The Commentariat -- January 29, 2012
Vice President Joe Biden on the decision to raid the Osama bin Laden compound in Pakistan:
Quote of the Day. When they [the Church] have opened a gap in the hedge or wall of separation between the garden of the church and the wilderness of the world, God hath ever broke down the wall itself, removed the Candlestick, etc., and made His Garden a wilderness as it is this day. And that therefore if He will ever please to restore His garden and Paradise again, it must of necessity be walled in peculiarly unto Himself from the world, and all that be saved out of the world are to be transplanted out of the wilderness of the World. -- Roger Williams, 1644, "Mr. Cotton's Letter Lately Printed, Examined and Answered" ...
... In the comments to yesterday's Commentariat, contributor Fred Drumlevitch links to this New York Times story of Cranston, Rhode Island high school student Jessica Ahlquist who successfully sued to have a prayer removed from her school auditorium. In a state founded on religious tolerance by Roger Williams who was the first in the Americas to write of the principle of separation of chuch & state, Ahlquist's suit engendered hate mail and threats to the point she requires a police escost to school. Read the whole story, and don't skip the last paragraph. When contributors like Carlyle predict doom and gloom, I think of young people like Jessica Ahlquist, Daniel Denvir (who wrote a post I linked yesterday), and Ezra Klein of the Washington Post. And I don't worry. Much. ...
... On the other hand, a friend sent me this yesterday: "Billy Graham was returning to Charlotte after a speaking engagement and when his plane arrived there was a limousine there to transport him to his home. As he prepared to get into the limo, he stopped and spoke to the driver. 'You know' he said, 'I am 87 years old and I have never driven a limousine. Would you mind if I drove it for a while?' The driver said,'No problem. Have at it.' Billy gets into the driver's seat and they head off down the highway. A short distance away sat a rookie state trooper operating his first speed trap. The long black limo went by with him doing 70 in a 55 mph zone. The trooper pulled out and easily caught the limo. He got out of his patrol car to begin the procedure. The young trooper walked up to the driver's door And when the glass was rolled down, he was surprised to see who was driving. He immediately excused himself and went back to his car and called his supervisor. He told the supervisor, 'I know we are supposed to enforce the law. But I also know that important people are given certain courtesies. I need to know what I should do because I have stopped a Very Important Person.' The supervisor asked, 'Is it the governor?' The young trooper said,'No, he's more important than that.' The supervisor said, 'Oh, so it's the President.' The young trooper said, 'No, he's even more important than that.' The supervisor finally asked, 'Well then, who is it?' The young trooper said, 'I think it's Jesus, because he's got Billy Graham for a chauffeur!'"
... Erik Eckholm of the New York Times: "Online, and soon in big-box stores, you can buy a device no bigger than a cigarette pack, attach it to a car without the driver’s knowledge and watch the vehicle’s travels — and stops — at home on your laptop. Tens of thousands of Americans are already doing just that, with little oversight, for purposes as seemingly benign as tracking an elderly parent with dementia or a risky teenage driver, or as legally and ethically charged as spying on a spouse or an employee — or for outright criminal stalking.... Sales of GPS trackers to employers and individuals, for a multitude of largely unregulated uses, are growing fast, raising new questions about privacy and a legal system that has not kept pace with technology.”
How You're Making Vulture Capitalists Super-Rich. James Surowiecki of the New Yorker: how private equity firms like Bain Capital screw everybody -- except themselves -- and make millions and billions by stressing companies and playing generous tax loopholes. CW: yeah, they're crooks, but it's all legal. P.S. Thanks, Congress. Thanks to Victoria D. for the link.
Right Wing World
Fake Nice Guys Finish Second. Jim Rutenberg & Jeff Zeleny of the New York Times on how the Romney team decided to pull out all the stops against Gingrich, then did it. It's the plan they'll be using in the general election. ...
... AP: "Just how rich is Mitt Romney? Add up the wealth of the last eight presidents, from Richard Nixon to Barack Obama. Then double that number. Now you're in Romney territory. He would be among the richest presidents in American history if elected — probably in the top four." Only George Washington was definitely richer, though Romney is "small potatoes" among today's ultra-rich Americans.
Harold Holzer in the Washington Post: Newt Gingrich wants to debate President Obama Lincoln-Douglas-style, but the Lincoln-Douglas debates were not all that great. The two men behaved badly AND bored their audiences. CW: Frankly, that sounds right up Newt's alley. ...
... Prof. John Pitney, in a Washington Post op-ed piece, predicts Gingrich would not fare too well in a Lincoln-Douglas-type match-up against Obama, though there are pitfalls for Obama, too.
Mike McIntire & Michael Luo of the New York Times profile Sheldon Adelson, the moneybags who is bankrolling Newt.
Local News
CW: Party affiliation doesn't seem to mean much in Pennsylvania. David Catanese of Politico: "The two top finishers in the Pennsylvania Republican Party's U.S. Senate endorsement vote both have deep ties to the Democratic Party." Remember Sen. Arlen Specter, the one-time Democrat, long-time Republican turned Democrat? Maybe this isn't such a bad thing.
Betsy Reason of the Indiapolis Star: die-hard right-to-work opponents plan to take their protest to the Super Bowl. A bill to make Indiana a right-to-work state, which has passed in the Republican state house, is expected to pass easily in the GOP-controlled state senate and will be signed by anti-union activist Gov. Mitch Daniels.
News Ledes
New York Times: New York State "Assembly speaker, , a Manhattan Democrat, plans to introduce a bill on Monday to raise the state’s minimum wage to $8.50 an hour, a 17 percent increase. The bill also calls for the minimum wage to be adjusted each year for inflation. Mr. Silver’s action follows similar steps by lawmakers across the country: Delaware recently passed a minimum wage increase, and raises are being considered in California, Connecticut, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Missouri and New Jersey."
New York Times: "A march to take over a vacant building by members of the Occupy movement in Oakland, Calif., turned into a violent confrontation with the police on Saturday, leaving three officers injured and about 200 people arrested." San Francisco Chronicle story here. ...
... AP: "About 300 people were arrested Saturday during a chaotic day of Occupy protests that saw demonstrators break into City Hall and burn an American flag, as police earlier fired tear gas and bean bags to disperse hundreds of people after some threw rocks and bottles and tore down fencing outside a nearby convention center." ...
... Chronicle Update: "Oakland officials and Occupy protesters Sunday confronted the fallout from their continuing conflict, a fight that reignited Saturday with a chaotic, often violent day of demonstrations that resulted in at least 400 arrests. A day after Saturday's clashes, city officials took stock of the damage, which included injuries to three police officers and several protesters, as well as vandalism inside City Hall."
Reuters: "Thousands of Syrian soldiers moved into the suburbs of Damascus that have fallen under rebel control on Sunday, killing five civilians, activists said, a day after the Arab League suspended its monitoring mission in Syria because of mounting violence."
New York Times: ".Greece once again appears on the verge of reaching a deal with its private sector creditors on how much of a loss they would be willing to accept on their bond holdings."
CNN: "Rick Santorum's three-year-old daughter Isabella, who suffers from a chromosomal condition called Trisomy 18, was admitted to a Philadelphia hospital Saturday. In a statement, Santorum spokesman Hogan Gidley said the GOP presidential candidate and former Pennsylvania senator would cancel campaign events on Sunday morning."
Reuters: "Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich received the endorsement of former rival Herman Cain on Saturday and vowed to fight until the end no matter what happens in Florida's upcoming primary vote."
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Reader Comments (3)
I'm a Progressive Christian—despite my scientific training and career—who absolutely supports the separation of church and state.
So of Jessica Ahlquist and her lawsuit to have a prayer that was posted on the wall of her school's auditorium removed, I say “Bravo!”
If I had had a daughter, I would have wanted her to be very much like Ms. Ahlquist.
And to those so-called “Christians” who have not only ostracized, but actually threatened, Ms. Ahlquist, I would only say “Clearly, you have completely misunderstood Jesus' message of love, mercy, justice and tolerance. You're acting like the Taliban, not emulating Christ.”
Carlyle= Doom and Gloom:
There is no program in place to reduce unemployment or under employment.
There is no plan to increase middle America's share of the increased productivity of the economy.
Reduced governments spending, Federal,State and City has the opposite effect of stimulation.
Stiglitz is right, 2012 will be worse than 2011 and those that think their is some fairy that will make 2013 or 2014 better without strong government action are enlisted in a dear school.
@Constant Weader and Akhilleus-
Thank you both for your exposes of Politi(Non)Fact (usually half-false)! That their judgments are put forth as neutral and well-researched is unethical. YES, I really mean that. We expect newspapers (and news networks) to be biased in their reporting and have come to expect they will report opinions rather than facts. Never disappointed. But to have a supposedly "neutral" organization cherry pick statements and positions--then render opinions and judgments--without more relevant background and transparency in reasoning about how they came to their conclusions, is just plain irresponsible. No wonder we are a cynical reading public. And no wonder many of us now see PolitiFact as a journalistic "pants on fire" soundbite, full of "pants on fire," signifying nothing.
I am particularly distressed that Oregon's largest paper The Oregonian, published in Portland--read by almost the entire state population--features PolitiFact prominently on the top of the second page daily. I have seen no complaints in Letters to the Editor, although I sent one by email, as yet unpublished. I do think people believe they are getting real facts from PolitiFact! Yikes. How wised up do we have to become to Occupy Politi-Fact?