Month: July 2008

Obama Pushing McCain On Afghanistan

No Comments

Well, Barack Obama just gave a speech on Iraq and Afghanistan. His basic thesis is that the real war we need to fight is in Afghanistan, and that the war in Iraq is a distraction.

Interestingly, we are now seeing McCain flip-flopping on Afghanistan. He has previously been adamant that it was an obligation of our NATO allies, and of Pakistan, and the US resources would go elsewhere, but now is calling for, “at least three additional brigades” to Afghanistan.

The only way to do that is to pull out of Iraq, because we have no troops available. That is what the chairman of the JCS said not so long ago.

Let’s hope that Obama’s staff picks up on this, and hammers him with it.

It’s All of Them

No Comments

Glenn Greenwald believes that the motivation for the Democrats caving on FISA is that leading Democrats are themselves legally liable for their complicity.

He then cites Jane Mayer, author of The Dark Side. Her book documents some of the torture and knowledge of the illegality of senior Bush administration officials, and she has a fascinating response in an online chat on the Washington Post:

New York, N.Y.: In your interview with Harper’s yesterday, you said that this about why war crimes prosecutions are unlikely: “An additional complicating factor is that key members of Congress sanctioned this program, so many of those who might ordinarily be counted on to lead the charge are themselves compromised.”

What did you mean by that? Who specifically is compromised ” who might ordinarily be counted on to lead the charge are themselves compromised” — Nancy Pelosi, Jane Harman, Jay Rockefeller? — and how are they “compromised”?

Jane Mayer: The ranking members of the Senate and House Intelligence Committees were briefed dozens of times about the CIA’s interrogation and detention program over the past seven years – so any member who has held one of those posts has arguably been complicit. Some say they tried to object, internally. But either because of the threat of violating national security, or, because of the fear of the political price of dissent, these figures in both parties would find it very hard at this point to point the finger at the White House, without also implicating themselves.

So it’s not just Bush and His Evil Minions&trade who are war criminals. It’s also Jane Harmon, Jay Rockefeller, Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid, and who knows who else amongst just the Democrats.

Massachusetts Senate Passes Repeal of 1918 Backdoor Anti-Miscegenation Law

No Comments

In 1913, Massachusetts passed a law making it illegal for people to marry their if it was not legal in their home state. It was intended to prevent blacks and whites from other states from conducting an interracial marriage there.

No one paid too much attention to it, until Mitt Romney dusted it off to hinder gay marriage in Massachusetts to further his efforts to appeal to bigots in the ‘Phant base in his race for president.

Well, the Mass. Senate just voted to repeal it, and passage looks likely in the Mass House, and governor Patrick says that he will sign it.

Woot!

Micheal O’Hanlon Can Go Cheney Himself

No Comments

So, the Washington Post conducted a poll on the war, and talked to some so-called experts.

One of them was the wanktacular Michael O’Hanlon:

To say you’re going to get out on a certain schedule — regardless of what the Iraqis do, regardless of what our enemies do, regardless of what is happening on the ground — is the height of absurdity,’ said O’Hanlon, who described himself as ‘livid.’ ‘I’m not going to go to the next level of invective and say he shouldn’t be president. I’ll leave that to someone else.’

(emphasis mine)

  • This guy is not a Middle East expert.
  • He’s not a terrorism expert.
  • He does not speak Arabic.

His “expertise” is in military budgeting, and he has gotten a lot of face time on the air because he’s from the so called “center left” think tank, the Brookings Institution, and he loves the war in Iraq.

I understand that when the war in Iraq is over, he won’t be quoted 2-4 times a month by the national press, but that is no reason for him want Americans and Iraqis to keep dying.

Not also that the poll is wanktacular too, it says it’s about the candidates positions, but the question is, “Obama has proposed a timetable to withdraw most U.S. forces from Iraq within 16 months of his taking office. McCain has opposed a specific timetable and said events should dictate when troops are withdrawn. Which approach do you prefer – a timetable or no timetable?“

That is a question designed to get a higher number (it’s 50%-49% in favor of the time table) than any other question, but it allows the Post to claim that people are evenly split, when “not worth fighting” wins 63% to 36%, and that success in the war is not necessary to win the war on terror (60% to 34%).

Bush Vetoes Fair Doctor Pay to Protect HMO Executives

No Comments

Bush objects to the fact that subsidies for private insurers to participate in Medicare, more accurately a license to skim and further bankrupt the fund, have been reduced to avoid a doctor pay cut, and so he has vetoed the bill.

Well, it looks like its time for an override vote, and the text for the attack ad writes itself, so I would say that it’s better than 50/50 that the veto will be overridden.

If it isn’t, watch as doctors, facing already low fees being cut by 10.6%, reduce services, and patients scream….at Republicans.

Sarkozy is an Asshole

No Comments

And his new wife is not hot enough to make up for that.

As proof of this, he is now demanding that the Irish rerun their referendum on the new EU treaty.

I hate to tell you this dude, but you are not Irish, and right now, a lot of Frenchmen wish you weren’t French either.

I will tell you that part of the reason for this is that after repeated rejections of an update to the EU governance structures in a number of countries, including France, the response, which is to game the system to ensure passage, makes people distrust you.

I do know that if you attempt to keep passing a document that is hundreds of pages long, and too complex for anyone to understand as a whole, you will keep being rejected.

The supporters of EU reform have been opaque in their behavior and tactics, so it’s no surprise that people think that they have something to hide.

Some More Senate Polls

No Comments

In Louisiana, we have Rasmussen Reports™ saying that:

U.S. Senator Mary Landrieu now attracts 49% of the vote in her bid for re-election while Republican challenger John Kennedy earns 44%. The latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey shows that, when “leaners” are included, it’s Landrieu 51% Kennedy 45%.

I think that this is significant, because she is above 50%, which is the worry point for an incumbent.

We also have an SurveyUSA Election Poll for Minnesota which shows Franken down by 13%, 39% to 52% to Coleman.

Both Survey USA and Rasmussen are reliable, so I’m unclear whether this poll, or the one from last night, which showed Franken up by 2%, is accurate.

In terms of how much I care, I care more about Minnesota than Louisiana, because we have a real Democrat running in Minnesota, and I think that after the ethnic cleansing of post Katrina Louisiana, the state is no longer viable territory.

Stupid

No Comments

Israel and Hesbollah are trading a live terrorist for the body of two dead Israeli soldiers.

Sorry, but this is just a stupid swap on the Israeli’s part, and all it will lead to is more bodies being held for ransom.

If there were something else involved in the deal, it might make sense, but this is just political cowardice on the part of the Israeli cabinet, and perhaps desperation on the part of Olmert, who is facing serious corruption charges.

GSE Watch

No Comments

We have a whole bunch of people talking about what should be done with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, starting with the Wall Street Journal editorial page, which suggests that Treasury Secretary Paulson put the GSE’s in receivership.

Of course, the WSJ has always hated Fannie and Freddie, because they are sort of public, which, by the standards of their Neanderthal sensibilities, is evil, so this position is far from a surprise.

Of more significance are the statements of William Ackman, who manages a hedge fund, and made big bucks short selling the monoliner insurance companies.

He’s betting against the GSEs:

Ackman, 42, has his own plan that would see Fannie Mae raise about $86 billion in capital by giving investors in $750 billion of senior unsecured notes 90 cents on the dollar in debt of a new company, with the balance in equity. Investors in Fannie Mae’s $11 billion of junior debt would get warrants, while common and preferred shareholders would get nothing, according to Ackman.

Not surprisingly, when talk like this is coming from Wall Street bigfoots, Moody’s cut the financial strength ratings of both GSEs to B-, and not surprisingly, their stock dropped by double digits today.

In my humble opinion, the upper management and stock holders need to lose, and lose big, or we will be back here in a few years.

Protecting share holders and upper management should not be a part of any bailout.

“Lack of Recall” on Pat Tillman Coverup

No Comments

The House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform has now released its report on the propaganda and misinformation on the Jessica Lynch rescue and the Pat Tillman death, and it basically comes down to Omertà, the Mafia code of silence:

“A near universal lack of recall” by Bush administration officials has thwarted a congressional investigation into whether the administration deliberately misrepresented the details of the friendly fire death of former NFL player Patrick Tillman in Afghanistan and the capture of Jessica Lynch in the first days of the Iraq invasion.

In a report released Monday, the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform expressed skepticism about the widespread lack of memory of the two events, which were the subject of widespread media coverage and can be counted among the best known incidents of the wars.

About Tillman’s death, “The committee interviewed several senior White House officials, including Communications Director Dan Bartlett, Press Secretary Scott McClellan and chief speech writer Michael Gerson,” the committee said. “Not a single person could recall when he heard about the fratricide or what he did in response.”

I hope that at some point someone there cuts a deal with prosecutors, because a bunch of these folks should be spending the next decade or so in prison.

Economics Update

No Comments

Well, we have to open up with inflation in the producer price index, 1.8% for June, and 9.2% year over year, though the 1.8% rate actually comes closer to 22% if annualized.

The Fed ain’t cutting rates any time soon, and apparrently neither is the Japanese central bank, which is holding rates steady at ½%. (Talk about pushing on a string!)

Even so, the dollar hit a new record low against the Euro before settling a bit.

Then we have General motors announcing massive job cuts and that it would suspend its dividend, which it has not done since 1922.

So GM paid a dividend throughout the Great Depression, but will not do so now.

Not surprisingly, Bernanke was rather downbeat about the economy in testimony before the Senate Banking Committee.

On the bright side, the doom and gloom has convinced everyone that the US is headed into a severe recession, reducing our demand for oil, so oil prices fell $6.44/bbl, the largest drop since Jan. 17, 1991, when Poppy Bush pulled oil out of the strategic petroleum reserves.

Unfortunately, this has not yet translated to relief at the pump, with retail gasoline hitting a new record high.

In the world of retail, there was a sales increase of just 0.1%, which, as Barry Ritholtz notes, is a a contraction when you figure in inflation, and even worse when you pull out food and energy.

Canadian Judge Releases Interrogation Vid of 16 Year Old Child

No Comments

What has been released is only his interview by a Canadian intelligence agent, but the descriptions are profoundly disturbing, and this is very mild, though there are he was, “sleep deprived for weeks” before the Canadian intelligence agent came in and played ‘good cop’.

This for a child soldier who is a victim, not a terrorist, or at least he wasn’t before being tortured.

Harper is, of course, sitting on his hands about all of this.