Archive for June, 2014
General Assembly Post-Game Wrap-Up/Pre-Game Show: Weds., June 18, 2014
The most DIY Edition ever. I almost never have to go to work this early. But, today I do. It’s up to you, dear readers to provide content, snark, context, and that je ne sais quoi that I bring. Here are the raw materials I work with on a daily basis….
![Wednesday Daily Elsewhere [6.18.14]](http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3890/14437085344_8cee987947_c.jpg "Wednesday Daily Elsewhere [6.18.14]")
Reid: Republican’s reaction to Libyan militant capture “shocking” “disgusting” “insulting” “pathetic”
Reid got one thing wrong – it the Republican’s reaction isn’t shocking. For me “shocking” indicates some element of surprise.
“It doesn’t matter what your ideology is, you should feel good about this. There’s no conspiracy here, this is actual news. But the reaction of some of the Republicans, I’ve been told, is to downplay and insult the brave men and women of our special forces and the FBI. They’re trying to say, oh, it’s no big deal. I wonder if the men and women who captured the terrorist agree. But the Republicans said it’s no big deal. Even in these days of polarization, created by the obstruction, the delay, and diversion of the Republicans, even in these days of polarization, their reaction is shocking and disgusting. They’re so obsessed with criticism, criticizing anything President Obama does. They’ll go so far as to sit here and insult the men and women in uniform and in law enforcement. They should stop and think, just for a little bit, about what it’s like to put your life on the line and to do something for our country — that’s what they did. They’re insulting these good men and women who did some courageous things, heroic things, in order to criticize President Obama. I think they’ve lost touch with reality; it’s really pathetic, there’s no other word for it.”
Tuesday Open Thread [6.17.14]
![Tuesday Open Thread [6.17.14]](http://delawareliberal.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/Obama-240x180.png "Tuesday Open Thread [6.17.14]")
Iraq was ALWAYS going to collapse, because it was a made up country to begin with, with three major ethnic groups that hated each other. Vice President Joe Biden, it turns out, was the smartest and most prescient US elected official regarding Iraq, because he has for years lobbied for the breakup of Iraq into three different states. One of the main reasons those of us who opposed the war did so was because we knew this would happen and, short of, occupying Iraq forever and slaughtering its entire population, there was no way to stop it. But now the very same people who lied us into war criticize Obama for not going back in guns blazing. Matthew Yglesias:
The logic on display here shows the toxic self-justifying nature of American military adventures. If a war accomplishes its stated objectives, that goes to show that war is great. If a war fails to accomplish its stated objectives — as the Bush-era surge miserably failed to produce a durable political settlement in Iraq — then that simply proves that more war was called for.
But there is simply no reason to believe that the presence of American soldiers in Iraq makes a durable political settlement more likely, and there never has been. If eight years weren’t enough, why would one more — or two more or twenty more — be the key to success?
The truth is the opposite. The speed with which the apparent gains of the surge melted away in the face of Iraq’s entrenched domestic political problems underscores how futile the US-led campaign there was.
The US military is the finest military in the world, the sharp spear of the mightiest empire in human history. But the considerable virtues of America’s fighting forces do not give it any particular expertise in micro-managing Iraqi politics. And the fundamentals in Iraq have simply never been very good for a peaceful and democratic settlement. The country is not only divided between sectarian groups, but sandwiched between two rival regional powers, with Iran tending to favor Shiite interests, Saudi Arabia tending to favor Sunni ones, and neither power having any particular interest in democracy and pluralism. Throw in the well-known phenomenon of the oil curse and the country’s lack of stable institutions, and you’ve got a recipe for problems, problems that a bunch of heavily armed young people — no matter how well-intentioned or well-led — are not capable of solving.
We were right to leave. We are right to stay out. They were wrong to go in. And we should not listen to their advice again.
America’s True Democratic Process
Midterm elections are right around the corner, just less than five months away now, and the American people are going to head out to the polls and triumphantly elect new members of the US House of Representatives and a significant portion of the United States Senate. Voters will decide based on a wide range of issues which candidate best suits their needs and which candidate will best represent them in Congress. Overall, a large portion of the nation will vote, and we’ll get to see the miracle of democracy in action.
Ha, sike. Funny, isn’t it?
On election day 2014 about 62 million voters, or around 36% of the electorate, will decide who will make the nation’s laws for the next two years, or six for some senators (or 36 for some Kentucky Senators). Overall if the 2014 elections look anything like the 2010 elections (let’s truly hope they don’t), the youth vote will be several percent smaller, turnout will be significantly lower, and the average American won’t vote. Going into the full-swing election season opinion polls show 66% of Americans or more want new members of Congress, 68% see Republicans as out of touch, 73% are in favor of a minimum wage increase, 59% think money should be distributed more evenly, and Democrats lead on Health Care, Energy, the Environment, Minimum Wage, Immigration, and tie on the economy by most polls.
Yet, on November 4th, 2014, it’s increasingly likely that not only will we most certainly elect a Republican speaker of the House, but also a Republican senate majority leader. How exactly does this happen?
General Assembly Post-Game Wrap-Up/Pre-Game Show: Tues., June 17, 2014
Roads Held Hostage: Day…um, I Lost Count. Seven legislative days remain, still no word of any sort of fix to the $70 (or $90) million hole in the State’s transportation/infrastructure budget. Looks like we’re getting in ‘patch, then kick the can down the road’ territory. The very idea that D’s can’t or won’t tout a needed $70 (or $90) mill road repair/jobs program pretty much defines what’s wrong with Delaware’s brand of ‘Democrat’. BTW, since it looks like the 495 repair will cost somewhere around $20 mill, I’m hedging my bets as to whether the hole in our transportation funding is $70 mill or $90 mill.
OK, there are only a few ways that I can write the same story day after day. Whether I’ll run out of ways to write it before a fix is arrived at remains to be seen. Check back tomorrow.
Oopsies. Did I say tomorrow? Breaking news, and it ain’t good. A real bleak fiscal picture, must-reading for anyone interested in what’s gonna get funded and what will not. Here’s the takeaway quote:
“The problem is that no one wants to raise taxes for anything. You don’t want to raise the gas tax. You don’t want to raise income taxes. You don’t want a sales tax. You don’t want any of these taxes, but you still want the infrastructure,” Bhatt told lawmakers.
Speaking of infrastructure, DELDOT’s capital proposal is $128 mill, $70 mill less than last year’s. Revenue-shifting and the General Assembly’s refusal to even consider a gas tax will mean deteriorating roads, bridges and infrastructure. Hey, hopefully they’ll be out of office when stuff actually falls down. Then they can blame it on someone else. Cowardice. Proof that these election-obsessives don’t live in a reality-based world.
People Write About Hillary
Then there’s the double standard, which I suppose we’ve got another few years to listen to. Media Matters asks why the press went crazy in characterizing Hillary Clinton as “testy” or listing gaffes that weren’t when Chris Christie famously and routinely berates everyone in front of him with nary a “testy” peep from the press:
But apparently she was supposed to roll over. Because by standing up for herself (while never raising her voice), Clinton was breathlessly tagged as combative and unnerved in the wake of a mildly contentious back-and-forth:
![Tuesday Daily Elsewhere [6.17.14]](http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5503/14437085224_25fe73d08a_c.jpg "Tuesday Daily Elsewhere [6.17.14]")
Late Night Video — Out of Sight, Out of Mind
This isn’t a video tonight, you’ll have to click on the picture below to see the interactive graphic that shows monthly the casualties from US drone strikes. This is a sobering picture (even if a good chunk of their data (the Other category) isn’t well defined. It is also a very well-done infographic:
The Current Situation in Iraq is George Bush’s fault. Period.
To be Republican is to loud and wrong and loudly wrong whenever possible. The noise is so wrong and so loud and kept up for so long that weak minded people (the national media for example) sometimes mistake the persistence for legitimacy. Volume for validity. So if you hear one of your liberal minded friends fall prey to to thinking that Obama “has his share of blame” for Iraq – quickly correct them.
Bush enabled the current Sunni power in Iraq by invading Iraq under false pretenses, and with no plan for the occupation.
Bush elevated Osama bin Laden and Bin Laden’s dreams to legitimacy.
Bush removed Saddam Hussein, Bin Laden’s key enemy in the region and shattered Iraq’s tenuous factional stability. And,
Bush bequeathed military and political power to radicalized Sunni’s that would have been unthinkable prior to our handing over arms by the crate load, and tens of millions of dollars for “rebuilding” that was delivered in duffel bags off the back of trucks.
Game of Thrones Recap – Spoilers of a sort
I’ve only been watching for one season, so my back story knowledge is lacking.
Monday Open Thread [6.16.14]
![Monday Open Thread [6.16.14]](http://delawareliberal.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/Sully-240x180.png "Monday Open Thread [6.16.14]")
Andrew Sullivan believes we, the United States, are in a Cold Civil War, and have been for some time, after watching the alternative reality that is presented on Fox News as news. He points out that now, even inter-marriage between the ideologies of liberal and conservative is frowned upon more and more.
Three-out-of-ten (30%) consistent conservatives say they would be unhappy if an immediate family member married a Democrat and about a quarter (23%) of across-the-board liberals say the same about the prospect of a Republican in-law.
But two of his commenters aren’t concerned. Why? Because of the age of the average Fox News Viewer.
Bomb Iraq? Why?
Can anyone give me one rational reason why we would even consider launching a bombing/missile/drone attack on so called Iraq militants? No, I mean a really rational reason?
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