By E.J. Dionne, Jr. This week’s primaries should have been good news for Democrats. Instead, a stray comment from an Obama aide briefly threatened a civil war in the Democratic Party, which needs all the unity it can get. Related Entries June 9, 2010 A Loss Won’t Silence the Democratic Left June 9, 2010 Senate Protester Gives Herself the Pelican Treatment
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A Loss Won’t Silence the Democratic Left
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Tagged america, bennyhollywood, celeb news, democratic, gives-herself, good-news, News, politics, protester, silence, stars, the-dark, toward-the-dark
A White House statement calls the $400 million aid package announced Wednesday “a down payment on the United States’ commitment to Palestinians in Gaza, who deserve a better life and expanded opportunities, and the chance to take part in building a viable, independent state of Palestine, together with those who live in the West Bank.” The commitment includes money for new schools, infrastructure and repairs throughout the Palestinian territories, but, as the Guardian points out, there’s no mention of how the U.S. plans to get banned construction materials past Israel and Egypt’s blockade of Gaza.
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Maybe oil companies like BP are careless with safety standards because, after devastating the tourist and fishing industries (not to mention the environment) of the Gulf, they’re on the hook for about one day’s oil profits in economic damages. In protest of that liability cap and one of the senators who wants to keep it, a woman poured “oil” on herself in Congress Wednesday. Treehugger: Diane Wilson, one of the founders of the Code Pink protest group, today anointed herself with a glass jar of toffee-colored oil at a Senate Energy Subcommittee meeting to protest, she says, Senator Lisa Murkowski’s blocking of a bill that would have lifted BP’s liability cap. President Obama had earlier in the week announced he was supporting lifting the $75 million cap, to raise it to $10 billion. Wilson was removed from the meeting and arrested, according to the Code Pink web site. Read more More about Wilson and the events on Code Pink’s website . David Sirota writes in a recent column: Considering the fact that oil-spill costs can far surpass $75 million, this is the old “too big to fail” idea propping up the oil companies. Applied specifically to the gulf cataclysm, the statute suggests that the national interest is best served by having taxpayers and communities foot the bill for the destruction rather than having companies like British Petroleum suffer the balance-sheet pain of paying the full damages. Read more The Caucus reports on efforts to raise the liability cap: At a hearing of the Environment and Public Works Committee on Wednesday, the bill’s sponsors — Robert Menendez of New Jersey, Frank Lautenberg of New Jersey, and Bill Nelson of Florida — as well as a parade of witnesses from the Gulf region’s tourism and fishing industry demanded that BP be held responsible for every penny of pain caused by the disaster. The administration and Congressional Democrats are united in their support of the bill, saying that it would institute an incentive for companies to play it safe in the future. Read more
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Senate Protester Gives Herself the Pelican Treatment
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By Emily Wilson Mark Hopkins, the director of the new documentary “Living in Emergency,” about the international humanitarian organization Médecins Sans Frontières—Doctors Without Borders—compares the group to the Special Forces. Not many people get accepted to the program, and of those who are, few go on to do a second mission. Related Entries May 31, 2010 What’s Not to Like About Civil Rights? May 31, 2010 Memorial Day and Our Discontents
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Doctors Without Borders, With a Film Crew
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ABC anchor Diane Sawyer greeted Meg Whitman’s victory in California’s Republican gubernatorial primary by putting forward Democrat Jerry Brown as the savior protecting the nation against Whitman becoming Governor. “Jerry Brown told us today, he wants the country to know that he sees this as an epic duel in California between the politics of ideas and the power of money,” Sawyer warned from Los Angeles in setting up an interview with Brown aired on Wednesday’s World News. Sawyer later relayed how Brown “believes the soul of California is at stake.” Condemning Whitman’s spending on ads, Brown charged “it’s almost like a ministry of information in a totalitarian country,” before he offered up pablum, unchallenged by Sawyer, about how he’ll solve the Golden State’s $20 billion shortfall by telling “legislators you have to get did of your cars, get rid of your perks.” Sawyer fondly recalled: “For 40 years we watched him – the son of a political family who studied to be a Jesuit priest, then turned Buddhist seeker. When he became governor, he lived in one room, bed on the floor, and rode around in his own Plymouth.” Now, “he says it’s a singular time for a man who believes the soul of California is at stake. He remembers studying Buddhism in Japan.” Brown got the last word in ABC’s infomercial for him: “‘Life and death is a serious matter. Time waits for no man. Do your best.’ And that, I think, could be the spirit of this campaign.” From the Wednesday, June 9 World News, transcript provided by the MRC’s Brad Wilmouth: DIANE SAWYER: And, as you know, we are here in California, a state reeling from debt, with no easy solution in sight. And come November, former Democratic Governor Jerry Brown has decided to ride into the race for governor again. For the Republicans, as we said, the head of eBay, the former head of eBay, Meg Whitman, who spent $80 million of her own money and has plenty more to spend. She won a decisive primary victory last night. Well, Jerry Brown told us today, he wants the country to know that he sees this as an epic duel in California between the politics of ideas and the power of money. SAWYER TO BROWN: You say we’re talking about a “billionaire’s demolition derby”? FORMER GOVERNOR JERRY BROWN (D-CA), SPEAKING TO CROWD: A billionaire’s demolition derby. BROWN: Well, the ads. I think each day there are 500, 600 commercials throughout the state. It’s almost like a ministry of information in a totalitarian country. SAWYER: Do you really feel that this is changing us fundamentally in some big brother way? BROWN: No, what I, I didn’t mean, it’s not big brother, it’s that when you can dominate the airwaves, radio and television, and in the mail, just by buying it, not just for a few weeks, but for months on end, that is unprecedented. It’s an unprecedented control of the channels of communication in a free society. And, yes, that is different. And it is ominous. SAWYER: So far Meg Whitman spent about $80 million of her own money. How much money do you have to spend on ads? BROWN: Well, I have $22 million in the bank, and I’m saving my pennies so hopefully we’ll have more by the time we get to September. SAWYER: 12.6 percent unemployment rate, $20 billion deficit in California. And California, as we know, drives a lot of the national economy. BROWN: No, we’re in trouble, and the country’s in trouble. SAWYER: But she has said specifically she’s going to do it, she’s going to give tax breaks to corporations and get them in by the boatloads into California to get the jobs back. BROWN: She also said she’s going to cut all the taxes on the rich. That will increase and exacerbate the gap. We got to cut that budget. We have to do it in a way that will bring the legislators on board. SAWYER: But how can you cut it to $20 billion deficit? Are there enough cuts in the- BROWN: You have to start. I’m going to start with the governor’s office cutting. I’m going to tell those legislators you have to get did of your cars, get rid of your perks. MEG WHITMAN, CALIFORNIA REPUBLICAN GUBERNATORIAL NOMINEE, SPEAKING TO CROWD: And I’m ready to give Jerry Brown the toughest election fight he’s faced in his 40 years of politics! SAWYER: Meg Whitman has said – in fact, she said last night, “I’m ready to give Jerry Brown the toughest election fight he’s faced in his 40 years of politics.” BROWN: Well, I like the compliment that she notices that I have been around for awhile. SAWYER: For 40 years we watched him – the son of a political family who studied to be a Jesuit priest, then turned Buddhist seeker. When he became governor, he lived in one room, bed on the floor, and rode around in his own Plymouth. BROWN: I am frugal. I take care of my money very carefully. And I think people can understand, I’ll take care of their money the same way. SAWYER: And it’s hard to believe that if he’s elected, Jerry Brown will be the oldest governor in the nation, 72. You’re up this morning already, you ran a mile? BROWN: I’ve already run, yeah, did some chin-ups. I’m trying to, you know, keep in shape here. I’ve got a very tough competitor. SAWYER: But he says it’s a singular time for a man who believes the soul of California is at stake. He remembers studying Buddhism in Japan. BROWN: Someone would intone, “Life and death is a serious matter. Time waits for no man. Do your best.” And that, I think, could be the spirit of this campaign. SAWYER: And, as we said, a critical election for California coming up. We asked Meg Whitman, by the way, for an interview today as well. She declined our request. We hope to speak to her soon.
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ABC Gives Jerry Brown Platform to Declare Whitman Dangerous, ‘Soul of California is at Stake’
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Tagged buddhism, governor, jerry-brown, jobs, politics, race, world-news
Copies of the U.S. Constitution put out by Wilder Publishing and being sold on Amazon.com come with an odd disclaimer on the first page of the pamphlet, in part declaring: “This book is a product of its time and does not reflect the same values as it would if it were written today.” On Wednesday’s America Live on FNC, host Megyn Kelly reported the controversy, will the rest of the media follow? In an example of political correctness run amok, the disclaimer goes on to warn parents of the literary material to follow: “Parents might wish to discuss with their children how views on race, gender, sexuality, ethnicity and interpersonal relations have changed since this book was written before allowing them to read this classic work.” The provocative pamphlet also includes the Declaration of Independence and the Articles of Confederation. On FNC, correspondent Trace Gallagher quoted the publishing company’s response to the controversy: “We specialize in classic books and we were receiving complaints about the values depicted in some of the books. We wrote the disclaimer so that we could stop having to point out to our readers that people held different values 100 or 200 years ago. It seems we’re dammed if we do and dammed if we don’t.” Kelly concluded: “You know, it’s one thing when you republish ‘Lady Chatterley’s Lover,’ its another when you slap that thing on the U.S. Constitution and the Declaration of Independence.” Gallagher mocked: “Warning children.” Below is a transcript of the full June 9 FNC report. One wonders when the mainstream media will report on the issue. 2:52PM EST MEGYN KELLY: Well, a reprint of the U.S. Constitution and the Declaration of Independence stirring up a heated controversy. The publisher apparently feeling that it’s pamphlet, reprinting these documents, needs a warning label about values. Trace Gallagher reports live in our west coast newsroom. Trace. TRACE GALLAGHER: At the end of America Live, we just like to get people riled up, Megyn, we think this will probably do the trick. You know, we started researching this story this morning. We went on to Amazon.com and right next to the title, where it says the U.S. Constitution, somebody typed in ‘shame on you for adding this disclaimer.’ Amazon.com, by the way, has taken that down. But if you buy a copy of the U.S. Constitution on Amazon.com, what you will get is a disclaimer that says, and I’m quoting the following here, ‘This book is a product of its time, and does not reflect the same values as it would if it were written today. Parents might wish to discuss with their children how views on race, gender, sexuality, ethnicity and interpersonal relations have changed since this book was written before allowing them to read this classic work.’ So, of course, we called the publishing company, it’s Wilder Publishing. We called them, we emailed them, and we finally got a response and we have it right here. And the response is the following: ‘This is a generic warning that we put on all of our books. It was not our intention to tell people how to interpret the U.S. Constitution. We specialize in classic books and we were receiving complaints about the values depicted in some of the books. We wrote the disclaimer so that we could stop having to point out to our readers that people held different values 100 or 200 years ago.’ He ends by saying ‘It seems we’re dammed if we do and dammed if we don’t.’ KELLY: Oh, Warren. GALLAGHER: That’s the response from Wilder. Warren Lapine of Wilder Publishing. KELLY: You know, it’s one thing when you republish ‘Lady Chatterley’s Lover,’ its another when you slap that thing on the U.S. Constitution and the Declaration of Independence. Well- GALLAGHER: Warning children.
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Publisher Provides Disclaimer With U.S. Constitution, Will Media Notice?
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Tagged america-live, Breaking News, culture/society, declaration, disclaimer, News, politics, publishing, readers, Sex, truthdig
The most recent symptom of Palin Derangement Syndrome has now been discovered in media members: speculating on whether or not the former Alaska governor has purchased breast implants. The rumor started Tuesday on the liberal website Wonkette in a posting entitled, “Did Sarah Palin Buy Herself a Couple of Luxury Items?” “We got a political news tip on our Facebook page from Wonkette operative ‘Laura,'” the piece began. “And, having just now checked our tipster’s hunch with another woman (also, coincidentally, named ‘Laura’), we can report with confidence that at least two people with experience in having breasts say that Sarah Palin sure looks like she was trotting out some new work at the horse races on Sunday.” Taking the bait was the Boston Herald Wednesday (h/t NBer Rusty Weiss, photo courtesy Reuters): Hey Sarah Palin, I can see your cleavage from my house! Alaska’s former governor sported more Northern Exposure than usual at the Belmont Stakes race this weekend, sending the blogosphere into a tizzy, wondering whether Palin is exercising a woman’s right to (bigger) boobs. The Toronto Sun also swallowed the hook: Has Sarah Palin added to her assets? Rumours are swirling on the Internet that the former U.S. vice president candidate and Alaska governor has gotten breast implants recently. Numerous websites have of course followed suit. So what got all this started? The following picture taken by a Reuters photographer on Saturday: So some Wonkette reader sees a picture of Palin, sends a tip to that website’s Facebook page saying it looks like the former Governor has gotten breast implants, and the rest is history. The only question remaining is when the rest of the Palin haters in the media will jump on this story. Stay tuned.
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Liberal Website Starts Rumor Sarah Palin Has Breast Implants
President Obama provided some conservative belly laughs telling an audience of high school graduates in Kalamazoo, Michigan: “Don’t make excuses. Take responsibility not just for your successes.” This from a president who has blamed the last administration (and the Republican Party in general) for various economic and regulatory failures under his watch. This should have been an easy target for New York Times White House reporter Sheryl Gay Stolberg, but she whiffed, even signing on to Obama’s “buck-stops-here philosophy” in Tuesday’s ” Obama Gives Students a Principle to Guide Them .” President Obama has been telling the nation that he takes responsibility for cleaning up the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. On Monday, he imparted his buck-stops-here philosophy to an audience of high school graduates , telling them: “Don’t make excuses. Take responsibility not just for your successes. Take responsibility where you fall short as well.” Here are just a few of Obama’s blame-shifts, courtesy of Senate Republicans : “When I Showed Up After Inauguration, They Had Left A Big Mess On The Floor. So I Got A Mop, And I Started Cleaning Up Their Mess.” (President Obama, Remarks, Norfolk, VA, 10/27/09) “By Any Measure, My Administration Inherited A Fiscal Disaster.” (President Obama, Remarks, 3/4/09) “Now, If We Had Taken Office In Ordinary Times, I Would Have Liked Nothing More Than To Start Bringing Down The Deficit. But We Took Office Amid A Crisis.” (President Obama, State Of The Union Address, 1/27/10)
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Really? The NY Times Passes on Obama’s ‘Buck-Stops-Here Philosophy’
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On Wednesday’s CBS Early Show, Face the Nation host Bob Schieffer provided analysis of Tuesday’s primary elections across the country, describing the South Carolina gubernatorial race “where they continue to draw their political plot lines from, you know, ‘Desperate Housewives’ or something” and how Nevada Democrats were “very happy” with the victory of tea party candidate Sharron Angle. Speaking to Early Show co-host Maggie Rodriguez, Schieffer ran down the most watched races in Arkansas, California, South Carolina, and Nevada. When he got to South Carolina, he decribed gubernatorial candidate Nikki Haley as “very conservative.” After making the ‘Desperate Housewives’ comparison, he remarked how the GOP primary in the state was “providing some entertainment, as it were, for the rest of the country. I mean, you had Governor Sanford down there and his adventures. And now these allegations against Nikki Haley.” He quickly added that the allegations of adultery against Haley were “without foundation” and that “Nobody has proven anything.” Rodriguez then asked if “Harry Reid is happy or fretting the fact” that tea party-backed Sharron Angle won the GOP senate primary in Nevada. Schieffer declared: “I suspect that Democrats in Nevada are very happy about this….I think the Reid people think that he would have a much better chance beating her than some of the other Republicans in the primaries.” Here is a full transcript of Rodriguez’s June 9 discussion with Schieffer: 7:04AM EST MAGGIE RODRIGUEZ: Let’s bring in CBS News chief Washington correspondent and host of Face the Nation Bob Schieffer. Good morning, Bob. BOB SCHIEFFER: Hey, Maggie. RODRIGUEZ: So there’s been this anti-establishment sentiment for awhile in this country. But now – I’m sure it’s not helping that no one seems to be able to solve this BP oil spill. Do you think that played into last night’s results at all? [ON-SCREEN HEADLINE: Primary Politics; What Message Did Voters Send?] SCHIEFFER: It probably did. I mean, you know, there’s just this general feeling that the government is sort of impotent to do much of anything about anything. And I think there’s no question that has something to do with the voter frustration that’s being felt out across the country. But it really is hard to draw much deep analysis or deeper meaning from these races last night, because they were all so different. I mean, Blanche Lincoln barely eked out a primary win over her opponent, who was challenging her from the Left. He was well-financed by labor unions. It’s not all that easy for a labor-backed candidate to win in the South, and this time we saw that once again, a labor-backed candidate did not win. But she is still the underdog going into November. She’s going to have a very difficult time there. Out in California, it was just all a question of money. And that’s all there was to it. I mean, Meg Whitman, who won out there, won by spending nearly $80 million. Money still talks in politics. And we saw a real example of that. Down in South Carolina, where they continue to draw their political plot lines from, you know, ‘Desperate Housewives’ or something, you saw again a very conservative candidate win. I mean, these campaigns down in South Carolina are really providing some entertainment, as it were, for the rest of the country. I mean, you had Governor Sanford down there and his adventures. And now these allegations against Nikki Haley. We should underline and point out, totally, totally- RODRIGUEZ: Allegations. SCHIEFFER: -without – without foundation. RODRIGUEZ: Right. SCHIEFFER: Nobody has proven anything. But it just shows, I mean, kind of the nature of politics down there this year. It’s really, really kind of extraordinary. RODRIGUEZ: We’ve been talking a lot about the tea party. And in Nevada, we had the tea party favorite Sharron Angle win last night. Do you think that majority leader Harry Reid is happy or fretting the fact that she won? SCHIEFFER: I suspect that Democrats in Nevada are very happy about this. She was the tea party-backed candidate. The other part is, she is one of the few people in the state of Nevada who has endorsed, I understand, storing nuclear waste in Nevada. Nevada politics has always been about putting the nuclear waste someplace else. Now she has endorsed that. That’s going to be very difficult for her. I think the Reid people think that he would have a much better chance beating her than some of the other Republicans in the primaries. Still going to be very, very close. He has a lot of work to do out there. RODRIGUEZ: Alright. Bob Schieffer, as always, thank you so much, Bob. SCHIEFFER: Thank you. Thank you, Maggie. RODRIGUEZ: You’re welcome.
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CBS’s Schieffer: S.C. Politics Like ‘Desperate Housewives’; Dems ‘Happy’ Angle Won in Nevada
Jon Stewart Tuesday evening absolutely tore apart Barack Obama’s pathetic response to the Gulf Coast oil spill. Early in the almost ten minute segment of “The Daily Show,” the host chided the President’s comments to NBC’s Matt Lauer Monday, “We talk to these folks because they potentially have the best answers so I know whose ass to kick.” Stewart called Obama’s strategy ” AssQuest 2010 – The Search for Kickable Ass! ” After showing how the President referred to the situation in the Gulf as “complicated,” the “Comedy Central” star then demonstrated to viewers how this is the same excuse Obama has given to solving all the problems facing the nation including the financial crisis and healthcare. This led Stewart to wonder if the President’s favorite movie must be “It’s Complicated” with Meryl Streep and Alec Baldwin. In the end, “The Daily Show” host marvelously concluded, “I’m glad that you are looking for an ass to kick, but right now I gotta tell you, the ass has been kicking you” (video follows with commentary, vulgarity warning): The Daily Show With Jon Stewart Mon – Thurs 11p / 10c Ass Quest 2010 www.thedailyshow.com Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor Tea Party Unfortunately, this segment would be much funnier if it wasn’t so true. As a result, it’s a bit sad given the seriousness of the situation down in the Gulf and the President’s abysmal response. Let’s hope the Administration eventually gets it.
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Jon Stewart Rips Obama’s Oil Spill Response: ‘The Ass Has Been Kicking You’
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Tagged Barack Obama, comedy-central, daily, Hollywood, politics, president, search, seriousness
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