commutations; most of those (28) were the result of a 2005 United States Supreme Court decision banning capital punishment for minors… read on Ghouls were out last night.
Continue reading …NBC’s Curry Chides ‘Disrespectful’ Republicans Not Attending Obama’s Speech
September 8, 2011 No Comment
Talking to MSNBC host Joe Scarborough on Thursday's NBC Today, co-host Ann Curry fretted over a handful of congressional Republicans declining to attend President Obama's upcoming jobs speech to a joint session of Congress: “At least three Republicans are not going to be in the audience….is this disrespectful to the office of the president, Joe?” Scarborough responded: “I don't know if it's disrespectful. I don't think it's very smart ….Americans want to see these two sides working together. Now, that may not excite the base, but that's exactly where middle America is.” Curry turned to analysis of Wednesday's Republican debate and wondered: “Did Rick Perry say what he needed to say to maintain his momentum, as he's now currently the leading candidate?” Scarborough gave a harsh review: I don't think so. I think Rick Perry's biggest problem is going to be the Social Security issue. He keeps calling it a Ponzi Scheme. Now, if you want to say Social Security is a Ponzi Scheme and this is what we need to do to fix it, that's fine. But he doesn't do that….I don't care what primary you're running in, I don't care how powerful the Tea Party is, that's going to spell problems throughout this election cycle. Later, Scarborough went so far as to predict the downfall of Perry's candidacy: “The question is, does Rick Perry survive a month or two? I don't know that he does. I think Mitt Romney's people are very happy with where they are right now.” Here is a full transcript of the September 8 segment: 7:13AM ET
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Commanders say Omaid Khpalwak was ‘mistakenly’ shot dead as suicide bombers attacked a police station Nato has admitted accidentally shooting dead a BBC journalist in Afghanistan during a battle against insurgents, the Guardian has learned. Military officials met close relatives of Omaid Khpalwak on Thursday and apologised for their “mistake” during an operation against a squad of insurgents, who had attacked a police command post. Khpalwak, who was hiding in fear during the attack and spoke good English, was shot 11 times. His brother Jawid, who always maintained that his brother was killed by Nato forces, said his family remained angry at Nato’s actions on the day. “They thought he was a suicide bomber, but how?” Jawid asked. “He spoke English and would have been showing his press card.” It is understood that it was US troops who shot Omaid. They were responding to an attack on a police command post near their base in Tarin Kot, the provincial capital of Uruzgan on 28 July. A Nato official confirmed that the military alliance had met the family and offered its condolences for the mistake. The official said they would issue a press release shortly. Omaid Khpalwak was at a TV station that adjoined the command post when a squad of suicide bombers attacked. He hid in fear, texting his brother: “I am hiding. Death has come.” Then, soon after, “Pray for me if I die”. Omaid worked for the BBC as its stringer in the southern province of Uruzgan, as well as an Afghan online news service. His brother said he was still receiving threats after speaking out against the foreign military. “People are threatening me and my family. All 10 of us are very scared of staying in Uruzgan because of this,” said Jawid. Omaid, 25, who was married with a young daughter, had forged a reputation as a brave and dedicatedreporter. His work, however, had made him powerful enemies in the province, including the warlord Matiullah Khan. Omaid had earlier this year completed a hostile-environment training course and his instructorsaid he had advised the journalist, if confronted by foreign military, to put his hands over his head and speak English. BBC War reporting Journalist safety Afghanistan Nato guardian.co.uk
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