Dear Betty,
You look so fantastic and full of energy. I can't believe you're 90 years old. In fact, I don't believe it. That's why I'm writing to ask if you will be willing to produce a copy of your long form birth certificate. Thanks, and Happy Birthday, no matter how old you are.
Showing posts with label Barack Obama. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Barack Obama. Show all posts
January 17, 2012
President Obama Asks to See Betty White's Long Form Birth Certificate
President Obama at least has a sense of humor. ;)
October 15, 2011
August 19, 2009
Dude, Where's My President?
Watching the health care reform debate overseas, I have to shake my head in disappointment at the performance of the President and the Democratic Party. It's like, "Dude, where's my President? Who is this pantywaist who waffles on whether to have a public option or not? Where's 'Mr. Yes We Can and Yes We Will?'"
Kick @$$, Mr. President! You need to be the hammer to these DINO Blue Dogs. Too much for the rest of your term rides upon this moment. Who cares what the Republicans think? Work for the majority who voted you into office. You'll never get another opportunity like this.
Kick @$$, Mr. President! You need to be the hammer to these DINO Blue Dogs. Too much for the rest of your term rides upon this moment. Who cares what the Republicans think? Work for the majority who voted you into office. You'll never get another opportunity like this.
| The Daily Show With Jon Stewart | Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c | |||
| Heal or No Heal - Medicine Brawl | ||||
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June 29, 2009
International Politics Links (29 June 2009)
Once again, sorry for the lack of Links posts last week. I was busy with other matters. This post covers June 22nd through today, June 29th. Not surprisingly, most of the links deal with the Iranian election aftermath; stories on Israel are also increasing, mostly due to renewed settlement in the West Bank. And the newest, hottest story is of the coup in Honduras.)
Americas:
Coup In Honduras
20 People Killed in Peru in Demonstrations
Europe:
Merkel Stands Besides Demonstrators - "in Iran" (In Germany, not so much.)
Russia Ready for Deep Nuclear Arms Cuts: Medvedev
Middle East:
Odierno: Iraqis Ready for Handover
Violence Erupts in Baghdad as Deadline for U.S. Troops to Withdraw From Major Cities Nears
Iraq After The U.S. Retreat
FBI Files: Saddam Hussein Faked Having WMDs (Old news, but worth linking to.)
Karim Sadjadpour Reminds Chris Wallace That U.S. Meddling in Middle East Politics is Not Productive
David Gregory Badgers Benjamin Netanyahu Over Whether Israel Will Take Unilateral Action Against Iran
Resisting Calls, Israel Insists on Building in the West Bank
Israel Deploys Troops Along Lebanese Border (Near Shebaa Farms, specifically.)
Barak Authorizes Construction of 300 New Homes in West Bank (American reaction? Nothing.)
Pakistan Navy Slated for Major Revamp
Iran:
Has There Been a Military Coup in Iran by the Revolutionary Guard in Iran?
Reza Aslan on Iran (His interview on The Daily Show.)
Neda: A Civil Rights Struggle
Obama: Neda Video 'Heartbreaking'
The Meaning of Neda
In Iran, Authorities Admit Voting Discrepancies
Rachel Maddow: Iranian Protesters Targetting the Basiji
Evidence Of Western Intelligence Meddling in Iran
Sunday's Protest March Broken Up; Rafsanjani Defers to Khamenei (Sunday referring to June 28th.)
5,000 March Silently in Iran
Washington and the Iran Protests: Would they be Allowed in the US?
Guardianship Council Rules out Annulment of Election Results; Reformists Planning Strikes, Mourning
Chatham House Study Definitively Shows Massive Ballot Fraud in Iran's Reported Results
More Details on Saturday's Demonstrations (This would have been Saturday, June 20th.)
An Interesting Detail
Iran Election Wrap Up
Has the U.S. Played a Role in Fomenting Unrest During Iran’s Election?
Iran: 'There is Very Little Logic at Work' (This was a very interesting personal essay. Must read.)
Obama Questions Legitimacy of Iranian Elections, Says It is ‘Up to the Iranian People to Decide’ Their Leadership.
Lugar: The U.S. Should Still Be Willing To ‘Sit Down’ With Iran For Nuclear Talks
Asia:
China Crosses the Rubicon
China-India Relations: An Unresolved Border and 60,000 Troops Deployed
Thousands of Anti-Govt Protesters Mass in Bangkok (Former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra wants to come home.)
Miscellaneous:
Senegal: Islam, Democracy, Sexy
Indefinite Detention, Anyone? White House is Drafting New Executive Order
Obama Considering an Executive Order Allowing Indefinite Detention.
Americas:
Coup In Honduras
20 People Killed in Peru in Demonstrations
Europe:
Merkel Stands Besides Demonstrators - "in Iran" (In Germany, not so much.)
Russia Ready for Deep Nuclear Arms Cuts: Medvedev
Middle East:
Odierno: Iraqis Ready for Handover
Violence Erupts in Baghdad as Deadline for U.S. Troops to Withdraw From Major Cities Nears
Iraq After The U.S. Retreat
FBI Files: Saddam Hussein Faked Having WMDs (Old news, but worth linking to.)
Karim Sadjadpour Reminds Chris Wallace That U.S. Meddling in Middle East Politics is Not Productive
David Gregory Badgers Benjamin Netanyahu Over Whether Israel Will Take Unilateral Action Against Iran
Resisting Calls, Israel Insists on Building in the West Bank
Israel Deploys Troops Along Lebanese Border (Near Shebaa Farms, specifically.)
Barak Authorizes Construction of 300 New Homes in West Bank (American reaction? Nothing.)
Pakistan Navy Slated for Major Revamp
Iran:
Has There Been a Military Coup in Iran by the Revolutionary Guard in Iran?
Reza Aslan on Iran (His interview on The Daily Show.)
Neda: A Civil Rights Struggle
Obama: Neda Video 'Heartbreaking'
The Meaning of Neda
In Iran, Authorities Admit Voting Discrepancies
Rachel Maddow: Iranian Protesters Targetting the Basiji
Evidence Of Western Intelligence Meddling in Iran
Sunday's Protest March Broken Up; Rafsanjani Defers to Khamenei (Sunday referring to June 28th.)
5,000 March Silently in Iran
Washington and the Iran Protests: Would they be Allowed in the US?
Guardianship Council Rules out Annulment of Election Results; Reformists Planning Strikes, Mourning
Chatham House Study Definitively Shows Massive Ballot Fraud in Iran's Reported Results
More Details on Saturday's Demonstrations (This would have been Saturday, June 20th.)
An Interesting Detail
Iran Election Wrap Up
Has the U.S. Played a Role in Fomenting Unrest During Iran’s Election?
Iran: 'There is Very Little Logic at Work' (This was a very interesting personal essay. Must read.)
Obama Questions Legitimacy of Iranian Elections, Says It is ‘Up to the Iranian People to Decide’ Their Leadership.
Lugar: The U.S. Should Still Be Willing To ‘Sit Down’ With Iran For Nuclear Talks
Asia:
China Crosses the Rubicon
China-India Relations: An Unresolved Border and 60,000 Troops Deployed
Thousands of Anti-Govt Protesters Mass in Bangkok (Former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra wants to come home.)
Miscellaneous:
Senegal: Islam, Democracy, Sexy
Indefinite Detention, Anyone? White House is Drafting New Executive Order
Obama Considering an Executive Order Allowing Indefinite Detention.
June 20, 2009
James Petras: The Iranian ‘Stolen Elections’ Hoax
The more I read about the Iranian election, the more I agree with the counter-analysis that Mahmoud Ahmadinejad did, in fact, win the recent Iranian election fairly. Most of the American press (and especially bloggers) seems to be driven largely by wishful thinking, that Ahmadinejad, being the American bogey man that he's become, needed to be booted out of office, with the accusation of electoral fraud being a sufficient-enough reason to think Hossein Mousavi should have won.
Of the voices on the American political left that I've read, only Juan Cole at Informed Comment seemed to provide a reasoned explanation for why Ahmadinejad "stole" the election. However, James Petras, in this essay at GlobalResearch.ca, discusses why Cole's argument regarding ethnic and linguistic identity is not a sound indicator of voting behavior.
What many on the left fail to grasp is that so-called reform movements like Mousavi's are made up mostly of the urban elites, people like themselves. However, the more conservative voters, like in America, tend to come from rural areas. Petras brings up several examples of elections that went strongly in favor of populist/nationalist politicians (Juan Peron of Argentina, Hugo Chavez of Venezuela, Evo Morales of Bolivia, and Lula da Silva of Brazil); to which I would add Thaksin Shinawatra of Thailand, whose Thai Rak Thai party ("Thai Loves Thai") was also mostly supported by the rural poor in the 2001 and 2005 general elections.
I think a lot of people on the left underestimate the electoral power of the rural poor, especially in countries that are still developing economically. While the needs and aspirations of the urban elite may be similar from country to country, even in nations as dissimilar as Iran and the US, the needs and aspirations of the rural poor are much stronger and more acute in countries like Thailand and Iran than in the prosperous US, where the red states can afford financially to vote against their economic interests in favor of social values.
I've written an additional comment below the following excerpts:
I also wanted to say that President Obama has done the right thing by not getting involved as the Iranians settle their electoral results. The Republicans, such as John McCain, who have tried to goad Obama into interfering with Iranian politics, have shown a tremendous amount of arrogance and hypocrisy on their part. If another country were to interfere with the American electoral process, they would be rightly indignant. Why they think they can interfere with another country's election is beyond me. Shut up, John!
Of the voices on the American political left that I've read, only Juan Cole at Informed Comment seemed to provide a reasoned explanation for why Ahmadinejad "stole" the election. However, James Petras, in this essay at GlobalResearch.ca, discusses why Cole's argument regarding ethnic and linguistic identity is not a sound indicator of voting behavior.
What many on the left fail to grasp is that so-called reform movements like Mousavi's are made up mostly of the urban elites, people like themselves. However, the more conservative voters, like in America, tend to come from rural areas. Petras brings up several examples of elections that went strongly in favor of populist/nationalist politicians (Juan Peron of Argentina, Hugo Chavez of Venezuela, Evo Morales of Bolivia, and Lula da Silva of Brazil); to which I would add Thaksin Shinawatra of Thailand, whose Thai Rak Thai party ("Thai Loves Thai") was also mostly supported by the rural poor in the 2001 and 2005 general elections.
I think a lot of people on the left underestimate the electoral power of the rural poor, especially in countries that are still developing economically. While the needs and aspirations of the urban elite may be similar from country to country, even in nations as dissimilar as Iran and the US, the needs and aspirations of the rural poor are much stronger and more acute in countries like Thailand and Iran than in the prosperous US, where the red states can afford financially to vote against their economic interests in favor of social values.
I've written an additional comment below the following excerpts:
There is hardly any election, in which the White House has a significant stake, where the electoral defeat of the pro-US candidate is not denounced as illegitimate by the entire political and mass media elite. In the most recent period, the White House and its camp followers cried foul following the free (and monitored) elections in Venezuela and Gaza, while joyously fabricating an ‘electoral success’ in Lebanon despite the fact that the Hezbollah-led coalition received over 53% of the vote.
The recently concluded, June 12, 2009 elections in Iran are a classic case: The incumbent nationalist-populist President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (MA) received 63.3% of the vote (or 24.5 million votes), while the leading Western-backed liberal opposition candidate Hossein Mousavi (HM) received 34.2% or (13.2 million votes).
Iran’s presidential election drew a record turnout of more than 80% of the electorate, including an unprecedented overseas vote of 234,812, in which HM won 111,792 to MA’s 78,300. The opposition led by HM did not accept their defeat and organized a series of mass demonstrations that turned violent, resulting in the burning and destruction of automobiles, banks, public buildings and armed confrontations with the police and other authorities.
...
A number of newspaper pundits, including Gideon Rachman of the Financial Times, claim as evidence of electoral fraud the fact that Ahmadinejad won 63% of the vote in an Azeri-speaking province against his opponent, Mousavi, an ethnic Azeri. The simplistic assumption is that ethnic identity or belonging to a linguistic group is the only possible explanation of voting behavior rather than other social or class interests.
A closer look at the voting pattern in the East-Azerbaijan region of Iran reveals that Mousavi won only in the city of Shabestar among the upper and the middle classes (and only by a small margin), whereas he was soundly defeated in the larger rural areas, where the re-distributive policies of the Ahmadinejad government had helped the ethnic Azeris write off debt, obtain cheap credits and easy loans for the farmers. Mousavi did win in the West-Azerbaijan region, using his ethnic ties to win over the urban voters. In the highly populated Tehran province, Mousavi beat Ahmadinejad in the urban centers of Tehran and Shemiranat by gaining the vote of the middle and upper class districts, whereas he lost badly in the adjoining working class suburbs, small towns and rural areas.
The careless and distorted emphasis on ‘ethnic voting’ cited by writers from the Financial Times and New York Times to justify calling Ahmadinejad ‘s victory a ‘stolen vote’ is matched by the media’s willful and deliberate refusal to acknowledge a rigorous nationwide public opinion poll conducted by two US experts just three weeks before the vote, which showed Ahmadinejad leading by a more than 2 to 1 margin – even larger than his electoral victory on June 12. This poll revealed that among ethnic Azeris, Ahmadinejad was favored by a 2 to 1 margin over Mousavi, demonstrating how class interests represented by one candidate can overcome the ethnic identity of the other candidate (Washington Post June 15, 2009). The poll also demonstrated how class issues, within age groups, were more influential in shaping political preferences than ‘generational life style’. According to this poll, over two-thirds of Iranian youth were too poor to have access to a computer and the 18-24 year olds “comprised the strongest voting bloc for Ahmadinejad of all groups” (Washington Post June 15, 2009).
The only group, which consistently favored Mousavi, was the university students and graduates, business owners and the upper middle class. The ‘youth vote’, which the Western media praised as ‘pro-reformist’, was a clear minority of less than 30% but came from a highly privileged, vocal and largely English speaking group with a monopoly on the Western media. Their overwhelming presence in the Western news reports created what has been referred to as the ‘North Tehran Syndrome’, for the comfortable upper class enclave from which many of these students come. While they may be articulate, well dressed and fluent in English, they were soundly out-voted in the secrecy of the ballot box.
In general, Ahmadinejad did very well in the oil and chemical producing provinces. This may have be a reflection of the oil workers’ opposition to the ‘reformist’ program, which included proposals to ‘privatize’ public enterprises. Likewise, the incumbent did very well along the border provinces because of his emphasis on strengthening national security from US and Israeli threats in light of an escalation of US-sponsored cross-border terrorist attacks from Pakistan and Israeli-backed incursions from Iraqi Kurdistan, which have killed scores of Iranian citizens. Sponsorship and massive funding of the groups behind these attacks is an official policy of the US from the Bush Administration, which has not been repudiated by President Obama; in fact it has escalated in the lead-up to the elections.
What Western commentators and their Iranian protégés have ignored is the powerful impact which the devastating US wars and occupation of Iraq and Afghanistan had on Iranian public opinion: Ahmadinejad’s strong position on defense matters contrasted with the pro-Western and weak defense posture of many of the campaign propagandists of the opposition.
The great majority of voters for the incumbent probably felt that national security interests, the integrity of the country and the social welfare system, with all of its faults and excesses, could be better defended and improved with Ahmadinejad than with upper-class technocrats supported by Western-oriented privileged youth who prize individual life styles over community values and solidarity.
...
Amhadinejad’s electoral success, seen in historical comparative perspective should not be a surprise. In similar electoral contests between nationalist-populists against pro-Western liberals, the populists have won. Past examples include Peron in Argentina and, most recently, Chavez of Venezuela, Evo Morales in Bolivia and even Lula da Silva in Brazil, all of whom have demonstrated an ability to secure close to or even greater than 60% of the vote in free elections. The voting majorities in these countries prefer social welfare over unrestrained markets, national security over alignments with military empires.
...
The wild card in the aftermath of the elections is the Israeli response: Netanyahu has signaled to his American Zionist followers that they should use the hoax of ‘electoral fraud’ to exert maximum pressure on the Obama regime to end all plans to meet with the newly re-elected Ahmadinejad regime.
Paradoxically, US commentators (left, right and center) who bought into the electoral fraud hoax are inadvertently providing Netanyahu and his American followers with the arguments and fabrications: Where they see religious wars, we see class wars; where they see electoral fraud, we see imperial destabilization.
I also wanted to say that President Obama has done the right thing by not getting involved as the Iranians settle their electoral results. The Republicans, such as John McCain, who have tried to goad Obama into interfering with Iranian politics, have shown a tremendous amount of arrogance and hypocrisy on their part. If another country were to interfere with the American electoral process, they would be rightly indignant. Why they think they can interfere with another country's election is beyond me. Shut up, John!
June 15, 2009
International Politics Links (15 June 2009)
Almost all of the significant stories this past week in international politics focused on the Iranian election. Juan Cole wrote a number of blog posts throughout the week about that election, with the more recent posts up top. Moon of Alabama doesn't buy Dr. Cole's ideas about the election results. I hate to use this particular slogan, but "We report, you decide," seems to be appropriate in this instance. ;) There are a couple of other stories on Afghanistan, the recent Lebanon election, and North Korea.
Middle East:
Afghanistan: Northern Supply Lines Under Attack (Moon of Alabama)
Former GITMO Detainee Speaks Out! YES! I WAS TORTURED! (Crooks & Liars)
Biden: 'Real doubt' about Iran's presidential election (Crooks & Liars)
TYT: Neocons Rooting For Ahmadinejad To Win (Crooks & Liars)
Reza Aslan Takes Chris Matthews to Task for Fear Mongering on Iran's Nuclear Program (Crooks & Liars)
Clashes, Claims of Election Fraud in Iran (Informed Comment)
Terror Free Tomorrow Poll Did not Predict Ahmadinejad Win (Informed Comment)
Post-Election Demonstrations, Violence, Arrests (Informed Comment)
Class v. Culture Wars in Iranian Elections: Rejecting Charges of a North Tehran Fallacy (Informed Comment)
Stealing the Iranian Election (Informed Comment)
Rafsanjani Blasts Ahmadinejad as a Counter-Revolutionary ; Charismatic Rahnevard Attracts Crowds for her Husband Mousavi (Informed Comment)
Ahmadinejad Defends Himself on Iranian Television (Informed Comment)
Tens of Thousands Rally for Mousavi in Tehran (Informed Comment)
Some Dots You May Want To Connect (Moon of Alabama)
More on the Iran Election (Moon of Alabama)
March 14 Faction Wins in Lebanon (Informed Comment)
Asia:
North Korea: We Will Weaponize Nuclear Stockpiles (Crooks & Liars)
As Tensions Between North Korea and U.S. Rise, Clinton Hints At Weapons Interdiction (Crooks & Liars)
Other:
Joe Scarborough Blames Obama's Cairo Speech for Ayatollahs Rigging Iranian Election--But That's a Good Thing ("Joe Scarborough seems to think the ayotollahs [sic] rigged the election because Obama's Cairo speech scared them into over reaching and making sure he didn't get credit for the reformers winning in Iran, but if they did, it's a good thing in the long run for the United States. ... If they rigged the election Joe, it's likely for the same reasons the Republicans have rigged elections in the United States...to stay in power. Not because they're worried about American politics.") (Crooks & Liars)
Middle East:
Afghanistan: Northern Supply Lines Under Attack (Moon of Alabama)
Former GITMO Detainee Speaks Out! YES! I WAS TORTURED! (Crooks & Liars)
Biden: 'Real doubt' about Iran's presidential election (Crooks & Liars)
TYT: Neocons Rooting For Ahmadinejad To Win (Crooks & Liars)
Reza Aslan Takes Chris Matthews to Task for Fear Mongering on Iran's Nuclear Program (Crooks & Liars)
Clashes, Claims of Election Fraud in Iran (Informed Comment)
Terror Free Tomorrow Poll Did not Predict Ahmadinejad Win (Informed Comment)
Post-Election Demonstrations, Violence, Arrests (Informed Comment)
Class v. Culture Wars in Iranian Elections: Rejecting Charges of a North Tehran Fallacy (Informed Comment)
Stealing the Iranian Election (Informed Comment)
Rafsanjani Blasts Ahmadinejad as a Counter-Revolutionary ; Charismatic Rahnevard Attracts Crowds for her Husband Mousavi (Informed Comment)
Ahmadinejad Defends Himself on Iranian Television (Informed Comment)
Tens of Thousands Rally for Mousavi in Tehran (Informed Comment)
Some Dots You May Want To Connect (Moon of Alabama)
More on the Iran Election (Moon of Alabama)
March 14 Faction Wins in Lebanon (Informed Comment)
Asia:
North Korea: We Will Weaponize Nuclear Stockpiles (Crooks & Liars)
As Tensions Between North Korea and U.S. Rise, Clinton Hints At Weapons Interdiction (Crooks & Liars)
Other:
Joe Scarborough Blames Obama's Cairo Speech for Ayatollahs Rigging Iranian Election--But That's a Good Thing ("Joe Scarborough seems to think the ayotollahs [sic] rigged the election because Obama's Cairo speech scared them into over reaching and making sure he didn't get credit for the reformers winning in Iran, but if they did, it's a good thing in the long run for the United States. ... If they rigged the election Joe, it's likely for the same reasons the Republicans have rigged elections in the United States...to stay in power. Not because they're worried about American politics.") (Crooks & Liars)
June 10, 2009
Islam/Muslim Blog Links (10 June 2009)
Austrolabe: Barack Obama Addresses the Muslim World
Bin Gregory Productions: Berjayalah Taskiku! (This was a very interesting and personal post about Muslim primary education in Malaysia and a sports day event that some of Bin Gregory's kids participated in. Very enjoyable to read.)
Dr. M's Analysis: Foiled Robber Begs For Mercy, Asks To Join Islam (See also Muslim Apple: Criticism: Muslim Storekeeper & the Robber Convert)
Fragments of Me: Longing for the Divine (An interesting comment in this post: "...every Muslim is a Sufi but not every Sufi is a Muslim.")
Grande Strategy: Islam Revives in Al-Andalus (Spain)
Grande Strategy: BBC: An Islamic History of Europe
Islamophobia Watch: Mad Mel explains the BNP's success
Islamophobia Watch: Thug demands 'what's your religion' before launching racist attack
Islamophobia Watch: Sharia law 'same as Krays', says Tebbit
Islamophobia Watch: Global Day of Prayer London convenor claims Muslims 'want to take over'
Islamophobia Watch: Resisting extremism in Luton
Izzy Mo's Blog: Reactions to the Nashia Post (A follow-up to Nasiha for Single Women.)
Izzy Mo's Blog: Obama's Speech to the Muslim World
Muslim Apple: What's in a Name?
Muslim Apple: Mormon Dawah, Witnesses, Shahadah Twice, & AlMaghrib
Naeem's Blog: Going Primitive
The Zen of South Park: Quran Read-A-Long: Al-`Imran 10-20 Discuss Hell and Surrender to God
Quran Read-A-Long: Al-’Imran 21-30 Speaks of Judgment Day and Allies
Umar Lee: A Story of the Stages to Being Homeless (The good news is that "B" is getting help, alhamdulillah!)
Umar Lee: Obama Speech to the Muslim World and My Thoughts
Bin Gregory Productions: Berjayalah Taskiku! (This was a very interesting and personal post about Muslim primary education in Malaysia and a sports day event that some of Bin Gregory's kids participated in. Very enjoyable to read.)
Dr. M's Analysis: Foiled Robber Begs For Mercy, Asks To Join Islam (See also Muslim Apple: Criticism: Muslim Storekeeper & the Robber Convert)
Fragments of Me: Longing for the Divine (An interesting comment in this post: "...every Muslim is a Sufi but not every Sufi is a Muslim.")
Grande Strategy: Islam Revives in Al-Andalus (Spain)
Grande Strategy: BBC: An Islamic History of Europe
Islamophobia Watch: Mad Mel explains the BNP's success
Islamophobia Watch: Thug demands 'what's your religion' before launching racist attack
Islamophobia Watch: Sharia law 'same as Krays', says Tebbit
Islamophobia Watch: Global Day of Prayer London convenor claims Muslims 'want to take over'
Islamophobia Watch: Resisting extremism in Luton
Izzy Mo's Blog: Reactions to the Nashia Post (A follow-up to Nasiha for Single Women.)
Izzy Mo's Blog: Obama's Speech to the Muslim World
Muslim Apple: What's in a Name?
Muslim Apple: Mormon Dawah, Witnesses, Shahadah Twice, & AlMaghrib
Naeem's Blog: Going Primitive
The Zen of South Park: Quran Read-A-Long: Al-`Imran 10-20 Discuss Hell and Surrender to God
Quran Read-A-Long: Al-’Imran 21-30 Speaks of Judgment Day and Allies
Umar Lee: A Story of the Stages to Being Homeless (The good news is that "B" is getting help, alhamdulillah!)
Umar Lee: Obama Speech to the Muslim World and My Thoughts
June 9, 2009
International Politics Links (8 June 2009)
My series of links posts, which went on a brief hiatus last week, resumes tonight with two major changes. The first is that I've decided to go with a revolving format; for example, international politics will be every Monday, insha'allah. My tentative schedule for the remainder of the week is: Tuesdays - Business/Economics, Wednesdays - Islam/Muslim Blogs, Thursdays - Miscellaneous (e.g., science, science fiction, photos, etc.), and Fridays - Open. Of course, all of this is subject to change without notice.
The other big change is that I've decided not to do links for American politics, for two reasons: one, it's such a fast-moving and huge topic that to do it justice would mean a daily commitment, one which I'm not sure I want to make; and two, most of the political blogs I read follow the philosophy of "know thy enemy," which, in this case is the Republican party. The sheer stupidity and evil of many Republicans really disgust me. I've decided I'd rather not comment on those matters for the most part, although I may occasionally link to posts about American politics in so far as it deals with international politics and economics.
With regard to international politics, I've separated links into geographical areas (continents) for the most part. For example, in today's post, links are for Europe, the Middle East and Asia, with "Miscellaneous" being for other parts of the world or multiple countries discussed in the post. Within each geographical area, I've tried to alphabetize the countries mentioned. So, once more, for example, with respect to the Middle East the countries are Egypt, Iraq, Israel, Lebanon, Pakistan, and Syria.
And, of course, if my readers have legitimate suggestions for links, please add them in the comments.
Europe:
Majid: Dangerous Purities (An interesting guest op-ed essay on the 400th anniversary of the expulsion of the Moriscos from Spain. The Moriscos were Spaniards of Muslim descent, either themselves or their parents/grandparents, who had converted from Islam to Christianity. But even their conversion was not enough to satisfy the Catholics, so roughly 300,000 Moriscos, or five percent of the Spanish population, was forced to flee their own country, with most of them dying in the process.)
Biased Election Reporting (On the German results for the European Parliament election.)
Russian Warns Against Relying on Dollar
Middle East:
Obama in the Middle East
Reactions to Obama's Speech
Obama's Speech in Cairo (Juan Cole)
Obama's Speech In Cairo (Moon of Alabama)
Iraqi Prime Minister Warned Obama About Photos: 'Baghdad Will Burn'
It's Only Make-Believe: Bush Policy on Israeli Settlement Freeze Was An 'Understanding'
Obama and Resolving the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict
OSC: Israeli Press on Obama's Cairo Address
Netanyahu's Problem
UN: Israeli Buffer Zone Eats Up 30 Percent of Gaza's Arable Land
Jewish Settlers Rampage in West Bank
March 14 Faction Wins in Lebanon
OSC: Pakistani Editorialists Respond to Obama
Thousands Flee Mingora in Panic; Army advances toward Kalam; 9 Soldiers Killed, 27 militants
Mysterious 'Chip' is CIA's Latest Weapon Against al-Qaida Targets Hiding in Pakistan's Tribal Belt ("Don't like your neighbor? Drop a chip in his house and the CIA will bomb him.")
Syrian Newspapers on Obama's Arab Tour (OSC)
Asia:
Made in China Means Quality
American Journalists Sentenced In North Korea To 12 Years Labor Camp
Star War Fantasy Drill (Is North Korea a military threat to America? No, and a military hardware project called the "star war fantasy drill" from the US budget, to the howls of protest by some.)
Seoul Boosts Forces Against N Korea
Miscellaneous:
Fleischer criticizes Obama’s Cairo speech as being too ‘balanced.’
EU And Lebanon Elections
NYT Finally Runs ‘Editor’s Note’ Correction To Misleading Gitmo Detainee ‘Recidivism’ Story
The other big change is that I've decided not to do links for American politics, for two reasons: one, it's such a fast-moving and huge topic that to do it justice would mean a daily commitment, one which I'm not sure I want to make; and two, most of the political blogs I read follow the philosophy of "know thy enemy," which, in this case is the Republican party. The sheer stupidity and evil of many Republicans really disgust me. I've decided I'd rather not comment on those matters for the most part, although I may occasionally link to posts about American politics in so far as it deals with international politics and economics.
With regard to international politics, I've separated links into geographical areas (continents) for the most part. For example, in today's post, links are for Europe, the Middle East and Asia, with "Miscellaneous" being for other parts of the world or multiple countries discussed in the post. Within each geographical area, I've tried to alphabetize the countries mentioned. So, once more, for example, with respect to the Middle East the countries are Egypt, Iraq, Israel, Lebanon, Pakistan, and Syria.
And, of course, if my readers have legitimate suggestions for links, please add them in the comments.
Europe:
Majid: Dangerous Purities (An interesting guest op-ed essay on the 400th anniversary of the expulsion of the Moriscos from Spain. The Moriscos were Spaniards of Muslim descent, either themselves or their parents/grandparents, who had converted from Islam to Christianity. But even their conversion was not enough to satisfy the Catholics, so roughly 300,000 Moriscos, or five percent of the Spanish population, was forced to flee their own country, with most of them dying in the process.)
Biased Election Reporting (On the German results for the European Parliament election.)
Russian Warns Against Relying on Dollar
Middle East:
Obama in the Middle East
Reactions to Obama's Speech
Obama's Speech in Cairo (Juan Cole)
Obama's Speech In Cairo (Moon of Alabama)
Iraqi Prime Minister Warned Obama About Photos: 'Baghdad Will Burn'
It's Only Make-Believe: Bush Policy on Israeli Settlement Freeze Was An 'Understanding'
Obama and Resolving the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict
OSC: Israeli Press on Obama's Cairo Address
Netanyahu's Problem
UN: Israeli Buffer Zone Eats Up 30 Percent of Gaza's Arable Land
Jewish Settlers Rampage in West Bank
March 14 Faction Wins in Lebanon
OSC: Pakistani Editorialists Respond to Obama
Thousands Flee Mingora in Panic; Army advances toward Kalam; 9 Soldiers Killed, 27 militants
Mysterious 'Chip' is CIA's Latest Weapon Against al-Qaida Targets Hiding in Pakistan's Tribal Belt ("Don't like your neighbor? Drop a chip in his house and the CIA will bomb him.")
Syrian Newspapers on Obama's Arab Tour (OSC)
Asia:
Made in China Means Quality
American Journalists Sentenced In North Korea To 12 Years Labor Camp
Star War Fantasy Drill (Is North Korea a military threat to America? No, and a military hardware project called the "star war fantasy drill" from the US budget, to the howls of protest by some.)
Seoul Boosts Forces Against N Korea
Miscellaneous:
Fleischer criticizes Obama’s Cairo speech as being too ‘balanced.’
EU And Lebanon Elections
NYT Finally Runs ‘Editor’s Note’ Correction To Misleading Gitmo Detainee ‘Recidivism’ Story
June 6, 2009
The Daily Show: Looking for Comity in the Muslim World
The Daily Show on Barack Obama's recent speech in Cairo, and the typical stupid reaction by Faux News. BTW, if you're wondering what the word comity means...
| The Daily Show With Jon Stewart | M - Th 11p / 10c | |||
| Looking for Comity in the Muslim World | ||||
| ||||
May 26, 2009
Links for 26 May 2009
Politics:
Mapping the Fallen (Someone has done a mash-up of all the American and coalition soldiers who have died in Iraq and Afghanistan and marked both their hometowns and the place in which they died on Google Earth.)
Terror Plotter's Sick Brother: 'He Did It For Me' ("What's worse: A healthcare system where someone is so desperate, he'd blow up buildings to pay for his brother's treatment [the brother apparently has a bad liver], or an FBI that thinks nothing of setting people up so they can claim they caught some 'terrorists'?")
Andrew Breitbart says Oprah is secretly running the Obama White House (This guy is a real loon!)
The North Korean Nuclear Test
Israel's Plans For Launching A War On Iran
Obama Announces SCOTUS Pick: Sonia Sotomayor. Now Let The Games Begin! (See also Judge Sotomayor, Right-Wing Interest Groups Driven By Financial Motives In Attacking Obama’s Court Pick, and Obama To Name Sonia Sotomayor As His Supreme Court Nominee.)
Economics:
As Unemployment Claims Run Out, Many Workers Are Opting for Early Retirement
Business:
Cut your ad budget at your own risk (The advice here is frequently taught in business school and is really a no-brainer, but you'd be surprised how often managers do just the opposite. The results of the study are interesting: "Almost half of Americans believe that lack of advertising by a retail store, bank or auto dealership during a recession means the business must be struggling.")
Islam/Muslim Blogs:
Upcoming Productions (Bin Gregory announces his future seventh, insha'allah, and writes a wonderful bit of snark about the "Muslim Plot to Take Over the World™.")
Lesson of the Death of 1st Lt. Roslyn Schulte
A school 'condemned to death' ("Why are the authorities refusing to fund France's oldest Muslim school, now facing bankruptcy?")
Miscellaneous:
Hubble Floats Free
Oslo Grand Prix: Horserse (I missed this one a couple days ago, but it's too good not to link to. Ever see a six-legged horse before? ;) )
Mapping the Fallen (Someone has done a mash-up of all the American and coalition soldiers who have died in Iraq and Afghanistan and marked both their hometowns and the place in which they died on Google Earth.)
Terror Plotter's Sick Brother: 'He Did It For Me' ("What's worse: A healthcare system where someone is so desperate, he'd blow up buildings to pay for his brother's treatment [the brother apparently has a bad liver], or an FBI that thinks nothing of setting people up so they can claim they caught some 'terrorists'?")
Andrew Breitbart says Oprah is secretly running the Obama White House (This guy is a real loon!)
The North Korean Nuclear Test
Israel's Plans For Launching A War On Iran
Obama Announces SCOTUS Pick: Sonia Sotomayor. Now Let The Games Begin! (See also Judge Sotomayor, Right-Wing Interest Groups Driven By Financial Motives In Attacking Obama’s Court Pick, and Obama To Name Sonia Sotomayor As His Supreme Court Nominee.)
Economics:
As Unemployment Claims Run Out, Many Workers Are Opting for Early Retirement
Business:
Cut your ad budget at your own risk (The advice here is frequently taught in business school and is really a no-brainer, but you'd be surprised how often managers do just the opposite. The results of the study are interesting: "Almost half of Americans believe that lack of advertising by a retail store, bank or auto dealership during a recession means the business must be struggling.")
Islam/Muslim Blogs:
Upcoming Productions (Bin Gregory announces his future seventh, insha'allah, and writes a wonderful bit of snark about the "Muslim Plot to Take Over the World™.")
Lesson of the Death of 1st Lt. Roslyn Schulte
A school 'condemned to death' ("Why are the authorities refusing to fund France's oldest Muslim school, now facing bankruptcy?")
Miscellaneous:
Hubble Floats Free
Oslo Grand Prix: Horserse (I missed this one a couple days ago, but it's too good not to link to. Ever see a six-legged horse before? ;) )
May 20, 2009
Links for 19 May 2009
Better late than never.
Politics:
Matthew Yglesias: Republican Efforts to Make Hay of Pelosi May Backfire (Classic quote: "You know, Newt Gingrich knows a lot about saying stupid things and being forced out of the job as Speaker.")
Jesse Ventura slams Sean Hannity, who actually says America is 'better off' after George Bush!
Ann Coulter attacks faith of Notre Dame officials, but gets rattled when called on the carpet (I'm amazed any news program bothers with this woman.)
Alan Keyes denounces President Obama as "the focal point of evil" (The stupid never stops, does it?)
Peter King says getting to the truth about torture is anti-American (How about "A Republican is, by defintion, anti-American?")
Where Art Thou, Howard Dean?
Obama/Netanyahu Meet Produces Few Results
Kuwait Elections: 4 Women in Parliament, Shiite Reps nearly Double
Montana town requests that U.S. government send 100 Gitmo detainees to its prison. ("Thar's gold in them there detainees!")
Obama: Israeli settlements ‘have to be stopped.’ (I'll believe it when I see it.)
Steele invokes Ronald Reagan to argue that the GOP should never look ‘backward.’ (Does this guy even think before speaking?)
Economics:
"Banks Just Don’t Go Under" (Angry Bear briefly looks at the possibility (more likely probability) that bank directors could be found personally liable for their bank's demise. This type of lawsuit has already been filed locally, here in Singapore, where a prominent investor, Oei Hong Leong is suing Citigroup because he lost $1 billion last year.)
Just How Serious is the Credit Contraction? (Not as bad as you might think.)
Islam/Muslim Blogs:
Oh man, white muslims again
Sites in 3D: 360 x 180° Panoramic Photographs
Don’t Be Ig’nit (An Izzy Mo rant, which most likely will generate tons of comments. Sometimes I feel jealous of not getting this type of attention. ;) )
Specter cancels appearance at ‘anti-Islamist’ conference. (Good news for once.)
Fear of the Muslim Mother (Umar Lee on the Muslim Demographics video.)
Miscellaneous:
Dilbert (As a matter of fact I do have an MBA. Why do you ask? ;) )
Discount Dance: Dance Dance Revulsion (Some Photoshoppers should leave well enough alone.)
Holy Season One, Batman! (In the "someone has too much time on their hands" department, a compendium of all the "Holy..." uttered by "Robin" in the first season (alone) of the 60s TV series Batman. A total of 111 of them, all in 3:19.)
Politics:
Matthew Yglesias: Republican Efforts to Make Hay of Pelosi May Backfire (Classic quote: "You know, Newt Gingrich knows a lot about saying stupid things and being forced out of the job as Speaker.")
Jesse Ventura slams Sean Hannity, who actually says America is 'better off' after George Bush!
Ann Coulter attacks faith of Notre Dame officials, but gets rattled when called on the carpet (I'm amazed any news program bothers with this woman.)
Alan Keyes denounces President Obama as "the focal point of evil" (The stupid never stops, does it?)
Peter King says getting to the truth about torture is anti-American (How about "A Republican is, by defintion, anti-American?")
Where Art Thou, Howard Dean?
Obama/Netanyahu Meet Produces Few Results
Kuwait Elections: 4 Women in Parliament, Shiite Reps nearly Double
Montana town requests that U.S. government send 100 Gitmo detainees to its prison. ("Thar's gold in them there detainees!")
Obama: Israeli settlements ‘have to be stopped.’ (I'll believe it when I see it.)
Steele invokes Ronald Reagan to argue that the GOP should never look ‘backward.’ (Does this guy even think before speaking?)
Economics:
"Banks Just Don’t Go Under" (Angry Bear briefly looks at the possibility (more likely probability) that bank directors could be found personally liable for their bank's demise. This type of lawsuit has already been filed locally, here in Singapore, where a prominent investor, Oei Hong Leong is suing Citigroup because he lost $1 billion last year.)
Just How Serious is the Credit Contraction? (Not as bad as you might think.)
Islam/Muslim Blogs:
Oh man, white muslims again
Sites in 3D: 360 x 180° Panoramic Photographs
Don’t Be Ig’nit (An Izzy Mo rant, which most likely will generate tons of comments. Sometimes I feel jealous of not getting this type of attention. ;) )
Specter cancels appearance at ‘anti-Islamist’ conference. (Good news for once.)
Fear of the Muslim Mother (Umar Lee on the Muslim Demographics video.)
Miscellaneous:
Dilbert (As a matter of fact I do have an MBA. Why do you ask? ;) )
Discount Dance: Dance Dance Revulsion (Some Photoshoppers should leave well enough alone.)
Holy Season One, Batman! (In the "someone has too much time on their hands" department, a compendium of all the "Holy..." uttered by "Robin" in the first season (alone) of the 60s TV series Batman. A total of 111 of them, all in 3:19.)
May 18, 2009
Links for 18 May 2009
Another light day; people must still be sleeping off the weekend. ;)
Politics:
Michael Steele uses former Gov. Christie Todd Whitman as proof Republicans are a 'Big Tent' party. She quit the GOP in 2003.
The Chris Matthews Show: Has Cheney Influenced Obama's National Security Decisions? ("Centuries from now, when historians want to know how it all went so terribly wrong for the United States, all they need to do is look at this clip. They'll listen how these talking heads--people allegedly employed for the purpose of informing the public--these supposed erudite and informed members of the pundit class just yawned and shrugged at the notion of the torture of human beings, preferring to look at it from a political point of view." The problem goes deeper than that, of course, but it's a start.)
Obama-Netanyahu must not be Kennedy-Khrushchev ("If Obama can cow Netanyahu, his Middle East policy may have a chance. If Netanyahu comes away thinking he can thumb his nose at Washington, the whole Middle East could be in flames by the end of Obama's first term.")
Miscellaneous:
"The Paradox of Declining Female Happiness" ("By many objective measures the lives of women in the United States have improved over the past 35 years, yet we show that measures of subjective well-being indicate that women’s happiness has declined both absolutely and relative to men." Perhaps because more women must work today compared with women in the early- to mid-70s?)
How Sand Dunes Grow Huge
Politics:
Michael Steele uses former Gov. Christie Todd Whitman as proof Republicans are a 'Big Tent' party. She quit the GOP in 2003.
The Chris Matthews Show: Has Cheney Influenced Obama's National Security Decisions? ("Centuries from now, when historians want to know how it all went so terribly wrong for the United States, all they need to do is look at this clip. They'll listen how these talking heads--people allegedly employed for the purpose of informing the public--these supposed erudite and informed members of the pundit class just yawned and shrugged at the notion of the torture of human beings, preferring to look at it from a political point of view." The problem goes deeper than that, of course, but it's a start.)
Obama-Netanyahu must not be Kennedy-Khrushchev ("If Obama can cow Netanyahu, his Middle East policy may have a chance. If Netanyahu comes away thinking he can thumb his nose at Washington, the whole Middle East could be in flames by the end of Obama's first term.")
Miscellaneous:
"The Paradox of Declining Female Happiness" ("By many objective measures the lives of women in the United States have improved over the past 35 years, yet we show that measures of subjective well-being indicate that women’s happiness has declined both absolutely and relative to men." Perhaps because more women must work today compared with women in the early- to mid-70s?)
How Sand Dunes Grow Huge
May 14, 2009
Links for 14 May 2009
Politics:
What Obama Means when he says "the troops" ("People keep telling me that America is a better place since 20 January 2009. As with the claims of economic recovery 'right around the corner,' there is precious little evidence.")
Countdown's Worst Person: Your Not So Grass Roots Are Showing
RNC having special session to brand the Democratic Party 'Socialists' (I'll accept the "socialist" moniker as long as we can call the Republicans "Nazis.")
C&L's Late Night Music Club with Yusuf Islam (The website Crooks & Liars does a nightly music video, with tonight's video being Yusuf Islam's Peace Train.)
Daily Show's Jason Jones explores ASU's pristine academic environment (As an alumnus of Arizona State twice over (Bachelors and Masters), I find Jones' humor lame. As anyone remotely affiliated with the university would know, that's not the library. And the students he interviewed strike me as fraternity/sorority types; you know, not exactly the brightest bulbs on campus. BTW, Jason, what university did you graduate from? Ryerson University? Where's that?)
Did You Have Your Bowl of Cholesterol Drugs This Morning? (An interesting story developing between the FDA and General Mills: the way in which Cheerios, the breakfast cereal, is being marketed has caused the FDA to declare the cereal a drug. "General Mills may not legally market Cheerios unless it applies for approval as a new drug or changes the way it labels the small, doughnut-shaped cereal, the FDA said.")
GOP icon declares his party "brain dead" (The rest of us already knew this...)
Economics:
The Renminbi as the Reserve Currency? (There's an interesting thought! Not that it would happen anytime soon...)
China Expands Global Role
Islam/Muslim Blogs:
Of Life and Star Trek and Sex Education (Rozas' take on a conversation between some teenage Malay girls is rather interesting.)
The BNP is a threat to every Muslim
Just one in eight terror arrests ends with guilty verdict, admits Home Office
Miscellaneous:
A Space Shuttle Before Dawn (The space shuttle Atlantis, sitting on Launch Pad 39A, back in April, as it was being prepared for its launch a few days ago. Cool pic.)
INTERVIEW: C.J. Cherryh (CJ Cherryh is one of my favorite SF authors; she recently gave a brief interview in connection with her new novel, Regenesis, which is a sequel to her 1988 novel, Cyteen. Good news!)
382 – Two Eggs and a Kidney: Regional World Cities (Strange Maps is a blog I've been reading for quite a while now; check it out if you're unfamiliar with it. With respect to this map, I'm a little surprised LA isn't considered at least a major regional center, as Singapore and Hong Kong are. These latter two cities (S'pore and HK) do seem to be mirror images of each other in terms of being major regional centers, but I would expect people from Sydney might argue about whether they or S'pore has more influence in the southern half of the Asia and Oceania map.)
What Obama Means when he says "the troops" ("People keep telling me that America is a better place since 20 January 2009. As with the claims of economic recovery 'right around the corner,' there is precious little evidence.")
Countdown's Worst Person: Your Not So Grass Roots Are Showing
RNC having special session to brand the Democratic Party 'Socialists' (I'll accept the "socialist" moniker as long as we can call the Republicans "Nazis.")
C&L's Late Night Music Club with Yusuf Islam (The website Crooks & Liars does a nightly music video, with tonight's video being Yusuf Islam's Peace Train.)
Daily Show's Jason Jones explores ASU's pristine academic environment (As an alumnus of Arizona State twice over (Bachelors and Masters), I find Jones' humor lame. As anyone remotely affiliated with the university would know, that's not the library. And the students he interviewed strike me as fraternity/sorority types; you know, not exactly the brightest bulbs on campus. BTW, Jason, what university did you graduate from? Ryerson University? Where's that?)
Did You Have Your Bowl of Cholesterol Drugs This Morning? (An interesting story developing between the FDA and General Mills: the way in which Cheerios, the breakfast cereal, is being marketed has caused the FDA to declare the cereal a drug. "General Mills may not legally market Cheerios unless it applies for approval as a new drug or changes the way it labels the small, doughnut-shaped cereal, the FDA said.")
GOP icon declares his party "brain dead" (The rest of us already knew this...)
Economics:
The Renminbi as the Reserve Currency? (There's an interesting thought! Not that it would happen anytime soon...)
China Expands Global Role
Islam/Muslim Blogs:
Of Life and Star Trek and Sex Education (Rozas' take on a conversation between some teenage Malay girls is rather interesting.)
The BNP is a threat to every Muslim
Just one in eight terror arrests ends with guilty verdict, admits Home Office
Miscellaneous:
A Space Shuttle Before Dawn (The space shuttle Atlantis, sitting on Launch Pad 39A, back in April, as it was being prepared for its launch a few days ago. Cool pic.)
INTERVIEW: C.J. Cherryh (CJ Cherryh is one of my favorite SF authors; she recently gave a brief interview in connection with her new novel, Regenesis, which is a sequel to her 1988 novel, Cyteen. Good news!)
382 – Two Eggs and a Kidney: Regional World Cities (Strange Maps is a blog I've been reading for quite a while now; check it out if you're unfamiliar with it. With respect to this map, I'm a little surprised LA isn't considered at least a major regional center, as Singapore and Hong Kong are. These latter two cities (S'pore and HK) do seem to be mirror images of each other in terms of being major regional centers, but I would expect people from Sydney might argue about whether they or S'pore has more influence in the southern half of the Asia and Oceania map.)
May 10, 2009
Obama the Comedian
Highlights from the White House Correspondents' Association dinner. Barack Obama appears in the first half of the video, and is mostly funny; Wanda Sykes is featured in the second half. Her first few jokes are very caustic (eliciting an "Astaghfirullah!" from me at her kidney failure "joke"), although the last few were a little funnier.
HT: Think Progress
HT: Think Progress
March 12, 2009
The Daily Show on Earmarks (and Cramer)
I hadn't planned on putting up another video about tomorrow's appearance of Jim Cramer on The Daily Show ; however, because I wanted to put up the second video below, I thought I'd add this one to the post as well:
Jon Stewart brought up the topic of budgetary earmarks tonight in the show's third segment. I wanted to post this video because it brings up an important point about earmarks that I wrote about last September when John McCain tried to use earmarks as a campaign topic (see Economist's View: John McCain's "Big" Economic Plans). As I mentioned last year:
What most people don't realize is that these Republicans and media hacks (*cough* Faux News *cough*) who complain about the cost of so-called "pork" are using a minor issue to score cheap political points. One million dollars here, two million dollars there, it sounds like a lot of money, but in the larger scheme of things (the US Federal Budget in 2008 is nearly three trillion dollars ($2,979 Billion, to be more precise)), those earmarks turn out to be a drop in the proverbial bucket. Moreover, as Jon mentions in the clip, "It's not pork when it's a project in your state."
But that doesn't stop hypocritical politicians like Lindsey Graham (see the video) and David Vitter from complaining about earmarks publicly while using the system to insert their own earmarks into the federal budget. As President Obama noted:
Jon Stewart brought up the topic of budgetary earmarks tonight in the show's third segment. I wanted to post this video because it brings up an important point about earmarks that I wrote about last September when John McCain tried to use earmarks as a campaign topic (see Economist's View: John McCain's "Big" Economic Plans). As I mentioned last year:
The NY Times also notes that "earmarks ... make up less than 1% of the federal budget.
What most people don't realize is that these Republicans and media hacks (*cough* Faux News *cough*) who complain about the cost of so-called "pork" are using a minor issue to score cheap political points. One million dollars here, two million dollars there, it sounds like a lot of money, but in the larger scheme of things (the US Federal Budget in 2008 is nearly three trillion dollars ($2,979 Billion, to be more precise)), those earmarks turn out to be a drop in the proverbial bucket. Moreover, as Jon mentions in the clip, "It's not pork when it's a project in your state."
But that doesn't stop hypocritical politicians like Lindsey Graham (see the video) and David Vitter from complaining about earmarks publicly while using the system to insert their own earmarks into the federal budget. As President Obama noted:
Now, let me be clear: Done right, earmarks give legislators the opportunity to direct federal money to worthy projects that benefit people in their district, and that’s why I have opposed their outright elimination. I also find it ironic that some of those who railed the loudest against this bill because of earmarks actually inserted earmarks of their own – and will tout them in their own states and districts.
March 6, 2009
The Daily Show on the Financial Crisis
"If I had only followed CNBC's advice, I'd have a million dollars today, provided I'd started with $100 million."
-- Jon Stewart, The Daily Show
All of Wednesday's show was devoted to the current financial crisis. The first segment is the best (and several of the political blogs I read have put up this video as well). Idiot Rick Santelli of CNBC recently ranted about the possibility of "loser homeowners" getting financial relief on their "underwater" mortgages while conveniently forgetting that the financial industry has received over $2 trillion in bailout money. Stewart rips CNBC a huge one when Santelli "bailed out" of appearing on the show.
The second segment is on the stupid right wing meme that President Obama is somehow responsible for the fact that the Dow Jones Industrial Average has been plummeting over the past few months, once again conveniently forgetting how much the stock market had plunged in the last year (especially in the months of September and October) of the Bush misadministration. I did have a good laugh at the idea of a stock ticker running over Obama's eyes. ;)
The last segment is an interview Stewart has with Joe Nocera, financial columnist for The New York Times. Overall, I must say that I'm surprised that The Daily Show took as long as they did to cover the nonsense spewed at CNBC; a number of blogs on economics and politics that I read have been criticizing CNBC for a couple months now.
Update: As Think Progress reports, CNBC and Rick Santelli are clamming up, trying to wait out the storm created by Jon Stewart and The Daily Show by declining comment. In the meantime, Stewart appeared on the Late Show with David Letterman and discussed the situation a little more:
January 24, 2009
The Daily Show on the Closing of Guantanamo and Faux News
Both of these are pretty funny. Enjoy!
The prisoners at Guantanamo could go to prisons within the US, to allies abroad, or to synchronized dance squads.
Faux News is really scared about what might happen, and oblivious to what already has.
The prisoners at Guantanamo could go to prisons within the US, to allies abroad, or to synchronized dance squads.
Faux News is really scared about what might happen, and oblivious to what already has.
January 20, 2009
November 11, 2008
ObamaBats
This is amusing. Jeff Domke has created 24 True Type "dingbats" using photos of Barack Obama and other images from his campaign. Go download it!HT: IZ Reloaded
October 24, 2008
The Economist: McCain's Last Stand
There's an interesting, short article on John McCain's campaign in the state of Pennsylvania over at The Economist. What really struck me about this article was two sections near the end. Based on these two paragraphs, is there any reason to think that McCain has any hope of winning Pennsylvania, let alone the country? Not in my mind.
Mr Obama also has an overwhelming advantage with his ground game. The Obama campaign has not just been content to produce huge turnouts in the big cities. It is fighting for every vote. Mr Obama has 81 field offices across the state, many in places where Democrats have never competed before, compared with Mr McCain’s three dozen. Mr Obama is also making clever use of affinity groups—getting nurses to organise meetings with other nurses and Catholics (a vital group in Pennsylvania, accounting for almost 25% of people) to organize meetings with other Catholics.
...
The McCain office only had a couple of people working the phones when The Economist visited. The young man who was in charge had no idea that Mr McCain was in the state that day. The Obama office, by contrast, was crammed to the brim and hyper-organized. There were plenty of older people sporting “Hillary sent me” badges as well as younger Obamaphiles. The walls were covered with charts telling people where they had to be and when. After dark, it was still buzzing with volunteers. The McCain office was closed.
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