Month: October 2011

The tanks

by digby

This is awful:

Nineteen people were killed in Cairo Sunday when Christians, some carrying crosses and pictures of Jesus, clashed with military police, medical and security sources said, in the latest sectarian flare-up in a country in political turmoil.

Christians protesting against an attack on a church threw rocks and petrol bombs and set cars on fire, as thick smoke wafted through the streets in some of the most violent scenes since an uprising ousted ex-President Hosni Mubarak in February.

Hundreds from both sides fought with sticks on a Cairo bridge. Protests later spread to the central Tahrir Square, the focal point of the February uprising. Witnesses said the army had moved into the area.

State television and sources said 150 people were injured, without saying how many of them were protesters. It had previously said three of those killed were soldiers.

Medical and security sources have told Reuters that at least 19 people were killed.

I suppose this was inevitable. It’s a rare revolution, velvet or armed, that doesn’t feature some kind of crackdown on a minority. I think it’s something buried in the lizard brain.

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An oasis of sanity
by David Atkins (“thereisnospoon”)

In a nice reminder that it’s still possible for politicians to do the right thing, California governor Jerry Brown has signed the DREAM Act for the Golden State:

Declaring the need to expand educational opportunity, Gov. Jerry Brown announced Saturday that he has signed legislation making illegal immigrants eligible to receive state financial aid to attend California universities and community colleges.

Brown said he signed the California Dream Act because it makes sense to allow high-achieving students access to college financial aid.

“Going to college is a dream that promises intellectual excitement and creative thinking,” Brown said in a statement. “The Dream Act benefits us all by giving top students a chance to improve their lives and the lives of all of us.”

Under AB 131, illegal immigrants who are accepted into state universities can receive, starting in 2013, Cal-Grant assistance, which last year provided grants averaging $4,500 apiece to more than 370,000 low-income students.

The right wing such as it exists in California is already in an uproar over it. Which is a good thing. The more they fume, the starker the contrast is between those of us who have empathy, and those of us who don’t.

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Classic Koch

by digby

Considering what’s going on in the streets of America, it’s kind of a shame that this article hasn’t been more widely discussed. It’s an expose of the Koch Brothers scary global business and influence that should have resulted in widespread calls for congressional hearings and non-stop babble on the cable news shows:

Koch Industries is obsessed with secrecy, to the point that it discloses only an approximation of its annual revenue — $100 billion a year — and says nothing about its profits.

The most visible part of Koch Industries is its consumer brands, including Lycra fiber and Stainmaster carpet. Georgia- Pacific LLC, which Koch owns, makes Dixie cups, Brawny paper towels and Quilted Northern bath tissue.

Charles, 75, and David, 71, each worth about $20 billion, are prominent financial backers of groups that believe that excessive regulation is sapping the competitiveness of American business. They inherited their anti-government leanings from their father.

Abolishing Social Security

Fred was an early adviser to the founder of the anti- communist John Birch Society, which fought against the civil rights movement and the United Nations. Charles and David have supported the Tea Party, a loosely organized group that aims to shrink the size of government and cut federal spending.

These are long-standing tenets for the Kochs. In 1980, David Koch ran for vice president on the Libertarian ticket, pledging to abolish Social Security, the Federal Reserve System, welfare, minimum wage laws and federal agencies — including the Department of Energy, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Central Intelligence Agency.

What many people don’t know is how the Kochs’ anti- regulation political ideology has influenced the way they conduct business.

A Bloomberg Markets investigation has found that Koch Industries — in addition to being involved in improper payments to win business in Africa, India and the Middle East — has sold millions of dollars of petrochemical equipment to Iran, a country the U.S. identifies as a sponsor of global terrorism.

Read the whole thing. It’s an astonishing article and perhaps the most astonishing thing about it is that it was published by Bloomberg.

If there is one pair of plutocrats to whom it’s worth turning one’s attention, it’s these guys. They embody everything that’s wrong with the oligarchy.

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Seeing the connections

by digby

Here’s an interesting exchange between Howie and Congressman Brad Miller from our Blue America chat yesterday morning:

Howie Klein: Money makes the World Go Round– And Congress Too. Congressman Miller, as I mentioned in the intro above, Alan Grayson told us that you were one of the only Members of Congress he’d ever met you didn’t hesitate to tell a well-connected lobbyist to take a hike. That’s admirable– and it has a lot to do with why you’re one of only three House incumbents we’ve endorsed this year– but I want to ask you about the House Financial Services Committee on which you serve. That place is notorious as a honeypot for every sleazy banking lobbyist Inside-the-Beltway. Forget the Republicans for a minute; how hard was it for you to be the point person on financial reform among the progressives when the committee was so chock full of Blue Dogs and other lobbyist-friend Democrats? And as a part 2 to that one, what kind of campaign finance legislation is needed to make our government a more effective tool for ordinary working families?

Brad Miller: My mother did try to teach me manners. I am from the South, after all. So whenever I’ve told lobbyists to take a hike I’ve been very polite about it. Okay, maybe a couple of times I wasn’t.

I wonder how Alan even knows about that?

You’re right that the membership of the Financial Services Committee was kind of a problem when we were working on financial reform. Vulnerable new members asked to be on the committee because it was supposed to be good for fundraising, and the leadership generally obliged them. But it’s not good for fundraising unless you’re pretty friendly to the banks’ positions. The Huffington Post wrote a good article about that.

Alan Grayson, of course, was a glaring exception. Alan is a champion fundraiser from the netroots, including Blue America, but it’s hard for most members to attract the kind of national support that Alan gets.

So yeah, it’s a problem. I suspect members of most committees end up too close to the industries interested in the work of those committees. I suspect a lot of members of the Energy and Commerce Committee, all Republicans and some Democrats, are pretty reluctant to cross the fossil fuel industries. I think the Intelligence Committee is too deferential to our intelligence establishment. The Pentagon has a lot of sway with the Armed Services Committee.

I welcome any thoughts you have on how to fix that problem.

Also, so many of the issues were so obscure and dense that there was just about no way to explain the issues to most voters. I’ve never had a constituent ask me about whether derivates should be traded on an exchange or over-the-counter, or what limits there should be on proprietary trading, or how to prevent runs in the repo market, or about a lot of the other issues that really mattered in how effective financial reform was.

That makes it pretty easy for the lobbyists to fuzz over important issues.

I think most voters think that the financial industry had way too much influence over the financial reform legislation, but that some of the legislation was still pretty good, like creating the new CFPB, and as a whole the legislation maybe wasn’t as strong as it needed to be but was still better than the status quo. That’s kind of what I think too.

By the way, most of the vulnerable new members of the Committee ended up raising a lot of money and losing anyway. I think they might have been better off if they’d had less money but voters were convinced they’d worked for tough reform legislation in the face of fierce industry opposition.

Howie Klein: Congressman Miller, thanks for that honest, straight-forward response to a touchy question. I have another one not all Members of Congress want to talk about. I know you’re been ultra-outspoken on the mortgage crisis at the heart of our economic difficulties. A friend in Raleigh told me you showed up at the OccupyRaleigh organizing meeting. Are people arware of the connection between the two things?

Brad Miller: Yes, I think people do see the connection. I start more blog posts than I finish, I’m afraid. But I have one started titled “Two roads in an economy diverged”–an obvious reference to the Robert Frost poem. I make the point that the Obama Administration faced a choice between helping homeowners who could afford a mortgage on their home, but not the one they had, and helping the biggest banks pretend to be solvent until they could earn their way back in the game. The two were incompatible: an effective response to the foreclosure crisis would require the banks to recognize losses on their mortgage assets, especially second liens at the biggest banks.

I think we took the wrong road, and that has made all the difference.

He asks what can be done about the cozy relationship between politicians and those they regulate and it’s one of the fundamental problems in our democracy. The amount of money in politics is institutionalizing this corruption on a level we haven’t seen before in the modern era. I certainly don’t have the answer although many smart people are pondering the problem.

Chris Hayes’ show on OWS.

Destroying Jobs
by David Atkins (“thereisnospoon”)

Mayor Bloomberg:

“What they’re trying to do is take the jobs away from people working in this city,” Bloomberg said on his weekly radio show, adding that the protests “aren’t productive” and weren’t good for tourism.

“If the jobs they are trying to get rid of in this city — the people that work in finance, which is a big part of our economy — go away, we’re not going to have any money to pay our municipal employees or clean our parks or anything else.”

You know what else creates lots of jobs? Prostitution. It’s the oldest profession on earth. Also, heroin and meth sales. Lots of heroin addicts out there, and I hear business is booming. Child porn, too, employs all sorts of people directly and indirectly. People like Chris Hansen would be sadly unemployed, but those freeloading tweens stealing our tax dollars with their taxpayer-funded school lunches and socialist educations would finally become a productive part of the economy. If only Big Government would step aside and allow those industries to thrive and help pay for municipal employees and clean parks, think what a wonderful world this could be.

Of course, any one of those professions would be more productive and less damaging to society than any industry that ever was involved in selling credit default swaps. But you know what they say: if you ban collateralized debt obligations, only criminals will sell collateralized debt obligations.

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Saturday Night At The Movies

The seduction of George Clooney

By Dennis Hartley

Ambition’s debt is paid: The Ides of March

In the decidedly theatrical opener of George Clooney’s latest directorial effort, The Ides of March, a well-attired young man with a lean and hungry look emerges from backstage shadows, steps up to a podium and begins to address an empty hall. After muttering some standard-issue mike check gibberish, he begins to recite snippets of what sounds like some tried-and-true, audience-rousing political campaign rhetoric. His tone becomes so assured and impassioned, you find yourself wondering if he is the one running for office. He’s not, actually. But he is playing to win. He’s a hotshot campaign advisor named Stephen Myers (Ryan Gosling), a Ninja spin doctor (or, “Spinja” if you like) who also possesses something relatively rare in the cynical and duplicitous profession he has chosen to work in. He actually believes in the candidate he is working to put into office.

That candidate is Governor Mike Morris (Clooney), making a first-time bid for the presidency. The charismatic and straight-talking (seeming) Morris is in a fierce fight with his party rival to win the Ohio primary, which should cinch him as the Dem’s nominee. Stephen isn’t the only weapon in his arsenal; his campaign manager is Paul Zara (Philip Seymour Hoffman) a seasoned veteran with an impressive track record of wins. In the pecking order, Stephen answers to Paul. The one thing that Paul values above all is loyalty, and he makes no bones about it. That is why Stephen feels torn when he is approached by Paul’s competition, Tom Duffy (Paul Giamatti) who manages the rival campaign. After the obligatory “You should be working for the winning team, kid” pitch, Tom gives Stephen a “hot tip” that his camp has been assured a key endorsement from a senator (Jeffrey Wright) which will give Tom’s guy the win. Why is he telling Stephen this? Is it a trick? Should he warn Paul? Then again, it’s flattering to be wooed. In the meantime, Stephen does some wooing of his own, with an intern (Evan Rachael Wood). You would think that this sharp young man would know about the pitfalls of office romance. Sure enough, this leads to a huge pitfall, one that could sink Morris’ campaign.

I suppose that is the message of this film (politics is all awash in the wooing). The art of seduction and the art of politicking are one and the same; not necessarily a new revelation (a narrative that goes back at least as far as, I don’t know, Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar). The politician is seduced by power. In order to get that nut, the politician first must seduce the voter. A pleasing narrative is spun and polished, promises are made, sweet nothings whispered in the ear, and the voter caves. And, like a relationship, it’s all brisket and blowjobs at first. But once your candidate is ensconced in their shiny new office, well, about that diamond ring? It turns out to be cubic zirconium. Then it’s all about the complacency, and the lying. And the psychodramas and the traumas. While a lot of folks do end up getting fucked, it is not necessarily in the desirable and fun way. But I digress.

If you would indulge me my prurient analogy a wee bit more, Clooney’s film, while competently made and generally well-acted, could have used a little Viagra (or something). The TV ad campaign spins it as a political thriller, but while it obviously involves politics, and does feature some intrigue, it’s not really that thrilling. I would classify as more of a political potboiler, simmering on medium high all of the way through. The screenplay is strictly by-the-numbers (Clooney co-adapted from Beau Willimon’s play, “Farragut North” along with Willimon and Grant Heslov). Clooney is believable as presidential material (duh), Gosling continues to impress with his chameleonic skills, and there are fine moments with Marisa Tomei (as well as Hoffman and Giamatti), but if you are going to go to the trouble of assembling this much explosive talent, don’t just give ‘em caps and a hammer to play with. That’s free campaign advice.

If you don’t want to venture out to theater this weekend, there is an outstanding, overlooked drama in this genre that was originally presented as a three-part 1995 BBC miniseries, called The Politician’s Wife (still in print on DVD, not sure about Netflix but I’ve seen rental copies). Juliet Stevenson gives a tour-de-force performance as Flora, the staunchly supportive wife of Duncan Matlock, an ambitious rising star in the Tory party.

A scandal erupts when Duncan is caught with his pants down by the tabloid press. His fling with an “escort girl” (Minnie Driver, excellent in an early role) quickly becomes fertile ground for muckraking, as he happens to be the Minister of Family (oops). At first, Flora suffers in silence, desperately wanting to believe her husband’s assurance that it was only a regrettable one night stand. She caves in to pressure from Duncan’s handlers (including her own father) to keep a brave face in public, “…for the sake of the party.”

But when a conscience-stricken member of the Minister’s inner circle slips Flora some irrefutable evidence proving that the “fling” was in fact a torrid year-long affair, her pain turns to bitterness and anger. Fueled by the deep sense of betrayal and growing awareness of Duncan’s wanton abuse of his powers, she hatches a clever and methodical scheme to subvert his political capital (i.e. to drain his precious bodily fluids, figuratively speaking).

The beauty of Paula Milne’s script lies in the subtle execution of Flora’s revenge. Eschewing the “Hell hath no fury” stereotype, Milne’s protagonist (not unlike Livia in I, Claudius) finds her empowerment through an assimilated understanding of what makes the members of this particular boy’s club tick; she is then able to orchestrate events in such a manner that they all end up falling on their own swords (keep your friends close, but your enemies closer). Intelligently written, splendidly acted, and not to be missed.

Give us dirty laundry: The Candidate, All the President’s Men, The Contender, Scandal, , Wag the Dog, Tanner ’88, Bob Roberts, Bulworth, The War Room, Advise and Consent, Primary Colors, The Seduction of Joe Tynan, All the King’s Men, Secret Honor, Citizen Kane, The Hunting of the President, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington.

Previous posts with related themes:

In the LoopFrost/NixonState of PlaySwing Vote

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The Problem in a Nutshell
by David Atkins (“thereisnospoon”)

Kevin Drum gets it with a stark visual reminder:

That graph (copyright Mother Jones, so please head on over and give them some more traffic) tells you everything you need to know about the corruption of the economy.

As Drum says:

Just keep reminding yourself: a mere three years after the financial industry nearly destroyed the planet, Wall Street is bigger and more profitable than ever while a tenth of the rest of us remain mired in unemployment. Even after nearly destroying the planet, virtually nothing has changed. That’s the outrage, not a few folks with funny costumes or wacky slogans. Always keep in mind whose side you’re on.

We live in a country where Wall Street’s recklessness caused tens of millions to struggle to put food on the table and keep a roof over their heads, and the rest of us to strive mightily simply to maintain our standard of living without falling into poverty.

But only months after these jokers wrecked the entire economy, they’re back swilling the champagne and living larger than ever before at the expense of the rest of us.

The financial sector in this respect is little different from a modern-day Versailles court under Louis XVI. The 99 percent will get satisfaction and justice one way or another. Hopefully it’s able to happen peacefully through the political process. Because if not, a frustrated public will look for other means of solving its problems.

And that possibility is something that neither the Left nor the Right should be embracing. Once the public completely loses faith in the political process, that’s when the danger of both bloody socialist revolution and of fascist takeover are at their peak. Given the growing political divide in this country, the balance of revolution could tip in either direction. That’s not a gamble anyone should be eager to take–least of all the comfortable financial sector piggies feeding at Wall Street’s trough.

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Peering at the fault lines

by digby

“If you do not want America to be the strongest nation on earth, I’m not your president. You have that president today.”

Notice the cheers.

I know it’s not fashionable to say this, but it must be said: the fault lines in American politics are as deep as ever and despite our common economic victimization at the hands of the elites, it’s going to be very, very unlikely that the entire 99% will rise up against the rest. It’s just not who we are. And the particular fault line Romney is tapping in that speech is about to open up as the anti-war movement joins the Wall Street protests. I’m not against that — to me it’s all part of the same thing — I’m just pointing out that the fault line still exists and that we shouldn’t lull ourselves into the same delusions that the Tea Party had when it convinced itself that it was already speaking for everyone in the nation. This stuff goes way deeper than people want to believe. We’ve been fighting along these lines from the beginning.

I think Nancy Pelosi said it well (from an interview with Amanpour that will air tomorrow)

AMANPOUR: I just want to get your reaction to some comments by Eric Cantor today. He said, quote: “I’m increasingly concerned about the growing mobs occupying Wall Street and other cities around the country.” And he said: “Believe it or not, some in this town haveactually condoned the pitting of Americans against other Americans.”‬

PELOSI: I didn’t hear him say anything when the Tea Party was out demonstrating, actually spitting on members of Congress right here in the Capitol. And he and his colleagues were putting signs in the windows encouraging them.‬ But let’s not get down to that.‬
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AMANPOUR: But do you think it’s ‬pitting Americans against Americans?‬

PELOSI: Well, that’s the American system. It’s the democratic system. We don’t all agree. We’d have a king if we were all of one mind. We don’t. We have different views. And the part of the democracy of our country is the expression that people give — and the constitution guarantees that.‬

I’m going to guess that my view of this will not be popular among some of you who truly want to believe that the OWS movement is going to sweep the country without any substantial opposition from average Americans. I hope that’s right. But history suggests that it won’t happen that way. It’s going to be a fight. And possibly a big one.

And that’s ok. Change happens in a democracy because over time people are persuaded to do it; it doesn’t happen instantaneously through some blinding common vision. And our democracy is structured to be particularly subject to Manichean clashes. So the way you make lasting change is to argue it out, loudly — and eventually bring a majority along to demand the changes that are necessary.

But remember, the forces that are arrayed on the other side will bring everything they have to bear to stop that from happening. They will do what they always do, which is open up all those political and tribal faultlines — whether we like it or not. And those faultlines are as real to Americans as their empty bank accounts. To many they are far more meaningful in fact.

And keep in mind that this isn’t really a partisan thing, although it tends to end up more or less breaking down on partisan lines a good part of the time. This is about tribal identity not political parties and tribal identity is one of the human species’ most powerful and potent motivators. It never pays to underestimate just how deeply these differences go.

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Run the damn tape!

The great thing about open, transparent movements is that natural spokespeople emerge– people who aren’t blowdried and prepackaged with approved talking points but who have something to say and say it well. I think the Occupy Wall Street movement has found one. I ran the Fox interview with Jesse LaGreca the other day. Here’s a MoveOn follow-up:

It’s not a surprise to me that this fellow is a blogger who belongs to the Daily Kos community. His grasp of the issues is very strong and his understanding of the nuances of the politics is impressive. It looks as though the ongoing discussion and educational process that has been going on in the blogosphere over the past few years may be about to be put to good use in the streets. Maybe we’re good for something after all …

He’s going to be on This Week with Christiane Amanpour tomorrow morning, by the way. It will be interesting to see how villagers react.

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