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The Incompetent Party by Michael Tomasky, thedailybeast.com | January 8, 2013
Over the weekend, I wrote about how Barack Obama can win the upcoming debt-ceiling fight. I left out one important element of a winning strategy, which I’ll get to further down. But the main point of the piece, which I want to reinforce today, is to flip the current conventional wisdom on its head. The c.w. says the Republicans hold the cards here. But they don’t. And some of them are throwing whatever cards they do have on the bonfire with a lot of loose talk that weakens what I think is their already weak position. What all this adds up to is the following revolutionary proposition, which I invite you to consider: it may be that the Republicans just aren’t very good at politics anymore. read more »Freedom To Live In Fear by Leonard Pitts Jr., mcclatchydc.com | January 8, 2013
Here we are, a little over three weeks after the massacre at an elementary school in Newtown, Conn., a little over two weeks after the National Rifle Association said there should henceforth be armed guards at every school, and at least one school system, Marlboro Township in New Jersey, is taking its advice. Under a pilot program in partnership with local police, students who returned to school last week found their campuses patrolled by armed officers. But here's the thing. If this is truly a good idea - "The only thing that can stop a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun," said NRA CEO Wayne LaPierre in a news conference - then why stop there? After all, it is not just our schools that are being shot up. So let us follow this advice to its logical end. read more »The 113th Congress and the Tyranny of the Minority by Sally Kohn, colorlines.com | January 8, 2013
Eighty-one women were sworn into the House of Representatives this year and 20 women in the Senate. There are now 42 African Americans in the House and one in the Senate—Tim Scott, the first black Republican in the Senate since 1979. There are 29 Latinos in the House and three in the Senate. The Senate also has its first Buddhist and the House now has its first Hindu and its first openly bisexual woman. Which is great. Really. But let’s look at the flip side. Of the 535 voting members of the 113th Congress, 359 are still white men. In other words, white men—who comprised 34 percent of voters in the 2012 election—still occupy 67 percent of the seats in Congress. Legacies of oppression in America are still paying handsome dividends in yielding disproportionate power for white men. At best, the increase in diversity among the 113th Congress is a sign white patriarchy is now shaky in America. But it has not toppled. read more »The Hoax of Entitlement Reform by Robert B. Reich, robertreich.org | January 7, 2013
It has become accepted economic wisdom, uttered with deadpan certainty by policy pundits and budget scolds on both sides of the aisle, that the only way to get control over America’s looming deficits is to “reform entitlements.” The accepted wisdom is wrong. f anything, America’s safety nets have been too small and shot through with holes. That’s why the number and percentage of Americans in poverty has increased dramatically, including 22 percent of our children. “Entitlement reform” sounds like a noble endeavor. But it has little or nothing to do with reducing future budget deficits. Taming future deficits requires three steps having nothing to do with entitlements: Limiting the growth of overall healthcare costs, cutting our bloated military, and ending corporate welfare (tax breaks and subsidies targeted to particular firms and industries). Obsessing about “entitlement reform” only serves to distract us from these more important endeavors. read more »The Real Reason Republicans Hate Hagel by Fred Kaplan, slate.com | January 7, 2013
It’s good news that President Obama will nominate Chuck Hagel as his secretary of defense, despite the frantic campaign against him that’s been mounted by certain Republicans. I don’t think that he chose Hagel because of the opposition. It’s generally not Obama’s style to pick a fight for its own sake. He’s an issues man, and he faces many fights on other pressing matters. If he thought that someone less controversial could do the job at the Pentagon, he’d have gone with that person in a flash. The real question is what kind of job Obama wants his next secretary of defense to do. I have no inside knowledge on this, but judging from some of his actions and remarks on matters of national defense, Hagel seems to be the right choice. And that’s what disturbs the most outspoken Hagel-resisters. read more »The Conservative Movement Is Still An Elaborate Moneymaking Venture by Alex Pareene, salon.com | January 7, 2013
The conservative media movement exists primarily as a moneymaking venture. As Rick Perlstein explained in the Baffler, some of the largest conservative media organs are essentially massive email lists of suckers rented to snake oil salesmen. The con isn’t limited to a couple of newsletters and websites: The most prominent conservative organizations in the nation are primarily dedicated to separating conservatives from their money. FreedomWorks, which is funded primarily by very rich people, solicits donations from non-rich conservative people. And what are people who donate to this grass-roots conservative organization funded mostly by a few very rich people getting for their hard-earned money? As Armey admitted to Media Matters, FreedomWorks at this point essentially raises money for the sake of raising money. It exists to bilk “activists.” Armey at least has the courtesy to be embarrassed by this: read more »Calling McConnell’s Bluff by Robert Kuttner, prospect.org | January 7, 2013
The budget deal that just averted the supposed fiscal cliff was only a warm up. The next fiscal cliff is the $110 billion in automatic budget cuts (sequesters) that last week’s budget deal deferred only until March. But, as long as we are using topographic metaphors, this is less a cliff than a bluff. On the Sunday talk shows, Republican leaders were full of bravado and swagger. Representative Matt Salmon of Arizona, on CBS “Face the Nation” said it was about time “for another government shutdown.” Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, speaking with ABC’s George Stephanopoulos, ruled out any further tax increases, declaring that “the tax issue is finished, over, completed.” He insisted, “Now it’s time to pivot and turn to the real issue, which is our spending addiction.” But is spending really the problem? read more »The GOP's Dangerous Debt-Ceiling Threat by Jamelle Bouie, prospect.org | January 4, 2013
Even for someone unmoved by hyper-ideological, right-wing rhetoric, Senator John Cornyn’s most recent op-ed for the Houston Chronicle is astounding in its mendacity and utter disregard for responsible governance. To wit, after engaging in a little bizarro history—where he blames the president for brinksmanship on the debt ceiling and the fiscal cliff, as if Obama has an obligation to implement the GOP agenda—the two-term Texas lawmaker presents a government shutdown as a responsible way to force spending cuts. Ignoring, for now, Cornyn’s assertion that the United States will end up like Greece—which, as I noted a few days ago, is ridiculous given our ability to print money—it’s worth elaborating on what Cornyn means when he says “shutdown.” read more »Congress: Worst reality TV show ever by David Sirota, salon.com | January 4, 2013
During the halcyon 1990s, we labeled annual congressional temper tantrums for what they were: standard, if boring, budget impasses. Now, though, in a hilariously non-ironic flail for ratings, news outlets have taken Nigel Tufnel’s famous line from “Spinal Tap” seriously, turning the volume up to 11 by portraying the latest standoff as a harrowing “fiscal cliff,” replete with doomsday countdown clocks, gaudy NFL-quality graphics, and endless Twitter hashtags. If anyone outside the Beltway was paying attention (a big “if”), they probably thought the title referred to an old episode of “Cheers” in which the goofy mailman does his taxes. After all, replaying reruns would have been more compelling content than this latest installment of “Real World: U.S. Capitol.” Reality TV, of course, is this moment’s perfect metaphor. That schlocky format’s foundational oxymoron — it is “real” but not real — also defines contemporary politics. read more »Our Clown-Around Congress by Eugene Robinson, truthdig.com | January 4, 2013
To say that Congress looked like a clown show this week is an insult to self-respecting clowns. Painful though it may be, let’s review what just happened. Our august legislators—aided and abetted by President Obama—manufactured a fake crisis. They then proceeded to handle it so incompetently that they turned it into a real one. read more »
The Latest
Ousted Federal Prosecutor Renominated By Obama, Associated Press | August 3, 2009
A former U.S. attorney for Nevada who was forced to resign during the Bush administration could soon be getting his old job back. President Barack Obama nominated Daniel G. Bogden on Friday to serve as the United States attorney for Nevada. Bogden was one of nine federal prosecutors told to resign by senior Justice Department officials during the Bush administration. read more »
E-Mails Show Larger White House Role in Prosecutor Firings, The Washington Post | August 3, 2009
Political adviser Karl Rove and other high-ranking figures in the Bush White House played a greater role than previously understood in the firing of federal prosecutors almost three years ago, according to e-mails obtained by The Washington Post, in a scandal that led to mass Justice Department resignations and an ongoing criminal probe. read more »
House Approves New Food-Safety Laws, The New York Times | July 31, 2009
In a major step toward an overhaul of the nation’s food safety system, the House of Representatives passed legislation to require more frequent inspections of processing plants and give the government the authority to order the recall of tainted foods. House passage sets the stage for the Senate to take up the issue, though probably not until the fall. read more »
Food Safety Bill Fails In House, Associated Press | July 30, 2009
The House defeated a far-reaching food safety bill after farm-state lawmakers complained it would be too invasive and others said it was pushed to the floor too quickly. read more »
Report: FEMA Mishandled Toxins In Trailers, USA Today | July 24, 2009
The Federal Emergency Management Agency didn't react quickly enough to reports of toxins in trailers housing victims of Hurricane Katrina, endangering the health of thousands of victims across the Gulf Coast, according to a new report by the Department of Homeland Security's Office of Inspector General. read more »
Product Safety Chief: Keep Kids' Products Safe Or Else, USA Today | July 22, 2009
One of the nation's top safety officials is putting manufacturers on notice: Comply with new rules aimed at keeping children's products safe, or face the potential of big fines. Consumer Product Safety Commission Chairman Inez Tenenbaum said that her agency will get new enforcement tools next month — and she plans to use them in order to protect consumers, especially children. Come Aug. read more »
Rove Testifies On Prosecutor Firings, Associated Press | July 8, 2009
Former Bush White House official Karl Rove was questioned by House Judiciary Committee lawyers on any role he may have played in politically motivated firings of U.S. attorneys. Committee Chairman John Conyers, D-Mich., confirmed Rove's closed-door appearance through a committee spokesman who was not authorized to be quoted by name. read more »
Obama Administration Tightening Food Standards, USA Today | July 7, 2009
New safety standards aimed at reducing salmonella and E. coli outbreaks are part of a government effort to try to make food safer to eat. A food safety panel established by President Obama developed the new rules for eggs, poultry, beef, leafy greens, melons and tomatoes as well as for better coordination and communication among the agencies overseeing the nation's food supply. read more »
Report Faults Performance Bonuses for Contractors, The Washington Post | July 6, 2009
Federal agencies have awarded billions in bonuses to contractors regardless of whether the work was deemed satisfactory, according to a Government Accountability Office report released last week. Government-wide guidance issued in 2007 by the Office of Management and Budget recommended that agencies link award fees to results and prohibit payments for poor performance. read more »
Toy Makers to Report to Consumers In Safety Proposal, Marketwatch | July 2, 2009
A government agency wants to make it easier for parents to report defective children's products, as well as speed up recall notifications to parents from manufacturers. read more »
