Where's the Outrage?

I know that we’ve intermittently talked about this before, but now seems to be a perfect time to discuss our wars with Iraq (our troops are coming home, finally) and Afghanistan. Make no mistake, we were definitely attacked on September 11, 2001. A group of 19 terrorists with the aid of Osama bin Laden, Al Qaeda and the Taliban took down the World Trade Center, tore a huge hole in the Pentagon and crashed an airliner into a rural portion of Pennsylvania. We now know that these acts of terrorism set in motion a cascade of events which have cost the American people well over $1.5 trillion. 6200 American soldiers have died. Tens of thousands of American soldiers have been wounded. What did we get in return?

When you invest blood and sweat into a project, you should at least hope to get something out of it. Stability in the Middle East? A thriving economy in Afghanistan? At the time of the Iraq invasion, many Americans believed that we were invading Iraq in order to secure their oil. Do we have secure oil agreements in place? Did we, at least, improve our relationships with other governments in the Middle East?

Some of these questions don’t really have answers. Others of these questions do have answers and the answers, unfortunately, are depressing. We spent a lot of time and effort and nearly destroyed our military in the process. We have simply the death of Osama bin Laden and several of his lieutenants to show for our efforts. Questions like whether we madr terrorism worse still linger. Now is the time for us to figure out what we did wrong. We should also assess what we did right. We need to make sure that we do not repeat the same mistakes which led to the disastrous decisions to invade both of those countries. I would submit that we could have infiltrated Afghanistan with a couple hundred to a couple of thousand troops with appropriate air support and eliminated Osama bin Laden and most of Al Qaeda within a matter of weeks or months. I don’t know. What I do know is that spending $1.5 trillion and losing over 6000 troops, breaking our military and getting almost nothing in return is unacceptable.

Tags: Afghanistan, Bin Laden, Iraq, Terrorism by ecthompson md
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The Swing

• I took some golf lessons with my grandson yesterday. We then played a couple of holes of golf. Playing with a seven-year-old is clearly different than playing with my normal partners.
• President Barack Obama announced a loose timetable for withdrawing troops from Afghanistan. I’ve talked about Afghanistan on a number of occasions on this blog. In 2006 and 2007, I referred to Afghanistan as the “good war.” That was probably a little naïve. If our goal remains to make sure that there is no sanctuary for Al Qaeda, I’m not sure that we’ve achieved that goal. I don’t think that we have the ability to remove lawlessness from the world. (Al Qaeda will always look for pockets of the world where government intervention is minimal. There remain vast spaces of Asia, Africa and the Middle East where this is still true.) So maybe our strategy should be to infiltrate pockets of extremism and strike when they become a threat. Anyway, I believe that President Obama has made the right step in drawing down our presence in Afghanistan.
• The McKinsey healthcare study has been widely panned. I think that healthcare needs to be a basic right in the United States. We need to extricate employers from the health-care system. Employers need to stick to what they do best. We need to be able to pay for basic healthcare services (we can argue or discuss what those basic healthcare services are) through a government based program.
• Denny Green, as coach of the Arizona Cardinals, had a famous tirade after losing a game. He stated, “They are who we thought they were.” I think the same can be said for Godfather Pizza CEO and Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain. The former CEO was asked about oil production and he said his solution would be to appoint oil executives to a commission or a board and they would tell him which regulations they would follow. Mr. Cain, we have been through this before. This was a core belief, a core principle of George W. Bush. Let industry police themselves. Sounds good, if it weren’t for all that money they would make by skirting the rules. Bush implemented such policies in Texas as governor and of course he implemented the same policies as president of the United States. What we got was lawlessness. Air quality worsened. Water quality worsened. Oil prices increased. The reason that we had several food recalls was that we weren’t policing the food industry any more. They cut corners and people died. We saw none of the benefits that Republicans have touted.
• More on the Justice Clarence Thomas ethics scandal. I have no idea how we can make this guy resign. He will not bow to pressure. Congress has little or no stomach for true investigations. Everything seems to turn into a political circus on Capitol Hill. I doubt the Justice Department wants to take on something so controversial. Therefore, Justice Thomas and his shady ethics will continue.
• Oh, let’s get back to Herman Cain. He’s happy to play the race card whenever it suits him. I think that suggesting that Jon Stewart is attacking him because he’s Black is not a good strategy. I think when you say something stupid like all bills should be no longer than three pages, you should expect to be late-night fodder.
• House Majority Leader Eric Cantor is pulling out of the deficit reduction talks. I think it’s a wise move. If you have no intention of compromise you shouldn’t take part in a discussion which requires compromise.
• Harvard study finds that peanuts are good for you and potatoes, not so much. If you want to stay slim, stick with peanuts.
• It appears the United States and several industrial allies are going to tap their oil reserves to release somewhere around 60 million barrels of oil over the next 30 days in order to compensate for the loss of Libyan oil.

Claude Monet's water lilies

• A reclusive heiress who recently died has left a Monet water lilies painting to the Corcoran Gallery of Art. I love Claude Monet‘s water lilies series.

Tags: Afghanistan, Healthcare, Military, Party Politics by ecthompson md
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• I was surprised at how nice it was to see Keith Olbermann back on TV.
• It is time that we honestly assess our obsession with pro sports. With state, local and federal agencies trying to cut back because Americans simply don’t want to pay more, why is Los Angeles looking for pro football team? Pro football even in the largest markets requires subsidies, huge subsidies, from the taxpayer. Their single largest expense is not their egotistical quarterback or their prized wide receiver. It’s their stadium. If we, the taxpayers, have to pay for the stadium then why don’t we get an opportunity to make some decisions on personnel and coaches and the direction of the team? Don’t get me wrong, I love football and basketball and tennis and golf, but if you’re going to aske me to shell out money for a stadium, then I should have a say in the team.

• Rory McElroy put the pedal to the metal and got an early lead at the U.S. Open. By Saturday, it was clear that he was going to win if he did not have another Masters-like meltdown. He did not. He rose to the occasion and cruised to victory. His meltdown at the Masters was really hard to watch. I am happy that he was able to get his mental game together. If he can avoid injuries, if he can keep his mind right, this young man has an opportunity to dominate golf for years to come.
• Finally, continuing on the topic of sports, Serena Williams has made a comeback at Wimbledon. She hasn’t played competitive tennis for almost a year. She won her first match, but it wasn’t easy. It is probably time to say that Serena is the best female tennis player of all time.
• A little bit more on Clarence Thomas. Justice Thomas seems to have some ethical problems. I have a problem with his wife involved with a Tea Party organization and a lobbying firm. Unless somehow she can prove that money given to her lobbying firm does not flow to her husband, this seems to be a conflict of interest. This whole thing just seems to smell funny.
• The fact that 93% of all top congressional staffers are white males is not really news. It proves that the more things change…
• In Libya, NATO bombs have gone astray, again. What is our goal here? To save innocent civilians?

• 18 months ago, I was standing in Athens with my wife. It was an incredibly peaceful, warm and inviting place. Now there are huge demonstrations as Greece is being asked by the European Union to tighten their belt.
• Suicide bomber kills 27 in southern Iraq. Six soldiers were killed two weeks ago in a rocket attack.
• In an announcement later on today, it is expected that President Barack Obama will announce that we’re pulling out of Afghanistan. I just wonder if this is going to be one of those symbolic pullouts or we really going to get all the troops out.
• We don’t need any new warnings on cigarette labels. This isn’t 1975. We all know the problems with smoking. Having pictures of some guy struggling to breathe in a facemask is not gonna stop people who smoke from smoking. Instead, we need for people who smoke to pay higher premiums because of their higher incidence of heart disease and pulmonary insufficiency. If cigarettes are going to be legal in this country, we’ve done all we need to do to inform the public of the dangers of smoking.
• Senator John McCain blames the huge Arizona fires on illegal immigrants. Now, it is true that we need to control our border. We need to know who’s coming and going in order for all of us to be safe. It is also true that there’s absolutely no evidence that illegal immigrants had anything to do with this huge, devastating fire. All I can do is shake my head. The senator knows better.
• Jon Huntsman has announced that he is running for president. In my opinion, several of these people, GOP candidates for president, are running now to set up a “real run” in 2016.

Tags: Afghanistan, Foreign Affairs, Healthcare, Military, Sports, Supreme court by ecthompson md
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I’m travelling again. Happy Anniversary to my wonderful wife!! If God is willing, and the airlines cooperate, I should be home tonight!!

• I’m sorry, I could care less about the Royal wedding. As far as I know, they aren’t putting any food on my table and aren’t paying any of my bills. Knowledge of the Royal wedding will not improve the job market or stop companies from shipping jobs overseas. Just like with all newlyweds, I wish them well.
• Let’s talk sports for a second – The Dallas Mavericks slid by the Portland Trailblazers. They figured out how to blow a 17-point lead, only to hold on for dear life in the end. BTW, what was the deal with the flagrant fouls?!?!? The Los Angeles Lakers looked like they were simply running through practice drills as they spanked the New Orleans Hornets. The Orlando Magic proved that you need more than a great mobile center in order to advance in the NBA playoffs. Howard was great. The rest of the team was awful. The Atlanta Hawks move on to the second round.
• Speaking of sports – I really, really, dislike the hype over the NFL draft. More than 50% of these guys are going to flame out. The list of over-hyped 20s is nearly endless. The fact that professional NFL coaches, owners and scouts cannot predict future performance is amazing. Just look at five years ago, (the top 10 picks in order) – Mario Williams (great player), Reggie Bush (periods of greatness mixed with average play), Vince Young (classic over hyped player), D’Brickashaw Ferguson (great player), AJ Hawk (one of the reasons the Packers won the SuperBowl), Vernon Davis (great two years ago; not so great last year), Michael Huff (seven ints in five years!!), Donte Whitner (five ints in five yrs and 19 passes defensed), Ernie Sims (one int, four and a half sacks; was traded from original team already), Matt Leinart (much hyped and now out of football). You decide if the pros did a great job at picking future players. Cam Newton was the first drafted yesterday. The second round of the draft is happening now.
• I’m reviewing the People’s Budget. I’m liking what I’m seeing. I’ll have more on the People’s Budget. I like the idea of balancing the budget and having a surplus by 2012.

Click to Enlarge

• ATLS, the standard in trauma care, was started nearly 35 years ago. An orthopedic surgeon crashed his plane with his wife, mother and four kids with him in the plane. His terrible ordeal led for him to push for changes in trauma care. Great story.
• Senator Al Franken has introduced a bill in Congress that will force Congress to pay for the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. I’m liking this.
• Donald “Birther” Trump continues to prove how classy he is by dropping da F-Bomb on camera.
• As I said yesterday, the birthers were going to say that Obama’s birth certificate ain’t real. I knew it. Whatever. (Btw, note the familiar formula: local conservative blogger types something that makes no sense. Drudge picks up the nonsense and plasters it on his front page. The craziness goes viral from there.)
• Michele Bachmann is dancing away from the GOP plan to end Medicare. Maybe she is smarter than I give her credit for??

What are your thoughts this Friday afternoon? Hate the hype of the draft or the Royal “pain” Wedding?

Catching a plane….

Tags: Afghanistan, Budget, Foreign Affairs, Iraq, Sports by ecthompson md
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Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

• It is good to see that the Republicans are now getting an earful from their constituents. I don’t know why they seriously thought they could vote for abolishing Medicare and figure there would be no consequences.
• Severe storms continue to roll through the Midwest. Those folks in Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Alabama, Mississippi and Tennessee are used to violent thunderstorms this time of year. I still hope and pray that everyone stays safe and informed.
• Will John Boehner draw a line in the sand over Medicare cuts? Remember that Republicans are rewarded by giving money to the rich and giving a lump of coal to the poor.
• NATO is intensifying its bombing in Libya.
• For the last several years I’ve had this huge cloud over my head. The cloud was Afghanistan. I still don’t really understand what our goals are there. I haven’t understood it for over four years. I thought Afghanistan was the “good” war. How do you take a society that is locked in the 1600s and propel them to the modern era? A large tunnel was dug in an Afghanistan prison and over 1000 inmates escaped. Seriously!
• Speaking of tunnels, a trucker was sentenced to 21 years in jail because of his association with marijuana trafficking, tons of marijauna. Interesting part of this story was that this tunnel was dug across the Mexico-United States border in order to bypass custom officials. When are we simply going to legalize marijuana and kill this type of trafficking?

• Oklahoma lawmakers have just passed a law which will give an offender up to life in prison for cooking hashish. Life in prison. Why not life plus five years? This is over the top.
• The Dallas Mavericks won the other night and lead the series against the Portland Trail Blazers three to two in the best of seven. I know that the Dallas Mavericks do not have a chance of winning the NBA championship, but every year I get drawn into the playoffs like Charlie Brown, enticed to try to kick the football with Lucy holding it. Just like Charlie Brown, I suspect that the Dallas Mavericks will disappoint me again this year.
• An 11th grader has figured out how to digitize our fallen soldiers from the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq who were buried in Arlington Cemetery. Congratulations to him! I’m not sure why are Department of Defense couldn’t figure that out.
• Texas Congressman Ron Paul has announced he’s forming an exploratory committee to run for president… Again.
• If you play professional baseball, professional football or professional basketball, you are truly in the spotlight. If you’re mentally unstable, your meltdown is seen by all. For the past few years we’ve been watching the meltdown of Albert Haynesworth. He is been charged with sexual abuse for fondling a waitress. This guy needs help and not jail. He needs a lot of help.
• The great and soulful Phoebe Snow has died at the age of 60. She and Minnie Ripperton were two of the best voices throughout the ’70s. Phoebe left music too soon for my tastes. She dropped out of music in the early ’80s. Ms. Snow, RIP.

Tags: Afghanistan, Budget, Congress, Domestic Issues, Healthcare by ecthompson md
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I’m really not much for burning things. Occasionally, burning firewood is probably okay. I don’t tend to burn trash. I’ve taken care of way too many people who’ve been blown up by “surprises” in the trash. I know that many people like to burn things. Some are fascinated by fire. Others simply like to destroy things. I think the burning of books is kind of futile and stupid. I think that burning religious books, whether the Bible or the Koran or the Torah, is also stupid.

Booman has more:
Burning books is stupid. Getting mad about burned books is stupid. Killing people who had nothing to do with burning any books because you’re mad that a book got burned? That’s World Champion Stupid. It’s especially stupid because the moron preacher from Florida only had something like 30 congregants that he could pull together for his little game with matches. You’re going to kill random people because of what happened in someone’s living room on the other side of the world?I feel badly for everyone who died or sustained injuries, but I feel especially badly for the five Nepalese guards who were killed. They were killed with their own weapons because they refused to use them on unarmed protesters. They went to work for the United Nations and this is their reward. It makes me angry, frankly.

The people who work for the UN in Afghanistan aren’t too happy about it.

Foreigners committed to assisting in the rebuilding of Afghanistan have long accepted the possibility that they might die at the hands of warring parties, but this degree of violence from ordinary citizens is not something most of us factored into our decision to work here……This is not the beginning of the end for the international community in Afghanistan. This is the end. Terry Jones and others will continue to pull anti-Islam stunts and opportunistic extremists here will use those actions to incite attacks against foreigners. Unless we, the internationals, want our guards to fire on unarmed protestors from now on, the day has come for us to leave Afghanistan.

And then there’s this:

The act drew little response worldwide, but provoked angry condemnation in this region, where it was reported in the local media and where anti-American sentiment already runs high. Last week, President Asif Ali Zardari of Pakistan condemned the burning in an address before Parliament, and President Hamid Karzai of Afghanistan on Thursday called on the United States to bring those responsible for the Koran burning to justice.A prominent Afghan cleric, Mullah Qyamudin Kashaf, the acting head of the influential Ulema Council of Afghanistan and a Karzai appointee, also called for American authorities to arrest and try Mr. Jones in the Koran burning.

I’m all for showing some basic respect for other people’s religious faith, but every last one of these jerks can kiss my ass. This is America, and we can burn any damn book we want any damn time we want. No one is going to arrest this fruitcake for burning a book and the fact that you think that we should arrest him means that you don’t understand the first thing about what it means to live in a free society with freedom of conscience. The dumb preacher got a bunch of innocent people killed, but only because a bunch of equally dumb people decided to murder people who had no responsibility or relationship to the man who instigated their ire. And who kills someone for burning a book? I don’t care that the book is sacred. It was probably published in New York before it sat in a Border’s warehouse for months waiting for some religious nutjob to buy it. Just like any other book, it was lit ablaze when the temperature hit 451 degrees fahrenheit. Allah didn’t intervene to prevent the burning, so it must have been something he felt like he had under control. I hope he isn’t the kind of guy who thinks his honor is protected by butchering UN aid workers.

You know what would also be stupid? If I responded to all this by killing the next five short people I see. I’ll just kill them and say I did it because it made as much sense to do it as it did to burn a Koran…or kill people because a Koran was burned. Why not? If you look at it just right, you know they had it coming.

Tags: Afghanistan, Books, Party Politics, Religion by ecthompson md
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Just wiped out after a very busy week last week.

From Political Animal:

• An apparent suicide bomber killed at least 21 Egyptian Christians and wounded at least 97 more in an attack on a New Year’s Mass. The terrorism drew widespread international rebukes, including a condemnation from President Obama.
• The Commerce Department announced this morning that the U.S. construction industry has now grown for three consecutive months, following a dismal summer. New data also shows the manufacturing sector growing in 17 consecutive months.
• My biggest problem with the war in Afghanistan is the reliability of our partner: “Roads, canals and schools built in Afghanistan as part of a special U.S. military program are crumbling under Afghan stewardship, despite new steps imposed over the past year to ensure reconstruction money is not being wasted, according to government reports and interviews with military and civilian personnel.”
• On a related note, just think, Afghanistan, if you play your cards right, you can “earn” permanent U.S. military bases in your  The lingering confusion in conservative circles about Attorney General Eric Holder and the truly ridiculous New Black Panther Party case is exasperating. This time, it’s the Washington Post‘s Jennifer Rubin who’s deeply confused. Adam Serwer, thankfully, keeps setting the record straight.
• Rep.-elect Allen West (R-Fla.) wants members of Congress to “come together” to address “an infiltration of the Sharia practice into all of our operating systems in our country as well as across Western civilization.” That guy really isn’t well.
• Ever wonder why the Israeli airport security system is considered so effective? Brian Palmer takes a closer look.
• Stunning photos of the “dramatic decline” of Detroit, Michigan.
• Arkansas is the latest state to look for a magical new funding formula for higher education.

Any thoughts?

Tags: Afghanistan, Domestic Issues by ecthompson md
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NY Times Photo

• There are a lot of things that are broken in our country. Among these many things, the airline industry is depressingly dysfunctional. I just don’t understand how planes can land and have nowhere to go. Passengers are sitting on the tarmac for hours. Planes are uncomfortable to start with. Usually you are sitting next to somebody who’s oozing into your seat. You can tolerate this for an hour or two but to be stuck on the tarmac for six hours or more is inhumane. This needs to be fixed.
• What is going on in Afghanistan? Are we winning? Are we losing? Why are we still there?
• I applaud Hawaii’s new governor for trying to clarify Barack Obama’s birth certificate, but I don’t think it’s going to work. There is no listing of facts that is going to get in the way of a good conspiracy. “The governor, a Democrat and former congressman, said he has initiated conversations with the state’s attorney general and the chief of its Health Department about how he can release more explicit documentation of Mr. Obama’s birth on Aug. 4, 1961, at Kapiolani Maternity and Gynecological Hospital. He said he has done so of his own accord, without consulting the White House, which declined to comment.”
• This is been the worst year for bank failures since 1992. The exact reason for the failures seem to be somewhat nebulous. It appears that a sagging economy is one of the major reasons. We can fix the sagging economy by creating a jobs program!
• EJ Dionne has an absolutely fabulous column on the real reasons for the Civil War. He notes that next year will be the 150th anniversary of the start of that conflict. This column is a direct response to Haley Barbour’s (current Mississippi Governor and probable presidential hopeful) rewriting history. We should make no mistake, the Civil War was fought over slavery. Yes, there was heroism, brilliant military strategy and many other aspects of the Civil War which need to be studied and some of them should be memorized. But, the bottom line is, “When the war started, leaders of the Southern rebellion were entirely straightforward about this [reason for the war]. On March 21, 1861, Alexander Stephens, the Confederacy’s vice president, gave what came to be known as the ‘Cornerstone speech‘ in which he declared that the ‘proper status of the Negro in our form of civilization’ was ‘the immediate cause of the late rupture.’”
• Finally, in a bit of disturbing news, police fatalities have increased 37% this year. Very sad.
• 99ers need our help. These are the Americans who have been out of work for more than 99 weeks. They have nothing.
• WiFi blues?
• Go Saints!

Tags: Afghanistan, Domestic Issues, Economy, Obama administration, Sports by ecthompson md
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• Still saddened over the death of Elizabeth Edwards. Breast cancer sucks.
• For some reason several Republicans have stated that they will not vote on the New START treaty without both Presidents Bush weighing in on the situation. It is as if the Senate is too stupid to make up their minds on their own. George HW Bush has released a statement urging the Senate to ratify the New START treaty.
• Senator Susan Collins is holding up the legislation on “don’t ask, don’t tell” until her demands are met.
• In spite of all the bad news we’ve been hearing, the Secretary of Defense states that our Afghan policy is working.

From Political Animal:

• With Social Security recipients facing a second consecutive year without a cost-of-living increase, House Dems tried to pass $250 checks to these seniors. House Republicans killed the effort this afternoon.
• A rare judicial impeachment: “The Senate on Wednesday found Judge G. Thomas Porteous Jr. of Federal District Court in Louisiana guilty on four articles of impeachment, the first time the Senate has removed a federal judge from the bench in more than two decades.” This is only the eighth time a federal judge has been removed from the bench through impeachment in the history of the Senate.
• For crying out loud: “As Don Blankenship prepares to give up control of Massey Energy after the nation’s worst mining disaster in four decades … corporate filings are revealing the staggering cost of his departure — a golden parachute that will provide Blankenship with $2.7 million upon retirement, a free house for life, millions more in deferred compensation, and a ‘salary continuation retirement benefit’ of $18,241-a-month that will continue for 10 years after his Dec. 31 departure.
• In 2011, expect the House to do a lot less work — not because of partisan gridlock, but because lawmakers simply won’t be in D.C. nearly as often. (thanks to R.P. for the tip)
• In a setback for the Tea Party crowd, House Republican leaders threw their support to Rep. Fred Upton (R-Mich.) to serve as the next chairman of the Energy and Commerce Committee.
• In an even bigger setback for the Tea Party crowd, those same GOP leaders are backing Rep. Harold Rogers (R-Ky.) as the next chairman of the Appropriations Committee. Rogers is known for his love of earmarks.
• The food safety bill is in trouble on Capitol Hill, but Dems haven’t given up on it.
• And in her latest classic Fox News appearance, Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) insisted today that tax cuts for the middle class cost money, but breaks for the rich do not. It’s the kind of argument that only Bachmann could make with such enthusiasm.

Tags: Afghanistan, Congress, Economy, Media, Taxes by ecthompson md
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I go to work and work all day and of a sudden there is a crisis in Korea. What the hell? Where did this come from? Is South Korea ready for a final showdown? How many Patriot Missiles do we have in South Korea? Is it enough? This is bad.

From Political Animal:

• Crisis on the Korean Peninsula: “South Korea warned North Korea on Tuesday of ‘enormous retaliation’ if it took more aggressive steps after Pyongyang fired scores of artillery shells at a South Korean island in one of the heaviest attacks on its neighbor since the Korean War ended in 1953.”
• For crying out loud: “For months, the secret talks unfolding between Taliban and Afghan leaders to end the war appeared to be showing promise, if only because of the appearance of a certain insurgent leader at one end of the table: Mullah Akhtar Muhammad Mansour, one of the most senior commanders in the Taliban movement. But now, it turns out, Mr. Mansour was apparently not Mr. Mansour at all.” [Editors note: This might not be the dumbest act of 2010 but I'm it is in the top 10!]
• Maybe someone should do something: “Top Federal Reserve officials expect the unemployment rate to remain around nine percent at the end of next year and eight percent at the end of 2012, according to internal forecasts that drove the central bank to take new efforts to boost the economy three weeks ago.”
• Also not encouraging: “Sales of previously owned homes slipped slightly in October as the housing market struggled in the face of high unemployment and tight credit.”
• When dealing with congressional Republicans, if Dems “hope for the best, and plan for the worst,” they’ll be on the right track.
• The dispute among Senate Republicans over ethanol subsidies continues to get even more interesting.
• The fact that incoming House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) is considered a leading Republican voice on economic policy is rather horrifying.
• Harold Pollack reports on encouraging developments in combating AIDS.
• The Daily Caller‘s transition from credible to dubious to ignominious to cover-your-eyes-ridiculous was completed today.
• Daniel Luzer takes a closer look at some of the ethical issues surrounding Melanie Sloan’s departure from Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW).
• Fox News refuses to air paid advertising featuring U.S. troops, apparently because they don’t like what the servicemen and women have to say about repealing “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.”

So, what’s on your mind today?

Tags: Afghanistan, Domestic Issues, North Korea, Party Politics by ecthompson md
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Running late as usual this morning.

• I can’t describe how jubilant Dallas-Fort Worth is today. For more than 40 years the Dallas Cowboys have been the dominant team in the Metroplex. Finally, the Texas Rangers have won a playoff game… Playoff series! Congratulations to the Texas Rangers, Nolan Ryan and his amazing organization.
• After what seems like a year, miners are being rescued in Chile. (CNN has a live feed.) Update: 21 rescued and 12 more still underground.
• Judge blocks military from enforcing DADT
• Bobby Cox, the long time manager of the Atlanta Braves, is retiring after this year. The Braves lost to the Giants in a great series. After the game, in what was one of the classiest moves I have seen in a long, long time, the Giants stopped their own celebration and tipped their hats to Bobby Cox.

Great move

From Political Animal:

• Lifting the drilling ban: “The Obama administration on Tuesday lifted the moratorium on deepwater exploratory oil drilling in the Gulf of Mexico — provided companies follow new safety rules…. One of those new rules is that the CEO of a company responsible for a well must certify it has complied with all regulations. That could make the person at the top of the company liable for any future accidents.”
• Waiting for the Fed to intervene: “A critical mass of officials at the Federal Reserve appear to favor taking new actions to reinvigorate the lagging recovery in the absence of clear signs of improvement in the economy, according to minutes of the central bank’s last policy meeting.”
• In Afghanistan, the plan to accelerate training of Afghan security forces is going reasonably well, but “the question now is whether these new forces will allow NATO and the Afghan government to reverse the insurgency’s momentum and begin reducing the Western presence in the country.”
• As the debate over undisclosed campaign contributions rages on, wouldn’t it be nice if major news outlets care more about the fact that Karl Rove seems to be constantly lying?
• As the Washington Post‘s On Faith section publishes a hateful screed from Tony Perkins on National Coming Out Day, it’s easy to imagine Katharine Graham weeping.
• Health Care For America Now has a new video out featuring Jack Black as a professional “Mis-Informant.” It’s pretty funny, and worth checking out.
• Do college dropouts cost the American taxpayer billions of dollars? Well, sort of.

You got anything to add?

Tags: Afghanistan, Congress, Economy, Obama administration, Party Politics, Sports by ecthompson md
21 Comments »

For the last several months, I have been invited to be a guest on Local Edge Radio with Blake and Lesley. I’m on a Thursda’s at 4 pm (EST). This week – we discussed how we aren’t moving forward as a country. We get distracted by mosques at Ground Zero and some preacher thinking about burning Korans. What’s up with Iraq? I’m having a problem with the idea that combat operations are over. They aren’t. We take a break then come back and talk about labor and how unions are dying. This show was fun. I hope that you enjoy it.

BTW, next Tuesday (9/14), @ 3 pm (EST) I’ll wipe the dust off of BlogTalkRadio. I’ll be back on the air (really I’ll be on the internet). My guest will be Markos Moulitsas founder of the Daily Kos. We’ll chat about his new book, American Taliban.

Local Edge Radio 9-9-2010 [ 24:39 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Tags: Afghanistan, Domestic Issues, Iraq, Media, Podcasts by ecthompson md
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I’m not sure why some Americans feel that burning books would accomplish anything. I’m not sure what motivates one to burn books. Looking back throughout history, I am hard pressed to find righteous individuals burning books.

I remember back when DJs decided it was a good idea to burn CDs of the Dixie Chicks. These women had the nerve to stand up and say that invading Iraq was wrong. Now, the majority of the American people agree with the Dixie Chicks. So, what was accomplished?

From TPM:

As Pastor Terry Jones of the Dove World Outreach Center gets ready to burn copies of the Koran at his Gainesville, Florida church this Saturday (September 11), many national voices are calling for him to change his plans. House Minority Leader John Boehner, Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-CT), and RGA Chairman Haley Barbour have all criticized the planned Koran burning. And Gen. David Petraeus, the top U.S. commander of the Afghanistan War, has gone as far as to say that the plan could put American troops in danger.

But as Jones forges full-speed ahead with his incendiary event, some of the nation’s most prominent Islamophobic voices have expressed their opposition (though usually with caveats), to Jones’ idea…. (more…)

Tags: Afghanistan, Military, Religion by ecthompson md
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As many of you know, I love and admire President Barack Obama. What he has accomplished is truly remarkable. Not only was he elected president but he has also taken over the helm at truly rocky times. We have wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. With escalating tensions in the Middle East, Iran and North Korea, the world is looking to us for leadership. Africa, South America and South Asia are in desperate poverty. Our polar ice caps are melting. Here at home, we’re in the middle of the worst economic slowdown since the Great Depression and our political atmosphere is truly toxic. Through all of this, our president has stood tall and managed to pull together coalitions to get significant legislation passed in Congress. Yet I have this uneasy feeling, nausea really, over Iraq.

Before we unwisely invaded Iraq, there was a balance of power in the Middle East. Iraq and Iran hate each other. They would truly like to annihilate each other but after fighting a fruitless war which cost hundreds of thousands of lives and after which there is no clear victor, they were content to scowl angrily at each other. The third point in the Middle East’s triangle was Israel. So when we swooped in and took out Saddam Hussein, we tipped the balance of power. It is really unclear how this will play out in the long run, but for now Iran seems to be the big winner.

Last week President Obama addressed the nation. He told us that combat operations in Iraq had been completed. Our troops were coming home. Cool. Let’s break out the champagne. Then, before I was able to get to the refrigerator, our president stated, “a transitional force of US troops remain in Iraq with a different mission: advising and assisting Iraqi security forces, supporting Iraqi troops and targeted counterterrorism missions and protecting our civilians.” What? Then, just for a moment, our president seemed to transform into President George W. Bush and talked about extremists, terrorist bombings and sectarian strife. We’re leaving 50,000 troops in Iraq to do the exact same job they’ve been doing for the last three years. I was flabbergasted. I began to feel like Fred Sanford, from Sanford and Son, and I grabbed my chest.

As soon as President Barack Obama ended his speech with what I thought was an overly gracious tip of the hat to President George W. Bush, the Republicans, instead of being grateful, went on the attack. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and House Minority Leader John Boehner were two of the first to step up and criticize the president for not praising the surge and George W. Bush. Did we just enter the Twilight Zone? Did the conservatives say that the surge worked? To review, the surge had six key elements. These elements were unveiled to the American public by President George W. Bush, himself. Two of the six elements were to create space for political progress and diversify political and economic efforts. There has been no political progress over the last three years. None. Elections were held. No government was formed. The Sunnis, Shiites and the Kurdish Iraqis in the north continue to argue like school children. The surge did help decrease the sectarian violence but that was only one part of the plan (one out of six is an F, isn’t it?) Iraqis were supposed to form a functional government. That has not happened. We were supposed to create the space for Iraqis to lead. This simply hasn’t happened.

With Republicans giving each other high fives and congratulating themselves on the surge, I feel uneasy. With President Obama slipping into a George W. Bush-type trance and telling us that combat missions have ended when they really haven’t, I feel uneasy. This may be my whole problem with the Middle East — my feeling of uncertainty. I’m not sure it’s clear who our friends are (with the exception of Israel) and I’m not sure who our enemies are. We are embracing the Iraqi people as our friends but does that include all of the Iraqi people, including the Sunnis? I just feel that nobody has any good answers.

Tags: Afghanistan, Iraq, Newsletter, Obama administration by ecthompson md
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Steve McCurry's famous 1984 photo

• When Kodak gives you the last roll of Kodachrome film, what do you do with it? Famous photojournalist Steve McCurry tells us exactly what he did with the last roll. Sometimes, I am really amazed at how things have changed.
• Another no-hitter? It seems like 15 years ago we couldn’t keep the baseball in the park (tons of home runs). Now, pitchers rule. What happened?
• I’ve never been a fan of Tom Tancredo. I think he is reckless and dangerous. I think he is taking the politics of divide and conquer to a new level. When he decided not to run for reelection, there was the question of whether he was going to run for president. That lasted about 10 minutes. Now he’s running for governor of Colorado, sort of. The craziness continues.
• It appears that a minor military contractor is up to his luxury cars in trouble.
• I guess there was a time when I was more enthusiastic about Afghanistan than I am today. I thought that continued military engagement was necessary. I also thought it was critically important that we help them build infrastructure and an economy (not based on poppy seeds). It looks like thousands of pages of secret documents have been leaked to the press. There is a suggestion of a link between the Taliban and some within the Pakistani military force. No surprise there.
• BTW, are we still in Iraq? Militants stealing blood?
• I’m not sure that Elizabeth Warren is the right person to head up the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. It isn’t that she isn’t smart enough. She’s plenty smart. I’m afraid that putting her in charge of a minor agency buried deep within the bowels of a Department of the Treasury will give her little or no opportunity to really speak up for the American people. She needs a bigger stage. Then again, maybe she can make that stage bigger.
• More Americans are moving. This does not look to be a good thing.

Anything to add?

Tags: Afghanistan, Economy, Iraq, Party Politics, Sports by ecthompson md
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Nice Commentary from Keith to go along with my opening paragraph:

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

• The media loves a point-counterpoint. They love bad versus good. They love rich versus poor. Any time you can paint a story as two extremes they start salivating. Now we have Army Gen. Stanley McChrystal versus President Barack Obama. There is a magazine article in which there are supposed to be some disparaging comments about Barack Obama, Joe Biden and his cabinet members. Frankly, some of the comments were juvenile. It is almost as if they were speaking off the record or they thought that the reporter was in a coma. President Obama has a complex decision to make — fire Stanley McChrystal in the middle of an offensive in Afghanistan, which could disrupt the military and its chain of command or keep the general and risk losing face with the military. Personally, I think it depends on the assessment of the Afghanistan war. If the offensive is meeting its goals then I would keep the general. If the offensive has been a huge waste of time, money and manpower then I would trash the offensive and fire the general. This is not an easy decision. No matter which President Obama goes on this one, look for the conservative media to bash him one way or the other.

• Judge Martin “Marty” Feldman of the US District Court in New Orleans is making news. (I don’t know whether he is called “Marty” for short. Of course, Marty Feldman was a great comedian, best known for his performance in Young Frankenstein.) This Feldman has overturned the president’s moratorium on drilling in the Gulf. The Obama administration will appeal.
• HHS has issued regulations for the Affordable Care Act. I’ll need to review this in detail. Here’s a quick summary fact sheet.
• Many people are now picking up on Rep. Joe Barton’s apology to BP as the Republican Party line rather than a rogue personal statement. As I’ve said many times, Republicans are very disciplined. They’re not known for emotional outbursts. (I think that Joe Wilson’s You Lie outburst at the President was planned.) When they say something, it generally has been thought about and approved on many levels. Republicans are outraged that a corporation would be asked to clean up something that they caused. There’s a reason that the Superfund was allowed to dry up by the Bush administration. Corporations were supposed to pay fines for their transgressions, fines collected and placed into the Superfund. The Bush administration stopped collecting fines. Without fines there would be no Superfund because in their minds making business clean up what they messed up is a bad thing.
• I was too disgusted after the NBA finals to actually talk about them. I wasn’t disgusted that the Los Angeles Lakers won. I was disgusted that instead of watching a basketball game, I watched a professional wrestling match. In spite of frankly my having gotten nauseated throughout the game, I feel compelled to congratulate Kobe Bryant, Phil Jackson (arguably the greatest coach of all time) and the Los Angeles Lakers. I would only ask that in the off season, point guard Rajon Rondo learn how to shoot free throws. Is that so hard?
• Michael Jackson died approximately one year ago (it’ll be one year on the 25th). Some are confused about the fact that he has left a mixed legacy. I am not confused. I grew up with Michael Jackson. I had all of the J5 albums. I saw the J5 when they came to Dallas in 1970. Michael was 11 but they said he was 8. I was 9. Michael Jackson was a complex person, just as many of us are complex people. He was a great humanitarian and one of the best entertainers to ever live. He also slept in an oxygen chamber, had a zoo complete with a tiger and chimpanzee and he had problems with personal relationships with adults and children. I love him as an entertainer. Whenever I see his Emmy award-winning performance of Billie Jean at the Motown 25th anniversary special or his performance of Man in the Mirror at the Grammys, I get goosebumps. In spite of my utmost respect for his musical talents, I’m not sure I would leave my grandson with him for more than a nanosecond.
• The goal of the day from the World Cup -

Tags: Afghanistan, Countdown, Healthcare, Military, Music, Obama administration, Sports by ecthompson md
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Part of the transcript:
We can’t forget why we’re here. We did not choose this war. This was not an act of America wanting to expand its influence; of us wanting to meddle in somebody else’s business. We were attacked viciously on 9/11. Thousands of our fellow countrymen and women were killed. And this is the region where the perpetrators of that crime, al Qaeda, still base their leadership. Plots against our homeland, plots against our allies, plots against the Afghan and Pakistani people are taking place as we speak right here. And if this region slides backwards, if the Taliban retakes this country and al Qaeda can operate with impunity, then more American lives will be at stake. The Afghan people will lose their chance at progress and prosperity. And the world will be significantly less secure.

And as long as I’m your Commander-in-Chief, I am not going to let that happen. That’s why you are here. I’ve made a promise to all of you who serve. I will never send you into harm’s way unless it’s absolutely necessary. I anguish in thinking about the sacrifices that so many of you make. That’s why I promise I will never send you out unless it is necessary.

But that’s only part of the promise, because the other part of the promise is that when it is absolutely necessary, you will be backed up by a clear mission and the right strategy to finish the job, to get the job done. And I am confident all of you are going to get the job done right here in Afghanistan. I am confident of that. (Applause.)

That’s why I ordered more troops and civilians here into Afghanistan shortly after taking office. That’s why we took a hard look and forged a new strategy and committed more resources in December. That’s why we pushed our friends and allies and partners to pony up more resources themselves, more commitments of aid, and additional forces and trainers.

Our broad mission is clear: We are going to disrupt and dismantle, defeat and destroy al Qaeda and its extremist allies. That is our mission. And to accomplish that goal, our objectives here in Afghanistan are also clear: We’re going to deny al Qaeda safe haven. We’re going to reverse the Taliban’s momentum. We’re going to strengthen the capacity of Afghan security forces and the Afghan government so that they can begin taking responsibility and gain confidence of the Afghan people.

And our strategy includes a military effort that takes the fight to the Taliban while creating the conditions for greater security and a transition to the Afghans; but also a civilian effort that improves the daily lives of the Afghan people, and combats corruption; and a partnership with Pakistan and its people, because we can’t uproot extremists and advance security and opportunity unless we succeed on both sides of the border. Most of you understand that.

Tags: Afghanistan, Al Qaeda, Military, Obama administration by ecthompson md
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I hope you had a nice weekend. Mine was pretty fair.

• I have been discussing the commerce clause with a friend of mine. He is a conservative and he doesn’t like health care reform. In spite of this, we’re trying to have a civil discussion over the constitutionality of healthcare reform, which I covered a couple weeks ago. One of the arguments for the constitutionality of health care reform is Congress’s authority under the commerce clause in the Constitution. The commerce clause can be found in article I, section 8. I found a nice explanation of the commerce clause here. I have also been reviewing Linda Monk’s book, The Words We Live By. It points to a couple of key cases that I’m going to be looking up in the next day or so (United States versus Darby Lumber Company, Heart of Atlanta Motel versus the United States).
• I congratulate President Obama for going to Afghanistan. I think it is truly important that we get Afghanistan right. One of the key questions is — is it too late? Only time will tell. One thing is certain. We have to get the corruption under control.
• Several days ago, I got my U.S. Census letter in the mail. As I was filling it out, I kept thinking to myself, what’s the big deal? Conservatives like Michele Bachmann have been railing against the census as if the questions were going to be the most invasive ever thought of (what is your bra size? How often do you watch pornography on the Internet?) She even went so far as to suggest that people should not fill out the census — violating US law. The questions were simple. The information is critically important to all of us.
• Lost in the healthcare debate is the reform of student loans that was also in the legislation. Government loans used to go through different financial agencies so that they can extract management fees. Now the government will lend directly to students. This should significantly decrease interest rates and other fees. This is a good thing.
• Sarah Palin has come up with a new attack line against President Barack Obama. I guess she thinks that this is a winner. She told a crowd at the “Conservative Woodstock” in Searchlight, Nevada that, “we need a commander-in-chief, not a constitutional law professor lecturing us from a lectern.” Now that’s a comeback… not!! She spent a good deal of her time talking about how important the Constitution is and then turned around to claim that we don’t need a constitutional law professor. Does that make any sense? Does she make any sense?
• Frank Rich from the New York Times had an absolutely fabulous column today. He put the over-the-top rhetoric and violence into perspective. We have to go back to the civil rights era and the ratification of the Civil Rights Act before we can say that we’ve seen anything like this in American politics. Here’s a small excerpt from his column. (Please read all the column. It is wonderful.):

But there was nothing like this. To find a prototype for the overheated reaction to the health care bill, you have to look a year before Medicare, to the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Both laws passed by similar majorities in Congress; the Civil Rights Act received even more votes in the Senate (73) than Medicare (70). But it was only the civil rights bill that made some Americans run off the rails. That’s because it was the one that signaled an inexorable and immutable change in the very identity of America, not just its governance.

The apocalyptic predictions then, like those about health care now, were all framed in constitutional pieties, of course. Barry Goldwater, running for president in ’64, drew on the counsel of two young legal allies, William Rehnquist and Robert Bork, to characterize the bill as a “threat to the very essence of our basic system” and a “usurpation” of states’ rights that “would force you to admit drunks, a known murderer or an insane person into your place of business.” Richard Russell, the segregationist Democratic senator from Georgia, said the bill “would destroy the free enterprise system.” David Lawrence, a widely syndicated conservative columnist, bemoaned the establishment of “a federal dictatorship.” Meanwhile, three civil rights workers were murdered in Philadelphia, Miss.

That a tsunami of anger is gathering today is illogical, given that what the right calls “Obamacare” is less provocative than either the Civil Rights Act of 1964 or Medicare, an epic entitlement that actually did precipitate a government takeover of a sizable chunk of American health care. But the explanation is plain: the health care bill is not the main source of this anger and never has been. It’s merely a handy excuse. The real source of the over-the-top rage of 2010 is the same kind of national existential reordering that roiled America in 1964.

In fact, the current surge of anger — and the accompanying rise in right-wing extremism — predates the entire health care debate. The first signs were the shrieks of “traitor” and “off with his head” at Palin rallies as Obama’s election became more likely in October 2008. Those passions have spiraled ever since — from Gov. Rick Perry’s kowtowing to secessionists at a Tea Party rally in Texas to the gratuitous brandishing of assault weaponsat Obama health care rallies last summer to “You lie!” piercing the president’s address to Congress last fall like an ominous shot.

• And then there was one… or four. Kansas, Kentucky, Syracuse and Duke were all ranked the number one seeds in their sections. Only Duke has made it to the final four. The other three teams include Michigan State, West Virginia and possibly the greatest Cinderella story of them all, Butler. March madness brings some absolutely fabulous basketball and some of the most horrendous basketball faux pas. By the way, I picked Duke to win it all.

I’ll end with a little smooth jazz from Jeff Lorber, who has playing this type of music for over 25 years.

Artist: Jeff Lorber
Tune: Rain Song

Tags: Afghanistan, Domestic Issues, Healthcare, Legal, Music by ecthompson md
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I hope that everybody is doing well tonight.

• As a NFL Fan, I must start out with LaDainian Tomlinson’s release from the Chargers. I’m not surprised. He isn’t the same back that he was just three years ago, but damn.

Chargers let LT go [ 0:01 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

• Former Vice President Dick Cheney is back in the hospital with chest pain.  Former Presidential contender and Senate minority leader Bob Dole is also in the hospital. I wish both a speed recovery.

From Political Animal:

• Afghanistan: “An airstrike launched Sunday by United States Special Forces helicopters against what international troops believed to be a group of insurgents ended up killing as many as 27 civilians in the worst such case since at least September, Afghan officials said Monday.”
• Senate vote on jobs bill still set for later today, though whether Republicans will allow senators to vote on the stripped-down bill remains unclear.
• For those keeping score, there are now 21 Democratic senators who support using reconciliation to vote on a public option.
• New consumer protections on credit cards go into effect today.
• I can only hope that Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa) does not support terrorist acts against the government of the United States.
• Oklahoma’s outrageous anti-abortion law has been deemed unconstitutional. Good.
• The “Volcker rule” picks up endorsements from five former Treasury secretaries.
• Powerful piece from Adam Serwer: “Whereas al-Zawahiri and bin Laden turned to al-Sharif for a method to circumvent the plain language of the Koran, Bush and Cheney went to Yoo and Jay Bybee to circumvent the plain language of the law.”
• Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) seems to be getting more and more confused.
• Clarence Thomas hasn’t said a word on the court in four years.
• Fox News hatchet-man Griff Jenkins loves being the ambusher, not the ambushee.
• Alexander Haig dies at age 85.
• Leonard Pitts Jr.: “To listen to talk radio, to watch TV pundits, to read a newspaper’s online message board, is to realize that increasingly, we are a people estranged from critical thinking, divorced from logic, alienated from even objective truth…. [O]bjective reality does not change because you refuse to accept it. The fact that you refuse to acknowledge a wall does not change the fact that it’s a wall. And you shouldn’t have to hit it to find that out.”

Any other thoughts? Things to add?

Tags: Afghanistan, Al Qaeda, Bin Laden, Civil Rights, Economy, Party Politics, Sports by ecthompson md
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Errington starts the show by congratulating Aaron on his new full-time gig with Local Edge Radio, Monday through Friday 3 to 6 and then hits upon a few topical insights, starting with a private citizen’s billboard on Highway 1 in Wisconsin which suggests brazenly that we “impeach Obama.” The lawyer for this guy says it’s only an expression suggesting a change in Washington and a better focus on small business! We then go over a few other erstwhile concerns, like needing some definitive explanations about Afghanistan and how the 400 highest-earning American households grew by $345 million dollars in 2007, according to the IRS. Sure would be nice if my household had increased by 31%! Before heading into the segment with two great guests, Errington covers CPAC’s maverick-y no-show, Ms Sarah Palin, the inescapable and unexplainable tragedy of Joseph Andrew’s Stack’s last flight and the unnerving number of condoms distributed to each visiting athlete in Vancouver.

Errington’s guests for the show are Mark Karlin from Buzzflash.com and Professor Juan Cole from Informed Comment. With Mark Karlin, the conversation begins with the absurdity of Tiger Woods’ personal life coming before the healthcare crisis, the controversy about building nuclear power plants and the rising number of American deaths in Afghanistan. Karlin calls Republicans “complete hypocrites” with regard to the stimulus package, which did stabilize the economy, and challenges Democrats to give the Republicans the “back of the hand” and demonstrate some strength!

Professor Juan Cole, an expert on the Middle East who teaches history at the University of Michigan, lays out for us short-term and long-term rationale for the Obama Administration’s presence in and withdrawal from Afghanistan. Professor Cole, distinguished author of Engaging the Muslim World, puts into perspective the real concern about a “nuclear Taliban.” About purported exit strategies, he claims that, “stabilizing Afghanistan in an 18-month period is far-fetched.”

Errington wraps up with a reminder about his Foreign Policy Week blog posts, revisiting some important notes on North Korea’s bargaining chips and the mismanagement of the situation by the last administration. Now this is some great progressive radio!

The Errington Thompson Show - 2-20-2010 [ 54:24 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Tags: Afghanistan, Pakistan, Podcasts by ecthompson md
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