DC Dispatches

The 2012 Presidential Race - the Safety Net falls apart?

2012-02-01T11:04:00.003-05:00

This is one of the many things that I hate about the modern political debate - the Republicans all want to eliminate government, and particularly to defund many social safety net programs at the federal level. At the same time, their purported leading Presidential candidate had this to say in an interview with CNN:“I’m not concerned about the very poor. We have a safety net there,” Romney told

The Rise and Fall of NOAA - A Cautionary Tale

2012-01-15T22:59:00.003-05:00

Taking Advantage of the late day Friday news cycle lull, President Obama announced the demise of the modern Commerce Department at the federal level at the end of last week. In its stead, the "core business functions" of the Commerce Department will now be combined with several other federal business related agencies - including the Small Business Administration, the Export-Import Bank, the

Terrorism comes in many forms - the murder of Iranian scientists

2012-01-11T08:59:00.000-05:00

From the inestimable Glenn Greenwald:More murder of Iranian scientists: still Terrorism?

The Great Recession - Have the Super-Rich Seceded From the United States? | Truthout

2012-01-11T08:48:00.000-05:00

Truthout has an excellent post up today (H/T Coffee Party Progressives) that points out just why the election and economy are running they way they are - the 1% are not really tied to us anymore, so their agenda has diverged from what is actually good for the country.Read more at Have the Super-Rich Seceded From the United States? | Truthout

LSU Tigers go to the BCS title - GEAUX TIGERS!

2012-01-09T09:28:00.000-05:00

The Great Recession - Job Creators and the Unemployed in Republican minds

2011-12-19T12:01:00.003-05:00

Something I've noticed recently - some "leading" Republicans, and their side-kick pundits - seem to want to have it both ways economically. On the one hand, they want to continue hacking away at the tax code so upper tier income earners (the now legendary 1%) and large corporations pay little to no federal income tax (or any other federal tax for that matter). This, along with further

What is Terrorism?

2011-12-19T10:30:00.002-05:00

THIS IS THE BEST QUOTE ON AMERICA'S CURRENT STATE OF MIND THAT I HAVE SEEN:But can we really blame them? The older, fearful generation put plenty of that fear into their heads. Our government, our media, and our corporations, even if they do a decent job with security, don’t really help either when it comes to terrorism, which, I’ll remind you, is a state of mind.Where did it come from?

Friday Eduction Break - How to take down a troll

2011-12-09T15:44:00.001-05:00

This is all you need to ever read on the subject.

The Great Recession - Taxation with Representation can work!

2011-12-05T09:26:00.003-05:00

I wrote a long time ago about how cutting taxes just didn't jive with the history of recession and recovery in the U.S. Others then jumped on the band wagon (Here, here, here). Even Warren Buffet got into the game, practically begging to be taxed more.So I wasn't necessarily surprised when Nick Hanauer(venture capitalist) also raised his hand and said "tax me too." Rather, it's his

The Great Recession - tracking the thinking of others

2011-11-28T11:10:00.003-05:00

Here are a few blog posts that put both the Great Recession, and Occupy Wall Street in perspective:Barry Rineholtz takes a facts driven look at the financial crisis, and concludes as so many others have that volitional decisions by a variety of private actors caused the crisis, not government regulations or Congressional cram-downs.Rex Nutting, looking at how we might get out of the mess created

The Great Recession - Lies built on top of quicksand

2011-11-25T09:27:00.003-05:00

Here's a fresh reminder from Forbes Magazine (of all places) as to who the real villains are in the current recession:It is clear to anyone who has studied the financial crisis of 2008 that the private sector’s drive for short-term profit was behind it. More than 84 percent of the sub-prime mortgages in 2006 were issued by private lending. These private firms made nearly 83 percent of the

U.C. Davis Pepperspray Response

2011-11-22T09:36:00.001-05:00

Here's an important open letter regarding the pepper spraying incident at UC Davis:The fact is: the administration of UC campuses systematically uses police brutality to terrorize students and faculty, to crush political dissent on our campuses, and to suppress free speech and peaceful assembly. Many people know this. Many more people are learning it very quickly. You are responsible for the

Excpert from Glenn - Greenwald's new book is worht a read!

2011-11-01T12:46:00.000-05:00

http://original.antiwar.com/glenn-greenwald/2011/10/31/americas-elites-look-out-for-each-other/

The Great Recession - a Dose of Reality

2011-08-16T10:21:00.002-05:00

From the CQ Toady/Roll Call Briefing email that landed in my in-box, the House is working the budget issue, the Senate is debating patent reform, which is becoming a vehicle for fiscal policy amendments 9which have nothing to do with patent law. This is why Mr. Reid is not a leader - my employer runs out of money come mid-night

Framing the story to shape reality - how Republicans are telling economic lies to the Nation

2011-02-28T12:59:00.003-05:00

I was planning to start the week with a lambaste at the Right side of the aisle for(at best) dissembling on a number of important issues - and doing some pattern analysis when doing that.But then I read this, and it just makes my blood boil:The key problem is that journalists are assuming that statements by Gov. Scott Walker have basis in fact. Journalists should never accept the premise of a

Fiscal Crisis in the U.S> Not really; Bad decision surplus - you bet!

2011-02-24T15:39:00.001-05:00

As usual, Simon says it better then I can:But the Democrats have played perfectly into their hands. The heart of their mistake was the president’s refusal to explain clearly how the financial system produced a recession that has pushed up our national debt. Both sides of our political elite have contributed to the sense of fiscal crisis. And as we continue down this path – dangerous big

This is what Government workers do - and this is what Republicans want to kill

2011-02-24T09:31:00.002-05:00

I know that government workers are not popular right now with certain politicians. But a government shut-down, and deep cuts in non-security, non-defense spending threaten programs like this one at the National Severe Storms Lab in Norman, Oklahoma. NSSL is part of NOAA and works to make weather forecasts more accurate and timely. But you wouldn't know that government employees were even

The Wisconsin stand-off and the Recession - can we please stop comparing apples and ice cubes?

2011-02-18T13:21:00.002-05:00

This, dear friends, is why I hate all the "crush the public sector and it will solve our financial problems" rhetoric that is running amok these days:Rather, the Left sees the public sector worker as a critical component of the service delivery that government is entrusted with by the people, much the same way GM sees their assembly lines as a critical component of its delivery of finished

Klein - Ignoring the Fiscal Commission (probably surprises no one)

2011-02-14T13:53:00.002-05:00

Ezra Klein nails the current fiscal climate in Washington on the head:Guess not. The president's 2012 budget dodges on almost all of that. Entitlements are left alone. So, broadly speaking, are tax deductions

2011-02-13T15:12:00.001-05:00

Sitting at BWI, I have to wonder how many boxes of flowers are flyinh today for valentine's day tomorrow. Seems even love can cause climate damage,

Right sizing the federal workforce?

2011-01-13T15:14:00.002-05:00

In the January 10, 2011 edition of the Federal Times, Stephen Losey reports that both Congress and the Deficit Commission were angling to reduce the federal workforce from the 2010 level of 2,113,980 permanent civilians to a level of 1,913,980. That's a reduction of 200,000 employees, or about 10%. These figures do not include private contractors doing federal work, a force that is estimated to

The legacy of Afghanistan - How can we let this child die?

2011-01-04T12:17:00.005-05:00

For my first post of the new year, I had planned to tackle Rep. Daryl Issa's sudden interest in governmental oversight. I was planning to delve into his misguided assumption that holding hearings on alleged Administration corruption would somehow identify ( and thus free up) $200 Billion for other things. it was a grand plan.But this story, carried on CNN today, changed my focus entirely:

" . . . the longer we delay, the more unpleasant the adaptations and the greater the suffering will be."

2010-12-16T12:39:00.005-05:00

There is still (unfortunately) a lot of "debate" about global climate change, and more precisely whether humans are the driving force behind change rates that exceed natural changes. Much of that debate would be settled, me thinks, by a real reading of, and acceptance of this paper (h/t The Climate Post):Clearly mitigation is our best option, but so far most societies around the world,

2010-11-25T10:42:00.001-05:00

How come Republicans are all about law and order except when they are convicted? Meet Tom Delay - convict & and hypocrit.

2010-11-18T07:12:00.001-05:00

Only in bizarro land does the conviction of a terrorist in federal civilian court = a disaster. This is not a call for military tribunals, it's a win for law.

2010-11-15T12:29:00.001-05:00

What's the incentive to save money if the best you can get is 0.5% interest? Why try to force American's to save more under those circumstances?

2010-11-02T17:39:00.001-05:00

Did you vote today? I did, not because I'm thrilled with how everything is going, but because I want my vote counted.

One Good Thing: Stepping Back From The Brink

2010-10-27T06:51:00.000-05:00

Once again Mandy proves why she's one of my heros, both as a writer, and a mom. I couldn't imagine a better person to call friend.One Good Thing: Stepping Back From The Brink: "This morning at work, I surfed over to the website for one of our news channels in the Triangle, just to see what was going on at home. I sc..."

There are no Fiscal conservatives . . . The Baseline Scenario

2010-10-19T07:54:00.000-05:00

It's about time someone with Simon's clout pu thtis out in public. Too bad he will be dismissed as UnSerious!http://baselinescenario.com/2010/10/14/there-are-no-fiscal-conservatives-in-the-united-states/The United States stands out as quite different. No one is yet seriously proposing to address our underlying budget issues. There are certainly people who claim to be “fiscal conservatives” –

One Good Thing: More Love

2010-10-06T21:52:00.000-05:00

Mandy is a great writer, and I have been inspired by her openness, her complete embrace of her horrible circumstances, and he willingness to voice that which too many keep too private. She is, simply, one of my heros. Her story inspired the One Good Thing facebook page that adorns the upper left corner of this blog. And so I was crying with joy when I read this latest missive from her:One Good

Yes we can try them in federal courts, unless we want to rig the results

2010-10-06T14:26:00.004-05:00

Finally, if timidly, a U.S. Federal Court judge begins to reassert the REAL place of the Constitution in our society (emphasis mine):The court has not reached this conclusion lightly," Kaplan wrote in a three-page order barring Abebe's testimony. "It is acutely aware of the perilous nature of the world we live in. But the constitution is the rock upon which our nation rests. We must follow it not

The Heart of the Matter: This is Your Brain on War

2010-10-04T10:45:00.000-05:00

Following up on some of Glenn Greenwald's excellent reporting on the government's decissions to assinate American citizens without due process, author and former CIA clandestine officer Barry Eisler takes on those (purported on the Left side of the aisle) who seek to defend the President's actions:But even leaving all that aside, the "but it was done to only a few people" argument is pretty weak.

Why It's So Hard for Scientists to Believe in God | Francis Collins | Big Think

2010-09-27T09:08:00.000-05:00

Lots of scientists out there reject whole heartedly Franci Collins approach. And he acknowledges as much in the Big Think piece linked below. What I like about Collins' approach however, is his recognition - too often shunted aside by many in the blog-o-sphere, that science and spiritual pursuits, including religion, really are out to deal with different parts of the human experience. There's

from the DC Dispatches Archives: There's a war brewing, but it may not involve guns...

2010-09-24T12:38:00.000-05:00

I decided to repost this piece today, from my first month here over 2 years ago, becaus ethe central idea remains pertenant - we humans are simultaneously taking in, and ignoring, the nuanced existance around us. How else to explain the Tea Party, and politicians on both side sof the aisle who seem to think that spouting plattitudes (and bad ones at that) is leadership.DC Dispatches: There's a

The Existential Manifesto: Can we just move on already???

2010-09-24T12:22:00.000-05:00

I like Geek Chick - she's even braver then I am. In this case, she happens to be right. If we don't move past 9/11, not only will we continue to do things as a nation that betray our stated values, but we will continue to have our existance defined by those hell bent on eliminating us. And we'll gladly help them do it,if only because that allows us to feel "safe."The Existential Manifesto: Can

The Annual Liberal Blog Post - Richard Cohen checks the box

2010-09-21T09:37:00.004-05:00

I'm no fan of the Washington Post's Richard Cohen - he of supporting torture and state sanctioned terror (as long as America practices it). I believe Mr. Cohen serves no agenda but his own -which is undersatndable in a town that hastruly lost any ablity to conceive of real public service.Yet today he makes some sense (in what is sure to be his annual "See, I'm really a liberal columnist who has

9/11 and American Exceptionalism - Chapter 3 (In which the slumbering beast starts to stir)

2010-09-14T07:33:00.004-05:00

Leave it to one of my blogging "heroes" Glenn Greenwald to do a great job of aggregating writings on this issue that I would have other wise missed. That, in and of itself, is one of the central benefits of the blog-o-sphere: good bloggers make it easy for other bloggers to find good source material to work from.And Glenn has done it again though the sources he has pointed me to are not, for me

Power Politics and Economics 101 - protect you rbottom line at all costs!

2010-09-13T10:07:00.000-05:00

this is why I love Simon and James' blog:At a high level, the lesson of Winner-Take-All Politics is similar to that of 13 Bankers: when looking at economic phenomena, be they the financial crisis or the vast increase in inequality of the past thirty years, it’s politics that matters, not just abstract economic forces. One of the singular victories of the rich has been convincing the rest of us

9/11 and American Exceptionalism - The Second Chapter

2010-09-13T09:32:00.003-05:00

Lest anyone think that Ted Koppel's missive last week on the national compulsive over-reaction to 9/11 was just an attempt by a single former media darling to regain current exposure, along comes this missive from Fareed Zakaria:So the legitimate question now is: Have we gone too far? Is the vast expansion in governmental powers and bureaucracies -- layered on top of the already enormous

9/11 and American Exceptionalism - What hath our Nation wrought?

2010-09-10T09:19:00.004-05:00

It's an easy and far too convenient conceit to believe that 9/11 changed our Nation not by our own hand, but by the hands of those 19 hijackers and some far away madman named Bin Laden. Today Ted Koppel shows us why that conceit is a complete lie:We have raced to Afghanistan and Iraq, and more recently to Yemen and Somalia; we have created a swollen national security apparatus; and we are so

The Shame of Barack Obama - protecting torturers

2010-09-09T07:31:00.003-05:00

Lest anyone doubt how far we've fallen, as a nation, under a supposedly "liberal" "Progressive" President, read this from the New York Times:The state secrets doctrine is so blinding and powerful that it should be invoked only when the most grave national security matters are at stake — nuclear weapons details, for example, or the identity of covert agents. It should not be used to defend against

Bitter Anniversaries

2010-09-08T08:30:00.004-05:00

Today is a day that, frankly, I have dreaded for a few weeks now. Today, my little Peanut is as old as Hudson was when she lost her life so suddenly and so tragically. It's an eerie, odd feeling to know that we're now at this milestone - 17 months and 12 days. And its a milestone I would trade anything not to experience, if only to ease the suffering of two dear friends - Mandy and Ed - who do

Exceutive Micro-managing - it even happens in government

2010-09-07T08:50:00.002-05:00

I tried to post this comment three times at the WP site, but it kept saying i had to be registered . . . except I was logged in. In any event, From inside the Executive branch, down at the mid-senior career level . . . the political appointees of the Administrations ARE micro-managing the Executive enterprise. And it is starting to cause problems. So unless you are a federal Senior Executive

Duldrums in the blog-o-sphere

2010-09-02T12:52:00.002-05:00

In case you at home have wondered why I haven't been blogging lately - this sort of sums up one of three major reasons:He's proved himself to be a lightweight and a poseur. I'd nearing the point where I'd prefer an honest conservative (is there such a being?) over someone who advocates for lots of lofty things in word, then absolutely undercuts those goals in deed. What a wasted opportunity.

2010-08-22T10:23:00.001-05:00

oil, oil everywhere, so why am I going home? the answer - we rely too much on safety studies and too little on common sense.

The jobless recovery - yeah right it's all Obama's fault

2010-07-30T06:46:00.002-05:00

Over in the digital pages of today's Washington Post, Steven Pearlstein makes the genuine case that, whatever the faults of Mr. Obama's economic policies are (and I think there are more then a few), the lack of job creation isn't one of them:This week, Princeton's Alan Blinder, a former vice chairman of the Federal Reserve, and Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody's Analytics and a onetime

E.J Dionne - a Newly strident voice for Liberals!

2010-07-29T08:04:00.003-05:00

E.J.Dionne is my new favorite liberal commentator. Not because he's new as a commentator, but because he has - finally - started to call our present government what it is:STUPIDSadly, as a Washington Post columnist, he's likely to soon be working for Huffington Post (as his former colleague Dan Froomkin is). But atleast until then, I really hope we see more of this:I'm a chronic optimist about

More Invasions of Privacy by the FBI The National Security Letter Goes Viral

2010-07-29T07:52:00.004-05:00

There is absolutely no way this can be anything but the opening of a huge can of toxic worms:The Obama administration is seeking to make it easier for the FBI to compel companies to turn over records of an individual's Internet activity without a court order if agents deem the information relevant to a terrorism or intelligence investigation.The administration wants to add just four words -- "

The Shirley Sherrod Affair Redux - E.J. Dionne finds his back bone (Sort of)

2010-07-26T07:12:00.002-05:00

Hard on the heals of the pillarying of Shirley Sherrod for becoming more racially sensative and thus a more effective advocate for the poor, columnist E.J. Dionne of the Washington Post manages to find some backbone:The mainstream media and the Obama administration must stop cowering before a right wing that has persistently forced its propaganda to be accepted as news by convincing traditional

Hey hey, ho ho, Charlie Rangel's got to go!

2010-07-23T06:46:00.002-05:00

Harking back to the days of real protest marches, and the pithy chants that seemed to go with them, I am calling today for my fellow Democrats to purge yet another political dinosaur from our ranks. New York Congressman Charlie Rangel now stands formally accused of numerous ethics violations, including failure to pay taxes on a vacation house, using House stationary for campaign fundraising, and

from a close friend - One Good Thing: Guilt Trip

2010-07-22T13:00:00.000-05:00

While I have added mandy's blog to my blog roll on the right side of the aisle, I wanted to call this one out. it's especially tough to read but it's so worth it. Once you are done, spend some time in the other entries - you will be glad you did.One Good Thing: Guilt Trip: "I had another guilt dream last night. In this one, I was taking care of someone else’s baby (I have no idea whose). I laid

The Shirley Sherrod Affair

2010-07-22T07:03:00.003-05:00

The only person who comes out good in the recent firing and now probable re-hiring of Shirley Sherrod at USDA is Ms. Sherrod herself. Not only was she revealed (finally) as a person who is open to what her life can teach her, but she showed grace and class under extraordinary pressure. Pressure that came, I might add, because Shirley Sherrod gave an honest, heartfelt speech abotu a change in

Here comes the rain again

2010-07-19T10:11:00.003-05:00

I haven't posted since 22 June, and it's been both refreshing and frustrating. I spent most of that time down in Louisiana as part of the federal government's response to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Mentally,I think I have that processed, but I am not yet sure how much I want to write here. Sadly, the Administration for whom I work is really clamping down on communications regarding the

2010-06-22T06:25:00.001-05:00

The NRA wants an exemption from new campaign finance disclosure law. If the don't get it they will campaign against Congressmen. WhoLs running Congress?

2010-06-20T11:05:00.001-05:00

Fox News reports internal BP documents call for up to 100,000 barrels of oil leaking per day. With tar balls floating to Panama City, FL. Great days!

2010-06-20T11:02:00.001-05:00

62 days and counting - in the Gulf of Mexico. Are we prepared for the losses to span the summer?

2010-06-17T10:11:00.001-05:00

BP's president didn't slip up calling Gulf Coast residents "small people." That's how corporatists see working class people, which is why risks are taken.

2010-06-15T15:59:00.001-05:00

interesting thought - would a regional natural resource management council system prevent another Deepwater Horizon? We use councils to manage fisheries.

The Deepwater Horizon response - get your boots off the neck of the federal workforce

2010-06-15T10:54:00.003-05:00

Every time I read a news story about the federal response to the oil spill, I have to cringe. Deepwater Horizon has become – for some – the lode stone around President Obama’s neck, and yet another example of government ineptitude. Or so we’re told.The truth is, of course, much more nuanced. Deep Water Horizon is, in fact, proceeding according to plan, or as much of a plan as can be developed by

Polarized Politics in DC - finally the Washington Post admits the media are part of the problem (sort of)

2010-06-11T07:52:00.004-05:00

AMEN! (emphasis mine)I'd argue that the climate in Washington is being shaped by an artificial presentation of attitudes on cable TV and talk radio. To view and to listen is to become convinced that there are only two, diametrically opposed philosophical approaches to the issues. And yet, working daily in both mediums, I often think that the only people I meet who see the world entirely through

2010-06-10T17:57:00.001-05:00

From ABC news: feds now say between 20,000 and 40,000 barrels of oil flow per day. That's 840,000 to1,680,000 gallons per day. For 52 days.

2010-06-10T05:40:00.001-05:00

Today is E.O. Wilson's birthday. best known for his work "Island Biogeography" Prof. Wilson is now working to reconcile science & religion.

Criticizing the President

2010-06-08T07:22:00.005-05:00

Again on NPR this morning, I heard a story that got me thinking. It seems that the attendees at the Progressive-laden America's Future Now Conference are disappointed in where the Obama Administration is going, but are still not willing to criticize the President himself.This is the money quote:But Bob Kuttner, the editor of the liberal magazine American Prospect, had a different answer. "We

Science Attacks the BP Deepwater Horizons Oil Spill

2010-06-08T06:57:00.003-05:00

Here's some good news about the oil spill - and some good press about the work of science and scientists in the spill zone."If you think of information as a wave, the wave of truth in this calamity is not being driven by the government and government information sources. It's being driven by independent academics who are working under pressure and creatively to get information out," MacDonald

Defending us from ourselves - Do we need arrests like these?

2010-06-07T07:26:00.004-05:00

On NPR this morning (and run in the Washington Post) we learn that federal and state law enforcement authorities have arrested two men from New Jersey who were headed overseas to Somalia, supposedly to join up and fight with "Islamic" terrorists.The increasing allure for some Americans of destinations such as Somalia, Pakistan and Yemen has alarmed U.S. officials, though no evidence has surfaced

Celebrate National Doughnut Day

2010-06-03T11:20:00.002-05:00

Lest you all think me COMPLETELY serious all the time, I offer this: Tomorrow (Friday, 4 June) is National Doughnut Day. Seriously. Now hold the jokes about bureaucrats and doughnuts, but do get yourself to the closest Krispy Creme or Duncan Donuts, where you can get free eats!

2010-06-02T18:05:00.001-05:00

34,083,300 gallons of oil and counting acccording to CNN.

2010-06-02T18:02:00.001-05:00

37% of the US waters in the Gulf of Mexico are now closed to commercial fishing. BP can't possibly cover that opportunity cost. Can the US?

Regulatory Capture - What does it really mean?

2010-06-01T14:17:00.002-05:00

Lots of hand wringing (again) about the "lax" regulation that MAY have allowed BP to set up a rig that would fail, catastrophically, under certain circumstances. Lawrence Baxter talks about this phenomenon in detail, and it's a post worth considering:Not all industry influence is inappropriate: after all, industries exist to make money and, if lawful, their prosperity benefits us all. They should

2010-06-01T09:16:00.001-05:00

Why do we in government talk about "drivers" instead of just calling them laws?

The Federal Oil Spill Response - a little more reality if you please

2010-05-28T08:59:00.002-05:00

There are a lot of calls all over the Internet and news media for the Federal Government to take over form BP the job of responding to the oil spill that is destroying the northern Gulf of Mexico. Some, like Mike’s, are based on the perceived lack of effective response to the oil in the marsh; others are rooted in a well deserved distrust of BP.Being a Louisiana native, no one on the Internet

Wise Words - too little and too late

2010-05-27T09:26:00.002-05:00

"Deregulation" is wonderful until we discover what happens when regulations aren't issued or enforced. Everyone is a capitalist until a private company blunders. Then everyone starts talking like a socialist, presuming that the government can put things right because they see it as being just as big and powerful as its Tea Party critics claim it is.But the truth is that we have disempowered

Richard Cohen talks out of both sides - and his generation needs to stop it.

2010-05-25T08:12:00.004-05:00

In today's Washington Post, Richard Cohen - he of torture defense and Iraq ballyhooing - laments how the really difficult decisions about Vietnam his generation grappled with have been sullied recently:But his most appalling lie was to turn a complex truth of that era into a simple matter of shame. It was obscene to send young men into a war that had lost its purpose and was being opposed by

The Climate Crisis goes on - and no one notices

2010-05-18T08:50:00.003-05:00

The latest monthly climate averages are out from NOAA, and as usual they paint a . . . challenging picture for policy makers. Hard though it may be to believe, the Earth experienced the warmest April, the warmest January-April period, and the warmest sea-surface temperature ever recorded. That’s right folks, actual temperature measurements by actual scientists the globe over show once again that