Just Another Carnival Barker
To be honest, Glenn Beck in his interview with The New York Times admitted, modestly, "you’ve never met a more flawed guy than me." Still, one sits up and pays attention when a popular right-wing radio talk show host and rising GOP TV star admits also
I say on the air all the time "if you take what I say as gospel, you're an idiot."
There are three ways to take this: 1) Beck believes his audience, most of which seems to take what he says as "gospel," is comprised of idiots; 2) Beck was talking rhetorically or in a theological sense, given that the concept of being flawed is an central tenet of Christian thought; 3) Beck was being honest and really believes it is ludicrous to take seriously what an entertainer says.
I couldn't figure it out myself until I became aware of the following video of the talk show host, in this case posted by The Young Turks.
Beck, the Times reporters wrote, said “I’m a rodeo clown,” then added a "coy smile" and hinted “It takes great skill.” Can an Academy Award be far behind?
Friday, April 03, 2009
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Excessive, Yet Inadequate, Coverage
That the incident between Houston Texan running back Ryan Moats and Dallas, Texas patrolman Robert Powell has attracted enormous media attention in the midst of an economic meltdown could have been expected. We have: misbehavior by law enforcement; an NFL player; a fatality; audio and, most importantly, video.
But the coverage does represent the worse in the mainstream media. The insensitive and inappropriate behavior by the police officer is either: a singular event, uncharacteristic of the Dallas Police Department and police departments throughout the 50 states and the District of Columbia; or endemic. If it is the former, coverage has been grossly excessive, leading millions of people to believe unfairly and unjustifiably that police everywhere brutalize innocent citizens. And if it is the latter, it would behoove a media outlet, somewhere, to conduct an investigation to determine how common throughout America this approach to traffic stops is, the impact upon the community, and whether minorities are targeted or whites also routinely fall victim.. There is little reason, at least as of now, to claim racial discrimination or profiling; but given that the election of the first minority President was to have ushered in a period in which race could now be discussed openly in our country, the silence is telling.
That the incident between Houston Texan running back Ryan Moats and Dallas, Texas patrolman Robert Powell has attracted enormous media attention in the midst of an economic meltdown could have been expected. We have: misbehavior by law enforcement; an NFL player; a fatality; audio and, most importantly, video.
But the coverage does represent the worse in the mainstream media. The insensitive and inappropriate behavior by the police officer is either: a singular event, uncharacteristic of the Dallas Police Department and police departments throughout the 50 states and the District of Columbia; or endemic. If it is the former, coverage has been grossly excessive, leading millions of people to believe unfairly and unjustifiably that police everywhere brutalize innocent citizens. And if it is the latter, it would behoove a media outlet, somewhere, to conduct an investigation to determine how common throughout America this approach to traffic stops is, the impact upon the community, and whether minorities are targeted or whites also routinely fall victim.. There is little reason, at least as of now, to claim racial discrimination or profiling; but given that the election of the first minority President was to have ushered in a period in which race could now be discussed openly in our country, the silence is telling.
Opposing Conservative Views
Maybe Rush Limbaugh and Glenn Beck are stealing each scripts from each other. In an article published on Sunday in The New York Times, the increasingly popular Beck says the U.S.A. is “on the road to socialism.” Limbaugh, of course, can barely let an hour, let alone a show, pass without accusing President Obama of the never-defined "socialism." Yesterday, offended by the firing of CEO Rich Wagoner by the President, Rush asked "Is Hugo Chavez able to possess this man and go out and make speeches?" and exclaimed
This would have been a tipping point, I think. He would say the country that we've always known is over. He would probably say, "Son, capitalism, as we've known it, is over. The line has been crossed."
Unfortunately, someone forgot to inform a former Republican presidential aspirant of Barack Obama's resemblance to Karl Marx.
I think a lot of people expected the president just to cave, write a check, and just hope for the better," Romney said Tuesday morning on CNN. "I think he's expressing some backbone on this....
That's something I think he should have said months ago. There were a number of us who said bankruptcy or a bankruptcy-like process was something that was needed to get GM and Chrysler on their feet again."
Romney hasn't gone liberal or populist. When he authored this op-ed in The New York Times in November, 2008, the former Massachusetts governor (expressing views he still holds) advocated "new labor agreements to align pay and benefits to match those of workers at competitors like BMW, Honda, Nissan and Toyota. Furthermore, retiree benefits must be reduced so that the total burden per auto for domestic makers is not higher than that of foreign producers." The United Auto Workers, recognizing the sorry state of the domestic auto industry, has been negotiating benefits downward for several years now; and retraction of pension payments and health care for workers already retired represents a promise not kept. Still, it is interesting to hear a member of the Republican right who, apparently unlike most of the conservative talk show hosts, does not offer a demonization of others as his only contribution to the issue. And to find that neo-liberals and conservatives can find common ground in blaming workers.
Maybe Rush Limbaugh and Glenn Beck are stealing each scripts from each other. In an article published on Sunday in The New York Times, the increasingly popular Beck says the U.S.A. is “on the road to socialism.” Limbaugh, of course, can barely let an hour, let alone a show, pass without accusing President Obama of the never-defined "socialism." Yesterday, offended by the firing of CEO Rich Wagoner by the President, Rush asked "Is Hugo Chavez able to possess this man and go out and make speeches?" and exclaimed
This would have been a tipping point, I think. He would say the country that we've always known is over. He would probably say, "Son, capitalism, as we've known it, is over. The line has been crossed."
Unfortunately, someone forgot to inform a former Republican presidential aspirant of Barack Obama's resemblance to Karl Marx.
I think a lot of people expected the president just to cave, write a check, and just hope for the better," Romney said Tuesday morning on CNN. "I think he's expressing some backbone on this....
That's something I think he should have said months ago. There were a number of us who said bankruptcy or a bankruptcy-like process was something that was needed to get GM and Chrysler on their feet again."
Romney hasn't gone liberal or populist. When he authored this op-ed in The New York Times in November, 2008, the former Massachusetts governor (expressing views he still holds) advocated "new labor agreements to align pay and benefits to match those of workers at competitors like BMW, Honda, Nissan and Toyota. Furthermore, retiree benefits must be reduced so that the total burden per auto for domestic makers is not higher than that of foreign producers." The United Auto Workers, recognizing the sorry state of the domestic auto industry, has been negotiating benefits downward for several years now; and retraction of pension payments and health care for workers already retired represents a promise not kept. Still, it is interesting to hear a member of the Republican right who, apparently unlike most of the conservative talk show hosts, does not offer a demonization of others as his only contribution to the issue. And to find that neo-liberals and conservatives can find common ground in blaming workers.
Monday, March 30, 2009
Flight Of Fantasy
When Barack Obama assumed the presidency, he had waiting for him the greatest economic crisis since the Great Depression, an unpopular war, and a growing terrorist threat in the Persian Gulf. He has made big decisions and avoided others. And yet this is what obsesses Rush Limbaugh:
The best way to understand Obama, and I can't say this enough, he really believes that it's his job to return the nation's wealth to its rightful, quote, unquote, rightful owners. And that means that he believes the people who have wealth have stolen it from those who have no wealth. It's been unfairly achieved and accrued, and it's his job to take it and redistribute it. And that's what he means by sacrifice. When he talks about sacrifice, he's talking about raising your taxes, taking away your assets, and giving them to other people he thinks you stole them from who are thus more deserving.
This is what Limbaugh repeats, explicitly and otherwise, every day. Obama wants to raise everyone's taxes, steal from the rich and redistribute it to the undeserving poor and middle class. So imagine my surprise when the Wall Street Journal reported Monday
In his address Monday morning, Mr. Obama laid blame for GM and Chrysler's financial ills largely at the feet of the management teams at those companies. That said, he called on hourly workers and retirees at the companies to be ready to accept more sacrifice if they hoped to keep their employers afloat.
"It will require unions and workers who have already made extraordinarily painful concessions to do more," Mr. Obama said, adding that all stakeholders will need to provide givebacks. "Only then can we ask American taxpayers, who have already put up so much of their hard-earned money, to once more invest in a revitalized auto industry."
Now you may like the idea of the President of the United States demanding productive, middle-class employees give up some of their pay, health benefits, or pension while AIG and Merrill Lynch executives get to keep their bonuses for running their businesses into the ground, followed by a bailout by the American taxpayer. (And if so, you're right there with Rush.) But requiring yet more givebacks by unions and workers is a funny way of redistributing income away from the wealthy and, given Mr. Obama's stated concern here for the taxpayer, it's hardly a guy who wants to "raise your taxes."
Put aside Limbaugh's partisanship, fanaticism, ethnic bigotry, anti-Americanism, and sexism. On second thought, don't.
When Barack Obama assumed the presidency, he had waiting for him the greatest economic crisis since the Great Depression, an unpopular war, and a growing terrorist threat in the Persian Gulf. He has made big decisions and avoided others. And yet this is what obsesses Rush Limbaugh:
The best way to understand Obama, and I can't say this enough, he really believes that it's his job to return the nation's wealth to its rightful, quote, unquote, rightful owners. And that means that he believes the people who have wealth have stolen it from those who have no wealth. It's been unfairly achieved and accrued, and it's his job to take it and redistribute it. And that's what he means by sacrifice. When he talks about sacrifice, he's talking about raising your taxes, taking away your assets, and giving them to other people he thinks you stole them from who are thus more deserving.
This is what Limbaugh repeats, explicitly and otherwise, every day. Obama wants to raise everyone's taxes, steal from the rich and redistribute it to the undeserving poor and middle class. So imagine my surprise when the Wall Street Journal reported Monday
In his address Monday morning, Mr. Obama laid blame for GM and Chrysler's financial ills largely at the feet of the management teams at those companies. That said, he called on hourly workers and retirees at the companies to be ready to accept more sacrifice if they hoped to keep their employers afloat.
"It will require unions and workers who have already made extraordinarily painful concessions to do more," Mr. Obama said, adding that all stakeholders will need to provide givebacks. "Only then can we ask American taxpayers, who have already put up so much of their hard-earned money, to once more invest in a revitalized auto industry."
Now you may like the idea of the President of the United States demanding productive, middle-class employees give up some of their pay, health benefits, or pension while AIG and Merrill Lynch executives get to keep their bonuses for running their businesses into the ground, followed by a bailout by the American taxpayer. (And if so, you're right there with Rush.) But requiring yet more givebacks by unions and workers is a funny way of redistributing income away from the wealthy and, given Mr. Obama's stated concern here for the taxpayer, it's hardly a guy who wants to "raise your taxes."
Put aside Limbaugh's partisanship, fanaticism, ethnic bigotry, anti-Americanism, and sexism. On second thought, don't.
Sunday, March 29, 2009
Crime Proposal- no. 2
In defending his proposal for a commission to study the criminal justice system in the U.S.A., Senator Jim Webb (D.-Va.) on the Senate floor emphasized
We have 5% of the world's population; we have 25% of the world's known prison population. We have an incarceration rate in the United States, the world's greatest democracy, that is five times as high as the average incarceration rate of the rest of the world. There are only two possibilities here: either we have the most evil people on earth living in the United States; or we are doing something dramatically wrong in terms of how we approach the issue of criminal justice.
Not quite. There may be "something dramatically wrong in terms of how we approach the issue of criminal justice." While Senator Webb is concerned about the lack of treatment of mentally ill inmates, the "sharp increase" of individuals incarcerated for drug offenses, and the preponderance of blacks in (federal) prison, many Americans believe judges hand out weak sentences, inmates are coddled, and the death penalty should be more widely applied.
But the rate of incarceration in the United States, which Webb notes is far greater than in the world as a whole, does not suggest that we may "have the most evil people on earth" nor does it alone prove that our approach is radically misguided. Nor does the fact that African-Americans, as the Senator points out, are only approximately 12% of our population but "end up being 37% of those arrested on drug charges, 59% of those convicted, and 74% of those sentenced to prison by the numbers that have been provided by us."
Without using the "r" word, Webb appears to assume that racial bigotry accounts for the disproportionate number of black Americans in penal institutions. This is disappointing- and rather curious- for a man whose Wikipedia entry indicates wrote an op-ed piece in The Wall Street Journal in 2006 which
addressed what Webb feels is a growing economic inequality in the United States, touching on what he feels are overly permissive immigration policies, extravagant executive compensation, the detrimental effects of free trade and globalization, iniquitous tax cuts, and speedily rising health care costs, and attacking the "elites" who he says perpetuate the aforementioned woes for their personal economic gain.
In the same article, the newly-elected senator wrote
The most important--and unfortunately the least debated--issue in politics today is our society's steady drift toward a class-based system, the likes of which we have not seen since the 19th century.... If it remains unchecked, this bifurcation of opportunities and advantages along class lines has the potential to bring a period of political unrest.
It's unfortunate that Webb's critical emphasis on the poverty endured by many white Americans has obscured the reality that black Americans more often are plagued with lower incomes, more substandard housing, inadequate education and health care, dysfunctional family structure, and thus, not surprisingly (though Webb claims otherwise in his Senate remarks), a higher rate of usage of hard drugs. And if the"growing income inequality in the United States might "bring a period of political unrest," it clearly is a factor in the incidence of crime. Were the Senator willing to press for a study of the bifurcation of American society rather than repeating the tired bromides about the faults of the justice system, he would be demonstrating the courage which otherwise have characterized his public career.
In defending his proposal for a commission to study the criminal justice system in the U.S.A., Senator Jim Webb (D.-Va.) on the Senate floor emphasized
We have 5% of the world's population; we have 25% of the world's known prison population. We have an incarceration rate in the United States, the world's greatest democracy, that is five times as high as the average incarceration rate of the rest of the world. There are only two possibilities here: either we have the most evil people on earth living in the United States; or we are doing something dramatically wrong in terms of how we approach the issue of criminal justice.
Not quite. There may be "something dramatically wrong in terms of how we approach the issue of criminal justice." While Senator Webb is concerned about the lack of treatment of mentally ill inmates, the "sharp increase" of individuals incarcerated for drug offenses, and the preponderance of blacks in (federal) prison, many Americans believe judges hand out weak sentences, inmates are coddled, and the death penalty should be more widely applied.
But the rate of incarceration in the United States, which Webb notes is far greater than in the world as a whole, does not suggest that we may "have the most evil people on earth" nor does it alone prove that our approach is radically misguided. Nor does the fact that African-Americans, as the Senator points out, are only approximately 12% of our population but "end up being 37% of those arrested on drug charges, 59% of those convicted, and 74% of those sentenced to prison by the numbers that have been provided by us."
Without using the "r" word, Webb appears to assume that racial bigotry accounts for the disproportionate number of black Americans in penal institutions. This is disappointing- and rather curious- for a man whose Wikipedia entry indicates wrote an op-ed piece in The Wall Street Journal in 2006 which
addressed what Webb feels is a growing economic inequality in the United States, touching on what he feels are overly permissive immigration policies, extravagant executive compensation, the detrimental effects of free trade and globalization, iniquitous tax cuts, and speedily rising health care costs, and attacking the "elites" who he says perpetuate the aforementioned woes for their personal economic gain.
In the same article, the newly-elected senator wrote
The most important--and unfortunately the least debated--issue in politics today is our society's steady drift toward a class-based system, the likes of which we have not seen since the 19th century.... If it remains unchecked, this bifurcation of opportunities and advantages along class lines has the potential to bring a period of political unrest.
It's unfortunate that Webb's critical emphasis on the poverty endured by many white Americans has obscured the reality that black Americans more often are plagued with lower incomes, more substandard housing, inadequate education and health care, dysfunctional family structure, and thus, not surprisingly (though Webb claims otherwise in his Senate remarks), a higher rate of usage of hard drugs. And if the"growing income inequality in the United States might "bring a period of political unrest," it clearly is a factor in the incidence of crime. Were the Senator willing to press for a study of the bifurcation of American society rather than repeating the tired bromides about the faults of the justice system, he would be demonstrating the courage which otherwise have characterized his public career.
Crime Proposal- no. 1
Jim Webb has been a combat veteran of Vietnam, Marine Corps infantry officer, and Secretary of the Navy under President Ronald Reagan. Now a United States Senator from Virginia, Webb points out that he is not a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee. And it shows.
The Virginia Democrat has co-sponsored with Senator Arlen Specter (R.- Pa.) the National Criminal Justice Commission Act of 2009, which would create a commission which, according to Webb's website (redundant?) "an 18-month, top-to-bottom review of the nation's entire criminal justice system and offering concrete recommendations for reform. "
In his speech (pdf) on the Senate floor introducing the legislation, Webb clearly was exorcised because the United States is
5% of the world's population; we have 25% of the world's known prison population. We have an incarceration rate in the United States, the world's greatest democracy, that is five times as high as the average incarceration rate of the rest of the world....
The elephant in the bedroom in many discussions on the criminal justice system is the sharp increase in drug incarceration over the past three decades. In 1980, we had 41,000 drug offenders in prison; today we have more than 500,000, an increase of 1,200%.
There are two major problems with the proposal for a commission, aside from the impulse of Washington politicians to propose a commission, task force, or a committee at the cliched drop of a hat. Here is but one: Webb's speech is all about the United States as a nation, not as a collection of fifty states in a federal system. Statistics which can be directly compared are hard to come by; but in 2005, there were 1,189,900 men and women serving time in state prisons. As of the end of 2007- by which time even more individuals were in a facility after having been sentenced- there were 1,532,817 individuals in either a state or a federal prison.
Obviously, there are far more persons incarcerated in state facilities in the U.S.A. than in federal prisons. And the variation in state laws plays a role in differential rates of incarceration. For example, in 2005, Maine incarcerated 1867 people per 100,000 residents, while the corresponding number in Virginia (Mr. Webb's state) was 3214 individuals.
Admittedly, one of the factors spurring a high rate of imprisonment in the United States is the penalty for personal use of marijuana, which varies significantly between states. And if the thirst for liberalization of those laws on the federal level rested on the President most of the left supported, those hopes may now be considered dashed. Meanwhile, consideration for reform of the criminal justice system should be undertaken by those states, likely including Virginia, exhibiting the draconian laws and sentencing practices which appall Senators Webb and, presumably, Specter.
Jim Webb has been a combat veteran of Vietnam, Marine Corps infantry officer, and Secretary of the Navy under President Ronald Reagan. Now a United States Senator from Virginia, Webb points out that he is not a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee. And it shows.
The Virginia Democrat has co-sponsored with Senator Arlen Specter (R.- Pa.) the National Criminal Justice Commission Act of 2009, which would create a commission which, according to Webb's website (redundant?) "an 18-month, top-to-bottom review of the nation's entire criminal justice system and offering concrete recommendations for reform. "
In his speech (pdf) on the Senate floor introducing the legislation, Webb clearly was exorcised because the United States is
5% of the world's population; we have 25% of the world's known prison population. We have an incarceration rate in the United States, the world's greatest democracy, that is five times as high as the average incarceration rate of the rest of the world....
The elephant in the bedroom in many discussions on the criminal justice system is the sharp increase in drug incarceration over the past three decades. In 1980, we had 41,000 drug offenders in prison; today we have more than 500,000, an increase of 1,200%.
There are two major problems with the proposal for a commission, aside from the impulse of Washington politicians to propose a commission, task force, or a committee at the cliched drop of a hat. Here is but one: Webb's speech is all about the United States as a nation, not as a collection of fifty states in a federal system. Statistics which can be directly compared are hard to come by; but in 2005, there were 1,189,900 men and women serving time in state prisons. As of the end of 2007- by which time even more individuals were in a facility after having been sentenced- there were 1,532,817 individuals in either a state or a federal prison.
Obviously, there are far more persons incarcerated in state facilities in the U.S.A. than in federal prisons. And the variation in state laws plays a role in differential rates of incarceration. For example, in 2005, Maine incarcerated 1867 people per 100,000 residents, while the corresponding number in Virginia (Mr. Webb's state) was 3214 individuals.
Admittedly, one of the factors spurring a high rate of imprisonment in the United States is the penalty for personal use of marijuana, which varies significantly between states. And if the thirst for liberalization of those laws on the federal level rested on the President most of the left supported, those hopes may now be considered dashed. Meanwhile, consideration for reform of the criminal justice system should be undertaken by those states, likely including Virginia, exhibiting the draconian laws and sentencing practices which appall Senators Webb and, presumably, Specter.
Thursday, March 26, 2009
Palin On Campaign Prayer
Sarah Palin, March, 2009 in Anchorage, Alaska (from Politico):
So I'm looking around for somebody to pray with, I just need maybe a little help, maybe a little extra," she said. "And the McCain campaign, love 'em, you know, they're a lot of people around me, but nobody I could find that I wanted to hold hands with and pray." As the crowd laughed, Palin grinned and said she meant no disrespect to the McCain campaign. She said she ultimately prayed with her daughter Piper.
Jesus Christ, (approximately) 2041 A.D. in Galilee (from New American Standard Bible):
But you, when you pray, go into your inner room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in secret and your Father who sees insecret will repay you.
So here is a suggestion for the Governor: try praying alone- or in a church (it could be a welcome change).
Sarah Palin, March, 2009 in Anchorage, Alaska (from Politico):
So I'm looking around for somebody to pray with, I just need maybe a little help, maybe a little extra," she said. "And the McCain campaign, love 'em, you know, they're a lot of people around me, but nobody I could find that I wanted to hold hands with and pray." As the crowd laughed, Palin grinned and said she meant no disrespect to the McCain campaign. She said she ultimately prayed with her daughter Piper.
Jesus Christ, (approximately) 2041 A.D. in Galilee (from New American Standard Bible):
But you, when you pray, go into your inner room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in secret and your Father who sees insecret will repay you.
So here is a suggestion for the Governor: try praying alone- or in a church (it could be a welcome change).
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