Posted by Len on Sunday, May 24th, 2009 at 2:59 pm CT in Politics,Republicans
I used to be a faithful viewer of NBC’s Meet The Press on Sunday mornings, but I have somehow lost interest since David Gregory took over. I will sometimes catch ABC’s This Week with George Stephanopoulos, but George has always struck me as an opportunistic weasel. I can’t watch Fox’s Fox News Sunday for a couple of reasons – I don’t really care for Fox News and I think Chris Wallace is one of the least bright people on television. So, more or less by default, I usually find myself watching CBS’s Face the Nation.
Bob Schieffer’s guest this morning was General Colin Powell. I hope that not many Republicans were watching, because General Powell was actually making sense. That’s a rare commodity among Republicans these days. This business of a Republican making sense frightens me more than just a bit because if more Republicans start making sense, more Americans are going to start listening them and the Republican party will once again become a force in American politics. When that happens, the extreme right wing of the party is just going to take over like they did last time and the United States will again be subjected to a lot of damage.
In reality, though, what do you think the chances are that the extremist Cheney/Limbaugh/Gingrich wing of the Republican party is going to listen to an intelligent man like Colin Powell? I don’t think we have much to fear. In that spirit, I feel fairly safe in posting the video of the general’s interview from this morning…
Posted by Len on Saturday, May 23rd, 2009 at 6:00 pm CT in Politics
President Obama sat down with C-SPAN political editor Steve Scully for a fairly far-reaching interview in the White House yesterday afternoon. They covered a number of interesting topics, including the forthcoming Supreme Court nominee (we should know who it is within a week or two), health care, the automobile industry, his governing philosophy and family life in the White House. The interview aired this morning.
Watch the interview here. The transcript follows the break.
Posted by Len on Saturday, May 23rd, 2009 at 10:29 am CT in Politics
From the White House blog:
On this Memorial Day weekend, President Obama calls on the American people to join him in paying tribute to America’s veterans, servicemen and women – particularly those who have made the ultimate sacrifice – and their families.
Watch the video of the President’s address below or read the full text, as prepared for delivery, after the break.
Click below to listen to the audio only:
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
Robert Gates served George W. Bush as Secretary of Defense and now serves President Barack Obama in the same capacity. He has famously said that President Obama is ‘more analytical’ than Mr. Bush. He appeared on NBC’s Today Show this morning. Matt Lauer interviewed him about, among other things, the closing of the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. It was a very interesting and enlightening interview…
WASHINGTON – Defense Secretary Robert Gates says the Obama administration had no choice but to order the shutdown of the prison at Guantanamo because “the name itself is a condemnation” of U.S. anti-terrorism strategy.
In an interview broadcast Friday on NBC’s “Today” show, Gates called the facility on the island of Cuba is “probably one of the finest prisons in the world today.” But at the same time, he said it had become “a taint” on the reputation of America.
Gates has served both President George W. Bush and now Barack Obama at the Pentagon. In an interview taped Thursday aboard the retired World War II-era battleship USS Intrepid, the defense secretary said that once the decision was made to close Guantanamo, “the question is, where do you put them?” He said Obama would do nothing to endanger the public and said there has never been an escape from a “super-max” prison in this country.
Of criticism the president’s plan would jeopardize people’s safety, Gates said: “I think that one of the points … was that he had no interest whatsoever in releasing publicly detainees who might come back to harm Americans.”
Gates said that “we have many terrorists in United States’ prisons today,” and he decried “fear-mongering about this.”
Posted by Len on Thursday, May 21st, 2009 at 12:48 pm CT in Politics
President Obama delivered what was billed as a major speech this morning on national security. It was a fairly lengthy speech as he had quite a bit to say and needed to set a lot of people back on the correct path. One paragraph, I thought, just about summarized the whole thing:
Now, as our efforts to close Guantanamo move forward, I know that the politics in Congress will be difficult. These are issues that are fodder for 30-second commercials, you can almost picture the direct mail pieces that are designed to frighten the American public. I get it. But if we continue to make decisions from within a climate of fear, we will make more mistakes. And if we refuse to deal with these issues today, then I guarantee you that they will be an albatross around our efforts to combat terrorism in the future. I have confidence that the American people are more interested in doing what is right to protect this country than in political posturing. I am not the only person in this city who swore an oath to uphold the Constitution – so did each and every member of Congress. And together we have a responsibility to enlist our values in the effort to secure our people, and to leave behind the legacy that makes it easier for future Presidents to keep this country safe.
Here’s video of the President’s remarks. A complete transcript is available after the break.
There is a lot in this speech. Before you comment further on the national security policies of this administration (ergo the United States) you should take the time to at least watch the video or read the transcript. Otherwise, your comments are basically meaningless and without foundation.
Posted by Len on Thursday, May 21st, 2009 at 11:51 am CT in Entertainment,Humor
After the sham that was the American Idol finale last night (y’all didn’t really think that Fox was going to let the gay kid win, did you?), I thought maybe you could use a bit of real entertainment. Here’s Ferguson’s opening from night before last:
Posted by Len on Wednesday, May 20th, 2009 at 6:33 pm CT in Politics,Republicans
Former Minnesota Governor Jesse Venture appeared as a guest on Fox News’ Fox and Friends yesterday morning. He was supposedly there to promote his new book, though very little was actually said about the book. Instead, host Brian Kilmeade engaged the governor in what can only be described as a “heated discussion” about torture and the attacks of 9/11/01. In fact, the discussion became so heated that Mr. Kilmeade stormed off the set in a huff. Fair and balanced? We report, you decide.
Why would you invite someone to be a guest on your television show and then treat them with this kind of disrespect? Apparently, judging only from the opening of the segment, Ventura and Kilmeade have some sort of history. Still no excuse, however. If you spend much time watching Fox News, you know that this sort of display is common practice. It’s just the way they do business.
A piece of legislation that never in a million years would have seen the light of day under a Republican administration is on its way to the President’s desk to be signed into law…
The House today gave final approval to a bill that would prohibit credit card companies from arbritarily raising interest rates on existing balances and charging certain fees.
With a 361-64 vote, the House ensured that President Obama will be able to sign the bill into law by Memorial Day, as he requested.
The House had approved a more diluted credit card reform bill last month but chose to send the stronger Senate version to the president instead. The Senate overwhelmingly passed its bill, written by Banking Committee Chairman Christoper J. Dodd (D-Conn.), yesterday…
The landmark credit card legislation will force the $960 billion card industry to reinvent itself and consumers to rethink the way they use plastic.
The bill will prohibit card companies from raising interest rates on existing balances unless the borrower is at least 60 days late. If the cardholder pays on time for the following six months, the company would have to restore the original rate. On cards with more than one interest rate, issuers will have to apply payments first to the debts with the highest rates, which would help borrowers pay off their cards more quickly.
There is a dark side to every cloud, however. I don’t know what guns have to do with credit cards, but Republican Senator Tom Coburn of Oklahoma did the bidding of his NRA masters and attached an amendment to the bill that will allow people to bring loaded guns into national parks and wildlife refuges. The amendment was approved in the House by a vote of 279-147. President Obama has said he will sign the bill even with the Coburn amendment attached.
So much for our national parks and wildlife refuges. Can somebody explain to me why people need to carry loaded guns in national parks and wildlife refuges? Perhaps to protect themselves from all those terrorists President Obama is getting ready to release from Gitmo? Or maybe it’s the ants…
Do you recall this post from a couple of days ago? Read it if you haven’t. I’ll wait.
Our Senate Democrats would do well to read it also. Today they became practically indistinguishable from their fear-mongering Republican counterparts. Here’s part of a press conference held by Majority Leader Harry Reid:
REID: I’m saying that the United States Senate, Democrats and Republicans, do not want terrorists to be released in the United States. That’s very clear.
QUESTION: No one’s talking about releasing them. We’re talking about putting them in prison somewhere in the United States.
REID: Can’t put them in prison unless you release them.
QUESTION: Sir, are you going to clarify that a little bit? …
REID: I can’t make it any more clear than the statement I have given to you. We will never allow terrorists to be released in the United States. [...]
QUESTION: But Senator, Senator, it’s not that you’re not being clear when you say you don’t want them released. But could you say — would you be all right with them being transferred to an American prison?
REID: Not in the United States.
It’s all kind of baffling, isn’t it? Now we have Democrats thinking like Republicans. We’re in a boatload of trouble here, folks. Somebody needs to test the water in the Capitol building. Pronto. We held an election about this. Remember?
“Can’t put them in prison unless you release them.” What?!
If there is one thing we Americans have proven ourselves fairly adept at, it’s building prisons and keeping folks in them.
