The Commentariat -- Dec. 2, 2012
Cliff Notes
Mark Smith of the AP: "President Barack Obama is ready to entertain Republican proposals for spending cuts, but GOP lawmakers must first commit to higher tax rates on the rich and specify what additional spending cuts they want in a deal to avoid the looming 'fiscal cliff,' Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said. 'The ball really is with them now,' Geithner, one of the president's chief negotiators with Capitol Hill, said during appearances on five Sunday talk shows."
Jia Lin Yang & Suzy Khimm of the Washington Post: "U.S. multinationals have spent years pushing for a change to the tax code that would eliminate taxes on business profits overseas.... Now ... lobbyists and some on Capitol Hill are latching onto the 'fiscal cliff' as a potential springboard for their cause." Support comes from the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform co-chaired by Erskine Bowles & Alan Simpson (R-Wyo.), President Obama's jobs council, Mitt Romney's economic platform, the Business Roundtable & the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. "Some tax experts warn, however, that such a change could radically alter how companies behave and have broad implications for the economy. Without the right safeguards, they say, eliminating taxes on foreign profits and switching to what is known as a 'territorial' system would blow a hole in tax revenue, give multinationals more leeway to exploit tax havens and drive jobs overseas." CW: No kidding. Hey, what could be more American than more tax breaks for the ultra-rich corporations/people?
"What Does Jack Think?" Sheryl Gay Stolberg of the New York Times profiles Jack Lew, President Obama's chief of staff & a former budget director under both the Obama & Clinton administrations.
Louise Story of the New York Times: "A Times investigation has examined and tallied thousands of local incentives granted nationwide and has found that states, counties and cities are giving up more than $80 billion each year to companies. The beneficiaries come from virtually every corner of the corporate world, encompassing oil and coal conglomerates, technology and entertainment companies, banks and big-box retail chains. The cost of the awards is certainly far higher.... For local governments, incentives have become the cost of doing business with almost every business."
Jessica Silver-Greenberg of the New York Times: "Just as the housing market is recovering, a growing group of homeowners -- widows over the age of 50 whose husbands alone were holders of the mortgage -- are losing their homes to foreclosure because of a paperwork flaw that keeps them from obtaining loan modifications. In the latest chapter of the foreclosure crisis, homeowners over 50 are falling into foreclosure at the fastest pace of any age group, according to nationwide data, in part because women are outliving their spouses and are unable to cope with cuts in their pensions, ballooning medical costs -- and the fine print on their mortgages." CW: Nice going, Banksters. Nothing like hitting elderly widows when she's down. No one can say you jackasses are not living up to your stereotype. ...
... Kevin Roose of New York: banksters dread the coming of Sen. Elizabeth Warren, fearing she is more than "one of a hundred."
Margaret Carlson of Bloomberg News: "... the story McCain and Graham are trying to sell is getting harder and harder to swallow."
For all sad words of tongue and pen, The saddest are these, "It might have been."Mitt Is Bored, Ann Is Disconsolate. Philip Rucker of the Washington Post: "Four weeks after losing a presidential election he was convinced he would win, Romney's rapid retreat into seclusion has been marked by repressed emotions, second guessing and, perhaps for the first time in the overachiever's adult life, sustained boredom, according to interviews with more than a dozen of Romney's closest friends and advisers.... By all accounts, the past month has been most difficult on Romney's wife, Ann, who friends said believed up until the end that ascending to the White House was their destiny. They said she has been crying in private...."
Greg Jaffe of the Washington Post: David "Petraeus was neither a conquering hero nor an empty suit. To view his military record through the lens of his personal failure merely serves to replace one myth with another."
Greg Miller of the Washington Post: "The Pentagon will send hundreds of additional spies overseas as part of an ambitious plan to assemble an espionage network that rivals the CIA in size, U.S. officials said. The project is aimed at transforming the Defense Intelligence Agency, which has been dominated for the past decade by the demands of two wars, into a spy service focused on emerging threats and more closely aligned with the CIA and elite military commando units."
David Kirkpatrick of the New York Times: Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi's "recent tone and actions reminded critics of the autocratic ways of his predecessor, and have aroused a new debate here about his commitment to democracy and pluralism at a time when he and his Islamist allies dominate political life."
Right Wing World
Tom Tomorrow in AlterNet.
Andre Tartar of New York: Defeated Tea Party Rep. Allen West (Florida) compares himself to -- Abe Lincoln.
News Ledes
The Hill: "President Obama and former President Bill Clinton hit the golf course on Sunday."
AP: "The trial of an Army private charged with sending U.S. secrets to the website WikiLeaks is being pushed back from February to March. Military judge Col. Denise Lind announced the change Sunday at a pretrial hearing at Fort Meade for Pfc. Bradley Manning."
AP: "The Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has returned home to a hero's welcome after winning a resounding endorsement for Palestinian independence at the United Nations. Some 5,000 people thronged a square Sunday outside Abbas' government headquarters in the West Bank. Many hoisted Palestinian flags and balloons in the colors of the flag." ...
... Reuters: "Israel said on Sunday it was withholding this month's transfer of tax revenues to the Palestinian Authority, after the United Nations' de facto recognition of a Palestinian state."
Reuters: "Protests by Islamists allied to President Mohamed Mursi forced Egypt's highest court to adjourn its work indefinitely on Sunday, intensifying a conflict between some of the country's top judges and the head of state. The Supreme Constitutional Court said it would not convene until its judges could operate without 'psychological and material pressure', saying protesters had stopped the judges from reaching the building."
Reuters: "Suicide attackers detonated bombs and fired rockets outside a major U.S. base in Afghanistan on Sunday, killing five people in a brazen operation that highlighted the country's security challenges ahead of the 2014 NATO combat troop pullout."
Reuters: "A strike by clerical workers at the twin ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach idled most of the busiest U.S. cargo shipping complex for a fifth day on Saturday as container-laden vessels waited to be unloaded and marathon contract talks stretched into the night. Some 10,000 members of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union Local 63 were refusing to cross picket lines of some 500 striking clerical workers, effectively shutting down 10 of the two ports' combined 14 container terminals."
Reuters: "Kansas City Chiefs starting linebacker Jovan Belcher shot his girlfriend to death, then drove to the team training facility and killed himself in front of the coach and general manager in a burst of violence on Saturday that stunned the NFL and its fans." CW: (1) give a guy a job where he gets his head bashed several times a day; (2) give him a gun; (3) act all surprised when he kills his girlfriend over a trivial argument, then takes his own life.
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Reader Comments (13)
Sometimes Tom Tomorrow sums it up perfectly. Like this time.
Just a minor observation. While watching the 'news' the last few nights I saw the protests in Egypt. Interesting thing, the protest against President Mohamed Mursi had a significant number of women. At the protest in his support, I could not see even one women present. All this reminds me of a piece of our own culture. I have always wondered why men are so scared of women, this pathetic need to use women to prove their power.
As a little aside observation, this may explain it in part. Years ago we became friends with a women from an ultra orthodox Jewish sect. We went to annual festival they held and participated in an auction to raise some money. Of course, the men sat up front and did all the bidding and the women just sat in the back. However, a lot of the men turned around to look at their wives before bidding and the wives nodded the yes or no! So it was my view of the real macho men! I wonder how many of those tough guys at the protests had a little problem explaining themselves when they got home.
@Marvin: My mother who loved teaching also fell in love with my father but hesitated to marry because back then married women were not eligible in the teaching profession––I suppose because they might get pregnant? So she postponed the marriage until her middle thirties. Here was a woman who could have had numerous careers––she had really wanted to be a landscape gardner but her German grandfather, strict to the teeth, said it was not a profession for a woman–––so she settled at being a mother and a "housewife" but she ruled the roost and her word was law. Even at a very young age it was clear to me that the "head of the family" was in name only. Luckily my father whose own Irish mother also ruled the roost was, for the most part, comfortable with these roles.
I think men instinctively sense the great strength in women and for time immemorial have tried to keep it reined in and yet have depended upon it at the same time. I have always thought it must be tough for males who think males have to be so tough.
@crashdavid, et al. To those of you who were convinced by Finkelman's op-ed in yesterday's Times, I commend you to this compendium of Jefferson's remarks on slavery. While it is true that Jefferson thought non-whites were inferior to whites, he was always opposed to slavery in principle, and in one letter he even owned that it was possible that non-whites had an equal intellectual capacity. I don't really think we today can fault him for holding to a wrong-headed belief that the vast majority of white people held at the time. And I doubt it was entirely "pseudoscience" that convinced him. Slaves often purposely played dumb to get out of work & thus undermine the institution of slavery. It was one of their many means of completely justified protest. But, if they were good at it, they probably presented as convincingly stupid.
It is also true that, unlike Washington & others, Jefferson did not free his slaves in his will, except for those who were his heirs. (He freed a few of his heirs & their relations during his lifetime.) I am not condoning Jefferson's failure to act on his beliefs, but of course there are two differences between Washington & Jefferson -- Washington was (1) wealthier, and (2) had no children wanting an inheritance.
It is possible to argue that -- just as I do -- Jefferson lived within the law as it was & not as it should have been. Just as Finkelman called Jefferson "The Monster of Monticello," I think it would be fair to call me "The Monster of Fort Myers." As Jefferson was opposed to slavery, so I am opposed to special tax breaks for the rich. I'm not rich, but every year my husband and I give a passel of dough to tax-exempt organizations -- because we can take our "charitable" giving as a big fat tax deduction. We also take the capital gains tax breaks. A purist would argue that we are wrong to do so -- that we should just take the standard deduction & pay all of our taxes as ordinary income. We are not going to be doing that. Will I cry my eyes out (like Ann Romney) if the tax structure is made more progressive & my taxes go up? Absolutely not. I favor reforms that will hit my pocketbook, especially if they hit those harder who are far richer than I. But in the meantime, I stand as a hypocrite -- someone who opposes the tax advantages I get and takes 'em anyway.
Am I more or less terrible than Jefferson because taking from the poor to give to the upper middle class is "not as bad as" keeping slaves? Hard to say.
Marie
Is it wrong of me to feel a strange satisfaction at the idea of Ms. Romney's inner demons stirring up despair and despondency? You know, the type of satisfaction like the unconscious smirk that's produced when karma finally comes full circle on that one particular asswipe who's had it coming to 'em.
Generally my midwestern values tell me not to revel in others misery, but in this case I just can't help myself. It feels good.
Well shit, nobody's perfect right?
@P. D. Pepe: apropos of your comment, I think the biographical Marmee & Louisa by Eve LaPlante -- a relative of the Alcotts -- looks interesting. Here are a couple of reviews, this one in the Boston Globe & this one in the WashPo.
Marie
@safari. When Democrats lose big elections, I too get despondent, not because I've missed another chance to move into the White House but because Democrats usually do a less bad job at governing than do Republicans. The difference between Ann Romney's reaction to her husband's loss & mine to Democratic losses is that Romney isn't concerned that Americans had elected a terrible president; rather she is feeling sorry that she won't be ordering new White House china & presiding at state dinners. So should you feel terrible for experiencing a touch of schadenfreude? Nope.
Marie
@Marie: Thanks much for the Alcott references; it does look like an interesting read. Family dynamics have always been something I am deeply interested in, especially relationships between parents and their children.
While we're not exactly sure what a fiscal cliff is, we do know what it does. It looms.
"What is it?" "I don't know, but it's looming up a storm."
Since we've mentioned s/c separation, let me note that the two relevant clauses of the First Amendment are grammatically incompatible. To wit, the subject of the "establishment" clause is "an establishment of religion." The next phrase after the comma talks about "the free exercise thereof." Thereof what? An establishment of religion? How do we exercise an establishment of religion?
By having the congregation do jumping jacks in the parking lot?
@Raul: "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof...." If a prepositional phrase can have a dependent prepositional phrase, I guess this is the way you do it. This is a lawyerly way to gum up the works.
However, for lousy grammatical construction, the First Amendment has nothing on the Second, which even got ew-commaed in the making:
As passed by the Congress:
"A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed."
As ratified by the States and authenticated by Thomas Jefferson, Secretary of State:
"A well regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed."
Just read the daily police blotter & you can see why grammar is important.
Marie
In re: Jaffe. He and David Cloud wrote a good book, "The Fourth Star" (2009) about 4 generals including Petraeus.
@safari. I get your feelings about Lady Small Balls. During the campaign I felt an enormous amount of vitriol for her, as much as I did for his Lordship. Like Marie points out, her grief is entirely self serving. I imagine her entire life has been one long ode to self absorption and the single minded delusion that money and Mormonism elevated her above most others. I am especially disgusted that Lady Small Balls, flaunted the fact that she is horribly devoid of any character and provided yet another negative female stereotype in a very public forum. So I can honestly say I don't feel glee, I feel disgust at her tears of loss. Somehow I think of it as the universe having extracted a small measure of accountability from her Ladyship.
@Safari
The Germans have a word for that "satisfaction" you felt. It is SCHADENFREUDE. I like that word.
Damn! Here I am again--a day late and a dollar short. I should have read farther down in the comments and caught Marie's reply. I still like that word though.