Friday, May 6, 2011
Thursday, May 5, 2011
Another Doctored Breitbart Video Costs Teacher His Job
Right-wing provocateur Andrew Breitbart just can't kick his nasty habit of doctoring videos to get good people fired. This time, he spliced together some footage of a professor of labor studies to make it appear that the teacher was advocating union violence. And even though the Univerity of Missouri acknowledged the video was a sham, they're getting rid of the professor anyway, out of fear.
Don Giljum co-taught a course called "Labor in Society and Politics" at the St. Louis campus with Judy Ancel, director of UMKC’s Institute for Labor Studies. Spliced footage of their lectures originally appeared on Andrew Breitbart’s conservative Big Government website and showed the instructors talking about industrial sabotage. Giljum is also a former union business manager. The videos, which also appeared on YouTube, were later yanked because they were posted without the permission of the school.
Breitbart is a master of smearing people and organizations he doesn't like through the creative editing of videos. He did it with voter registration advocacy group ACORN and again with Department of Agriculture employee Shirley Sherrod. Now he's turned his ugliness against teachers and unions.
According to the Labor Notes blog, "In one Breitbart-distorted section, Ancel explains how neoliberal governments use crises to 'shift power dramatically.' This lecture was actually in an entirely different course. But Breitbart inserts the sentence into a lecture on union contract campaigns, so it looks as if Ancel advocates unions causing a crisis."
Another section of the Breitbart video has Giljum saying, 'Labor can’t deny its violent past in response to the repression that was perpetrated on it. It’s hard to say that was not appropriate at that time; it might have been. I don't believe those tactics are going to work today and I think they would do more harm than good." Breitbart spliced out the words in italics to make his false point.
Chillingly, while acknowledging the video was a fake, neither Giljum's union nor the university is jumping to his defense. The school has already informed him he won't be rehired next semester. (He was an adjunct professor without tenure). Herb Johnson, Missouri AFL-CIO secretary-treasurer, told Labor Notes he prefers not to “fan the flames” by mounting a too-vigorous defense of Giljum. (The Missouri Legislature is apparently crafting an anti-union "right to work" bill). But as if to make up for its wimpiness, his Board passed a resolution denying that unions condone or endorse violence. And to placate those real and imagined critics, the attorney for the Missouri AFL-CIO, Ron Gladney, called Giljum’s international union and asked officials there to pressure him to resign from his local and international positions. They did, and Giljum handed in his resignation -- just days before he was scheduled to retire anyway.
This is all so reminiscent of Breitbart's success in getting powerful people to panic and act before investigating. In the Department of Agriculture's haste to get rid of Shirely Sherrod, they fired her while she was driving to work, lest she show up and embarrass the Obama Administration. Their apology and chagrin were too little, too late. In Giljum's case, it's even worse. His superiors knew Breitbart's video was a hoax, but they buckled anyway. So Breitbart got his way. His terrorism did the trick.
Letters of support for Giljum may be sent to University of Missouri-St. Louis Chancellor Thomas F. George, chancellor@umsl.edu, with a copy to Deborah Baldini, Associate Dean for Continuing Education, BaldiniD@msx.umsl.edu. Ancel asks that letters should ask for Giljum's rehiring in future semesters and "question his forced resignation with no investigation, no due process, and violation of his academic freedom."
Meanwhile, Breitbart continues with impunity on his crusade of hate, lies and videotape. And he is not even that good at it - his doctored video actually shows Giljum miraculously changing shirts mid-paragraph! But the mainstream media loves outrageousness, and even MSNBC invited him on last week to plug his new book.
James Rucker of ColorofChange, which successfully got the Huffington Post to drop Breitbart from prominent display on its site, has complained to MSNBC about Breitbart's appearance on the Dylan Ratigan show last week. Rucker said:
"At ColorOfChange, we had been contemplating a campaign to demand that MSNBC stop treating Breibart as a credible commentator. Breitbart's appearance on Ratigan's show seemed to be another case of a mainstream news organization lending Breitbart legitimacy -- and thousands of ColorOfChange members have taken action in the past to stop this from happening at ABC and Huffington Post. But in this case, when we reached out to Ratigan and MSNBC, they responded quickly and indicated they would not treat Breitbart as legitimate in the future.
We'll be keeping our eyes open to see how MSNBC deals with Breitbart moving forward. But while I still believe it was a mistake for MSNBC to host Breitbart in the first place, Ratigan and his producers deserve credit for being receptive to our concerns, agreeing with our assessment of Breitbart, and committing to treat him as the liar and race-baiter that he is."
MSNBC, while considered the liberal-leaning opposite of Fox, has a penchant for inviting crazy right-wingers on ita shows because they are sitting ducks and require little to no legwork or research to "expose" them. Lawrence O'Donnell recently hosted Birther Queen Orly Taitz and allowed her to spew her nonsense before self-righteously kicking her off the show. When will these pundits learn that provocateurs crave negative as well as positive attention? Giving them a platform in order to humiliate them only perpetuates their martyr complex and ensures their continued survival.
Don Giljum co-taught a course called "Labor in Society and Politics" at the St. Louis campus with Judy Ancel, director of UMKC’s Institute for Labor Studies. Spliced footage of their lectures originally appeared on Andrew Breitbart’s conservative Big Government website and showed the instructors talking about industrial sabotage. Giljum is also a former union business manager. The videos, which also appeared on YouTube, were later yanked because they were posted without the permission of the school.
Breitbart is a master of smearing people and organizations he doesn't like through the creative editing of videos. He did it with voter registration advocacy group ACORN and again with Department of Agriculture employee Shirley Sherrod. Now he's turned his ugliness against teachers and unions.
According to the Labor Notes blog, "In one Breitbart-distorted section, Ancel explains how neoliberal governments use crises to 'shift power dramatically.' This lecture was actually in an entirely different course. But Breitbart inserts the sentence into a lecture on union contract campaigns, so it looks as if Ancel advocates unions causing a crisis."
Another section of the Breitbart video has Giljum saying, 'Labor can’t deny its violent past in response to the repression that was perpetrated on it. It’s hard to say that was not appropriate at that time; it might have been. I don't believe those tactics are going to work today and I think they would do more harm than good." Breitbart spliced out the words in italics to make his false point.
Chillingly, while acknowledging the video was a fake, neither Giljum's union nor the university is jumping to his defense. The school has already informed him he won't be rehired next semester. (He was an adjunct professor without tenure). Herb Johnson, Missouri AFL-CIO secretary-treasurer, told Labor Notes he prefers not to “fan the flames” by mounting a too-vigorous defense of Giljum. (The Missouri Legislature is apparently crafting an anti-union "right to work" bill). But as if to make up for its wimpiness, his Board passed a resolution denying that unions condone or endorse violence. And to placate those real and imagined critics, the attorney for the Missouri AFL-CIO, Ron Gladney, called Giljum’s international union and asked officials there to pressure him to resign from his local and international positions. They did, and Giljum handed in his resignation -- just days before he was scheduled to retire anyway.
This is all so reminiscent of Breitbart's success in getting powerful people to panic and act before investigating. In the Department of Agriculture's haste to get rid of Shirely Sherrod, they fired her while she was driving to work, lest she show up and embarrass the Obama Administration. Their apology and chagrin were too little, too late. In Giljum's case, it's even worse. His superiors knew Breitbart's video was a hoax, but they buckled anyway. So Breitbart got his way. His terrorism did the trick.
Letters of support for Giljum may be sent to University of Missouri-St. Louis Chancellor Thomas F. George, chancellor@umsl.edu, with a copy to Deborah Baldini, Associate Dean for Continuing Education, BaldiniD@msx.umsl.edu. Ancel asks that letters should ask for Giljum's rehiring in future semesters and "question his forced resignation with no investigation, no due process, and violation of his academic freedom."
Meanwhile, Breitbart continues with impunity on his crusade of hate, lies and videotape. And he is not even that good at it - his doctored video actually shows Giljum miraculously changing shirts mid-paragraph! But the mainstream media loves outrageousness, and even MSNBC invited him on last week to plug his new book.
James Rucker of ColorofChange, which successfully got the Huffington Post to drop Breitbart from prominent display on its site, has complained to MSNBC about Breitbart's appearance on the Dylan Ratigan show last week. Rucker said:
"At ColorOfChange, we had been contemplating a campaign to demand that MSNBC stop treating Breibart as a credible commentator. Breitbart's appearance on Ratigan's show seemed to be another case of a mainstream news organization lending Breitbart legitimacy -- and thousands of ColorOfChange members have taken action in the past to stop this from happening at ABC and Huffington Post. But in this case, when we reached out to Ratigan and MSNBC, they responded quickly and indicated they would not treat Breitbart as legitimate in the future.
We'll be keeping our eyes open to see how MSNBC deals with Breitbart moving forward. But while I still believe it was a mistake for MSNBC to host Breitbart in the first place, Ratigan and his producers deserve credit for being receptive to our concerns, agreeing with our assessment of Breitbart, and committing to treat him as the liar and race-baiter that he is."
MSNBC, while considered the liberal-leaning opposite of Fox, has a penchant for inviting crazy right-wingers on ita shows because they are sitting ducks and require little to no legwork or research to "expose" them. Lawrence O'Donnell recently hosted Birther Queen Orly Taitz and allowed her to spew her nonsense before self-righteously kicking her off the show. When will these pundits learn that provocateurs crave negative as well as positive attention? Giving them a platform in order to humiliate them only perpetuates their martyr complex and ensures their continued survival.
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
The Truthers Are Out There
This just in from Conspiracy Theory Central: Osama was already dead. No, wait, he's really still alive. The CIA assassination of the world's most hated mass murderer was a monumental hoax, perpetrated by a desperate United States government for the purpose of further bending us to its nefarious will. The so-called insta-DNA testing was a sham; everybody knows it takes days to get results. The dead sister's brain was really Osama's brain in a jar. The White House photo that had Hillary holding a hand to her mouth to stifle a horrified gasp was really the cabinet watching a cheesy rerun of "24". The possibilities are endless.
"Think about it," writes columnist and former Reagan Treasury Secretary Paul Craig Roberts. "What are the chances that a person allegedly suffering from kidney disease and requiring dialysis and, in addition, afflicted with diabetes and low blood pressure, survived in mountain hideaways for a decade? If bin Laden was able to acquire dialysis equipment and medical care that his condition required, would not the shipment of dialysis equipment point to his location? Why did it take ten years to find him?.....This morning’s headline has the odor of a staged event. The smell reeks from the triumphalist news reports loaded with exaggerations, from celebrants waving flags and chanting'USA USA.' Could something else be going on?"
Conspiracy theories usually pop up after the death of a larger than life figure. Elvis sightings have been reported since he succumbed to a drug overdose. Princess Diana is hiding out somewhere with her lover Dodi: she staged her own death to get away from the paparazzi. Truther Kevin Barrett claims Bin Laden has actually been dead since shortly after the terror attacks. "If in fact US authorities suspected Osama Bin Laden was involved with 9/11, and was still alive, they would have pulled out all the stops to take him alive" Barrett blogged. " And if they had screwed up royally and killed him, would they have immediately dumped the body at sea?! Given the formidable case that Bin Laden died in 2001, obviously US authorities would have taken pains to prove to a skeptical world that the corpse or specter or whatever it was they possessed was the real Bin Laden. Feeding the body to the fishes so fast looks...well, calling it 'fishy' would be an insult to the scaly denizens of the deep."
No doubt about it - conspiracy theories are fun. I used to love wrapping myself up in the weekly paranoid cocoon of tongue-in-cheek "X-Files" episodes. The only trouble is, I don't think our government is smart enough to have concocted such a convoluted fraud as a fake Osama assassination. Too many people were involved. The truth is out there, all right. A group of highly trained Navy Seals* took out a murderous creep and now the politicians are using it to their own advantage. That seems pretty above-board to me.
* Update 5/4: I took some well-deserved criticism from a reader, John from Louisiana, over my original characterization of the squad as "killing machines." I have revised my copy accordingly. A more apt description is that the military utilizes its members as machines of war, damages their psyches in many instances, but by no means robs them of their core humanity. I stand corrected and thank John for his thoughtful commentary.
 |
| "Hey. Over Here! Anybody Seen My Dialysis Machine?" |
"Think about it," writes columnist and former Reagan Treasury Secretary Paul Craig Roberts. "What are the chances that a person allegedly suffering from kidney disease and requiring dialysis and, in addition, afflicted with diabetes and low blood pressure, survived in mountain hideaways for a decade? If bin Laden was able to acquire dialysis equipment and medical care that his condition required, would not the shipment of dialysis equipment point to his location? Why did it take ten years to find him?.....This morning’s headline has the odor of a staged event. The smell reeks from the triumphalist news reports loaded with exaggerations, from celebrants waving flags and chanting'USA USA.' Could something else be going on?"
Conspiracy theories usually pop up after the death of a larger than life figure. Elvis sightings have been reported since he succumbed to a drug overdose. Princess Diana is hiding out somewhere with her lover Dodi: she staged her own death to get away from the paparazzi. Truther Kevin Barrett claims Bin Laden has actually been dead since shortly after the terror attacks. "If in fact US authorities suspected Osama Bin Laden was involved with 9/11, and was still alive, they would have pulled out all the stops to take him alive" Barrett blogged. " And if they had screwed up royally and killed him, would they have immediately dumped the body at sea?! Given the formidable case that Bin Laden died in 2001, obviously US authorities would have taken pains to prove to a skeptical world that the corpse or specter or whatever it was they possessed was the real Bin Laden. Feeding the body to the fishes so fast looks...well, calling it 'fishy' would be an insult to the scaly denizens of the deep."
No doubt about it - conspiracy theories are fun. I used to love wrapping myself up in the weekly paranoid cocoon of tongue-in-cheek "X-Files" episodes. The only trouble is, I don't think our government is smart enough to have concocted such a convoluted fraud as a fake Osama assassination. Too many people were involved. The truth is out there, all right. A group of highly trained Navy Seals* took out a murderous creep and now the politicians are using it to their own advantage. That seems pretty above-board to me.
* Update 5/4: I took some well-deserved criticism from a reader, John from Louisiana, over my original characterization of the squad as "killing machines." I have revised my copy accordingly. A more apt description is that the military utilizes its members as machines of war, damages their psyches in many instances, but by no means robs them of their core humanity. I stand corrected and thank John for his thoughtful commentary.
How to Spend a Windfall in Political Capital
President Obama is having a very good week. He actually got Donald Trump to zip his trap and go away. The killing of the world's worst terrorist and one of the most hated men in history went off without a hitch. If Republicans aren't enthusiastically praising him, they are at least having the good sense to keep their mouths shut.*
Obama has got himself some real power, some political capital he has not possessed since his inauguration. The question is, what will he do with it?
Will he strong-arm his opponents and push through legislation that's been stagnating in the doldrums? If he were to march to Capitol Hill and demand passage of the DREAM Act, for example, can you imagine sourpuss Mitch McConnell responding that his main goal is not to give the president a second term? Now is the time for Obama to come out swinging for Elizabeth Warren as permanent head of the Consumer Financial Protection Agency and show he will stand up for the middle class.
He must capitalize on this National Assassination Celebration. Political good moods are temporary things. George Bush the Elder had 90 percent approval ratings after the routing of Iraq from Kuwait and not long after was soundly defeated by Bill Clinton. It was the economy, stupid -- remember?
Now is also the time to declare Mission Accomplished in Afghanistan and start bringing the troops home, ahead of the tenuous July drawdown schedule. Otherwise, the excuses for staying will start multiplying like rabbits. Clean breaks are better than compound fractures. Let the President point to the reduction in the defense budget as a reason to start investing in jobs and infrastructure here at home.
The next few weeks will be crucial. Progressives will be putting Obama to the test. If he continues to intone the Bipartisan Mantra and stall on important legislation and invite the same old compromise, I will throw up my hands in despair. He has proven he is no Jimmy Carter, so he shouldn't feel he has to be Jimmy Carter.
And if he continues to talk about civility being an end in itself, we should simply point out this incontrovertible fact. Mr. President -- you just ordered an assassination. So how about kicking a little Republican ass for a change? Prove once and for all you are not one of them. Either seize the day or watch your newfound support crumble as fast as it was resurrected.
* Update 5/9 - Wow, was that wishful thinking or what? What a difference a week and 2500 cable news shows make. Cheney, Cheney, Condi, Rummy, Fredo, Mukasey... all the ghouls have arisen from the grave.
Obama has got himself some real power, some political capital he has not possessed since his inauguration. The question is, what will he do with it?
Will he strong-arm his opponents and push through legislation that's been stagnating in the doldrums? If he were to march to Capitol Hill and demand passage of the DREAM Act, for example, can you imagine sourpuss Mitch McConnell responding that his main goal is not to give the president a second term? Now is the time for Obama to come out swinging for Elizabeth Warren as permanent head of the Consumer Financial Protection Agency and show he will stand up for the middle class.
He must capitalize on this National Assassination Celebration. Political good moods are temporary things. George Bush the Elder had 90 percent approval ratings after the routing of Iraq from Kuwait and not long after was soundly defeated by Bill Clinton. It was the economy, stupid -- remember?
Now is also the time to declare Mission Accomplished in Afghanistan and start bringing the troops home, ahead of the tenuous July drawdown schedule. Otherwise, the excuses for staying will start multiplying like rabbits. Clean breaks are better than compound fractures. Let the President point to the reduction in the defense budget as a reason to start investing in jobs and infrastructure here at home.
The next few weeks will be crucial. Progressives will be putting Obama to the test. If he continues to intone the Bipartisan Mantra and stall on important legislation and invite the same old compromise, I will throw up my hands in despair. He has proven he is no Jimmy Carter, so he shouldn't feel he has to be Jimmy Carter.
And if he continues to talk about civility being an end in itself, we should simply point out this incontrovertible fact. Mr. President -- you just ordered an assassination. So how about kicking a little Republican ass for a change? Prove once and for all you are not one of them. Either seize the day or watch your newfound support crumble as fast as it was resurrected.
* Update 5/9 - Wow, was that wishful thinking or what? What a difference a week and 2500 cable news shows make. Cheney, Cheney, Condi, Rummy, Fredo, Mukasey... all the ghouls have arisen from the grave.
Monday, May 2, 2011
Osama is Dead, But We're Still in a Mess
Killing Osama bin Laden was like squashing an aged infertile spider long after it had already spawned thousands of genetic copies of itself to keep the toxin spreading. While I'm happy that this monster no longer draws breath, neither am I dancing in the streets and waving the American flag. I am glad if survivors and relatives of 9/11 victims are able to find closure today. I'll be really glad if the President uses the occasion to declare "Mission Accomplished: the troops are coming home!" -- but we know that's not gonna happen.
While I was awaiting the President's speech last night, I endured Wolf Blitzer and John King's pontifications on the Most Important Day Ever, in the History of the Entire Universe. During a lull, Wolf conducted a telephone interview with a New York City firefighter who spent days at Ground Zero and subsequently developed cancer, probably from breathing in all those toxins the EPA blithely assured us were all perfectly innocuous. The exchange ended like this (No transcript - I am paraphrasing).
Firefighter: "And now that we finally got him, I hope that we can bring the troops home from Afghani-"
Blitzer: "Back to you, John! I see since our cameras lit up the scene in front of the White House, thousands are gathering and singing The Star Spangled Banner!"
Cynic that I am, I have to wonder about that massive compound surrounded by razor wire, practically right next door to Pakistan's version of West Point, going unnoticed all these years. Doesn't the CIA have Google Earth? Didn't they talk to the neighbors, who have noticed for a long time that the occupants of the compound never brought out any freaking garbage? Does the timing have anything to do with the killing of K-Daffy's grandkids by a NATO strike getting all that bad press? Did they think Osama's death would cancel out that collateral damage?
I don't know. Meanwhile, let's forget all about this week's congressional deregulation of the financial industry and the Treasury's plan to exempt trillions of dollars of foreign exchange trades from any pesky oversight. Let's pretend there is not 25 percent real unemployment and show the nervous markets how confident we all feel. Let's all go shopping and take in a Broadway show.
While I was awaiting the President's speech last night, I endured Wolf Blitzer and John King's pontifications on the Most Important Day Ever, in the History of the Entire Universe. During a lull, Wolf conducted a telephone interview with a New York City firefighter who spent days at Ground Zero and subsequently developed cancer, probably from breathing in all those toxins the EPA blithely assured us were all perfectly innocuous. The exchange ended like this (No transcript - I am paraphrasing).
Firefighter: "And now that we finally got him, I hope that we can bring the troops home from Afghani-"
Blitzer: "Back to you, John! I see since our cameras lit up the scene in front of the White House, thousands are gathering and singing The Star Spangled Banner!"
Cynic that I am, I have to wonder about that massive compound surrounded by razor wire, practically right next door to Pakistan's version of West Point, going unnoticed all these years. Doesn't the CIA have Google Earth? Didn't they talk to the neighbors, who have noticed for a long time that the occupants of the compound never brought out any freaking garbage? Does the timing have anything to do with the killing of K-Daffy's grandkids by a NATO strike getting all that bad press? Did they think Osama's death would cancel out that collateral damage?
I don't know. Meanwhile, let's forget all about this week's congressional deregulation of the financial industry and the Treasury's plan to exempt trillions of dollars of foreign exchange trades from any pesky oversight. Let's pretend there is not 25 percent real unemployment and show the nervous markets how confident we all feel. Let's all go shopping and take in a Broadway show.
Saturday, April 30, 2011
DREAM Act May Become Obama's Campaign Nightmare
The President told them "No, I can't." So the fastest-growing voting demographic in the country may soon be telling him that they can't, either. Latinos are losing patience with the tired old refrain of "the Republicans won't let me."
Presente.Org, one of the nation's largest Hispanic advocacy groups, is asking its members for input on a formal plan to withdraw active support for the president's re-election, in light of his continued failure to exert executive power to defer the deportation of a million DREAM Act candidates.
The action comes on the heels of a letter delivered to Obama earlier this month by 22 Democratic senators. who begged him to draw the same line in the sand against deportations, for humanitarian reasons. Obama said No, he couldn't. Not without the Republicans. He invited Hispanic leaders and celebrities to schmooze and absorb his charm offensive in the White House on Thursday. As much as he is totally cool with the DREAM act... well, without Republican cooperation -- No, he can't. He is using the same strategy as that long and winding road to the repeal of DADT. Without that almighty bipartisan support, it would not get done, even though he could have gotten it done a lot sooner and saved a lot of gay troops a lot of heartache.
From the Presente email:
The DREAM Act, passed last year in the still-Democratic House but defeated in the Senate, would allow undocumented immigrants under the age of 30 who were brought to the country before they were 16 and have been living in the U.S. continuously for five years to be eligible for conditional non-immigrant status.
Over the weekend, according to AP, Illinois Democratic Rep. Luis Gutierrez, who helped rally Hispanic voters to support Obama during the 2008 campaign, told a Chicago crowd he was not sure he could back Obama in 2012 if the president did not step up immigration changes. This, in the President's home state!
Si, se puede, Obama hollowly promised the crowds of Spanish-speaking supporters during his campaign. Just not right now. And that huge, powerful demographic is talking right back. No nos mienten.
P.S. All I had heard about this story in the mainstream media was the fact that Eva Longoria came out to meet the press from the Oval Office wearing false eyelashes and a skintight dress. Other attendees fled through back entrances, but as the president's new official immigration adviser, Eva talked about how much Obama cares. If Donald has spokesmodels, why can't Barack?
Presente.Org, one of the nation's largest Hispanic advocacy groups, is asking its members for input on a formal plan to withdraw active support for the president's re-election, in light of his continued failure to exert executive power to defer the deportation of a million DREAM Act candidates.
The action comes on the heels of a letter delivered to Obama earlier this month by 22 Democratic senators. who begged him to draw the same line in the sand against deportations, for humanitarian reasons. Obama said No, he couldn't. Not without the Republicans. He invited Hispanic leaders and celebrities to schmooze and absorb his charm offensive in the White House on Thursday. As much as he is totally cool with the DREAM act... well, without Republican cooperation -- No, he can't. He is using the same strategy as that long and winding road to the repeal of DADT. Without that almighty bipartisan support, it would not get done, even though he could have gotten it done a lot sooner and saved a lot of gay troops a lot of heartache.
From the Presente email:
"Since the DREAM Act was defeated last December, the over one million young people who would qualify have become more vulnerable than ever to immigration raids, deportations, and separation from their families. In fact, DREAMers, undocumented immigrant youth who came to the US as children, are actively being served deportation orders even though the President has said they are not an enforcement priority. At the same time, his administration has been deporting non-criminal immigrants at a higher rate than the Bush administration.President Obama has promised to fight for Comprehensive Immigration Reform and has been a vocal supporter of the DREAM Act. He has repeatedly called on Congress to act on these issues, and Congress has repeatedly failed. We, along with numerous elected officials, religious leaders, and community groups believe the President must use his executive powers to draw a line in the sand, and that that line should be the deportation of DREAM-eligible students.President Obama has said that he does not have the authority to suspend the deportations of a select group like the DREAMers, but that's simply not the case. For this reason, Presente.org is considering a campaign through which our members would threaten to not actively work on the reelection campaign unless the President uses his Executive Power to stop the deportation of DREAM eligible youth. Often, the President has asked us to force his hand in advancing progressive policies. We think now is the time to take him up on that proposal, but we need to know whether you are behind us." (Yes I am and yes we can).
 |
| Thursday's White House Photo-Op -- DREAM on, La Gente |
Presente joins a growing number of Latino leaders and groups becoming increasingly vocal in their disappointment with Obama's failure to get immigration reform done. Despite paying lip service ad nauseum and ad infinitum to changing the system, and insisting he is committed to an overhaul, his Administration deported a record 393,000 immigrants last year. That is more than during the Bush Administration. Other enforcement tactics during his tenure also have drawn criticism in the immigrant and Hispanic communities. He recently okayed the use of Drone aircraft to catch people at the border.
Si, se puede, Obama hollowly promised the crowds of Spanish-speaking supporters during his campaign. Just not right now. And that huge, powerful demographic is talking right back. No nos mienten.
P.S. All I had heard about this story in the mainstream media was the fact that Eva Longoria came out to meet the press from the Oval Office wearing false eyelashes and a skintight dress. Other attendees fled through back entrances, but as the president's new official immigration adviser, Eva talked about how much Obama cares. If Donald has spokesmodels, why can't Barack?
 |
| New Immigration Adviser, Pictured at a White House State Dinner: A Tough DREAM Act to Follow |
Friday, April 29, 2011
Word Barfs and Dark Alleys
Acting Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Director Elizabeth Warren doesn't mince words. Now that the agency is under attack by Republicans at the behest of their Wall Street backers, she is fighting back with a vengeance. If the banksters aren't confusing us with what she calls "word barfs in contracts" they're dragging us into dark alleys and sticking a knife in our ribs. Watch this clip of Warren talking to Jon Stewart on "The Daily Show" earlier this week.
http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/tue-april-26-2011/elizabeth-warren
Despite huge popular support, Warren may even be in danger of losing her job as well as the whole bureau. According to a report from Reuters, there are still those within the Obama Administration who think she is too controversial a choice to lead the agency she created. Translation: they're afraid of her and her growing citizen-backed power. If Obama has any guts, he'll publicly come to her defense, forget about a stupid Senate confirmation battle, and name her via a recess appointment He is kind of in a sticky situation, now that he's running for re-election and trying to hypnotize people into thinking he's a born-again progressive. Now is his chance to prove it, or at least make a good-faith effort at proving it. He does know how to use the bully pulpit when he wants to. Witness his impassioned speech castigating Paul Ryan's roadmap to perdition. Although a recess appointment for Warren would be temporary, it would give her that much more time to dig in until a Senate confirmation is mandated in another year.
But all is not smooth in The White House. There is disagreement among Barack Obama's aides over whether it would be "wise" for him to take on a highly visible fight over either a recess appointment or a confirmation for Warren in the U.S. Senate. Not surprisingly, she has run into some really nasty opposition from Republicans who say she would be too confrontational toward the financial industry. But there are also some Democrats in the mix of foes. Among them, reportedly, is Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, who has been pointedly lukewarm toward her from the get-go. Geithner, former chairman of the New York Fed, has long been viewed as a loyal friend of Wall Street. He has in several interviews damned her with faint praise, with nonchalant remarks to the effect of she is a fine woman... she would make a fine chairman... she is definitely on the short list. But never a ringing endorsement, not by a long stretch.
So now, anonymous Administration sources are saying, the talk revolves around appointing an "associate" of Warren in yet another Obama Compromise, aka capitulation.But picking anyone other than Warren could be problematic and could lead to an immediate revolt from "The Base", according to Reuters
On the Republican side, there are two bills pending in the House of Representatives that aim to "defang" the agency, Warren says. The first, sponsored by Spencer Bachus (R-AL), chairman of the Financial Services Committee, would transform the CFPB leadership into a five-person board, thus diluting its power. The second, promulgated by Wisconsin Rep.Sean Duffy, would in turn make a bipartisan, separate agency approved by the same Financial Services Committee and Congress the regulator of Warren's agency. They are not even trying to hide their cynical collusion.
Warren, a Harvard professor who headed a panel that investigated government bank bailouts during the financial crisis, has been mentioned as a possible candidate to challenge Massachusetts Republican Senator Scott Brown, who must seek re-election in 2012. So far, though, Brown's poll numbers are looking good. If I were advising Warren, I'd tell her to stay right where she is and fight. We have her back. Besides, the Obama administration would probably love nothing more than for her to resign and challenge Brown.... and just go away. Elizabeth Warren has been around long enough to know how the game is played. The fact that she's stuck it out this long in the cutthroat world of Inside the Beltway speaks volumes for her power and influence.
And the fact is that the powerful men who are lashing out at her are only serving to betray their own fears and insecurities. They are eminently vulnerable.
P.S. Thanks to Kate and Valerie for reminding me to cover this.
P.P.S. Links in Comments don't work, (thanks again Valerie) so here is where to find the members of the House Financial Services Committee:
http://financialservices.house.gov/singlepages.aspx?NewsID=397
Update 4/30 -- The subcommittee hearings on the proposed legislation will be held on May 4 beginning at 10 a.m. Details can be found here.
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| Fighting the Good Fight |
http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/tue-april-26-2011/elizabeth-warren
Despite huge popular support, Warren may even be in danger of losing her job as well as the whole bureau. According to a report from Reuters, there are still those within the Obama Administration who think she is too controversial a choice to lead the agency she created. Translation: they're afraid of her and her growing citizen-backed power. If Obama has any guts, he'll publicly come to her defense, forget about a stupid Senate confirmation battle, and name her via a recess appointment He is kind of in a sticky situation, now that he's running for re-election and trying to hypnotize people into thinking he's a born-again progressive. Now is his chance to prove it, or at least make a good-faith effort at proving it. He does know how to use the bully pulpit when he wants to. Witness his impassioned speech castigating Paul Ryan's roadmap to perdition. Although a recess appointment for Warren would be temporary, it would give her that much more time to dig in until a Senate confirmation is mandated in another year.
But all is not smooth in The White House. There is disagreement among Barack Obama's aides over whether it would be "wise" for him to take on a highly visible fight over either a recess appointment or a confirmation for Warren in the U.S. Senate. Not surprisingly, she has run into some really nasty opposition from Republicans who say she would be too confrontational toward the financial industry. But there are also some Democrats in the mix of foes. Among them, reportedly, is Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, who has been pointedly lukewarm toward her from the get-go. Geithner, former chairman of the New York Fed, has long been viewed as a loyal friend of Wall Street. He has in several interviews damned her with faint praise, with nonchalant remarks to the effect of she is a fine woman... she would make a fine chairman... she is definitely on the short list. But never a ringing endorsement, not by a long stretch.
So now, anonymous Administration sources are saying, the talk revolves around appointing an "associate" of Warren in yet another Obama Compromise, aka capitulation.But picking anyone other than Warren could be problematic and could lead to an immediate revolt from "The Base", according to Reuters
On the Republican side, there are two bills pending in the House of Representatives that aim to "defang" the agency, Warren says. The first, sponsored by Spencer Bachus (R-AL), chairman of the Financial Services Committee, would transform the CFPB leadership into a five-person board, thus diluting its power. The second, promulgated by Wisconsin Rep.Sean Duffy, would in turn make a bipartisan, separate agency approved by the same Financial Services Committee and Congress the regulator of Warren's agency. They are not even trying to hide their cynical collusion.
Warren, a Harvard professor who headed a panel that investigated government bank bailouts during the financial crisis, has been mentioned as a possible candidate to challenge Massachusetts Republican Senator Scott Brown, who must seek re-election in 2012. So far, though, Brown's poll numbers are looking good. If I were advising Warren, I'd tell her to stay right where she is and fight. We have her back. Besides, the Obama administration would probably love nothing more than for her to resign and challenge Brown.... and just go away. Elizabeth Warren has been around long enough to know how the game is played. The fact that she's stuck it out this long in the cutthroat world of Inside the Beltway speaks volumes for her power and influence.
And the fact is that the powerful men who are lashing out at her are only serving to betray their own fears and insecurities. They are eminently vulnerable.
P.S. Thanks to Kate and Valerie for reminding me to cover this.
P.P.S. Links in Comments don't work, (thanks again Valerie) so here is where to find the members of the House Financial Services Committee:
http://financialservices.house.gov/singlepages.aspx?NewsID=397
Update 4/30 -- The subcommittee hearings on the proposed legislation will be held on May 4 beginning at 10 a.m. Details can be found here.
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