Tag: Obama

What’s that, you say?

When playing the game of checkers, surrendering one piece to set up a subsequent double or triple jump may be well worth the sacrifice, remembering that losing a battle sometimes sets the stage for winning the war.

The Republicans had to be cognizant that the party that “won” the Oval Office in 2009-2013 would be holding onto the equivalent of a sack filled with animal droppings and an activated hand grenade.  They may well have calculated that no matter which party occupied the White House during the current term, there was a significant likelihood that the opposing party would prevail in 2012, and perhaps more importantly, the party controlling the Executive Branch in 2012 could be well-positioned to retain that power for quite some time to follow.  

It’s been harder and harder for me to pay attention to “politics” such as it is. I don’t really see anything happening other than a kind of mopping up operation by the oligarchy. The deed is done the Republic can be buried now.

The most consistently accurate commentator of the left (I regard the “left” to mean opposition to the current power structure not an ideology) has probably been Arthur Silber (his blog is here). I suggest you read his stuff, not just the new stuff. Sometimes he’s a bit pedantic and self-righteous but he’s earned the right to it as far as I’m concerned.

To all those who repeatedly claimed that, no matter what “mistakes” he might make and regardless of the scope of the devastating effects of those errors, Obama had to represent a markedly better choice than McCain, take note: in certain respects, Obama is far more dangerous than McCain could have been.

Why is this?

Well worth the look in light of Obama’s escalation in Afghanistan.

Yes he did.

In July of 2008 during the presidential campaign Obama wrote an op-ed piece for the New York Times.

As president, I would pursue a new strategy, and begin by providing at least two additional combat brigades to support our effort in Afghanistan.

While this disappointed many of his supporters, it was widely regarded among progressives as a hat tip to the conservadems, and not really in character with his true anti-war persona.

Be that as it may, many are now defending Obama’s latest troop escalation declaring that he always promised us that he would increase troop levels in Afghanistan.

Let’s put an end to that assertion.

“For a President, the unit of measurement is real life.” Der Speigel rips apart the tissue of lies served up to an increasingly incredulous public. The once pro-Obama daily called the speech his ‘least truthful address’. Boink. When we’re talking about politicians, ‘least truthful’ is saying a lot:

For each troop movement, Obama had a number to match. US strength in Afghanistan will be tripled relative to the Bush years, a fact that is sure to impress hawks in America. But just 18 months later, just in time for Obama’s re-election campaign, the horror of war is to end and the draw down will begin. The doves of peace will be let free…It was a dizzying combination of surge and withdrawal, of marching to and fro. The fast pace was reminiscent of plays about the French revolution: Troops enter from the right to loud cannon fire and then they exit to the left. And at the end, the dead are left on stage.

This speech did not, however conjure up images of Jimmy Carter, or George H.W. Bush, although those comparisons will be made. Lebanon, battleships, high-jacked airliners, truck-bombs and dead marines, instead flooded back: pilots and passengers imprisoned in the heat.

Just how much damage this feckless narcissist is capable of wreaking on the world has yet to be seen, but even Republicans concede he’s off to a good start. Cheney isn’t yet content and doubtless won’t be until US planes are flying missions over Tehran, and maybe Islamabad.



Blackwater mercenaries on the US payroll approved by a Dem Congress, with Dem oversight. The Dem White House authorizes private snatch and grab teams operating in Pakistan. This and the violence that 30,000 more US troops can generate will have to suffice. Of course, with all the firepower and troops on the ground, it’s hard to imagine a sudden outbreak of peace, but that could still happen. Well, it could..

The Taliban have a clear deadline when the US is planning to turn over power. Whether or not that deadline is binding is another question. Will the ‘situation on the ground’ compel merely a delay in withdrawal, or another surge, or perhaps even the draft. God knows Americans need jobs.

Republican Ronald Reagan took US Marines off the safety of their ships while launching broadsides from refitted ‘battle wagons’ cruising off the coast. Alert locals decided the right response would be to send a truck or two filled with explosives straight into the Marine barracks. Ronald Reagan needed to look tough and a whole lot of US troops ended up dead. But at least that part ended quickly.

Not my guy, Dems say. I oppose the Afghanistan surge, Dems say. Demonstrate against the surge, Dems say. The fact remains: Dems control the Senate and House. Republicans shut down government. Will Dems show similar backbone over war? I think we all know the answer to that question. The ‘progressive caucus’, tough on Fox, will bow and scrape; posture and preen in an orgy of pure CYA.

The speech at West Point truly was an historic opportunity. The speech could have been a clarion call to arms: we go in and stay to finish the job no matter how long it takes. He could have taken the boldest step and proclaimed: Campaign rhetoric is one thing, American lives are another; as President I’m authorizing the immediate withdrawal of all US forces from Afghanistan and Iraq. The days of the US being the region’s policeman are over. That didn’t happen Der Spiegel froze reality in time. The moment has come and passed. Even Eugene Robinson admits another US president stood before the American people and lied his face off.

No defense exists from a US President who can’t stand the thought of being seen as weak. And for that, I suspect, once again over the next three or four years we’re all about to pay a very heavy price.

Just in case you had any cancerous unpatriotic anti democratic poisonous lingering doubts about Holder and Obama’s honesty and integrity and willingness to buck the tide of public opinion and be rule of LAW kind of guys instead of your standard disingenuous political calculators, here’s just what you need to get your head straightened out and get yourself back into GoBama mode again.

AP via TPM Monday…

The Supreme Court has thrown out an appeals court ruling ordering the disclosure of photographs of detainees being abused by their U.S. captors.

In doing so Monday, the high court cited a recent change in federal law that allows the pictures to be withheld.

The justices issued a brief, and expected, order Monday directing the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New York to take another look at a lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union to obtain the photos of detainee abuse. President Barack Obama at first didn’t oppose the release, but he changed his mind, saying they could whip up anti-American sentiment overseas and endanger U.S. troops.

The administration appealed the matter to the Supreme Court, but also worked with Congress to give Defense Secretary Robert Gates the power to keep from the public all pictures of foreign detainees being abused.

Gates invoked his new authority in mid-November, saying widespread distribution of the pictures would endanger American soldiers.

The ACLU has said it will continue fighting for the photos’ release.

Justice Sonia Sotomayor, who served on the 2nd Circuit until August, did not take part in the court’s consideration of the case, Department of Defense v. ACLU, 09-160.

That would be the SC top heavy with Bush appointees, btw. Like Sonia (it wasn’t me) Sotomayor (I didn’t do it and you shouldn’t think about it). Rah. Rah.

Besides that, this follows on the heels of, back in October, the Obama White House “ordering” Congress to amend the FOIA to give SecDef Gates the authority to withhold “protected documents”, so we can clearly see from all of these actions that we have all badly misjudged Obama and that he really is intent, nay, determined at all costs, to uphold and follow the rule of law, even if he has to do Congress’s job and make the law he intends to follow.

And that’s the way it is.

Even if you feel a little tortured about it.

This will be short and sweet, and nobody’s posted at at Dailykos yet, so someone here might actually respond and find this interesting.

Release of secret reports delayed

WASHINGTON – President Obama will maintain a lid of secrecy on millions of pages of military and intelligence documents that were scheduled to be declassified by the end of the year, according to administration officials.

The missed deadline spells trouble for the White House’s promises to introduce an era of government openness, say advocates, who believe that releasing historical information enforces a key check on government behavior. They cite as an example the abuses by the Central Intelligence Agency during the Cold War, including domestic spying and assassinations of foreign officials, that were publicly outlined in a set of agency documents known as the “family jewels.”

The documents in question – all more than 25 years old – were scheduled to be declassified on Dec. 31 under an order originally signed by President Bill Clinton and amended by President George W. Bush.

But gosh, it’s not Obama’s fault, you see, nothing is ever his fault.  This time it’s the fault of the intelligence agencies who are, well, apparently more powerful than he is.  

It seems EVERYBODY is more powerful than Obama.   At least in “Obama’s World”.

It’s hard work being President, isn’t it Barry?

You fucking liar.

Hello folks!

Congratulations to buhdy for making the site work. Really. No thanks to me. I pulled out right about the time I was predicting that “occupant” could not possibly win, no matter what. Well, there you have it. Never underestimate the importance of the novelty factor which (it would be churlish to dwell on) appears to have pretty much worn-off.

But that’s not why I’m here. I’m back to congratulate the winners and to wish one and all well. I sincerely do hope that rationality and critical thinking will prevail as we learn more and more about the cobbled-together pseudo-science underpinning Al Gore’s awkward adventure, otherwise known (cruelly) as the ‘dog ate my data’. The environment is in trouble and devoting so much time and energy away from real problems, like the amount of plastic we produce and ingest, has cost enough already.

You folks elected McCain-lite and for that I’m sure you’re all suitably proud. I would have much preferred the real thing and a frank statement confirming the US would stay in Afghanistan and Iraq for as long as it takes to bring stability to both countries.

You’ve opted for the worst of both worlds, instead: a pack of Bush-like promises to ‘Finish the job’, whatever the fuck that might mean on any given day, with enough cannon-fodder to piss off all the locals but not provide any real security, all under the command of a general who sees little wrong with outsourcing rendition, assassination and ‘snatch and grab’ teams to Blackwater.

Good thing, McCain lost. Because there’s not much chance he would have done much more than build a few nuclear power plants and allow the climate-science cranks to perpetuate their lies a few years longer. Take a bow.

Recently, world leaders announced some deeply disturbing news: they gave up on reaching a binding climate deal at the upcoming Copenhagen conference. [1]

A major impediment was the refusal of President Obama and Congress to enact tough cuts in greenhouse gas emissions.

We've got to turn that around. Immediately.

Tell Obama and Congress to commit to a 40% reduction in greenhouse gases below 1990 levels by 2020.

Right now, the most ambitious target that Obama has endorsed is a 3.5% reduction in emissions by 2020. [2]

That's pathetic, compared to the 25-40% reduction that we need to have a 50:50 chance of avoiding disastrous runaway global heating, according to the International Panel on Climate Change. [3]

The United States ought to lead by example. We can do it with strong emission reductions.

Tell Obama and your Members of Congress to commit to tough emissions reductions today.

“I’m getting tired of saving Obama’s can in the White House,” said Conyers.

–snip–

Asked if the president had shown enough leadership in the health care debate, Conyers facetiously wondered why Press would ask the question.

“Of course not, of course not,” he said. “You know, holding hands out and beer on Friday nights in the White House and bowing down to every nutty right-wing proposal about health care, and saying on occasion that public options aren’t all that important is doing a disservice to the Barack Obama that I first met who was an ardent single-payer enthusiast himself.”

He led off the interview by declaring that he was tied of “trying to stop the war in Afghanistan from surging.” He also took several swipes at Emanuel, whom he called, with a slightly derogatory tone, his “buddy.”

“That is essentially what Rahm Emanuel has said: Just give us anything and we will declare victory,” said Conyers. “Not only is it not a victory, but when it doesn’t work, guess who will come at him: the same guys that were saying let’s go along with anything… This is all my buddy Rahm Emanuel trying to get anything. But look the bill doesn’t go into effect for three years. Many of the people that we are trying to help will be dead by then.”   link

What else is there to say?  Conyers will certainly get no argument from me, and I enjoyed hearing it immensely.    It’s too bad that Conyer’s didn’t say it before and vote no with Kucinich and Massa.  The reason Progressives have no power is because they have no balls.  They even run away from the word “liberal”.

I heard on Thom Hartmann’s radio show that CSPAN covered Geithner today vigorously attacking Friedmanomics big time.    Maybe we need Rahm dumped instead of Geithner.  Or, maybe we need them both dumped.  As bad as the Democrats are, the problem is that the Republicans are even worse.  A look at the headline stories on the political page of the Huffington Post makes me wonder whether to laugh or cry.  If this is the best and brightest this country has got, no wonder we’re dying.