There's been a lot of government and politics news over the last few days, so the Political Warrior will take this post to catch up. But before we do, we should reflect back on the U.S. President's we honor today. At one time a day to honor George Washington, then another day was added to laud Abraham Lincoln, now it's one day to honor all 43 -- love 'em or leave 'em.
As CitizenU.com wrote:
Most of us learned our U.S. history by way of presidential stories.Washington began it all.
Jefferson purchased Louisiana then hired Lewis and Clark.
Jacksonian democracy resulted in a chaotic inaugural.
Lincoln saved the Union.
Roosevelt gave us a New Deal and then saved the world.
Kennedy brought sex appeal, and so began a revolution.
Nixon broke our trust.
Reagan made us feel good again.
The threads that weave our American story invariably include one of our forty-three Masters of Ceremony, one of our Chief of State, one of our Presidents. For this reason we honor our Presidents today.
President's Day, at one time only a day to celebrate Washington, is now dedicated to remembering much more. A strong single executive has guided the rich tapestry of American history. Our story is wrapped in Presidents’ stories.
The President of the United States truly matters. Yet citizens matter too. Perhaps this is why our presidential candidates expend so much energy these days. Without us, their stories become less important.
Happy President's Day.
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And then there were 193? Kosovo, by letter, declared its independence from Serbia and asked for recognition from the other states in the world Monday. Remember, recognition is one of the charicteristics (or pillars) of the state -- a body of people (population) living in a defined territory, organized politically (government) and having the power to make and enforce law without consent of a higher authority (sovereignty).
Does Kosovo have it? Bypassing official UN recognition, it did get props from the U.S., Britain, France, Germany and most of the EU.
It did not get recognition from Russia (with permanent UN veto power) and Serbia. Russia considers Kosovo near-abroad -- the non-Russian countries that were once part of the USSR. More recently, Russian leaders have been referring to all 15 countries collectively as "Post-Soviet Space," while asserting Russian foreign policy interest throughout the region. Follow the still developing story here:
Bush: ‘The Kosovars are now independent’
U.S. formally recognizes nation; Britain, France, Germany say they will too
PRISTINA, Kosovo - The United States formally recognized Kosovo's independence Monday, and Europe's major powers said they would do the same, setting up a confrontation with Serbia and its key ally, Russia.
Kosovo's leaders had sent letters to 192 countries Monday seeking formal recognition of independence, and suspense gripped the capital as its citizens awaited backing from the key powers.
But the United States formally recognized Kosovo's independence in a statement by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, and President Bush said, “The Kosovars are now independent.”
Serbia responded by recalling its ambassador to Washington.
The foreign ministers of Britain, France, Germany and Italy said those nations also would recognize Kosovo.
"A majority of (European Union) member states will recognise a democratic, multi-ethnic Kosovo founded on the rule of law," German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said after talks among EU foreign ministers in Brussels.
Russia also rejected the declaration and persuaded the U.N. Security Council to meet in emergency session Sunday in an attempt to block Kosovo's secession. The council was to meet again later Monday.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has argued that independence without U.N. approval would set a dangerous precedent for "frozen conflicts" across the former Soviet Union, where separatists in Chechnya and Georgia are agitating for independence.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23219277/
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Valentine's Day Masacre
This from Indianapolis Star political cartoonist Gary Varvel on his shocking cartoon, covering last week's event which is becoming seemingly less and less shocking all the time. Why did I find the cartoon more shocking than the fact that a disturbed student has an arsenal and used it to kill on a close-by college campus?
"This cartoon is a shock to the system. It is disturbing and it should be. These things should not go together. The contrasting images of a bookbag, books, a rose and a valentines card should have nothing to do with blood splatters but this is the ugly truth of evil. Whether it's terrorists or some sick individual who decides to leap into eternity and take innocent people with him, we are left with unanswered questions and the empty feeling of helplessness. To those of us with children who still use bookbags, this is a nightmare image. On a day when we celebrate "love" we are gripped by grief. "
Last April I posted this after the Virginia Tech shootings, the opposite of sunsetting legislation, will the policy making window open up for those calling for madatory reportin of mentally ill on college campuses, or those who continue to call for further gun-control legislation:
Regardless of your stance, the gun attack has opened the policy-making window for somebody.
Thousands of bills are introduced in state and federal legislative chambers every year in America, but relatively few of these bills ever get enacted into law.
In many cases, lawmakers shelve a bill and wait to introduce the legislation at an opportune time when a window opens.
The U.S. Congress passed the PATRIOT Act within 45 days of the September 11th, 2001 attacks, but most components of the bill had been written more than a decade before 9/11/2001.
The terrorist attacks simply opened the window of opportunity for advocates to push the policy through.Just as the Reagan Assassination attempt opened the window to passing the federal Brady Law that requires gun buyers to undergo a criminal background check, the 1991 killings in Kileen, Texas opened the window to passing the Texas law that allowed Texans to carry a gun anywhere.
Angry NIU parents pushed for more gun-control following the campus tragedy.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-niu-parents-gun-control-080216,0,7705826.story
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Back to the Horserace -- Clinton accuses Obama of Plagarism
Hillary Clinton has accused Barack Obama of plagiarism as the former First Lady attempts to drag her high-flying young opponent into a pitched battle for the Democratic nomination.
Video: Watch Obama's 'plagiarised speech'
Having triumphed in eight consecutive primary elections, Mr Obama is forecast to continue his stunning ascent with victories in Hawaii and Wisconsin on Tuesday, although the latter is a close race.
However, he has been forced into the unwelcome distraction of fighting off charges from Mrs Clinton's camp that he lacks credibility after he used a short passage from a speech by his friend Deval Patrick, the Governor of Massachusetts, nearly verbatim and without attribution.
Speaking at a titanium plant in Ohio, where Mr Obama was trying to focus on his ideas for saving US jobs, he said Mr Patrick had suggested he use the words.
“Deval and I trade ideas all the time. He has occasionally used lines of mine and at the dinner in Wisconsin I used some words of his. On occasion, Senator Clinton has used words of mine as well."
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2008/02/18/wobama118.xml
McCain vote on torture a flip-flop?
This week, Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., voted against an intelligence bill that stated:
"No individual in the custody or under the effective control of an element of the intelligence community or instrumentality thereof, regardless of nationality or physical location, shall be subject to any treatment or technique of interrogation not authorized by the United States Army Field Manual on Human Intelligence Collector Operations."
www.youtube.com/watch?v=deVf_fTSDP8
You make the call...the government listening...who's right on FISA?
While the Senate passed the FISA bill with telecom amunity last week, the House hasn't. This shapes up the classic political debate of our time. Who is keeping us safer from the terrorists? These comments in the crossfire from President Bush, who vows to veto a FISA Bill that doesn't give telecom companies legal immunity and Senator Ted Kennedy (D-MA).
"I guess you got to come to the conclusion that there's a threat to America, or not a threat," the president said, warning that he might have to cancel a state visit to Africa. "I mean, evidently, some people just don't feel that sense of urgency. I do." -- President Bush
“The President has said that American lives will be sacrificed if Congress does not change FISA. But he has also said that he will veto any FISA bill that does not grant retroactive immunity.
No immunity, no FISA bill. So if we take the President at his word, he’s willing to let Americans die to protect the phone companies.” -- Senator Kennedy
Remember, Politics is Easy. Governing is Hard.
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Also, late last week:
House holds Bush confidants in contempt
WASHINGTON - The House voted Thursday to hold two of President Bush's confidants in contempt for failing to cooperate with an inquiry into whether a purge of federal prosecutors was politically motivated.
Angry Republicans boycotted the vote and staged a walkout.
The vote was 223-32 to hold White House chief of staff Josh Bolten and former White House counsel Harriet Miers in contempt. The citations charge Miers with failing to testify and accuse her and Bolten of refusing Congress' demands for documents related to the 2006-2007 firings.
"We have space on the calendar today for a politically charged fishing expedition, but no space for a bill that would protect the American people from terrorists who want to kill us," said Minority Leader John A. Boehner, R-Ohio.
"Let's just get up and leave," he told his colleagues, before storming out of the House chamber with scores of Republicans in tow.
Why is Congress investigating steroid use in baseball?Rep. Henry A. Waxman (D-Calif.), ranking Democrat on the House Government Reform Committee, said the main motivation for the investigation is the rising use of steroids among the country's children. Along with testimony from baseball players and executives, the committee also calls upon medical experts and parents whose children committed suicide after using steroids.
For our purposes, Congress has oversight powers, and in a contentious hearing on the use of performance-enhancing drugs by Major League baseball players, Brian McNamee testified that he had injected Roger Clemens and others with human growth hormones and anabolic steroids.
Mr. Clemens flatly denied Mr. McNamee’s statements under aggressive questioning by some committee members. Mr. Scheeler testified that he still stood by the results of his investigations for the Mitchell Report and believed that Brian McNamee was truthful about administering the drugs.
Mr. Clemens’ lawyers Rusty Hardin and Lanny Breuer tried to intervene on behalf of their client during questioning but the committee chairman eventually told them this was not allowed in hearings.
The full title of the report prepared by former Senator George Mitchell is, Report to the Commissioner of Baseball of an Independent Investigation into the Illegal Use of Steroids and Other Performance Enhancing Substances by Players in Major League Baseball.
Linked here is the four-hour hearing from C-Span.org. Congress also can use the "Necessary an Proper Clause" to take action, which could include recomending perjury charges against Roger Clemens. Baseball also has Congressional Anti-Trust exemption, which further gives members jurisdiction. Days before the hearings, while giving depositions, Clemens met with members. He was filmed giving away autographs. I bet he has not given one of those away at ballpark for years.
http://www.c-spanarchives.org/library/index.php?
Blog here and comment on any of the news of the last few days.
8 comments:
Whoa! Lots of stuff to comment on! Anyway, not every president does something so grand that he should have a day set aside just for him. There are just too many. I think the men who led this country, for better or for worse, deserve a day of commemoration just for taking on such a tough job. Besides, look at all the presidents who weren't saviors, but did a darn good job: The Roosevelts, Truman, Polk, Wilson, Ike, Reagan, I could go on for a while. They don't need their own special day, but Presidents' Day is a nice thing to remember them with.
As for Kosovo, it has a population living in a territory that acknowledges the sovereignty of a government, and it has been recognzied by some countries. It could be decades before the economy over there is fixed (unemployment is pushing 50%), but this is definitely a step in the right direction. There may, however, be some subversive action by Russia and Serbia. I highly doubt The Putin will authorize a direct military confrontation. It would basically be Russia (not the best military) and Serbia (dead weight) against pretty much everyone else, including Britain (the original commando users) and the United States (do I really need to elaborate on this one?).
Regarding NIU, I back any legislation that keeps guns in the hands of law-abiding citizens and out of the hands of clowns like this one. At some point, of course, you can't tell who might go off the deep end, but I don't think this justifies penalizing the tens of millions of law-abiding gun owners for the actions of a few whack jobs. The only way we're going to stop all these shootings on our streets is with Concealed Carry and the Castle Doctrine. We shouldn't have a "duty to retreat" when these goons break into our houses, and we shouldn't be prohibited by law from being anything but clay pigeons. And oh by the way, the last time I checked, concealed carry permit holders were NOT responsible for shootings except in SELF-DEFENSE!
As for Hillary's accusations, how many of her ideas, may I ask, were not first used by Bill? And how about that vertical crooked finger? Bill did that too, just horizontally. Hillary's just mad because she's losing to someone she clearly sees as inferior.
No comment on McCain.
I think immunity for telephone companies is too far, but I already said that in an earlier posting.
The issue with the GOP walkout just shows how straight Congress's priorities are. Instead of getting real work done, they get all bent out of shape over symbolic gestures that waste time.
And as for the steroids, it's too bad MLB didn't have the guts to handle this themselves, and yes, I think Clemens was bribing the Congressmen. If MLB can't say no to its players, someone has to.
On NIU issue (along with many other gun control issues), I think it should be hard for regular citizens to acquire guns. Well, my very very personal opinion is that we have to get rid of all the weapons in the world, however, this is realistically impossible. Tragic incidents like NIU's or Virginia Tech's were possible due to easy access to guns, and these kind of acts should not be so easy to accomplish (but they are in the United Staes).
Dont underestimate Russia Garrett. The last man who underestimated Russia was Hitler and look where that got him. Besides Russia has nukes and we have nukes so no fighting for us.
Its good that we have Presidents day so that we can show some love to all the Presidents whom most Americans do not know.
I agree with Garrett because I too have a lot to comment on from this blog post. First of all, I completely agree with Garrett on his view of President's Day because the men (and someday, women) that take this job deserve a day to be recognized for all that they do for our country, whether you agree with it or not.
Second, I have to comment about the cartoon regarding the NIU shootings. I was absolutely shocked when I saw this cartoon in class on Tuesday. I could not believe that some journalist/cartoonist would even think about drawing this, let alone printing it. Also, I have to agree with something Wolak said in class on Tuesday about school shootings becoming less shocking to us. I still remember Columbine and how sad and frightening that was for me as 9 year old, but now, I am somehow less surprised at these acts of violence, even though they are hitting closer to home.
Finally, as far as Obama and Hillary are concerned, I think that they both need to grow up, use their own words in speeches, and stop picking these little fights over nothing. They are just making Hillary look weak and like she has to trash Obama's reputation to get anywhere in the race. (And I am scolding Obama too because he has made some unnecessary comments in the past in order to hurt Hillary's reputation).
Call it 11 in a Row -- Is Obama the Democratic Champion of the World?
This from the 2/22 edition of www.electoral-vote.com/ a sight you all should bookmark:
Chalk up another one for Barack Obama. With the announcement of the results of the Democrats Abroad primary, Obama has now won 11 primaries and caucuses in a row. Democrats Abroad represents the Democrats among the approximately 7 million Americans living outside the U.S. (a population greater than that of 37 of the 50 states).
The Democratic Party considers DA to be a state and allocates 22 delegates each with half a vote to it (so Americans from more countries can go to the convention). For the first time ever, DA held an Internet primary. It ran for a week. Democrats in 164 countries voted by Internet, mail-in ballots, and in person at 30 voting centers around the world.
The results were announced yesterday with Obama getting 66% of the vote and Clinton getting 32%. Obama gets 5 half-votes and Clinton gets 4 half votes as a result of the regional proportionality rules. Another five half-vote delegates will be selected at the DA Global Convention in April. There are also 8 half votes for PLEOs (Party Leaders and Elected Officials).
The Internet primary allowed Democrats in far-flung locations to vote, including Democrat Adam Lutchansky, who is stationed at the U.S. scientific base at McMurdo, Antarctica, who voted on his computer.
Democrats abroad can read all the usual U.S. newspapers on the Web and often get CNN and other U.S. TV stations locally, but they also can watch foreign TV and read foreign newspapers, many of which provide better coverage of the U.S. elections than most U.S. newspapers. Also, they frequently hear from citizens of other countries that the U.S. has gone from being a shining light and symbol of democracy to the world's bully. It is thus not surprising that the "change candidate" did well among these voters.
Republicans Abroad is not actually part of the Republican Party and does not get any delegates at the Republican convention.
Kacy, I definitely agree with you about the Hillary/Obama stuff. They both need to grow up. The elections shouldn't be about reputation but instead about ideas to make this country better. I think it's really sad that people around the country know more scandals about the politicians than they do about policy.
In regards to the NIU shooting, I disagree with Garrett. There is no reason that law-abiding citizens should need guns. So many people claim that they are great protection, but look at the stats about accidental gun shootings and compare that to the number of times that guns have successfully been used for self-defense. I'm really sick of hearing about all these school shootings. Guns are obviously too easy to get, at the very least. I also disagree with Kacy. I think that the cartoon definitely should have been published. Yes, it is shocking and disturbing, but the shooting itself should be more shocking and disturbing than it was. Maybe the cartoon will remind people that mass school shootings are something that should not be expected every few months.
I agree with Jean. There is no need for law-abiding citizens to own a gun. Plus, there are no indicators that warn if the person wanting the gun could have a mental imbalance even with a good background check. Those who knew the shooter, such as his girlfriend and his godfather, say he really wasn’t a monster as everyone is beginning to call him. His girlfriend said that “He was anything but a monster. He was probably the nicest, most caring person ever” (cnn.com). So it’s very hard to tell if a person wants to just “defend themselves” or if they’re really planning something.
I agree with all of your comments about the race between Clinton and Obama. Although I support Obama, it seems that both candidates are too focused on hurting each other's reputation instead of sincerely campaigning. I'm starting to get confused about what they're fighting over. The reason the Democrat party has two different candidates, Clinton and Obama, are because they represent different opinions and views, and I'm fine with different opinions and views. All voices must be heard, and if the candidates truly believe that their vision for this country is more realistically helpful and achievable, it's great that they advocate for it so passionately. However, it's no longer about who has the right vision and plan for this country. It's no longer about what's good for the whole nation. Rather, it's about what's good for one candidate and bad for another. It's about how to score more points by magnifying small, personal, unnecessary facts, findings, and blunders. I almost sense a cult of personality in 08 race. Each candidate's personal presence and charisma are too strong and competitive, and because of this, I think the presidential race is becoming more like a show down between two players.
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