May 2010 archive

Cross posted and DKOS.

Since this happened I’ve been commenting in various places that there seem to be no “there” there when it comes to this Administration. It has, as a crisis team, performed remarkably poorly. The Administrations response to this crisis in the Gulf of Mexico is stunning in its punyness as David Gergen points out in a CNN story.

Although this disaster is not an existential threat, it could be argued that if the U.S. government had fought World War II in the same way it has fought the oil spill, we might well be speaking German now.

I’m not a Gergen fan. He is, however and intelligent and engaged insider in Washington whose opinions reflect his milieu and counts for something.

And on the previous page were the names of Pvt. Grant A. Cotting and Spc. Matthew M. Pollini, the first and second American soldiers killed in action after the inauguration of Barack Obama.

Twenty-one-year-old Spc. Matthew Pollini was serving with the 772nd Military Police Company, an Army National Guard unit from Taunton. Flags flew at half-staff in Rockland and the town posted a memorial notice.

Erica Pollini told The Patriot Ledger of Quincy her brother “was a talented, loyal person” who joined the National Guard two or three years ago. She said his unit was activated last fall and he was due home in October. Joseph Pollini told WBZ-TV his older brother “was a hero, a hands-down hero,” and said he followed his brother into the same Guard unit, a dream of service they shared.

Pollini’s 20-year-old wife Sarah, whom he married Dec. 22, told The Patriot Ledger, “we had lots of plans.”

Crossposted at Daily Kos

THE WEEK IN EDITORIAL CARTOONS

This weekly diary takes a look at the past week’s important news stories from the perspective of our leading editorial cartoonists (including a few foreign ones) with analysis and commentary added in by me.

When evaluating a cartoon, ask yourself these questions:

1. Does a cartoon add to my existing knowledge base and help crystallize my thinking about the issue depicted?

2. Does the cartoonist have any obvious biases that distort reality?

3. Is the cartoonist reflecting prevailing public opinion or trying to shape it?

The answers will help determine the effectiveness of the cartoonist’s message.

:: ::

John Cole, Scranton Times-Tribune, Buy this cartoon

Muse in the Morning

Internal

Add on…

Hold on to your hats, ladies and gentlemen — Barack Obama is about to fulfill yet another campaign promise!

(Pregnant pause, whilst heralds blow trumpets and Obamatons fall over themselves in rapture)

White House Green Lights Repeal (of DADT)

Let the minstrels sing.  Let church bells be rung throughout the land!

In the letter, Orszag wrote that “ideally” the Pentagon’s review of implementation would be completed before Congress takes legislative action, but adds, “the Administration understands that Congress has chosen to move forward with legislation now…”

Wait….wait  Is that an actually an admission that the Obama administration never wanted, nor intended, to repeal DADT this year?  That Barack Obama always intended to break his solemn word to the honorably serving GLBT soldiers and the rest of GLBT America?

But, never fear, Obama will keep his promise.

The language would not include a automatic nondiscrimination policy but rather will return authority of the regulations for open service by gays and lesbians to the Pentagon.

Ok, in the words of Margaret Cho, “That’s not what I meant!”.  You mean, returning control of how and why gay people are drummed out of military to the very organization that has been witch hunting gays for 40 years?!