The Commentariat -- June 1, 2012
My column in today's New York Times eXaminer is on David Brooks' column explaining the cause of the euro-crisis. The NYTX front page is here.
Quote of the Day. In what other occupation, especially one working with families and operating schools and youth programs, is an employee given a cash bonus for raping and sexually assaulting children? -- Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, responding to news that when he was archbishop of Milwaukee, Cardinal Timothy Dolan paid off pedophile priests to leave the priesthood
Paul Krugman explains to shut-ins the pitfall of austerity fiscal policies during a recession, then illuminates the ulterior motive behind austerity measures.
Irin Carmon of Salon explains Trent Frank's disgusting sex-selection bill, which was defeated in the House yesterday only because it was brought up under rules which require a two-thirds majority vote. CW: the way I see it: more than half of the members of the House of Representative are sociopathic, misogynistic monsters.
Ken Vogel of Politico on "aggrieved mega-donors" who seriously resent our making them the butt of jokes and other, worser stuff. Dr. CW: One of the symptoms of Billionaires Acquired Disease (BAD): a remarkably thin skin.
Presidential Race
Glenn Thrush & Josh Boak of Politico: "Renewed concerns about the global recovery, compounded by the slow-motion fiscal train wreck in Europe, a slowdown in China and Friday's Dow sell-off that put the index in negative territory for the year have seriously undercuts Obama's main reelection strategy: Making the race a referendum on Romney."
I'd like to have a provision in the Constitution that in addition to the age of the president and the citizenship of the president and the birth place of the president being set by the Constitution, I'd like it also to say that the president has to spend at least three years working in business before he could become president of the United States. -- Mitt Romney, on Tuesday ...
... "The Wrong Résumé." Tim Egan: "... history shows that time in the money trade is more often than not a prelude to a disastrous presidency. The less experience in business, the better the president."
Jim VandeHei & Mike Allen of Politico: the librul media are picking on Mitt & Ann Romney while giving the Obamas a pass. CW: In this piece, VandeHei & Allen pretend they are just reporters here & not actual scribes for the vast right-wing conspiracy. ...
... I see Joe Coscarelli of New York magazine agrees with me: "Brownnosing Politico A-team Mike Allen and Jim VandeHei have a real gem today [Thursday] called 'To GOP, blatant bias in vetting,' in which they allow Republicans to once again essentially ask: If our nation's newspapers love Barack Obama so much, why don't they marry him?" Coscarelli adds, "Nevermind that Politico covered the hell out of the Romney bullying story, too, while largely ignoring Obama's marijuana fandom, which has come up before and never resulted in anything resembling a hate crime." ...
... The New York Times' front-page Ann Romney story, which has drawn GOP complaints, is here. This is the first time I've linked it. I read it, and it doesn't appear to be a hit job, just a slice of the lives of the rich & famous -- which happens to involve lawsuits. The only part I thought made Mrs. Romney look bad came from her own deposition testimony, where she stereotyped Germans. ...
... ** Paul Waldman of American Prospect notes that "the 'liberal bias' complaint never gets old.... VandeHei and Allen's article is a masterpiece of unsupported claims, false equivalences, speculations about what news stories 'imply,' and Republican complaints taken not as complaints but as truths.... This article is really a triumph for conservatives and their strategy of working the refs. But it also shows how thin the evidence is when someone tries to make the case." ...
... John Sides of the Monkey Cage: "The Project for Excellence in Journalism [has found] ... that every point in the past 10 months, Obama has received more negative coverage than positive coverage. The tone of Romney coverage has shifted depending on primary campaign events, but, as of the end of April, positive coverage still outweighed negative coverage. At that point, Romney received about as much positive coverage as Obama received negative coverage."
Heather Hurlburt of the Guardian: "Mitt Romney's sabre-rattling on Syria signifies nothing." ...
... Maeve Reston & Seema Mehta of the Los Angeles Times: "Mitt Romney's foreign policy argument against a second term for
The Boston Phoenix editors recommend Donald Trump to be Mitt Romney's running mate -- "two tycoons for the price of one." Excellent choice.
Local News
Patrick Marley, et al., of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel: "Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett stayed on the offensive Thursday in his second and final debate with Gov. Scott Walker, focusing on an ongoing secret investigation of Walker aides and divisions within the state since Walker was sworn in 17 months ago."
News Ledes
New York Times: "Stung by a new report showing that the nation’s job market is sputtering, made a new appeal Friday for Congress to enact measures to revive the economy, not only to shake the United States out of its torpor but to act as a buffer against storm clouds in Europe":
New York Times: "... the Chinese government detained a security official early this year who is suspected of passing information to the United States, a person with knowledge of the case said Friday."
Miami Herald: 'The Justice Department ordered Florida's elections division to halt a systematic effort to find and purge the state's voter rolls of non-citizen voters. Florida's effort appears to violate both the 1965 Voting Rights Act, which protects minorities, and the 1993 National Voter Registration Act -- which governs voter purges -- T. Christian Herren Jr., the Justice Department's lead civil rights lawyer, wrote in a detailed two-page letter sent late Thursday night. State officials ... indicated they might fight DOJ...."
New York Times: "A Florida judge on Friday revoked the bond of George Zimmerman, who has been charged with second-degree murder in the shooting of Trayvon Martin, after state prosecutors argued that Mr. Zimmerman, with the help of his wife, had misled the court about his finances."
Bloomberg News: "American employers in May added the fewest workers in a year and the unemployment rate unexpectedly increased as job-seekers re-entered the workforce, further evidence that the labor-market recovery is stalling." ...
... On the Other Hand -- Bloomberg News: "U.S. consumer spending rose in April, a sign that households are supporting the economy as the labor market seeks to gain momentum." ...
... BUT STILL -- Bloomberg News: "U.S. stocks tumbled, erasing the 2012 advance in the Dow Jones Industrial Average, as employers added the fewest workers in a year, the unemployment rate rose while manufacturing output shrank in Europe and slowed in China." ...
... New York Times story here.
New York Times: "From his first months in office, President Obama secretly ordered increasingly sophisticated attacks on the computer systems that run Iran's main nuclear enrichment facilities, significantly expanding America's first sustained use of cyberweapons, according to participants in the program. Mr. Obama decided to accelerate the attacks -- begun in the Bush administration and code-named Olympic Games -- even after an element of the program accidentally became public...."
New York Times: "The United States, Turkey and Qatar were among [United Nations] members calling for a special session on Syria in an attempt to increase international pressure on President Bashar al-Assad.... Russia, Mr. Assad's key ally, and China have resisted calls in the Security Council for tougher sanctions against Syria."
New York Times: "Ireland on Friday appeared headed toward adoption of the European Union's fiscal compact, but stocks fell and the dollar rose by midday in Europe after data showed unemployment in the euro zone rising to a record." ...
... Washington Post: "European Central Bank President Mario Draghi warned in Brussels on Thursday that he considered the euro zone's current structure 'unsustainable,' and said the region's governments must surrender far more budget and regulatory power to a central authority if the currency union is to be saved."
ABC News: "President Obama will unveil a new initiative today that will, for the first time, allow some U.S. service members to receive civilian credentials and licenses for skills they learn in the military. The effort, announced by the White House late Thursday, is aimed at boosting employment among post-9/11 veterans, some of whom have had difficulty obtaining jobs in high-skill industries because their training is not immediately transferable to the private sector."
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Reader Comments (10)
Brooks's new piece sounds like a desultory cantata composed for castrati and irrelevant statistics. A lack of effort is its most striking feature. Perhaps fixing up the new house is sapping Mr. Brooks's energy these days. I don't know if there is enough grist to grasp, but I look forward to your riposte.
. "The Wrong Résumé." Tim Egan: "... history shows that time in the money trade is more often than not a prelude to a disastrous presidency. The less experience in business, the better the president.
"The men of wealth, the business men, manufacturer, and merchants, bankers and brokers, are the men who exert the worst influence on government in every country...They act on the beautiful maxim, 'let the government take care of the rich, and the rich will take care of the poor,' instead of the far safer maxim, 'Let the government take care of the weak, the strong can take care of themselves."
Orestes A. Brownson Harvard Professor in the thirties
Some would say Krugman is like a broken record; I say the poor man has to keep playing the same message over and over until people wake up to the truth of the matter. But today I read this from his column:
"So the austerity drive in Britain isn’t really about debt and deficits at all; it’s about using deficit panic as an excuse to dismantle social programs. And this is, of course, exactly the same thing that has been happening in America."
And I am elated by the simplicity of his words. Here we, or at least I, have been scratching my head trying to figure out the stupidity of those people in charge who sit in those fine leather chairs and legislate. Now we have it. They don't give a rat's ass about the debt, but they care deeply about these darn social programs that help people get up and move up and spend money that would spur some revenue and so on and so forth and I wonder why they, those leather chair sitters, are shooting themselves in the foot?
Deconstructing imagery can be done for fun and profit, especially if profit arrives in the form of increased awareness. Unfortunately for us and much of the rest of the world, increased awareness has never been the goal of the subject of this ante meridiem analysis. The official portrait of the guy formerly known as the Decider can stand for a look into its (not so) deep structure of graphical grammar (apologies to Noam Chomsky for collating the word "grammar" with George W. Bush).
So, what do we have? As with many portraits, several interpretations offer themselves for consideration. Noticing the death grip Bush appears to have on that chair together with a subtle clenching together of the legs, pursed lips, and even more pronounced crossing of those beady little eyes suggests that 43 might be saying to himself "...hurry up and finish this damn picture. I gotta pee bad."
Closer observation recommends a different interpretation. In this one, the tension in Bush's face finds it origin in his attempt to stifle the urge to unleash his trademark smirk. In this version, his inner thoughts are more like. "Heh-heh. I fucked 'em all. Started my own war. Shit! TWO of 'em. Daddy never did that! Killed me a bunch of bad guys, tortured anyone I damn pleased, wrecked the 'conomy, pretty much shit all over ever-body, and I STILL get my picture in the White House. And all you turds crapping about dragging me and Uncle Dick off ta the Hague can kiss my rich ass. Obama's got my back on that torture shit. Heh-heh. Wish this poof of an artist would get this thing done. I gotta laugh out loud!"
I think I'm partial to that one.
Also, you may have noticed the picture within a picture. (If only this artist had been a fan of Velazquez, he might have done a "Las Meninas" and made the picture in the background a mirror from which reflected the image of Washington or Lincoln, giving stern rebuke to this pretender; okay...daydream over.) A bit of research indicates that this painting gave Bush the title of his self-serving, ghost-written quicky of a bio written in 1999 to keep everyone from laughing too hard. (We ain't laughing now, that's for sure.)
But Bush, as was--and still is--his wont, has created his own interpretation as to the meaning and message of this painting, titled "A Charge to Keep." Bush sees this as the image of a rugged frontier cowboy preacher spreading the word of God in the wilderness. Heeeyyyy! Just like Bush! He encouraged visitors to his office to liken his own face to that of the noble, rough hewn bringer of the Word to the world of bandits, outlaws, savages, and horse thieves.
But wait! A little further research uncovers an interesting fact. Did I say "horse thieves"? It turns out that this picture does indeed include a horse thief, bandit, and no-good lout. He is the subject of the painting. It was painted as a magazine illustration of a story about a chiseling weasel who stole horses, was chased down, caught like a rat, and hung. The picture depicts justice hot on the heels of this rat-bastard.
Interesting that Bush so identifies with this guy. Sounds just about right too. But in Bush's world, facts matter not. He makes shit up like he's always done. The world is up. No it ain't. It's DOWN. He's the decider and the chief maker-uppper of bullshit.
And still is.
I notice that Mrs. Bush's portrait also includes a painting. I think it might be John Adams. Whoever it is, he's reading, something close to the heart of the former First Lady, a librarian in another life. My only fear is that in this picture, the guy is reading something from Regnery Publishing. Maybe a guide to paintings for conservatives. None of that Jackson Pollock nonsense. Good old stolid representational art with a wholesome message. You know, the kind beloved by that other pretender and bullshitter, Corporal Schicklgruber.
As if we need any reminders of Bush's inability, under any circumstances, to see the world in any but his own terms (solipsism personified), he seemed in great form at the unveiling. Laughing, joking, not the slightest hint of sadness or understanding of all the terrible things he's wrought upon this world. Untroubled, uncaring, uninterested, without a thought in his head that arrives unbidden without being flushed through the Bush filters.
Here's hoping that while posing for that portrait, he wet his pants after all.
Re: PD; The problem is that Business has no business with a heart. When Lyon and Sons became Lyon Inc. they cut out the human compassion. The Lyon Trust is soulless; feeding on the labors of others; concerned only with selfish gain. I'm stunned to think that voters believe they will be vested by backing big business. I am now going to listen to "Money" by Pink Floyd at 95 db's ; clears the head. JJG
Re: Akhilleus; Other possible deconstruc'. He's holding on to the chair because he's trashed.
Thanks to Akhilleus for steering us in the right direction re: that revered painting in the back of Bush. I did a little google search and sure enough came up with this:
President Bush’s favorite painting, the one he kept by his desk, and the one for which he named his 1999 autobiography, A Charge to Keep. Bush loved to regale visitors with what he thought was the story behind the painting, telling how it depicted the famous circuit riders who in the nineteenth century spread the message of Methodism across the Alleghenies. Bush, a Methodist since the 1970s, identified with the quest of the noble cowboy missionary, and visitors often noted the resemblance between Bush and the lead rider.
There’s only one problem with that story: As Slate’s Jacob Weisberg wrote in his 2008 book The Bush Tragedy, “that is not the title, message, or meaning of the painting.” Weisberg explains:
The artist, W.H.D. Koerner, executed it to illustrate a Western short story entitled "The Slipper Tongue," published in The Saturday Evening Post in 1916. The story is about a smooth-talking horse thief who is caught, and then escapes a lynch mob in the Sand Hills of Nebraska. The illustration depicts the thief fleeing his captors. In the magazine, the illustration bears the caption: "Had His Start Been Fifteen Minutes Longer He Would Not Have Been Caught."
How perfect!
PD, perfect indeed. Except in this case Bush has never been caught and as long as Obama holds the keys to the clearly incriminating evidence relevant to proving Bush's criminal and treasonous actions, he likely never will. He won't be one of those guys like Robert MacNamara who, late in life, realized what a prick he was and how wrongheaded his decisions were. The Bushes don't do mea culpas no matter how culpable.
I also love JJG's solution to the Bush Painting Puzzle. He may indeed have been completely snockered. Either that or maybe he had been eating another one of those vapor inducing pretzels that put him on the mat while watching a football game early in his death-ridden administration. Or...he could just have passed out with a bottle of Jack Daniels in his hand. Delerium Tremens might explain a lot about Bush.
In either case I still hope he pissed himself.
In a very few years, he may indeed be peeing himself: he looks like he has Alzheimers. That vacant look, etc. All those drugs, all that alcohol, have caught up with him.
Remember in the 60s when they were called the "hippy nuns"? They're still with us, apparently. CNN headline says they've come out swinging... oh, if it was only true.