Month: September 2011

I’m noticing that Texas Governor Rick Perry’s effort to pray for rain has not had the desired effect. The state is now on fire. This is obviously terrible for the people of Texas, and in recognition of that Rick Perry is skipping a Jim DeMint-sponsored forum in South Carolina to race home and try to show some leadership. Texas is obviously a hotbed of climate change-denial, but I wonder how long the people there will tolerate such nonsense in the face of the evidence. The oil and gas industry is extremely important to the Texas economy, but so is not having your whole state be a tinder box.

The largest of the fires is in Bastrop County, southeast of Austin, said Lexi Maxwell, a spokeswoman with the Texas Forest Service. The blaze has so far scorched some 14,000 acres and is threatening about 1,000 homes, she said.
It forced parts of state highways 71 and 21 to shut and additional road closures are expected, Maxwell said.

“It was like a storm coming through. You could smell the earth burning,” said Ochoa, who doesn’t know yet whether his home is OK or not. “All of Bastrop is a giant smoke cloud.”

Fires were also reported in Travis, Leon, Colorado, Burnet and Caldwell counties. About 190 homes were evacuated in Travis County.

A spokeswoman at the American Red Cross said it had opened four shelters and anticipates opening more.

The temperature in Austin has topped 100 degrees fahrenheit eighty times this year, which is an all-time record. Not only does that make for a miserable existence, it isn’t remotely normal. I don’t see how the fiction that climate change is debatable can be sustained much longer, even in the Lone Star State.

One of the more pernicious myths current in our contemporary political discourse is the idea that George W. Bush was a strong leader who got whatever he wanted through Congress. The way this argument is usually made is highly misleading. First, we need to make a distinction between the times when Bush and the Republicans had control of Congress and when they did not. When Bush came into office, the GOP controlled the House and the Senate was split 50-50, with Dick Cheney breaking the tie. Ordinarily, new presidents come in with a lot of momentum and pass a lot of bills early on. Bush did not. His sole focus was on passing a tax-cut for the rich. He couldn’t pass it under normal rules because the Democrats had the filibuster. So he did the same thing that Obama did to pass the Affordable Care Act. He used the budget reconciliation process. The Senate deadlocked 50-50 and Cheney broke the tie.

The President did not sign one other significant piece of legislation between his inauguration and the attacks of September 11. He did lose control of the Senate though. Sen. Jim Jeffords (R-VT) switched his allegiance to the Democrats and control of all the Senate committees flipped to their side.

In the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks the president was able to ram home the PATRIOT Act, a free trade agreement with Jordan, and win authorization to wage an endless War on Terror. Of course, the 9/11 attacks were a singular event and cannot be compared to anything President Obama has faced.

In 2002, the president was mostly consumed with concocting a false pretense for invading Iraq, but he did manage to pass the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) education bill, the Sarbanes-Oxley bill, and reluctantly create the Department of Homeland Security.

It should be remembered that Teddy Kennedy helped pass NCLB and that Paul Sarbanes was a Democrat. It is significantly easier for a Republican president to increase the federal role in education than to reduce it, and the Sarbanes-Oxley bill was a reaction to the Enron/WorldCom scandal that passed 99-1 in the Senate and 423-3 in the House. It was hardly heavy-lifting, and it was instantly reviled on all the cable business channels.

In 2002, the Republicans retook control of the Senate and from 2003-2006 had complete control of the legislative process. They again used the budget reconciliation process to cut taxes for the rich. They again wound up with a 50-50 tie. And Dick Cheney cast the deciding vote for a second time.

The other major bill of 2003 created the Medicare Part D program, which was so unpopular on the right that Tom DeLay had to keep the vote open for hours while he threatened and bribed just enough of his members to assure its passage. While the bill was an obscene boon to the pharmaceutical industry, expanding Medicare is hardly a priority to the right.

In 2004, the president, despite controlling Congress, did almost nothing. He signed the Unborn Victims of Violence Act and signed free trade agreements with Australia and Morocco.

In 2005, his effort to privatize Social Security fell before the filibuster. Other than that, his big accomplishment was the loathsome Bankruptcy Bill, which was aided and abetted by Democrats like Joe Biden.

In 2006, he accomplished almost nothing. His main accomplishment was covering his tracks and making it hard to try him as a war criminal by signing the Military Commissions Act.

After the 2006 midterms threw control of both houses of Congress to the Democrats, Bush’s legislative record improves, but he was signing Democratic bills.

The truth is that Bush was only able to pass his tax cuts with the absolute minimum number of votes and only by bypassing the filibuster. He expanded the Department of Education and Medicare (admittedly, in shitty ways) which is not a conservative priority. He utilized the fear from 9/11 to give himself an obscene amount of power, which he then abused. But he did not do a whole lot else legislatively to ram home a conservative agenda. Most of the damage he did was through how he ran the Executive Branch and how he acted as commander-in-chief. He was constrained legislatively by the filibuster. The only difference between Bush’s experience with Congress and Obama’s is that when Obama actually controlled Congress, he produced an avalanche of liberal legislation. Bush wasted his time on Terri Schiavo.

… only it wasn’t true.

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2011/07/30/opinion/sunday/20110807_McFadden_Cartoon.html?ref=sund
ay

Why should we spend money on museums or the preservation of historic sites? Let’s eliminate all federal funding for such nonsense, shall we?

Congressional Republicans may be opposed to President Obama’s call for new infrastructure spending, but House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) is pushing an idea that he says would free up funds for critical transportation projects.

In a statement responding to Friday’s disappointing jobs report, Cantor highlighted a proposal to eliminate a rule requiring states to set aside 10 percent of federal surface transportation funds for “museums, education and preservation.” Scrapping that provision, Cantor said, “would allow states to devote these monies to high-priority infrastructure projects, without adding to the deficit.”

Let’s create some jobs and build some infrastructure by taking money away from highway beautification projects. Why don’t we do that? That seems like a great compromise.

I swear, there is no dealing with these people. Search as long and hard as you want, you still won’t find a hint of decency in them.

Mike Lofgren’s diatribe about the Republican Party ought to be required reading in all our high schools. It’s not only a fine example of a political polemic written in excellent English, it’s something everyone needs to internalize. Because Lofgren just retired after a 16-year career as a GOP staffer on the House and Senate budget committees, his criticism carries more weight than it would coming from a Democrat. It’s a long piece that will take some time to complete, but it will be well worth the time.

And the bottom line is that what Lofgren is saying is exactly what I’ve been saying to you, my audience, for the last two years. If you keep this always at the front of your mind, and never for a moment let it slip from the forefront of your concerns, your outlook on American politics will be quite different from the progressive agonizing you typically see. If you want to know why I’m different from Stoller or Hamsher or Greenwald or even most of the crew at Daily Kos, this article explains why. Read it.

The issue of whether or not Palestine should push for formal United Nations’ recognition as a state is complex. In the abstract, it’s kind of a no-brainer, but when you get down to details it isn’t as clear that the effort is wise. The United States feels compelled to veto the effort even though a veto would place all Americans at risk and create a totally avoidable national security threat. The Palestinians would very much like to have a diplomatic victory over Israel and to get moving in a direction that might end the impasse we’re all experiencing in the peace negotiations. Yet, they have not succeeded in getting the Americas to go along with their plan, so their efforts will do real damage to America’s national security and standing in the world. I know it is a bit nuanced, but the likely outcome is more anti-American terror. And we saw how America’s response to terror attacks worked for the Palestinians over the last decade. There was no movement on peace and Israel had a free hand to expand settlements, invade Lebanon, and use a very heavy hand in Gaza. Terror doesn’t work. The Second Intifada and the 9/11 attacks strengthened Israeli hardliners both in Israel and in Washington DC. Additionally, isolating America diplomatically is problematic for the Palestinians. It might seem like there is no alternative, but the White House is trying to craft one.

Senior officials said the administration wanted to avoid not only a veto but also the more symbolic and potent General Assembly vote that would leave the United States and only a handful of other nations in the opposition. The officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss diplomatic maneuverings, said they feared that in either case a wave of anger could sweep the Palestinian territories and the wider Arab world at a time when the region is already in tumult. President Obama would be put in the position of threatening to veto recognition of the aspirations of most Palestinians or risk alienating Israel and its political supporters in the United States.

“If you put the alternative out there, then you’ve suddenly just changed the circumstances and changed the dynamic,” a senior administration official involved in the flurry of diplomacy said Thursday. “And that’s what we’re trying very much to do.”

There is momentum behind Palestine’s drive for recognition, and their effort probably cannot be stopped. Yet, a failed recognition-drive that arouses anti-American terrorism and isolates America diplomatically, puts the Palestinians’ interests at risk, too. They should keep their ears open up to the last moment.

In essence, the administration is trying to translate the broad principles Mr. Obama outlined in May into a concrete road map for talks that would succeed where past efforts have failed: satisfy Israel, give the Palestinians an alternative to going to the United Nations and win the endorsement of the Europeans.

Diplomats are laboring to formulate language that would bridge stubborn differences over how to treat Jewish settlements in the West Bank, and over Israel’s demand for recognition of its status as a Jewish state. A statement by the Quartet would be more than a symbolic gesture. It would outline a series of meetings and actions to resume talks to create a Palestinian state.

The Quartet’s members are divided over the proposal’s terms and continue to negotiate them among themselves, and with the Palestinians and Israelis.

In other words, the international community recognizes that a vetoed vote to recognize Palestine isn’t going to make things better and is looking for any alternative. The problem is, of course, that the only alternative is a plausible road map to peace, and no one can provide one.

Get ready for the Ugly.

Hello again painting fans.

This week I’ll be continuing with the temporary detour from the Cape May, New Jersey shingle style house. Instead, I’ll have a bit more progress of the Mazda 787B seen in the photo directly below. (I’m using my usual acrylic paints on a large gallery-wrapped canvas.)

When last seen, the painting appeared as it does in the photo directly below.

Since that time I have continued to work on the painting.

I began by filling in the broad areas of color that make up the car’s body, red at the fenders and green for the upper surfaces and roof.  (I can see that I need to move the front wheel toward the rear of the car a bit.)  I’ve continued the color up onto the spoiler at the back of the car.  For some helpful contrast, I’ve added some color to the background and foreground.  There is a lot of work to do here but I’ve got almost a year to complete this piece.  The next President’s Show won’t be held until August of 2012.

The current state of the painting is seen in the photo directly below.

That’s about it for now. Next week I’ll have more progress to show you. See you then. As always, feel free to add photos of your own work in the comments section below.

Earlier paintings in this series can be seen here.

Every time Joe Lieberman opens his mouth, the whole world gets a little stupider. The president not only did something Lieberman’s buddies Bush and McCain could never have done in killing Usama bin-Laden, but he’s expanded the war on al-Qaeda exponentially and laid waste to their organization. I’m all for hunting down anyone who plots to kill Americans, but even I am troubled by how expansive and aggressive this president has been. In Obama’s first year in office he killed as many people in drone attacks as Bush did in eight years. In 2010, there were a reported 118 drone attacks that killed somewhere between 600-1000 people. We have special forces hunting down these bastards every single day. We’re building runways in Saudi Arabia so we can blast people in Yemen and Somalia to Kingdom Come. If you are an Islamic terrorist, there are no truly save havens anymore because we’ll invade almost anybody’s sovereignty to hunt them down. And despite this unprecedented strategy of extreme aggression, Lieberman is giving us semantic nitpicking.

The Obama administration’s fear of offending Muslims will hurt the U.S. war against terrorism, Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) said Thursday in a speech blasting the president’s new counterterrorism strategy…

…The four-term senator and one-time presidential candidate said one of the key problems with the Obama administration’s strategy was that it continues to call terrorism that aims to harm the U.S., “violent extremism” instead of “violent Islamist extremism.”

The man has transformed the CIA into a killing machine ‘one hell of an operational tool.’

“You’ve taken an agency that was chugging along and turned it into one hell of a killing machine,” said the former official, who, like many people interviewed for this story, spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive intelligence matters. Blanching at his choice of words, he quickly offered a revision: “Instead, say ‘one hell of an operational tool.’ ”

And Lieberman has the gall to claim his policy is weak because he doesn’t scapegoat an entire religion for the sake of a few extremists?

I cannot wait for this man to retire. I’d rather have Sen. Chris Shays. Honestly.

I played two late sets Friday night (9/2) for the NY Salsa Congress w/the incomparable 20 piece Mambo Legends Orchestra. The 5 day event was held at the prestigious midtown NY Hilton hotel and if you do not know about the massive Salsa Congress/latin dance movement in the U.S., it’s because you have not been told about it by the media. Go here to see a list of international salsa events. Over just the next two months there are 50 events listed, everywhere from major U.S. and Caribbean cities right on through to Europe, the Pacific Rim and even Islamic areas like Uzbekistan and Tunisia. Easily 1500 people were dancing and partying until well after 3AM at this event on Friday and we killed em!!! This music is alive, folks.

ALIVE!!!

Meanwhile, I expect to see an article in the Sunday NY Times about 15 or 20 white Williamsburgh no-dancing hipster wannabes having a “big” party in an abandoned Brooklyn warehouse. Grunge is sold because it’s easy. This music is not being sold by the mainstream corporate media because:

1-It is “Hispanic”…although over half of the dancing audience was most obviously not Hispanic.

and

2-Grunge and jiveass DJs are easy. Any fool can run that game, and of course…many fools do. There’s no faking this stuff, though. You either play it/hear it/dance it or you don’t.

A list of some of the musicians in this Mambo Legends band:

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Reynaldo Jorge

Sonny Bravo

Joe Madera

Johnny Rodriguez

Bobby Porcelli

Peter Brainen

Pete Nater

Richie Viruet

Frankie Vasquez

Cita Rodriguez

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

And that’s just scratching the surface.

Never heard of ’em?

That’s your fault. Not theirs.

They’ve been on it since the late ’60/early 70s, many of them, and they are still in their musical prime.

Read on for more.
The Mambo Legends Orchestra plays the music of the Tito Puente, Machito and Tito Rodriguez bands, and it does so as well or better than it has ever been played. The music still sounds thoroughly contemporary 30, 40, 50, 60 years after it was made. Amazing!!!

And the mainstream culture just keeps on jerking itself off to no-playing fools like Lady Gaga and Justin Bieber.

Unbelievable.

But true none the less.

The band is headed for Venezuela in November.

Horace Greely’s “Go west, young man” thing?

Not today.

Go south young man. And young woman, too.

Way south.

Cuba

Brazil

Colombia

Venezuela

Trinidad

Puerto Rico

That’s where the action’s at today, at least in this hemishpere.

Bet on it.

Check it out.

<a href="

As the great Panamanian trumpet master Victor Paz said 30+ years ago to a young Caucasian player on the Machito band at a society function:

“Don’ watch the white people dance. It will ruin your time.”

Not a racist statement. Victor didn’t care what race you were as long as you meant business on the playing end of things.

Culturalist.

And as always…Vitin was right on the money.

Yup.

Check it out.

I hear things coming out of Colombia…

Fuggedaboudit!!!

Bet on that as well.

Keep your ears open.

The U.S. is in cultural decline.

Watch.

Go south, young man/young woman.

Culturally.

Yup.

That’s where the action’s at today.

Bet on it.

Watch.

Later…

S.

Passing my teevee about an hour ago, I heard Sarah Palin say that we created no jobs in August (true) and that this was the first time that had happened since World War Two (so untrue that I”m shocked that God didn’t smite her on the spot).

It must be nice feeling completely free to tell the most massive lies without any fear of consequences.

How many jobs did we lose in the months between September 2008 and whenever the Stimulus kicked in? Palin might remember that John McCain put their campaign on hiatus so he could race to Washington and contribute nothing to a meeting in the White House on how to prevent every job in the world from being destroyed.