Changes
My neighborhood is slowly changing, with a recent influx of young, white hipster types, people a good 10 years younger than me. It’s interesting to see how some of the newer residents have a different philosophy toward our block.
For example, there’s a large vacant lot next door to The Mitten, a three-story house on the 4900 block occupied by some of these hipsters. Over the past two summers, they’ve torn down the weeds, picked up the trash that had been piling up since before I moved here in 2003, built raised beds, and planted a massive vegetable garden. It’s awesome!
Another example, seen three weeks ago. I was walking back from the produce truck on the Chester Avenue side of the Kingsessing Rec Center. As I walked by a guy I’ve seen around the neighborhood, he took a big swig from his bottle of soda, and then hurled his litter right into the field. I don’t think the guy even thought once about putting his trash in the litter basket where it belonged. That’s been one of the shameful things about the block: lord knows I could do a better job of mowing my front lawn, but that’s about the extent of my bad behavior. There are two women who work the block every morning, picking up trash left behind by the slobs who live and play here, and it’s an impossible task.
I thought about hollering at the guy, but Philly being Philly, and the Kingsessing Rec Center being the location of 5 shootings over the past 3 years (one took place less than a month ago and to the best of my knowledge was never reported in the paper because apparently no one died), I decided to keep my mouth shut.
As I walked past the doors of the Center toward my house, I saw some of our new neighbors working on a project on the Center grounds. It’s amazing: the guy who’s lived in the area for years thinks nothing of treating the block like his personal dumpster. The new folks were buys planting another vegetable and flower garden.
Some people might call this “gentrification”, since it’s largely white people moving into the neighborhood. I’m not so sure: these young people aren’t millionaires or yuppies: in fact, I suspect many are renters. That said, they sure have a different way of looking at the block. The old guard sees a litter box; the new influx sees a canvas.
Next week: dirtbag baseball. Remind me.
Complicit Democrats
Glenn Greenwald confirms what I’ve been saying since 2007. he links to the same Washington Post article about Nancy Pelosi’s knowledge of torture too.
It is absolutely the case that, as Mayer pointed out yesterday and as I wrote about at the time, Bush officials faced serious danger of criminal liability in the wake of the 2006 Hamdan ruling that the Geneva Conventions applied to Al Qaeda and Taliban detainees. But the Military Commissions Act, passed several months after the Hamdan ruling, took care of that problem by immunizing the lawbreakers. Jay Rockefeller was right there supporting that retroactive immunity, too — thereby helping to block investigations and prosecutions for illegal torture programs about which Rockefeller knew and in which he was complicit.
[snip]
So, of course key Congressional Democrats who were made aware of these illegal torture and surveillance programs are going to protect the Bush administration and other lawbreakers. If you were Jay Rockfeller or Nancy Pelosi, would you want there to be investigations and prosecutions for torture programs that, to one degree or another, you knew about? If you were Jane Harman, wouldn’t you be extremely eager to put a stop to judicial proceedings that were likely to result in a finding that surveillance programs that you knew about, approved of, and helped to conceal were illegal and unconstitutional?
Pledge to Accountability NOW TODAY. Get revenge on the DC political establishment that has stolen your Fourth Amendment rights and your right to habeas corpus; that has committed and concealed torture done in YOUR name; and that has placed itself above the same laws that apply to you.
Booman says I’m cynical (and for that matter still hasn’t identified any good accomplishments by the Democrats since they took power), warning that
The prerequisite for all effective political action is a belief in our system of government. Once you lose that belief, the only political action possible is revolutionary.
Reading Greenwald’s post today, I am reminded of the final lines of Orwell’s “Animal Farm”:
The creatures outside looked from pig to man, from man to pig, and from pig to man again; but already it was impossible to say which was which
It is very difficult to maintain belief in our system of government when the Democrats help the Republicans evade accountability for Constitutional crimes, because they themselves were complicit.
Pledge to Accountability NOW TODAY.
Cruelty x2
Disgusting treatment of illegal immigrants, and a must read.
“It is no secret that the Postville ICE raid was a pilot operation, to be replicated elsewhere, with kinks ironed out after lessons learned. Next time, “fast-tracking” will be even more relentless. Never before has illegal immigration been criminalized in this fashion. It is no longer enough to deport them: we first have to put them in chains.”
The New York Times has more on this disgusting miscarriage of justice:
Under the old way of doing things, the workers, nearly all Guatemalans, would have been simply and swiftly deported. But in a twist of Dickensian cruelty, more than 260 were charged as serious criminals for using false Social Security numbers or residency papers, and most were sentenced to five months in prison.
What is worse, Dr. Camayd-Freixas wrote, is that the system was clearly rigged for the wholesale imposition of mass guilt. He said the court-appointed lawyers had little time in the raids’ hectic aftermath to meet with the workers, many of whom ended up waiving their rights and seemed not to understand the complicated charges against them.
Dr. Camayd-Freixas’s essay describes “the saddest procession I have ever witnessed, which the public would never see” — because cameras were forbidden.
“Driven single-file in groups of 10, shackled at the wrists, waist and ankles, chains dragging as they shuffled through, the slaughterhouse workers were brought in for arraignment, sat and listened through headsets to the interpreted initial appearance, before marching out again to be bused to different county jails, only to make room for the next row of 10.”
H/T to David Niewert at Firedoglake.
In equally disturbing news, here is footage of an interrogation at Guantanamo Bay. Theprisoner is only 16 years old.
The comments from viewers are loathesome.
Some Pictures of Sam
I didn’t bring a camera to OATS, so I don’t have as many shots from the festival as I’d like, but here are some shots from the rest of Sam’s visit to Philadelphia and the Jersey shore.
Our friends Ryan and Amy have one of those large inflatable pools in their backyard. I caught a bunch of Sam jumping around, although I’m not sure where their two kiddos were. They probably went inside to get out of the rain…
Here are a very wet Sam and Franklin.
Once the rain started falling, we all went into the house for hot dogs and hamburgers. I had Sam, Franklin, and Oscar make their ugliest faces. Here’s Franklin:
Here’s Sam:
And Oscar? Well, either he didn’t quite get the “ugly face” concept, or it’s impossible for him to make an ugly face, because all he seemed to muster was his angel face. I’m sure Amy’s laughing hysterically right now at the idea of Oscar as an “angel”:
Later in the week, my good buddy Scott and his family invited us out to Long Beach Island for the day. It’s one of those NJ shore resort towns, with a great beach. I’ve only got time for one or two more photos (I have to shower and get to work), so you’ll have to be satisfied with this until later this evening.
Sam and Charlie
Sam and Marshall
Little kids are so funny at the beach. Sam’s excema cleared up very well while he visited, and I’m frankly not sure if it was all the salt water or just the sand exfoliating him…
I can’t tell if Sam’s in a bad mood or just doing some kind of instinctual Pee Wee Herman imitation.
Sam’s buddy Charlie. The kid’s a charmer. I hope he turns out like his Dad, who is one of the funniest people I know.
Again, with the ugly faces…
Charlie showed Sam how to suck the ice cream out of the bottom of the cone
More later, as I get shots.
Lemons
Life handed me a few lemons over the past couple of weeks.
I think it’s a measure of my personal growth that I don’t really give a shit. I’m not deterred.
Two tears in a bucket, as they say.
Moneybomb!
All of this highlights the central political dilemma in the U.S. The Bush-led Republican Party, marching in virtual lockstep, has been the author of the radicalism, extremism and lawlessness of the last seven years, presiding over an endlessly expanding Surveillance State and accompanying war-making machine, and the dismantling of numerous core Constitutional principles. While numerous individual elected Democrats have opposed many of these measures, the Democratic Party’s leadership, and the Party collectively, has done nothing to stop it and much to support and enable all of it.
As the 2006 election and these subsequent events conclusively demonstrate, mindlessly supporting and electing more Democrats for its own sake doesn’t solve or even mitigate anything. But it’s also true that actions which result in handing Republicans control over any branches of the Government — including supporting third-party candidates or abstaining from the process altogether — makes matters worse still. Nobody who finds the above-documented events objectionable can rationally embrace a course of action that directly or indirectly empowers those who are the prime forces behind these events: namely, the mainstream GOP in its current incarnation.
All of that, in turn, leads to this pressing question: what is the best course for those who want to battle against these civil-liberties-destroying, rule-of-law-trampling, war-making policies that the GOP leadership pushes and the Democratic Party leadership supports, enables, and/or passively accepts? In a two-party system where blind support for either party will do nothing but perpetuate these policies, how can they be undermined?
[snip]
In the last couple of months, we have done the following as part of our campaign, in several instances in partnership with Color of Change, the African-American grass-roots group devoted to compelling greater responsiveness among the Beltway class:* newspaper ads in every newspaper in Steny Hoyer’s district, along with a full-page ad in the local section of The Washington Post, exposing to his constituents his lead role in engineering the Bush-enabling FISA bill;
* a massive robocall campaign in Hoyer’s district, narrated by respected Pastor Lennox Yearwood from that district, exposing how Hoyer’s work in Washington is so out-of-step with the political values of the constituents on whom he relies for re-election;
* an ongoing multi-media campaign — involving TV, radio and newspaper ads — aimed at vulnerable “Blue Dog” Rep. Chris Carney, who worked with Doug Feith at the Pentagon to disseminate pre-war “intelligence” and now is one of the most vocal pro-Bush Democrats in Congress;
* a full-page ad in the “A” section of The Washington Post, the day before the Senate’s approval of the new FISA bill, demonstrating what a profound assault on the rule of law the Congress was waging, and how it further cements the two-tiered system of justice the political establishment enjoys;
* donations to 12 members of Congress and Congressional candidates who, at political risk, vigorously opposed the new FISA bill;
* newspaper ads aimed at vulnerable “Blue Dog” Rep. John Barrow, who proudly runs for re-election by denouncing “cut and run” Democrats and who supports one radical Bush measure after the next, despite representing a +2 Democratic district.
This campaign, just in its incipient stages, has already been covered by numerous news outlets, including The Wall St. Journal, Politico, Wired, and numerous others. All of this is intended as just a start. We will spend the entire $350,000 already raised for the Blue America fund between now and November by targeting selected, vulnerable Democratic members of Congress who supported this FISA bill and who generally have enabled Bush radicalism.
The August 8 Money Bomb is intended to be used to fuel a long-term campaign and an enduring organization devoted to changing the behavior of the political class with regard to these issues. We intend to begin now actively recruiting and promoting credible primary challengers against the likes of Steny Hoyer and other key culprits; to target for defeat those members of Congress who continue to support policies of this sort, Democrat or Republican; and to find ways to affect the public discourse on these issues, which are jointly distorted and ignored by both the so-called “liberal Beltway establishment” and the crux of the Republican Party.
In other words: REVENGE. And a lot of people have a lot of trouble coming their way. Click here to pledge today.
$1.2 Million Dollars Is Not a Lot. Relatively Speaking, That Is.
My father and I got into a bit of a disagreement over Charles Rangel’s recent publicity problems. Actually, he cut off the discussion before it could get underway, which is probably for the best.
Apparently, Rangel has a number of rent-controlled apartments in Harlem. I have no problem with that if it’s legal, although it is certainly unseemly for a powerful Congressman to be living large when so many of his constituents are struggling just to put food on the table.
However, as I read the article aloud, my father interjected with “He’s only worth about $1.2 million or so. That’s not a lot of money.”
I looked up. “‘Not a lot of money’? Can I have $1.2 million dollars please?”
That’s when my father got upset, said “Forget it!” and walked off.
He’s right that $1.2 million dollars isn’t a lot of money, relatively speaking. I suspect that a lot of Congresscritters and Senators are worth far more than that. But here in Brendan World, $1.2 million dollars is a LOT of money. With $1.2 million, I could pay off my house, my student loan, and all my credit card debts; buy a new computer, buy a new house in a better neighborhood, and buy a Toyota Prius; go to Europe on vacation for a few months, and take a year off from work; get a Master’s Degree or a law degree or a teaching certificate; and still have more money left over than I knew what to do with.
Again, I have no problem with Rangel’s arrangement if there’s nothing illegal about it. Nor am I chastising the Representative for his income. In fact, like my father I’m surprised Rangel isn’t worth more.
However, the statement that $1.2 million dollars isn’t a lot of money should probably have the words “relatively speaking” tacked on the end, because for most Americans, $1.2 million IS a lot of money.
When Do I get My Bailout
I always thought “personal responsibility” was a platform of the modern conservative Republican party, along with “let the market sort things out”.
Turns out that’s true only if you’re not a massive corporation, since Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae are joining Bear Stearns for another taxpayer-funded bailout. What’s that line about private profits, public risk?
the Federal Reserve said it would make one of its short-term lending programs available to the two companies, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The Fed said that it had made its decision “to promote the availability of home mortgage credit during a period of stress in financial markets.”
An official said that the Fed’s decision to permit the companies to borrow from its so-called discount window was approved at the request of the Treasury but that it was temporary and would probably end once Congress approved Treasury’s plan. Some officials briefed on the plan said Congress could be asked to extend the total line of credit to the institutions to $300 billion.
The actions, which taken together could provide an overwhelming surge of capital to the companies, were the second time in four months that the housing crisis had prompted the government to scramble over a weekend to rescue a major financial institution. Last March, the Treasury Department engineered the sale of Bear Stearns to prevent it from going into bankruptcy and cause a shock to the financial system…
[snip]
While senior Democratic and Republican officials in successive administrations have for many years repeatedly denied that the trillions of dollars of debt Fannie and Freddie issued is guaranteed, the package, if adopted, would bring the Treasury closer than ever to exposing taxpayers to potentially huge new liabilities. The two companies could face significant new losses this year as the wave of housing foreclosures continues. Officials seemed to suggest, however, that they had little choice but to intervene.
I’m with Atrios on this one: “Fannie and Freddie can be allowed to fail. Their shareholders can eat shit, and they can be reconstituted as a wholesale federal entities. There are zero reasons that I can think of that we should have shareholder owned entities which “probably but not necessarily” are going to get a government bailout every time they need it.”
When do I get MY bailout?
Sophistry
I really really love it when men explain to women that it’s OK for men to assume that when a woman’s irritated, it boils down to her period.
Right now, my father is explaining to my girlfriend that it’s perfectly OK to act this way.
I disagree. Strongly. This is an attitude assumes that whenever a woman is upset or irritated, it’s because of her menstrual cycle, and thus attributable solely to some biological function, which renders her irritation not as important.
Second, this attitude has been used to put down women for centuries. Ignore her, it’s her time of the month. You know how women are.
Sure, sometimes a woman’s period makes her a royal shrieking psychotic. But a lot of times a woman is upset about any given something for reasons that have NOTHING to do with her cycle. And it’s offensive to assume otherwise.
I have never understood this attitude. What the hell is wrong with asking “hey Sue, you seem kind of upset today. Is everything OK?”
You know what appens when you assume; you make an ass out of you and me.
A Realist, Not a Cynic
“But the larger point is that you can’t bring yourself to make any distinctions between any of these groups. You’ve given up.
I actually wrote the Four Lethal Cynicisms for you.
–Booman
The Four Lethal Cynicisms:
The first lethal cynicism is the conviction that the people are too stupid, too susceptible, and too selfish to be counted upon to do the right thing. It’s really a lack of faith in the whole concept that the Will of the People, as expressed through a majority (or plurality) vote, will give us satisfactory results.
The second lethal cynicism assumes the premises of the first, but believes that we can tap into the stupidity, susceptibility, and selfishness of the people by learning how the brain processes messages, and then apply what we’ve learned to turn people’s innate shortcomings to our political advantage.
The third lethal cynicism despairs that power can ever be exercised benevolently, and slips easily into the conviction that all power is bad, and all power is equally unworthy of support.
Now, there is a distinction between the second lethal cynicism and the first and third. The advocates of framing believe that people can be brought to do the right thing and they believe that power can be exercised benevolently. When you lose faith in the people and you lose faith in the potential for benevolent use of power, you reach the fourth lethal cynicism: apathy.
Apathy easily turns to despair. In fact, apathy is a defense system against despair. But it’s also a gradual unlearning of belief in our system of government.
My friend at Booman Tribune believes that because I’ve lost faith in my government that i have fallen to the Four Lethal Cynicisms. I disagree strongly and reject this suggestion, although it is true that I really don’t see many distinctions between the GOP and the Democrats. Not anymore. Like Greenwald pointed out:
What is most striking is that when the Congress was controlled by the GOP — when the Senate was run by Bill Frist and the House by Denny Hastert — the Bush administration attempted to have a bill passed very similar to the one that just passed today. But they were unable to do so. The administration had to wait until Harry Reid, Nancy Pelosi and the Democrats took over Congress before being able to put a corrupt end to the scandal that began when, in December of 2005, the New York Times revealed that the President had been breaking the law for years by spying on Americans without the warrants required by law.
What am I to make of that?
Booman’s opening comment, that I have given up, is attached to an open thread that asks readers:
“If you had to rate them from 1-10 (ten being the best), how would you rate the following?
The Bush administration
House Democrats
House Republicans
Senate Democrats
Senate Republicans
The Progressive Blogosphere”
I gave them all zeros, except the progressive blogosphere, which earned a 7. here’s a related exercise: name some genuinely good accomplishments from any of these that merit anything over a zero.
The Bush administration? I think we can agree that nothing good has come out of this group.
House Democrats: name something that justifies a higher rating than zero (or one if you so choose). I can’t: I’ve seen blank checks for Iraq as far as the eye can see; the outright refusal to hold the administration accountable, never mind impeachment (which was taken off the table immediately following the 2006 victory); the refusal to exercise meaningful oversight, unless strongly worded letters which are ignored count as “oversight”.
House Republicans: Like the Bush Administration, nothing good has come out of this bunch.
Senate Democrats: See “House Democrats”.
Senate Republicans: See “House Republicans”.
The Progressive Blogosphere: I gave us a seven. We get points off for being fooled by people like Carney, McInerny, etc. otherwise we’re pretty darn good. So far as I’ve seen the one good thing the Dems did, stopping FISA, was undone by… the Dems. And then the nominee lied about filibustering it.
If any of my readers can identify something positive the Democrats did over the past two years, please include it in comments.
But if “4 Lethal Cynicisms” was meant for me, I have some words in my defense.
I don’t subscribe to cynicism #1: I don’t think “the people are too stupid, too susceptible, and too selfish to be counted upon to do the right thing”. In fact, if anything I get my balls busted for believing TOO MUCH in ordinary people. I’ve even been teased by Booman himself about this! It’s our reps who think “the people are too stupid, too susceptible, and too selfish to be counted upon to do the right thing”, and as a result I have no faith in the majority of them. None.
I also don’t subscribe to cynicism #2. Since I don’t really believe that most people are stupid and susceptible (a belief that burns me again and again and again), I don’t believe you can tap into that stupidity.
Same with #3: the reason I supported Hope-a-Dope to begin with was that I convinced myself he’d exercise power benevolently. Then we got FISA. And a lurch right ont he death penalty. And another lurch right on guns (which to be honest, doesn’t bother me that much). As the song says, “Tell me my lying eyes are wrong.”
Since I have not lost faith in either the people or the concept that power can be exercised benevolently, I don’t subscribe to the 4th cynicism.
What I believe is that the specific people we have in Congress and the Senate subscribe to 1 and 2, and as i result I have lost faith in those specific people. And I have every right to have lost faith in them: 3 years worth of reasons beginning with the Military Commissions Act of 2006, continuing through “impeachment is off the table”, taking the scenic route through so many blank checks for Iraq I’ve stopped paying attention, ditto the unenforced subpoenas, and ending with “the fourth amendment”.
That doesn’t make me a cynic. That makes me a realist.
And as for “giving up”, I haven’t done that either. My efforts are now focused on ruining the political careers of the fuckers who brought us to this point, and to that end I highly encourage you to pledge to the August 8 Money Bomb sponsored by Accountability Now.
Booman closes by saying:
Apathy easily turns to despair. In fact, apathy is a defense system against despair. But it’s also a gradual unlearning of belief in our system of government. And the prerequisite for all effective political action is a belief in our system of government. Once you lose that belief, the only political action possible is revolutionary.
The truth is I DON’T believe in our system of government anymore. When you have only two choices in a winner take all system, the only winners are the two parties who become entrenched, fat, corrupt, and secure that no matter what awful things they do, they cannot be dislodged. Look at how long it took to get rid of Al Wynn. Look at how audaciously Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid refuse to do anything about Mr. Bush, practically daring Democrats to stay home. Look at how little Steny Hoyer cares that newspaper ads and robocalls are targeting him in his home district, or how hard Hoyer and Pelosi fought to keep a piece of shit like Wynn in the House. What’re ya gonna do, vote for McCain? Or maybe a third party, which will never win? or as Kang and Kodos put it:
Years ago, I met a senior member of the AFSC, who told me over beers that even though the organization does not endorse violence that a revolution is what this country needs.
I don’t know if I agree with that. I do know that the present system does not work: we are the only industrialized country without national health care; we have a larger gap between the haves and the have-nots than our counterparts in western Europe; we work more for less pay. The Democrats have had a majority for two years and have done nothing, because they know they can get away with doing nothing. It’s all promises. “Just wait til next year!” “Give us a bigger majority, and then you’ll see!”
But as Clyburn laid out his preliminary thoughts on organizing the 11 transition weeks between those two grand events, he worried about the current lack of comprehensive discussions and planning among top Democrats on the Hill and the Obama campaign. “Things need to bubble up, and not operate top-down,” he cautioned. “You bring people in at the beginning to decide what will be done on the first day.”
[snip]
“I have told others I would like to discuss them…. I am scared to death that so much has to be done, and I’m anxious to get started.” [Rangel] voiced hope that both during the campaign and beyond, “nothing [Obama] proposes will be locked in cement … and there will be as little detail as possible, to try to avoid conflict.”
[snip]
Others caution that one of his biggest challenges will be the need to tamp down expectations.“The democratic process is not designed for quick action. Managing expectations will be very important,” said Rep. Jim McDermott, D-Wash., a senior Ways and Means member. “On some issues, President Obama will need to say we are in tough times and can’t solve problems quickly.”
[snip]
But those early budget decisions present plenty of pitfalls for Democrats. “As a party, we are dogged by ‘tax-and-spend’ [criticisms], so we need to show restraint,” said former Rep. Fazio.
On and on it goes, in great detail about all the things Obama will not be able to accomplish with a Democratic Majority Congress and Senate, from the mouths of the Democrats themselves.
Look, I’ll be ecstatic if we get national health care. But I don’t see it happening with this cast of characters already lining up like a bunch of Eeyores to put the kibosh on anything resembling “progress”. Do you?
I’m not a cycnic. I’m a realist. So again: if you want change, pledge to Accountability Now and send the bastards home.
And one more thing: Clyburn is right about one thing in the blockquote above: “Things need to bubble up, and not operate top-down.” So always, always, always vote for third parties in local and state elections. It’s the only way forward to a multi-party system, which is what the rest of the civilized world embraces, and which has helped bring health-care and so much more to our neighbors in Canada and across the pond.
