Category Archives: U.S. Congress

Culture, U.S. Congress, U.S. Politics

Expanding the Oxymoronic Base: the Republican Drive to Dumb Down the Rest of America………….

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“House Republicans are laying the groundwork for another battle with President Obama over spending and domestic policy with a bill that would cut some of his favorite health and education programs, tie the hands of the National Labor Relations Board and eliminate federal grants for Planned Parenthood clinics. The bill, which finances the Departments of Labor, Education and Health and Human Services, would prohibit Mr. Obama from spending more money to carry out the new health care law until all legal challenges to the law were resolved……. The House bill would also block numerous rules intended to protect workers. For example, the National Labor Relations Board could not use any money to enforce a new requirement that employers notify workers of their rights to form and join unions……. the bill would eliminate Pell grants for a million students, or roughly 10 percent of those now eligible, while reducing the cost of the program by $3.5 billion, also 10 percent. Since many states have increased tuition at public colleges, Mr. Hartle said, the bill would mean that “low- and middle-income families will face higher college costs with less student aid.”………. Federal education officials could not enforce a new rule setting stricter standards for profit-making colleges and vocational schools………..”

This looks suspiciously like a deliberate drive to dumb down the rest of America. Less educational opportunities, less education, lower quality education: all these point out to a desired end product that forms the base of the Republican Tea Party. Polls and surveys have indicated in recent years that the less educated voters prefer extreme right wing Republican candidates, while the most educated prefer Democrat candidates. This analysis probably applies especially to white voters in Blue states or ‘swing’ states who are more likely to be considered ‘independent’ voters. The Republicans want dumber “independent” voters, presumably dumber than voters in the extremely Red states, which some may consider an oxymoron-ic thing to expect.
Cheers
mhg


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Israel, Palestine, U.S. Congress, US Foreign Policy

American Likudnik Knesset Punishes Palestinian Authority………

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“The Palestinian leadership yesterday accused the US Congress of inflicting “collective punishment” upon its people by holding up almost $200m in aid earmarked for the West Bank and Gaza by the Obama administration. The freeze on funds earlier allocated for the financial year which ends today is the first concrete Congressional reprisal against Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to come to light since he angered US legislators by pursuing his application for full UN membership last week. The unpublicised block has been in force since August and was imposed in response to the then planned UN recognition bid,………”

The Palestinian Authority (PA) is often accused by its opponents of doing the bidding of the United States government and the Israeli Likud government. Apparently the PA felt that its authority over Palestinians was slipping, it had to do something to slow this trend. In a desperate move it applied for UN recognition. It did this just at the beginning of the U.S. electoral cycle and in a year when extreme right-wing Republicans control the U.S. Congress, with Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, a well-known right-winger and avid Likudnik, as head of the Foreign Affairs Committee. They might as well have elected Bibi Netanyahu as chairman of the committee. This is not a time when most politicians in Washington show any courage for peace, if ever.
Cheers
mhg


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Arab Counterrevoltion, Arab Revolutions, Libya, NATO, U.S. Congress, US Foreign Policy

McCain and Graham Lose Lieberman, Abandon Iraq, Seek to Settle in Libya, about Grits…………

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“The four lawmakers — John McCain of Arizona, Mark Kirk of Illinois, Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and Marco Rubio of Florida — planned to meet with members of the National Transitional Council, which is now governing Libya after the rebels forced Qaddafi from power. Qaddafi’s whereabouts remain unknown, but the new leaders suspect he is hiding in the southern desert of the North African nation. The senators, whose brief visit was largely shrouded in secrecy, also planned to tour Martyrs’ Square and hold a news conference with reporters. They traveled from Malta, where they met with Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi on Wednesday……….”

I hope the senators had a good chat with Mr. Gonzi in Malta (I wonder wtf happened to old Mr. Mintoff?). Glad to see them lose Lieberman and pick up a couple of new sidekicks. I never cared for that weasel Joe, but that’s okay, he did enough damage. Now it is McCain and Graham who seek bases in the Arab world, almost insist on it. McCain probably travels to the Middle East more than he travel to Arizona except at election time and the same applies to Graham. Which tells you something about the quality of the Arizona Tex-Mex cuisine and the grits in these two states. South Carolina did have good grits when I was a freshman there, at least the university dorm did, but that was probably not in Senator Graham’s hometown.
Cheers
mhg


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Economics, Iran, U.S. Congress, U.S. Politics, US Foreign Policy

Ahmadinejad on the U.S. Economy, his American Well-Wishers…….

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“Mr. Ahmadinejad also indulged in a bit of triumphalism. He acknowledged that the West’s “crippling” sanctions against Iran had “worked well.” But he added: “Does Iran face more problems or the United States of America?” He referred to the “collapse” of the American financial system and suggested that Iran’s economy is in better shape. He added that the West will be driven by its weakness to “seek a rapprochement with Iran.” Then the interview was over, and Mr. Ahmadinejad zoomed back from bombast to conciliation. He beamed and told me: “We truly like and love the people of the United States.”………….”

Ahmadinejad was gloating on television yesterday. He rattled off statistics, real data, about the U.S. economy that should worry any American. He talked about unemployment, poverty, widening inequality, public debt, prisoner ratios, and other issues. Of course, he did not care to mention how the Iranian economy and the Iranian people have been doing under his regime.
Like I said, the statistics he rattled off should worry most Americans and not just some. Most of the U. S. economic problems have been self-inflicted, especially the past obsession with “deregulation” and gutting oversight, while more of Iran’s problems are foreign-inflicted. Yet I have no doubt that there are Americans also gloating over some of the same statistics (while denying some of them). Ahmadinejad was trying to get back at the U.S. for imposing tough sanctions on his country. On the other hand, some Americans are no doubt seriously hoping for the hard times to continue, but only until after the elections of 2012.
A twist of fate: Mr. Ahmadinejad knows that the health of the Iranian economy is tied to the health of the U.S. economy, sanctions or no sanctions. He did not and he does not wish the American economy any ill, for his own country’s sake. American policy-makers also know that the health of the world economy is tied to the ability of Iran (as well as others) to produce petroleum, that same crude stuff that U.S. politicians rail about in public and want o “boycott’. They also know that a cessation of Iranian exports will cause prices to skyrocket, but probably help a couple of places like Texas and the Gulf of Mexico operations.
Cheers
mhg


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Corruption, Culture, Economics, Finance, U.S. Congress

The Lehman Precedent and Goldman’s Catharsis: WTF Rates Standard & Poor ?………….

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“Standard & Poor’s is taking great pains to defend its “A” rating for Lehman Holdings Inc. The rating company fired off a report Wednesday asserting that the recent collapse of the investment banking firm was a case of negative market sentiment — whether or not grounded in fundamentals — creating significant difficulties that led the company to the point of failure. “In our view, Lehman had a strong franchise across its core investment banking, trading, and investment management business,” S&P stated. “It had adequate liquidity relative to reasonably severe and foreseeable temporary stresses.” The ratings service insisted that looking beyond the current downturn, the firm had good earnings-generating ability. “We believe the downfall of Lehman reflected escalating fears that led to a loss of confidence ………..”

Thus wrote Paul Krugman in Sept. 2008 about Standard and Poor (S & P) high rating of Lehman Bros just before it collapsed. Ergo, the S & P downgrading U.S. debt is probably as meaningless as its high grade of Lehman. Good point. I think I asked around that time: wtf rates S & P?
Goldman Sachs evaded the fate of Lehman because it had, it has, too many people in Washington in its deep pockets. That would have been a better lesson, a needed financial catharsis. Dommage……..
Cheers
mhg


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Economics, Finance, U.S. Congress, U.S. Politics

White House and U.S. Congress Engineer another Market Crash………….

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“What began as a weak day in the stock markets ended in the worst rout in more than two years, as investors dumped stocks amid anxiety that both Europe and the United States were failing to fix deepening economic problems. With a steep decline of around 5 percent in the United States on Thursday, stocks have now fallen nearly 11 percent in two weeks. Markets have been plunging as investors sought safer havens for their money — including Treasury bonds, which some had been avoiding during the debate over extending the nation’s debt ceiling…….With investors in the United States already focusing anew on fragile economic growth and high unemployment, waves of selling of stocks began in Europe and continued throughout the day in the United States. Analysts said the market still might have further to fall, as investors reassess the dimming economic prospects……..”

As someone said, or maybe as someone ought to have said: asinine politicians espouse asinine economic policies and create disaster. Clearly there is no shortage of asinine politicians in the United States Congress, from both parties, although the Republicans seem to earn the prize (in asininity). There is nothing more asinine in economics than forcing a contractionary economic policy during a deep recession. Even if it is for the sake of the higher goal of political expediency. Is like Roosevelt’s double-dip recession in the mid 1930s?
I know, I know, the situation in Europe helped, but the main culprits are in Washington, DC.
Cheers
mhg


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Economics, U.S. Congress, U.S. Politics

U.S. Tea Party Nation: the Democrats’ Date Rape………….

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“While much of Congress is upset at the prospect of downing such a bitter brew, the new political faction known as the Tea Party doesn’t abide any compromise, no matter the stakes for the country. With just two more days on the debt clock, the machinations on Capitol Hill grew ever more surreal on Sunday. Reid’s initial compromise failed to get the required 60 votes to overcome a Republican filibuster……… As the deal evolved with more than $2 trillion in cuts, equal to or more than the amount needed to extend the debt ceiling through the next election, and with no additional revenue, the clear winner was the Tea Party. The newcomers held their ground, dictating the terms of the debate and extracting a historic victory in the scale of deficit reduction. Yet many who ran under the Tea Party banner could end up voting against it because it doesn’t go far enough. These members’ refusal to back down on any new revenue, not even closing tax loopholes for special interests, took the nation’s economy to the brink. And it left some Democrats feeling like they had been extorted ………..”

“Feeling extorted” is the wrong term to use for Democrat legislatures. The Democrats undressed, lied down (presumably on their backs but not necessarily so) and opened their legs just wide enough. Can they call it rape now? Absolutely not: they were intimidated, became the “chicken” in the unusual game of chicken, but they could have kept their clothes on, could have said “NO”.
(There is no such thing as a “Tea Party”: it is a major wing of the GOP now and soon it will be all of the GOP).
Cheers
mhg


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Arab Media, Israel, U.S. Congress

What some Arabs Saw in the US Congress, Bibi….

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Some Arab media headlines after the Netanyahu speech to a joint session of the US Congress:

“Eulogy for a Hezbollah-controlled’ Lebanon”

“Netanyahu in Congress: America falls on her knee before Israel”

“US Congress looked like a third world parliament heaping accolades on the Great Leader”

“Netanyahu speech was a speech of fear” (Saudi Asharq Alawsat, one of the few that tried to put a somewhat positive face on it)

Some of my own (ArabiaDeserta) live tweets (the last are first):


“Shit! some of these guys are gushing, you’d think they’re shaking hands with John the Baptist hisself…” Me

“Okay, I know the Dome of the Capitol is covered with a thick layer of bull, a lil more than in a normal session…” Me

“There may be some health reasons for all these “standing” ovations (how do you spell r-e-l-i-e-f)..” Me

“Hmm.. Did he just lie? didn’t the Ottomans and British allow freedom of worship in Jerusalem?….” Me

“Now the ijits clapping for annexation of East Jerusalem…..” Me

“I think Congressmen who stood for the “Judea and Samaria” remark wanted to give their brains a rest from the weight…” Me

“Clever #Netanyahu, stupid #Congress: he quickly changed the subject from Palestine to #Iran….” Me
Cheers
mhg


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Arab Counterrevoltion, Arab Revolutions, Arabian Peninsula, Saudi Arabia, U.S. Congress, US Foreign Policy

The Brave New Saudi-Israeli World of the West, Royal Red Eyes……..

     
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“Saudi authorities have arrested over 160 peaceful dissidents in violation of international human rights law since February 2011, Human Rights Watch said today. Human Rights Watch urged the interior minister, Prince Nayef bin Abd al-‘Aziz Al Sa’ud, to order the immediate release of peaceful dissidents, including Nadhir al-Majid, a writer and teacher arrested on April 17. Allies of Saudi Arabia have not publicly protested these serious and systematic violations. The European Union foreign policy chief, Catherine Ashton, said on April 18 that she had been “very pleased” with her two-day visit to Riyadh and made no public comments about the political prisoners. Neither Tom Donilon, the US national security adviser who visited Riyadh on April 13, nor Robert Gates, US defense secretary who visited on April 6, publicly commented on the kingdom’s human rights violations………”

Of course Western dignitaries will not bring up the issue of human rights violations and abuses in Riyadh. Already the aging al-Saud brothers have given Mr. Obama and Mrs. Clinton what is called the ‘red eye’ in the Gulf, in what the Saudis call the Persian-American Gulf. The red eye is our Gulf term for a serious scowl, where the eyebrows drop to somewhere between the nose and the shoe-polished dyed mustache of a potentate. Neither of these two leaders, nor their functionaries, would dare criticize the al-Saud brothers in public anymore. Now the new “third rail” of U.S politics consists of two: Israel and the al-Saud. Criticize the first at your own risk: every other politician will come after your hide. Criticize the second publicly and the aging despotic petroleum brothers will have a collective hissy fit, sending their septuagenarian offspring menacingly to China and Russia, threatening to replace American Kool-Aid with Tsigntao or Stoly.
Somehow, silently, by stealth, criticism of the al-Saud have become taboo in Western capitals. With all the Saudi abuses of human rights, much more flagrant than in Iran or Syria or Egypt under Mubarak, when was the last time anyone heard a US president or cabinet member, or a French president or a British prime minister publicly mention the issue? Silently and by stealth, even some members of Congress have added the al-Saud dynasty to the ‘third rail of politics. Soon the old king or one of his brothers will be invited to address a joint session of Congress. I suppose he can talk about the joys of absolute tribal monarchy. Or maybe he can spend his ten minutes on the joys of polygamy and how it can keep some senators out of those famous black books that can get them in trouble.
Cheers
mhg

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