The Commentariat -- December 31
President Obama's Weekly Address:
... The transcript is here.
Bill Maher's New Rules for 2012, in the New York Times Sunday Review.
Time magazine's Top Political Gaffes of 2011. Must-see video.
The White House Year in Photos. Photos by White House photographer Pete Souza. Pundits often complain that President Obama is "cool," "distant" or "aloof." That's not my impression:
"The President greets a woman following a ceremony to commemorate the tenth anniversary of 9/11 at the Flight 93 National Memorial in Shanksville, Pa. The President and First Lady greeted virtually every family member that attended the ceremony." -- Pete Souza, White House photographer
New York Times Editors: "After they took power in January, the hard-line Republicans who dominate the House reached for a radical overhaul of American government, hoping to unravel the social safety net, cut taxes further for the wealthy and strip away regulation of business. Fortunately, thanks to defensive tactics by Democrats, they failed to achieve most of their agenda. But they still did significant damage in 2011 to many of the most important functions of government, and particularly to investments in education, training and transportation that the country will need for a sound economic recovery."
Nullification -- When One Senator Can Shut Down a Federal Agency on a Whim. Kevin Drum of Mother Jones: "Republicans are refusing to allow votes on President Obama's nominee to head the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and on his nominees to fill vacancies on the National Labor Relations Board. In both cases, the Republican refusal is explicity aimed at shutting down these agencies.... Republicans make no bones about why they're doing this.... Since, in practice, a single senator can place a hold on a nominee, this means that a single senator is now able to shut down an entire agency of the federal government simply out of dislike for what it's doing." ...
... For Example. Peter Landers of the Wall Street Journal: "The Obama administration's confirmation troubles have come to this: It can't get the Senate to accept its nominee for public printer of the United States."
If you're a college sports fan, or even if you're not, read Joe Nocera's column on the N.C.A.A. cartel. "How can the labor force that generates so much money for everyone else be kept in shackles by the N.C.A.A.?" That "labor force" is, of course, the athletes themselves.
Former Sen. Arlen Specter (R/D-Penn.) does stand-up comedy at a Philadelphia club. Kinda corny, definitely blue, and pretty amazing. Via The Hill:
Right Wing World
Mitt Romney -- Poster Boy for the Buffett Rule. Josh Marshall of TPM: Willard won't release his taxes because "It seems virtually impossible that Mitt Romney doesn’t pay the sort of effective tax rate that would make people’s eyes pop when compared to middle income and even relatively wealthy (by normal standards) people who pay considerably higher rate.... Issues of income inequality and particularly tax policy are right at the top of the political agenda in 2012." ...
... Mitt's son Matt isn't helping any:
This is how the Romney campaign thinks it's going to win the Republican primary: by pandering to the dead-ender fringe of extremists who still question where the president was born. -- Jim Messina, Obama for America campaign manager
Boo-hoo. Molly Ball of The Atlantic: Frank Luntz makes Republicans sad and blue. CW: have you ever seen a Republican shed tears for anyone other than himself?
When Is a Gynecologist a Misogynist? When He's Ron Paul: Employee rights are said to be valid when employers pressure employees into sexual activity. Why don't they quit once the so-called harassment starts? Obviously the morals of the harasser cannot be defended, but how can the harassee escape some responsibility for the problem? Seeking protection under civil rights legislation is hardly acceptable. -- Ron Paul, in Freedom Under Seige, 1987, reissued 2008 ...
... Pete Hamby of CNN: "In his 1987 manifesto 'Freedom Under Siege: The U.S. Constitution after 200-Plus Years,' [Ron] Paul wrote that AIDS patients were victims of their own lifestyle, questioned the rights of minorities and argued that people who are sexually harassed at work should quit their jobs."
... More New York Times op-ed art is here.
News Ledes
Washington Post: "Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. defended his colleagues as 'jurists of exceptional integrity and experience' and said Saturday that it was a misconception that Supreme Court justices do not follow the same set of ethical principles as other judges."
The New York Times story I posted on the shortlife of a Verizon fee doesn't mention Change.org, but this story from Wireless & Mobile News does: "Verizon will not be charging 'convenience' fees for one-time bill payments made online and customers have Change.org to thank. After a petition to stop the fee gained support, Verizon dropped the charge."
New York Times: ", after objecting to provisions of a military spending bill that would have forced him to try terrorism suspects in military courts and impose strict sanctions on ’s oil exports, signed the bill on Saturday. He said that although he did not support all of it, changes made by Congress after negotiations with the White House had satisfied most of his concerns and had given him enough latitude to manage counterterrorism and foreign policy in keeping with administration principles."
Los Angeles Times: "Authorities across Southern California were beefing up patrols Saturday night, hoping to catch the person or persons responsible for more than 35 fires over the last two days. Los Angeles police and fire officials were trying to determine whether the fires were the work of one arsonist or several."
New York Times: 'A pair of spacecraft are slipping into orbit around the this weekend to try to answer persistent questions about ’s celestial companion."
Reuters: "Boeing Co beat out Lockheed Martin to retain its position as the prime contractor for the U.S. long-range missile shield, the Pentagon said on Friday.The U.S. Defense Department said it was awarding Boeing a $3.48 billion, seven-year contract to develop, test, engineer and manufacture missile defense systems."
Reuters: "Iran delayed promised long-range missile tests in the Gulf on Saturday and Tehran signaled it was ready for fresh talks on its disputed nuclear program. Iran's state media initially reported early on Saturday that long-range missiles had been launched during naval exercises, a move that may irk the West concerned over threats by Tehran to close off a vital oil shipping route in the Gulf. But Deputy Navy Commander Mahmoud Mousavi later went on the English language Press TV channel to deny the missiles had in fact been fired."
Al Jazeera: "An Arab League observer has said he saw snipers in the Syrian city of Deraa, as protests against President Bashar al-Assad erupted across the country on Friday. 'We saw snipers in the town, we saw them with our own eyes,' the observer told residents in a conversation filmed and posted online.... Activists said hundreds of thousands of people demonstrated across the country after noon Muslim prayers on Friday."
Reuters: "China's central bank governor argued in comments published on Saturday that Beijing does not control the yuan's flow across borders as tightly as some think and that it is natural for the currency's trading band to be widened over time. Zhou Xiaochuan said in an interview ... that China did not fare badly on an International Monetary Fund measure of currencies' convertibility under the capital account. But he stopped short of calling for a fully convertible currency."
Guardian: "Los Angeles police are seeking a serial arsonist suspected of starting 21 fires in Hollywood in just four hours on Friday night, damaging buildings and cars throughout the area. An arsonist is thought to have started the fires by setting vehicles alight. The flames then spread to nearby houses, including one in Hollywood Hills once occupied by the Doors singer Jim Morrison, which inspired the song Love Street."
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