Showing posts with label bush. Show all posts
Showing posts with label bush. Show all posts
Monday, February 22, 2016
Friday, November 09, 2012
Cliff Notes
CBO: Letting upper-income tax cuts expire would barely hurt economy
Letting the high-income Bush tax cuts lapse, for example, generates $42 billion in 2013 but hardly hurts GDP at all. By contrast, the defense cuts amount to $24 billion but hurts growth by 0.4 percentWhat's in the fiscal cliff?
$7 trillion worth of tax increases and spending cuts over a decade. ..... While that might seem like a deficit hawk's dream come true, it's anything but. ..... "It's too big, too quick, and focuses on the wrong parts of the budget" ..... reductions in both defense and non-defense spending; the expiration of the Bush tax cuts; the end of a payroll tax holiday and extended unemployment benefits; and the onset of reimbursement cuts to Medicare doctors. ...... If left in place, the fiscal cliff would lead to the biggest single-year drop in the annual deficit as a percent of the economy since 1969. ...... But because it would be so abrupt and arbitrary, it also could throw the United States back into a recession next year, when more than $500 billion will be taken out of the economy. ...... automatic spending cuts to commence on Jan. 2 that will amount to $1.2 trillion in deficit reduction over 10 years. ..... $55 billion will be cut in 2013 from projected levels of discretionary defense spending. That translates into at least a 10% cut to every program, project and activity that's not explicitly exempt. ...... $55 billion will be cut from projected levels of nondefense spending, which includes things like education, food inspections and air travel safety. Budget experts estimate the cuts will result in at least an 8% cut to programs, projects and activities .... Income tax rates: Rise to 15%, 28%, 31%, 36% and 39.6%, up from 10%, 15%, 25%, 28%, 33% and 35%.Here's What's Probably Going To Happen With The Fiscal Cliff
an agreement will be reached AFTER January 1st - so that the Bush tax cuts can expire and certain politicians can claim they didn't vote to raise taxes (silly, but that is politics). ...... the tax cuts for low to middle income families will be reenacted ...... tax rates on high income earners will increase a few percentage points to the Clinton era levels ..... Not only is there no 'bang' event on January 1, but letting the tax rates jump is a way for politicians to then vote to lower them, which is easierCBO warns of fiscal cliff risk
The biggest threat posed by the $7 trillion fiscal cliff is that it could throw the U.S. economy into recession next year. ..... Congress may choose to avert the cliff in whole or in part ..... The fiscal cliff as a whole, if it went into effect for all of next year, could result in a drop of 0.5% in real gross domestic product, according to the CBO. And that contraction could push unemployment to 9.1% by the end of 2013My Reason To Drive Off The Roof
Bad Advice From Paul Krugman
My Reason To Drive Off The Roof
I mean, to fall off the fiscal cliff.
Bad Advice From Paul Krugman
A great thing would be the unwise Bush tax cuts that should never have been implemented - I am for tax cuts that are paid for, not tax cuts that are paid for with money borrowed from the Chinese - would go away without the Republicans having to agree to the idea. They get to tell their base, we did not do it, the whole thing fell off the cliff, don't blame us.
A major cut in defense spending is long overdue. American leaders need to be more proactive about spreading democracy globally and about bringing forth rule of law between nations. Those steps allow America to bring down its defense spending by a large margin. Bring it down to $1 from $4. But cutting defense spending is politically unpopular. So letting some of it fall off the cliff might be smart politics. Look we tried, the thing fell off the cliff.
It is hard for Democrats to even think in terms of restructuring the entitlement programs. But some restructuring is necessary. The cliff can help you do that. It can be a huge political help.
Go over the cliff. Then close a trillion dollars in loopholes. Then bring about a second stimulus. I say a trillion dollars. Spend half of it to bring forth gigabit wireless broadband to every human being on the planet. Let there be light.
If you go over the cliff and don't bring a second stimulus, you are staring at a recession. But the stimulus is a one time thing. All the savings from going over the cliff help bring down the deficit and the debt in the subsequent years.
Bad Advice From Paul Krugman
A great thing would be the unwise Bush tax cuts that should never have been implemented - I am for tax cuts that are paid for, not tax cuts that are paid for with money borrowed from the Chinese - would go away without the Republicans having to agree to the idea. They get to tell their base, we did not do it, the whole thing fell off the cliff, don't blame us.
A major cut in defense spending is long overdue. American leaders need to be more proactive about spreading democracy globally and about bringing forth rule of law between nations. Those steps allow America to bring down its defense spending by a large margin. Bring it down to $1 from $4. But cutting defense spending is politically unpopular. So letting some of it fall off the cliff might be smart politics. Look we tried, the thing fell off the cliff.
It is hard for Democrats to even think in terms of restructuring the entitlement programs. But some restructuring is necessary. The cliff can help you do that. It can be a huge political help.
Go over the cliff. Then close a trillion dollars in loopholes. Then bring about a second stimulus. I say a trillion dollars. Spend half of it to bring forth gigabit wireless broadband to every human being on the planet. Let there be light.
If you go over the cliff and don't bring a second stimulus, you are staring at a recession. But the stimulus is a one time thing. All the savings from going over the cliff help bring down the deficit and the debt in the subsequent years.
Monday, January 23, 2012
Andrew Sullivan: Talking Like A True Conservative
Image via WikipediaThe Daily Beast: Andrew Sullivan: How Obama's Long Game Will Outsmart His CriticsWhen Obama took office, the United States was losing around 750,000 jobs a month. The last quarter of 2008 saw an annualized drop in growth approaching 9 percent. This was the most serious downturn since the 1930s, there was a real chance of a systemic collapse of the entire global financial system, and unemployment and debt—lagging indicators—were about to soar even further. No fair person can blame Obama for the wreckage of the next 12 months, as the financial crisis cut a swath through employment. Economies take time to shift course. ...... Obama did several things at once: he continued the bank bailout begun by George W. Bush, he initiated a bailout of the auto industry, and he worked to pass a huge stimulus package of $787 billion. ....... The job collapse bottomed out at the beginning of 2010, as the stimulus took effect. Since then, the U.S. has added 2.4 million jobs. ...... In 2011 alone, 1.9 million private-sector jobs were created, while a net 280,000 government jobs were lost. Overall government employment has declined 2.6 percent over the past 3 years. (That compares with a drop of 2.2 percent during the early years of the Reagan administration.) ....... the stimulus did exactly what it was supposed to do. It put a bottom under the free fall. It is not an exaggeration to say it prevented a spiral downward that could have led to the Second Great Depression. ....... Not only did he agree not to sunset the Bush tax cuts for his entire first term, he has aggressively lowered taxes on most Americans. A third of the stimulus was tax cuts, affecting 95 percent of taxpayers; he has cut the payroll tax, and recently had to fight to keep it cut against Republican opposition. ....... Under Bush, new policies on taxes and spending cost the taxpayer a total of $5.07 trillion. Under Obama’s budgets both past and projected, he will have added $1.4 trillion in two terms. Under Bush and the GOP, nondefense discretionary spending grew by twice as much as under Obama. ........ Obamacare .. will reduce the deficit ...... based on the individual mandate, an idea pioneered by the archconservative Heritage Foundation, Newt Gingrich, and, of course, Mitt Romney, in the past. ...... Like Obama’s Race to the Top education initiative, it sets standards, grants incentives, and then allows individual states to experiment. Embedded in it are also a slew of cost-reduction pilot schemes to slow health-care spending. Yes, it crosses the Rubicon of universal access to private health care. But since federal law mandates that hospitals accept all emergency-room cases requiring treatment anyway, we already obey that socialist principle—but in the most inefficient way possible. Making 44 million current free-riders pay into the system is not fiscally reckless; it is fiscally prudent. ......... Obama reversed Bush’s policy of ignoring Osama bin Laden, immediately setting a course that eventually led to his capture and death. And when the moment for decision came, the president overruled both his secretary of state and vice president in ordering the riskiest—but most ambitious—plan on the table. He even personally ordered the extra helicopters that saved the mission. It was a triumph, not only in killing America’s primary global enemy, but in getting a massive trove of intelligence to undermine al Qaeda even further. ........ where Bush talked tough and acted counterproductively, Obama has simply, quietly, relentlessly decimated our real enemies, while winning the broader propaganda war. Since he took office, al Qaeda’s popularity in the Muslim world has plummeted. ........ By hanging back a little, by “leading from behind” in Libya and elsewhere, Obama has made other countries actively seek America’s help and reappreciate our role. As an antidote to the bad feelings of the Iraq War, it has worked close to perfectly. ....... From the start, liberals projected onto Obama absurd notions of what a president can actually do in a polarized country, where anything requires 60 Senate votes even to stand a chance of making it into law. ....... A depression was averted. The bail-out of the auto industry was—amazingly—successful. Even the bank bailouts have been repaid to a great extent by a recovering banking sector. The Iraq War—the issue that made Obama the nominee—has been ended on time and, vitally, with no troops left behind. Defense is being cut steadily, even as Obama has moved his own party away from a Pelosi-style reflexive defense of all federal entitlements. Under Obama, support for marriage equality and marijuana legalization has crested to record levels. Under Obama, a crucial state, New York, made marriage equality for gays an irreversible fact of American life. Gays now openly serve in the military, and the Defense of Marriage Act is dying in the courts, undefended by the Obama Justice Department. Vast government money has been poured into noncarbon energy investments, via the stimulus. Fuel-emission standards have been drastically increased. Torture was ended. Two moderately liberal women replaced men on the Supreme Court. Oh, yes, and the liberal holy grail that eluded Johnson and Carter and Clinton, nearly universal health care, has been set into law. Politifact recently noted that of 508 specific promises, a third had been fulfilled and only two have not had some action taken on them. To have done all this while simultaneously battling an economic hurricane makes Obama about as honest a follow-through artist as anyone can expect from a politician. ......... the slow and deliberate and unprovocative manner in which it was accomplished made the changes more durable. ....... there are long stretches when Obama seems incapable of defending himself, or willing to let others to define him, or simply weak ........... remember whose strategy won out in the end. ...... This is where the left is truly deluded. By misunderstanding Obama’s strategy and temperament and persistence, by grandstanding on one issue after another, by projecting unrealistic fantasies onto a candidate who never pledged a liberal revolution, they have failed to notice that from the very beginning, Obama was playing a long game. He did this with his own party over health-care reform. He has done it with the Republicans over the debt. He has done it with the Israeli government over stopping the settlements on the West Bank—and with the Iranian regime, by not playing into their hands during the Green Revolution, even as they gunned innocents down in the streets. Nothing in his first term—including the complicated multiyear rollout of universal health care—can be understood if you do not realize that Obama was always planning for eight years, not four. ....... excising the cancer of torture from military detention and military justice ....... We’ve already elected the nation’s first black president and replaced a tongue-tied dauphin with a man of peerless eloquence. ....... Obama has steadfastly refrained from waging the culture war ...... the only way out of that deadlock is an electoral rout of the GOP, since the language of victory and defeat seems to be the only thing it understands. ........ a president who has conducted himself with grace and calm under incredible pressure, who has had to manage crises not seen since the Second World War and the Depression, and who as yet has not had a single significant scandal to his name
Thursday, May 21, 2009
Bobby 2016, Until Then Adios
If Bobby runs in 2012, he could not win in 2016, because that will show he does not have good political sense. But I think his wife Supriya has made it absolutely clear he is not running in 2012. If he does not run in 2012, all bets are off for 2016.
Who will run in 2012? Sarah Palin? Newt Gingrich? Jeb Bush? Mitt Romney? Mike Huckabee? There's no telling who. There are plenty of eager names.
Bobby Jindal has to sit it out.
If Newt Gingrich runs, he will make it official. The Republican Party is the party of old white men.
Old White Men Need To Chew Gum
Bobby has to do now what Bill Clinton did when Reagan was president. His effort was called the Democratic Leadership Council. He did not try too hard to become a big shot inside the party. He focused on being a good Governor, and he worked hard to come up with a new set of ideas to reinvent his own party, take on his own special interests that had taken the party into the ditch. And when it was his time, he ran and won.
What could some of those ideas be to claim the center?
This economy will turn around. Once it does, Obama will work hard to cut deficits, but he might not manage to get it all done. So Bobby's message today of balancing budgets will suddenly become sexy in 2016. About the current financial mess, Bobby had this to say: "Let's face it, we are addicted to debt!" That is one sharp-eyed conservative. He is not putting all blame on the bankers. He is saying we the people have to take responsibility.
Emphasize family, emphasize faith. But emphasize family without sounding sexist, and emphasize faith without sounding racist, or you lose independents like me.
Independent For Bloomberg
- Balanced Budgets
- Family
- Faith
- Sound Governance
- Economic Growth
- Imagining The Jobs, Companies And Industries Of Tomorrow
- Global Stewardship
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Friday, October 26, 2007
Bush Is Anarchy, Hillary Is Monarchy
Bush Is Anarchy
There is a mad man in the White House. To cover up one lie, this man is having to propagate many more lies. As Bush gears up to invade Iran, the rest of America should jump onto the Obama bandwagon to do all it can to prevent World War III. Two were enough. We can not wait until January 2009. Until then it will be too late. Bush will have already taken America into Iran. The only way to prevent that would be by creating a mass movement with a clear message. Don't you dare repeat the mistake. Create that now.
Bush is on schedule to spend two and a half trillion dollars on Afghanistan and Iraq, and that is not even counting all the innocent lives lost. That is no pocket change, yo. And all that will have been borrowed money. The money is so totally borrowed, China also must be accused of invading Iraq.
I absolutely, totally despise dictators. Only recently I gave two years of my life working full time - the only Nepali in America to do so - to uproot the dictatorship in Nepal. The king had pulled a coup.
"Governor, Nepal has 27 million people, and Iraq has 27 million people. We have to spread democracy like in Nepal, not like in Iraq," I told DNC Chair Howard Dean (Obama picked up where Dean left, in my mind) at a DFNYC event in Manhattan not long after Nepal's magical April Revolution 2006.
The First Major Revolution Of The 21st Century Happened In Nepal
I want every single Arab country to become a democracy. But you don't get there by invading them. There is a nonviolent way, a progressive way, a grassroots way, a super cheap way, a mass movement way, a mobilizing the diaspora way, coordinating the major democratic powers way, the war with communications technology way.
Hillary Is Monarchy
A few centuries back, the European armies fought each other, but all the monarchies in Europe intermarried. Here we are fighting to end the war in Iraq, but Hillary is joined to Bush at the hip. She never apologized for her vote to invade Iraq. I have no desire to name and shame her. But I want to know she learned from the mistake. Apparently she did not.
And now it is de ja vu, it is Oops, I did it again. She has votes for a resolution that sounds to me like the first step towards an invasion of Iran. This could get really really ugly. The US military is already stretched so thin, Bush, if he decides to invade Iran, will either have to reinstate the draft in a big way, or will have to use a nuclear weapon to totally take out Tehran. Hello Hiroshima, hello Nagasaki.
Granted we are all part of the animal kingdom, but does this guy Bush keep having to think like an animal?
A Bush or a Clinton has run at the national level since 1976. It is like after 200 years of being a republic, America tired of being a republic, and switched to being a monarchy.
In a country of 300 million people, are there only two families that can take the helms of power?
In The News
Days 1 and 2: Concord,NH-Peterborough, NH-Hillsborough, NH-Nashua, NH-Boston, MA FreelanceObama.com As I wandered around the lawn of the statehouse, I met up with my friend Jeff Kurzon (a fellow ObamaNYC-er whose house I’m staying at in Peterborough) and we took a quick self-guided tour of the premises. It’s amazing the type of access that we had to such a high level of government! ......... Jeff and I spoke with NH Governor Lynch’s assistant and asked NH Secretary of State Gardner’s office when a decision would be made about the state’s primary date. As engaged citizens, we freely walked around THE state’s government building without any hassle. ........ most people were either not home or still undecided ..... Jeff and I started our journey on my second day in New Hampshire by driving up to Nashua, NH. ....... the second largest city in state with a population of 85,000 ...... a state of 1,000,000 residents ........ Jeff and I made our way to Boston for an evening rally with Barack. ...... a rally to 15,000 people on Boston Commons ........ Barack gave a very inspiring and detailed version of his stump speech
It’s time to pack my things… Barack, hands down, has the best ground game in NYC. This isn’t based on a scientific poll or even from reaching out to the other democratic candidate camps here, but rather my own observation of a non-existent visibility amongst the other campaigns. ....... Amidst no other serious clamour, the Obama presence is quite strong in the Big Apple. Welcome to Freelance Obama ‘08 For those of you that don’t know me, my name is Justin Allen - a 24 year-old New Yorker - who wears quite a few different hats. I’m a sports blogger, internet company owner and active participant in Barack Obama’s movement for change in NYC. ........ moving to the state of New Hampshire ..... Obama has inspired me to take my love for this country and politics to the next level by actively participating in this movement for change.
Jeffrey Kurzon's Blog
Hillsborough, New Hampshire got assigned to do press check-in. As a reward, we were placed in the volunteer section and Senator Obama came over to shake our hands. ..... Justin A. arrived from NYC and we took a tour of the State House. We peeked into the Senate and House Chambers. We then were able to walk into the Governor’s office. ...... we left and crossed the street for burgers at the Barley House. ..... We had a great lunch with a friendly waitress. ...... A lot of independent voters there we spoke with planned to vote Republican, but nonetheless said that they liked Barack Obama. ....... a retired independent that spoke with us and wanted to sign a supporter card. She told us that “Obama is the candidate that does not owe anyone any favors.” ....... Hillsborough has an antique truck graveyard ...... the site of a rally of 40,000 for Franklin Pierce, the 14th president of the United States, who was born in Hillsborough ..... some see his presidency as the predecessor to the Civil War. ..... Lincoln eventually arrived after Pierce and I hope that Senator Obama will arrive ..... Obama is the one candidate that can unite us at home and abroad.
Greenville, New Hampshire Driving into town from the north, I see a foliage palate of auburn, red, purple and green, only accentuated by the light drizzle and the twilight. I am alone, but not lonely as I know I am about to talk with some people. ..... an 80 year old woman who looks much younger. She said that she has nothing to complain about as long as she has a roof over her head and food to eat. ........ I meet several others at their doors who did not want to talk about politics. They were friendly and agreed to take my Obama literature. One asked, "Is it expensive?" I replied, "No, its free." But, I did not understand, she meant was it expensive to produce. ....... Canvassing alone can be more difficult than in two. ....... Barack O'Who? Barack Obama. "Oh, the Black President" one responded. They were 16 ...... This man was special. He took the time to speak with me for about an hour about the history of Greenville and his own life history. Before leaving, he signed a supporter card. ....... Greenville until about 20 years ago spoke French commonly in their households. Like Quebec ...... the French Ambassador to the US was questioned about what she thought about the change in the name of French fries. She said "We are dealing with very serious matters and it does not matter what Americans want to call their potatoes." .......... Hermann Goring: "Naturally the common people don't want war; neither in Russia, nor in England, nor in America, nor in Germany. That is understood. But after all, it is the leaders of the country who determine policy, and it is always a simple matter to drag the people along, whether it is a democracy, or a fascist dictatorship, or a parliament, or a communist dictatorship. ...Voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is to tell them they are being attacked, and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger. It works the same in any country." ....... Helping Senator Obama I am helping myself. .... We can then use the money we save to pay for healthcare and the debt we owe to the Iraqi people for destabilizing their country.
Political Engagement and Discourse Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. for spreading the lies as part of their profit incentive. ..... I was in Italy at the time the United States invaded Iraq. I observed the peace marchs and the "Pace" flags, but I did not participate. I failed in my duty as a citizen to question the logic of starting a foreign war. ...... while I respect Rupert Murdoch as a businessman, I think he is in part responsible for our culture of fear and cynicism. ...... I went to their 2006 shareholder meeting and heard Murdoch dodge the question about why he is funding Clinton. ...... Senator Clinton does not hold herself or Rupert Murdoch accountable for the Iraq invasion. I think this should make everyone afraid. Be very afraid. Her vote for the Kyl-Lieberman amendment is also scary. ...... I believe in the self-fulfilling prophecy. If we call the Iranian military a terrorist organization, they will become one ..... I love Iranian people and do not want my country to be at war with them. Do you need a boogey man? Why not send our military to the Congo where ex-Rwandan terrorists are raping innocent women? ........ Rupert Murdoch, Senator Clinton and the Bush Administration have tied interests because they have tied life circumstances. Power and money. Power corrupts. And absolute power corrupts absolutely. We know this. ....... Americans are intelligent people. New Hampshire voters are sophisticated voters. ....... We need more women in politics, more minorities and more socio-economic diversity ....... Politics is a dirty word. Who does this benefit? I think it benefits those who are in power. ... Why else do we still vote on Tuesdays? .......... He is inspiring a generation of Americans who are switched on. We need to hold our heads high again and be as engaged as possible.
Hancock, NH my mom's Volvo .... The best way to contact them is in person. This is a rule I learned from a friend when I was working in Hong Kong. First, face-to-face is the most valuable, then phone, then e-mail. That is the order of effectiveness to get things accomplished. ...... parked my car in front of the Hancock Market across the street from the Hancock Inn. ........ I stood in between the Hancock Farmer's Market and the Yard Sale, quietly observing. Saying hi to people. Asking them ...... I bought some organic corn. I was told not to be afraid of the worm at the top. It is there because no pesticides were used. I then asked how I could get some warm cider, "Help yourself" was the response. There was free cider and doughnoughts ......... yard sales are part of yankee ingenuity and a form of recycling ..... people walked by saying "yes, I already support him." ...... a good chat about the physics of manouevering a car in a snow and the best hiking trails in the area. ...... I felt like I was speaking with friends and relatives. Most voters are undecided, but want to learn more about Senator Obama because they like him. Hancock is a large sanctuary of artists, environmentalists, teachers and good people. ....... "No Child Left Behind" is flawed because it is training kids to take tests and not inspiring creativity. She forgave me for being a corporate lawyer because she has a son who is in the corporate world ........ "the highest ranking position in any democracy is citizen." ....... Receiving social security and then having to spend most of it on expensive pharmaceuticals I agreed does not seem right. ...... found the Peterborough office alive with activity as usual. ...... Be yourself on the campaign trail and listen.
On Being Involved John Lennon. How did you become successful, the interviewer asked. "We begged, borrowed and stole" he responded. ...... Last night Senator Tom Daschle came to Peterborough, NH to speak with some 100 residents interested in the Obama campaign. ... he shared with us three reasons why he supports Senator Obama. ..... He represents an end to cynicism that our current administration and other candidates hope Americans will espouse so that they will be lulled into passivity. ...... maintain our republic instead of a return to monarchy. ...... his 20 years of experience in public life ..... Obama is a good person. On this point I can vouch after having met him on several ocassions. He is a person who listens. His campaign listens. ....... I even got to have a moment with Senator Daschle before he and his staff drove off into the night. ..... The more involved you become and the more you help the campaign, the bigger the reward becomes.
Peterborough, New Hampshire "A Good town to Live In" boasts the sign as you enter town. ...... my friend Joe B. who is now working for the campaign in Iowa. ...... Keene, home of the October 20 Pumpkin festival ...... Nashua, rated one of the best places to live in America. .... Mount Monadnock, one of the most climbed mountains in the world. ....... I found a card table to bring to the Obama office here in town. ..... Much of my day is consumed by answering calls, making calls, writing and responding to emails, but the Obama campaign wants us volunteers to talk with people and listen to voter's concerns. ..... Mindful of how the press says that Hillary is leading in the polls, I am also mindful that the press likes to sell papers. ...... I spoke with approximately twenty people today on foot. One person supported Obama and recently made a donation to his campaign. I imagine his wife will do something similar. Nineteen people said that they were undecided, of which about half said that they did not like Hillary and more than half said that they did like Barack. I found one piece of littered Hillary litterature on a front porch with no one home. I spoke with one person who told me that the Edwards campaign had brought him a tree (he and his wife seemed to still prefer Barack). ..... early childhood education, the war in Iraq and providing accessible healthcare for all Americans. One person said, "Europe gets it." ...... she had concerns about Senator Obama's experience, but then pointed out that our two best presidents "Washington and Lincoln had no experience" ........ We are less than three months away from their vote and the survey I took today said that Obama is winning. ....... Talk to people around you to get an accurate sense of what is happening in the world. Ask them what they think and listen to what is important to them.
New Ipswich, New Hampshire a population of about 5,000, most of which I think are Republican. Today I spoke with around 40 residents. ...... a simultaneous broadcast of both the Red Sox and Patriots .... He liked Pat Buchanan and I told him I did too. ...... we discussed how it is so great that French families almost always sit down and have meals together. I met a carpenter who was eager to see change and transparency in Washington and eagerly took my Obama litterature. ...... Natalie's son invited me in to speak with his mother who had read the Audacity of Hope. She has a bad knee, but she said she would speak with her neighbors for me. Her husband was a veteran of WWII and is now deceased. .......Leave your clipboard in the car. People are much more likely to want to talk if you come with empty hands and an open mind.
Saturday, October 20, 2007
I Am Beginning To Like Bush Cheney
"Did you hear that Dick Cheney and Barack Obama are cousins? It's strange, isn't it? In a related story, 20 years ago, it turns out Rudy Giuliani was briefly married to himself."
Talk show host DAVID LETTERMAN
"Well, the president first and foremost is grateful he's not a candidate this year. He's glad he's not out there."
DANA PERINO, the White House press secretary, on the early primary calendar for the 2008 presidential election
Impeach Bush-Cheney, Nancy Pelosi Gets To Become First Female President
Hillary Messed Up On Iraq, And Al Qaeda Is Strong, America Insecure
Who could have thought?
The policy disagreements remain, but at a personal level, I am kind of not feeling as agitated about these guys no more. This might be a temporary hiccup and the animosity might come back tomorrow, or the day after, but right now I am kind of feeling okay about George W Bush and Dick Cheney, Wyoming man. By the way, did I tell you? I have been to Wyoming. It feels and looks like a different planet. I remember thinking, there is life on Mars, after all.
George and Laura Bush must be commended for their outspokenness on the Burma issue. I greatly admire that. It means a lot to me personally that they are doing what they are doing. Could they do more? Sure. So can India.
Benazir Bhutto: No American Stooge
Benazir Should Address Many Mass Rallies, Hold No Street Events, Keep Tight Security Around Her House, Office
Benazir And Islamofascism
Out Of The Box Thinking On Burma: Total Engagement?
India Has To Get Into The Business Of Aggressively Exporting Democracy
Bush Meeting Dalai Lama: Is That All You Can Do For Burma?
Burma: 400, 000 Members, 400,000 Dollars
Burma: Time For Nonviolent Guerilla Warfare
Burma: Time For Hyper Action
The World Is Failing Burma
Burma: Than Shwe Is Going To The Hague
Britain Is Betraying Burma
Burma: Time For All Out Sanctions By All Powers
Burma: Momentum Is Key To Victory
Shame On The Top Politicians Of The World: Burma Asks For More
In Solidarity With The Burmese People
And after I learned Dick Cheney is a distant cousin of Barack Obama, I think that changes things, don't you? The guy still looks wrong, but he does not feel all that evil.
Tim Russert: Bill O'Reilly's Lower Case Cousin
In The News
Barack Obama and Dick Cheney Not Kissing Cousins? The BV Entertainment Newswire Blog, NY
Obama chats about cousin Cheney with Leno
Cheney, Obama are 'cousins'. Sydney Morning Herald, Australia
Obama and Cheney discover hidden family ties AFP
Cheney & Obama are distant cousins RTE.ie, Ireland
Barack Obama and Dick Cheney 'are cousins' Times Online, UK
Barack Obama and Dick Cheney are cousins Telegraph.co.uk, United Kingdom
Cheney, Obama 'distant cousins' BBC News, UK
US announces more sanctions on Burma ABC Online, Australia
Burmese Authorities Lift Curfew in Rangoon
Myanmar's state media call for Suu Kyi to compromise in talks with ... International Herald Tribune, France
Myanmar lifts curfew, ban on assembly imposed after anti ...
Burma junta in constitution move
No Longer the Generals' Burma Washington Post, United States 1988 ... I was working for Sen. Pat Moynihan then, about the only prominent American to notice what was happening in that isolated country. One day, after the Senate passed its first-ever resolution on Burma, a photo arrived in our office showing a column of Burmese marching with a banner reading: "Thank you Senator Moynihan." ........... The most recent peaceful uprising reflects fundamental changes within Burma and the wider world. ....... Soldiers are hunting down leaders of the protest movement and torturing them. Revered Buddhist monasteries are being occupied; the monks are being defrocked, beaten and sometimes killed. Government newspapers demand unity against "neo-colonialist stooges" and "killers in the airwaves" -- the Western radio stations that Burmese depend on for news. People are afraid. ....... By attacking monasteries, it has created a problem it cannot solve ...... Through the Internet, Burma's dissidents are more connected to each other and the world than ever before. The leadership is more disconnected from its people, and from reality, holed up in a bizarre new capital in the jungle. ....... the only solution that appears realistic -- a negotiated political transition in which the military saves some of its status and face. ....... the generals are vulnerable. Whether they get rich from gas, gems, timber or narcotics deals, the revenue is usually deposited in hard currency (since Burmese cash is worthless) in accounts in such places as Singapore and Dubai. That cash generally can't be used internationally without passing through the U.S. or European banking system, where it can be blocked, as President Bush announced Friday that the administration would do. America and Europe can persuade, or compel, the banks themselves to freeze the junta's accounts. ......... the arcane world of global finance. But targeted financial sanctions have become highly sophisticated. ........ decades of generalized trade restrictions against North Korea had little impact -- but when the United States, acting alone, caused one foreign bank to freeze one account belonging to North Korea's leaders, Kim Jong Ilcame to the nuclear negotiating table pretty fast. Even hermit kings can't afford to have their credit cards frozen, as Burma's rulers may soon learn. ......... No one can prosper without their permission. Outside aid might help some Burmese survive. But to think it can bring prosperity (much less spur political change) is naive. ......... Senior people in Washington would have to work seven days a week tracking Burmese money around the world, cracking down on those who shelter it, while simultaneously managing complex, multiparty diplomacy. ........ here is something else that is new: The American president cares about Burma and is energizing his administration to act. And he should: Burma is one place where America remains largely admired ....... The main obstacle to a successful Burma policy is the belief that we are as powerless today as we were 20 years ago. Let the generals hiding in their jungle fortress believe that nothing in the world has changed. And let us prove them wrong.
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India's Role in Burma's Crisis BusinessWeek New Delhi has sympathy for the troubled nation, but energy needs and relations with China are complicating the equation ...... For the last two months, Burma has been in a crisis. ...... Global supporters of democracy have been vocal about the repression. ..... Officially, India hosts about 70,000 Burmese refugees; unofficially, the number is twice that. Nearly 60% of top Burmese dissidents are based in India, and they receive active and staunch support from several Indian politicians such as George Fernandes, a fiery labor leader who was Defense Minister from 1998 to 2004. Burmese students often gather at his Samata Party office in New Delhi, and he often takes up Burma's cause in Parliament. ........ "From 1988 to 1998, India burned its interests in Burma by isolating the junta and supporting democracy," says Brahma Chellaney, professor of strategic studies at New Delhi's Centre for Policy Research. "By then, China had already come in. India does not want to repeat that mistake." ....... In Rangoon and Mandalay, Chinese merchants, traders, and contractors live lavish lives, and some pursue drug dealing, human trafficking, and bribery of junta officials ....... Burma-China bilateral trade is $1.5 billion, making China the largest partner for Burma, and China is Burma's largest arms provider. "In 10 years, Burma will be China's just like Tibet is," predicts M.D. Nalapat, professor of geopolitics at Manipal University, Karnataka. ...... For the last four years, India has been engaged in fierce competition with China over securing its energy requirements from Africa, Russia, and Burma. ....... the Indians are building ports and roads, including a 165km "India-Myanmar friendship highway" linking Manipur in India's northeast to central Burma and continuing to Thailand, Malaysia, and Singapore. ......... "pragmatic engagement." ....... the Burmese military has received $200 million in military aid from India. ....... Beijing's ability to use its Security Council veto to keep Burma's human rights record off of the U.N. agenda is more important to the junta than any economic incentives India could offer. ....... India's Communist Party, surprisingly, supports India's strategic shift on Burma in favor of the junta. ....... if India does not take the initiative with Burma now, it could lose its sheen as a champion of freedom and democracy in Asia ..... "This is the beginning of the end of the military junta. The people are willing to carry on." ........ the junta is running out of money despite the support from India and China: "They're running up against their own reserves and are virtually bankrupt." Tourism is down sharply, and ........ the regime cannot get access to Burmese Army-related bank accounts in the U.S..... Better for the Indian government to support a new Burmese regime and secure India's interest early on this time around.
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We won't let Big B off in land case: UP govt Expressindia.com "There is no question of withdrawing the case against Amitabh Bachchan," Sailesh Krishna, principal secretary to Chief Minister Mayawati ...... The officer while dismissing the star's plea before the Allahabad High Court that he was willing to forego his claim on land in Barabanki district also questioned the authority of lawyer of gram sabha of Daulatpur to exonerate Bachchan if he donated the land. ....... returning the land doesn't exonerate the star.
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