Tuesday Open Thread [3.4.14]

Tuesday Open Thread [3.4.14]

In a speech to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, McCain (R-Ariz.) said the "blatant act" by Russian President Vladi­mir Putin "cannot stand," even as he acknowledged that the United States does not have a realistic military option to force Russian troops to withdrawal.
And that, in a nutshell, is what is wrong with the Republican Party war hawks led by John McCain and Lindsay Graham. Their foreign policy vision essentially boils down to this formula: TOUGH TALK AND THREATS + ? = PROFIT Where profit can either figuratively mean policy success (i.e. regime change, or Russian withdrawal from the Crimea) or literally mean profits for defense contractors. Republicans resort first and always to military threats whenever a crisis occurs, because they truly believe it is the only way to 1) express and demonstrate the greatness of America and our strength, and 2) it is the only way to achieve American foreign policy goals. And yet, even John McCain, the belligerent war monger that he is, admits that we cannot go to war with Russia. So what is the point in threatening a military option? If you cannot back up a threat, doesn't that make you appear even weaker?

Barney to speak at PDD Meeting Tomorrow at 7 pm

Democratic Treasurer candidate Sean Barney will be speaking at the monthly meeting of the Progressive Democrats for Delaware tomorrow night, Wednesday, March 5 at 7 pm. The meetings are held at the Delaware Democratic Party Headquarters at 19 East Commons Boulevard in New Castle, which is off Rt. 141 next to the News Journal building, south of the I-95 interchange.
The Coons Doctrine: “The USA must constantly prove that we have the biggest dick”

The Coons Doctrine: “The USA must constantly prove that we have the biggest dick”

I tried to come up with a phrasing of the Coons Doctrine which captured Senator Coons' claim that the United States must constantly demonstrate Bushian levels of breathtaking and ill-conceived belligerence on a world wide scale, or else be perceived as pussies. I think I only partially captured it. We've seen this idiotic foreign policy doctrine promoted before. Usually it is territory covered by cretins like John Bolton and Dick Cheney. To hear it promoted by our blue state Democratic Senator is truly startling. Coons appears to be taking former Ct Senator Joe Lieberman as a foreign policy godfather. If it is true and Coons is guided by Lieberman on foreign policy and Carper on domestic policy - I can't help but wonder what good he can possibly be to his Delaware constituents? That isn't to say that Christine O'Donnell would have been better, but at least O'Donnell would have been a one termer. Coons, being a Democrat, has a lifetime sinecure in the Senate. Let that sink in as you consider the fact that Coons laments the fact that we didn't go to war in Syrian.
Ukraine: Geopolitical Chess

Ukraine: Geopolitical Chess

Some sentimentalists have been characterizing the Ukraine crisis as a popular revolution. Not so fast. This situation requires some careful analysis, not platitudes. Hear that CNN and mainstream media? Probably not.
Monday Open Thread [3.3.14]

Monday Open Thread [3.3.14]

Over the weekend, I have seen it said that Putin's invasion of the Crimea in the Ukraine makes him and Russia appear strong, and the US weak by comparison. The blithering idiot pundits on the Sunday shows agreed, and David Gregory of Meet the Press said this was the premiere test of President Obama's foreign policy. Really? I see it completely differently, as do the others I link to below. This is a desperate and panicked move by Putin, one made from weakness not strength. It will not make Russia stronger. Indeed, if the crisis is not resolved shortly, it will destroy the Russian economy. Russia is not the Soviet Union of old, a strong empire equal to or greater than the United States and its Western allies. No, it is a second world country with nuclear weapons that is headed for demographic and political collapse. This is a chest thumping move designed to hide that fact. And it is going to backfire.
Daily Approval Rating — Results for AG Beau Biden and Poll for IC K.W. Stewart

Daily Approval Rating — Results for AG Beau Biden and Poll for IC K.W. Stewart

Here are the results for AG Biden: Approve: 48% Disapprove: 41% Meh: 11% Those who approve or disapprove of Attorney General Biden do so more strongly than those who just approve or disapprove. Of those who approve, 61% do so strongly. Of those who disapprove, 63% do so strongly. So a strong polarization factor, probably has something to do with his father rather than him.
Thoughts on the News Journal Redesign

Thoughts on the News Journal Redesign

Some weeks ago, Delawareonline, the online home of the Wilmington News Journal, underwent a redesign. While I have heard some complaints, I actually like it. Very clean, organized, and crisp looking. The paper version though....
Are Democrats Hurting Wilmington?

Are Democrats Hurting Wilmington?

That is the question posed by John Sweeney in the NJ Opinion pages today. There's a fair amount of fluff in this piece, and does a thing I mostly hate from newspaper opinion pages -- ask a bunch of questions that its news division is not in the business of helping to answer for its readers. Some of those questions are misdirected -- schools are under the jurisdiction of school boards and the state, the city has little influence over how they operate or serve city kids, for instance. And lumping in all Democratically run cities with Wilmington's story is equally misguided. We can start with the NJ's own comparison of Providence, RI starts to show how inappropriate this is. A city that is mostly Democratic and is clearly back on a upswing -- a city that still has real issues, but a city that the NJ compared to Wilmington in terms of effectiveness in addressing violence. Democratic-run places like Baltimore and Philadelphia also present very different stories -- cities that still have more than their fair share of issues, but cities working at the kind of development and change that starts to address those problems. Interestingly, Baltimore has reasonable support from the MD GA, and Philadelphia does not from the PA GA (GOP controlled). But I don't think that the city's problem is just about Democrats -- I think it is mainly uninspired (and oft-times lazy) governing.