GDAEman

July 25, 2010

GDAE Podcast Episode 32

Common Interests on the Left & Right - Part III

Left & Right Populists: The American Populist movement of the 1800s with Jim Hightower (Bill Moyer's Journal).
Left & Right United: The Tenth Amendment with Michael Boldin (Mother Jones Magazine).
Green Economy: Energy efficiency and jobs (Demand Side Podcast).
MUSIC: Brazilita, a sweet little version of the song Brazil.

Play Episode 32 from this page:

Click to Download Episode 32.

Listen to Part II in the series, Episode 31:

Listen to Part I in the series, Episode 30, (20-minute abridged version):

July 22, 2010

As we hear that the Obama Justice Department reached settlement with Goldman Sachs there are many reactions. My reaction is that the establishment is feeling desperate, fearful of a teetering capitalist system that cannot tolerate the implications of an honest judgment.

Goldman Sachs designed an investment package of subprime mortgage loans that was highly likely to fail, invested in its failure, but sold it to others as a good investment. They get caught, and by most accounts by analysts who understand these things, the record Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) penalty of $550 million is well below the $1 Billion that was expected as a baseline for settling this fraud case. But you don't have to take the word of the analysts, the reaction of Wall Street was a sigh of relief expressed in terms of a rise in Goldman's market value that greatly exceeded the penalty amount.

This is just one example of many in which the establishment's fear of a teetering economic system has led to tepid, dishonest policy. The inability for the Washington establishment to consider a single-payer system is another example. We're told that there simply wasn't the political will, and that the insurance and other health related industries were "too strong." I suspect the real reason is that the capitalist economic system is too weak to endure a transition from the current inefficient, paper-pushing health care system to a more efficient one.

I'm sure there are many other examples.

For Your Convenience:

Contact the Broadcast Media
Contact the Newspapers
Contact the US Senate
Contact the House of Representatives

Sources:

July 19, 2010

Fitzgerald "Irony" or "poke-in-the-eye"?

Back in late 2008, the most popular question posed on President-Elect Obama's Change-dot-Gov web-Question Box, in 'round 2, came from Bob Fertik, of New York City, which read:

Will you appoint a Special Prosecutor (ideally Patrick Fitzgerald) to independently investigate the gravest crimes of the Bush Administration, including torture and warrantless wiretapping?

According to the July/August 2010 Mother Jones magazine, Fitzgerald has been assigned to investigate the CIA and torture. Unfortunately, the investigation is targeted not at the torturers, but at human rights investigators whose trails led them to CIA operatives.

You see, if, as a human rights attorney, your trail leads you to CIA personnel, and you put pictures of them in photo line-ups for your torture-victim clients to identify... then maybe you're exposing the identity CIA personnel even if you don't expose the person's name. Yes, as predicted by George Orwell and others, it's a wicked web that has been woven by the powers-that-be.

But it strikes me... is this simply irony that Fitzgerald would be given this assignment, or is it a poke-in-the-eye of the people calling for a full investigation of the US torture activities?

Sources:

Mother Jones Magazine, July/Aug. 2010.

Establishment Shudders when Left & Right Unite

I've been exploring the potential for the left & right to unite on common interests. Imagine the gravity of an informed populace discovering that the labels of "left" and "right" are a barrier to people power.

This is more than a hypothetical. I've included several real-world examples of this in the past two episodes of GDAE Podcast (GDAE Podcast: May 2010 Episode and June 2010 Episode).

Today, I've posted yet another example on my Challenge the Establishment blog, entitled, "The Right, the Left and the 10th Amendment."

Sources:

Mother Jones, July/August 2010.

July 18, 2010

Glenn Beck & Goldline's Tag-Team Scam

I bought gold bullion at 600$ / oz.... it's now around $1,100. It's just a hedge against paper money going bust. Nothing wrong with that.

BUT... some unprincipled elements in the right-wing are exploiting fear and pushing bad gold purchases. Glenn Beck and Goldline International have been exposed in a Mother Jones article entitled Glenn Beck's Golden Fleece.

In short, Beck is pushing Goldline, and Goldline is hard-selling old 90% gold coins that have a buy-back value that is about 30% - 35% less than what they sell for (regular gold bullion buy-back spread is about 5%). They argue that it's "safer" to buy "antique" coins, because the U.S. Government is less likely to confiscate them (grain of truth alert).

It's a scam, plain and simple. Ironically, it's the Glenn Beck followers who are getting screwed.

Sources:

Mother Jones, Glenn Beck's Golden Fleece, May/June 2010.

July 17, 2010

"Breaking up the Banks" becoming Mainstream?

A member of the Federal Reserve Bank, Richard Fisher, has said

A truly effective restructuring of our regulatory regime will have to neutralize what I consider to be the greatest threat to our financial system's stability -- the so-called too-big-to-fail [banks].

So, if anyone ever poo poos the intent to "break up the banks," inform them that a president of the Dallas, Texas Federal Reserve proposes doing just that. Referring to a more desirable international agreement to limit bank size, Fisher goes as far as to say

If we have to do this unilaterally, we should.

For Your Convenience:

Sources:

Jim Hightower, Progressive Populist, May 1, 2010.

July 7, 2010

The Reader

Saw the movie, "The Reader" last night. I was struck by the suffering of the less fortunate people in wake of the war-makers. I couldn't help but transfer that to the anguish for so many people today that has been caused by Bush's wars, now owned by Obama.

Post-WWII Germany: Nearly a decade after his affair with an older woman, law student Michael Berg re-encounters his former lover...

Kate Winslet won the Oscar for best actress in a leading role. Ralph Fiennes plays the older Michael Berg, David Kross plays the younger.

Add it to your list if you've not seen it.

July 6, 2010

Israeli Settlements: Two Thoughts

Two thoughts on the Yahoo! News headline, "Israeli settlements cover 42 percent of West Bank." First, by Israel allowing, dare I say "promoting," these settlements they are making a two-state solution nearly impossible; there can't be two states if all the people are blended together. Israel is almost guaranteeing a path to a one-state solution.

Second, what's up with this story even being in the mainstream media?

Sources:

Associated Press, "Israeli settlements cover 42 percent of West Bank.", AMY TEIBEL, July 6, 2010.

June 27, 2010

McCrystal's Rolling Stone Interview: A Modern Pentagon Paper

General McCrystal has done us all a big favor by his frank exchange in the Rolling Stone article, "The Runaway General."

Perhaps it was his subconscious at work, but McCrystal has laid bare some of the realities of the situation... Michael Hastings and the Rolling Stone magazine editors also deserve some of the credit.

Don't get me wrong; McCrystal is a murderer, and a danger to our democracy. He covered up the Pat Tillman cause-of-death, he surely condones the use of torture, and fails to understand that the United States should be run by civilians, not the military. But, he's like the Washington (Moonie) Times; he says things others won't say, and in that way, he has been valuable. McCrystal has released the effective equivalent of the Vietnam Pentagon Papers on Afghanistan.

For Your Convenience:

Contact the Broadcast Media
Contact the Newspapers
Contact the US Senate
Contact the House of Representatives

Sources:

June 25, 2010

Financial Underhaul

The Yahoo! News headline "Bank stocks soar on financial regulation agreement" pretty much says it all. We are a corporate state. Reclaiming the power of the people over the corporate state is the next major multi-generational struggle on par with overcoming slavery, child labor standards and women's suffrage.

"They come out of this big-time winners," Bob Froehlich, senior managing director at Hartford Financial Services, said of financial companies. "Two years later, people will look back and say 'My gosh, nothing really changed.'"

Democrats in charge... Republicans in charge... "My gosh, no difference."

June 23, 2010

Good News for Tea Baggers & Anarchists

Who me not posting enough?! True.

Saw the headlines today: "Atlantic Divide: Europe and US Disagree on Continued Simulus Spending."

What's in it for Tea Baggers and anarchists? Tea Baggers want Obama to stop deficit/stimulus spending, and anarchists want to smash the system. Well, Europe is poised to stop stimulus spending and that very well could accelerate the crumbling of the system.

The UK Independent reports:

[German] Chancellor Angela Merkel flatly rejected warnings from President Barack Obama that Europe's attempts to save its way out of the debt crisis could put fragile global economic growth in danger.

Not to get into nerdy economics, but the track record from the US Great Depression and the Japanese malaise of the 1990s indicates that deficit spending to prop up a flagging economy has merit. However, the debate on both sides is a bit moot. Stimulus spending might work, but it would probably just prolong the inevitable.

My judgment is that the US has crossed the Rubicon; the US is now a great power in decline. It has been going that way for decades... Detroit, MI and surrounding area is a stark case-in-point, but books are filled with all sorts of statistics on the decline in manufacturing, jobs, income, etc..

Now, with Europe cutting the spigot of stimulus spending, and putting the screws to the needy in the face of the rich getting richer, the Tea Baggers can say "What's good enough for Europe is good enough for the US," and the anarchists can sit back and smile as the establishment system teeters.

Sources:

The Independent of UK, "Merkel rejects Obama warnings that cuts will damage global recovery," June 23, 2010.

June 16, 2010

Fixing Wobble in Dahon Folding Handlebar

Problem: The hinge where the handlebars fold down from the frame has a slight wobble as if the locking mechanism has a little play. The locking mechanism includes a pad on the handlebar-side of the hinge, which has several allen key screws.

Short-term Fix: Building off the shim concept of break_2_fix, consider the following (it's working for me):

Material: Get some heavy foil, just a little 3 x 3 square is fine... heavier the better, within reason.

General Concept: Create a foil shim to mold over the locking mechanism to make it have a tighter lock. Warning: This is a bit crude, so use some good judgment in adopting this solution.

Tools: scissors.

Setting: Observe the part of the hinge attached to the handlebars. In the center is a silver metal pad that has the allen wrench screws on top and on one edge. This is the pad that moves to lock the handle bar. The part of the pad that is arch-shaped has a lip on it. That lip slips into a grove on the part of the hinge attached to the bike frame when locking.

Process: Cut a 3" x 3" square of foil. Lightly press the foil over the "pad" referenced above to create an impression of the nearly square-shaped pad (square-shaped except for the arch along one edge).

Use the scissors to trim the foil to within about 1/8-1/4-inch of the outline of the pad that is now molded into the foil.

Carefully mold the remaining foil over the pad. Fold it down firmly on all edges taking particular care to fold under the part on the arched lip of the pad.

Extra: You can use a blade of the scissors to carefully cut little half-moon slits in the two holes on top of the pad where the allen wrench screws are; carefully fold the edges of foil, at the slits, down into the holes to improve the foil's grip to the pad (I considered glue, but.. doesn't seem necessary).

Trial: Carefully lock the handlebars into place. If it seems too tight, don't force it. If too loose, you could try two layers of foil or other refinements.

My outcome seems to be just right. Locking it into place seemed, if anything, to make the foil better molded to the locking pad mechanism.

Good Luck

June 15, 2010

Revoke BP's Corporate Charter

Surely you've heard about British Petroleum's track record from the British colonial days through a litany of felony crimes. Being a "corporation" a privilege, not a right.

By now you also know about corporations being defined as "persons" by a corrupt robber baron era US Supreme Court. So, if a person is a serial felon, including negligent homicide, they "go away," usually to prison. They can no long do business, or anything else in society for that matter.

It's time to seriously consider taking the corporate privilege away from BP. And, in these days of internet activism, there is a Facebook campaign to revoke BP America's corporate charter.

Details here: http://bit.ly/9djBTb

Join the "Revoke BP's corporate charter" (facebook) group .

Sources:

The Punk Patriot.

June 14, 2010

Iraq War: March 2003?

June 2002:

Iraq bombing begins. US military will fly 21,736 sorties and attack 349 targets between June 2002 and the start of the war.

Sources:

Mother Jones, Chronicle of a War Foretold, Tim Dickinson and Jonathan Stein, Sept/Oct 2006.

June 13, 2010

Sad State of Corporate Media

Progressives know the corporate media generally sucks. But it's sad in another way too.

From a Kentucky political strategist:

"The newspapers are gutted – and everybody who is left is doing three other jobs. As a result, it feels like there is little accountability for candidates about what they say. It's cover at 2:30 and file at 4:30 without thought or research."

Walter Shapiro continues:

As a veteran of eight presidential campaigns, I know there is a virtue to being there in person rather than virtually. Reading the polls and watching TV ads may equip you to loudly opine on cable news shows, but it is no match for interviewing the candidate, listening to the stump speech, gauging the mood of the crowds, and quizzing voters in diners and BBQ joints. Traveling with candidates (particularly in states like South Carolina and Kentucky where personal campaigning matters) gives you a sense of nuance about who they are as people and politicians.

Woody Allen got it right: "Showing up is 80 percent of life."

Sources:

Walter Shapiro, Nikki Haley and Rand Paul Races: Where Have All the Reporters Gone? June 11, 2010

May 31, 2010

GDAE Podcast - Episode 31

Second in a series.... (See link to abridged Part I below)

Common Interests on the Left & Right - Part II

Left & Right Populists Working Together: to fix our flawed democracy

What is a "principled" conservative: Matt Taibbi of Rolling Stone magazine has some thoughts

Audit the Fed: Bernie Sanders leads the Left & Right to push for Senate Unanimous vote on Amendment to "audit the Fed."

Bush war-crimes-Prosecution: Law Professor Francis Boyle describes the complaint he filed in January 2010 with the International Criminal Court

MUSIC: Yankee Network, out of Baltimore, "6 at 65".

Play Episode 31 from this page:

Click to Download Episode 31.

Listen to Part I in the series, Episode 30, (20-minute abridged version):

May 24, 2010

Wikipedia and the Unprincipled Rigth

We all know some people on the "right" who we might call "principled." They hold to a value and apply it consistently, regardless of party politics pressure. Maybe it's you, or a relative, a friend, co-workers or even someone in the corporate media. Ron Paul, a US Congressman is a classic, if not extreme, example... and there are other less notable examples.

There is Walter B. Jones, a US congress member made famous for coining the phrase "freedom fries" as an insult to the French for not getting on board quickly with the Iraq war. He now regrets saying that. Jones represents an area of North Carolina that has a sizable military population. His about-face reflects an undercurrent of honest feelings in the military communities. Walter Jones admits he was previously uninformed. But when he became informed, he stuck to his conservative principles and is now a vocal critic of the Iraq war.

The other conservative faction is the "unprincipled" right wingers... they represent a different color in the "conservative" spectrum. We know them too: The Republican water-carriers and self-promoters like Glenn Beck, Sarah Palin, Bill Kristol, Anne Coulter and Rush Limbaugh, who admits he carries water for the Republicans:

On the November 8 broadcast of his nationally syndicated radio show, Rush Limbaugh claimed to "feel liberated" by Democratic victories in the House and Senate on November 7 because he is "no longer going to have to carry the water for people who I don't think deserve having their water carried."

But this is all a long-winded way of being able to say that the vocal unprincipled right is misdirecting the conservative base when they tell the base not to use Wikipedia. We all know it can have significant flaws on a particular subject, but the majority of the time, it answers your question or directs you to the answer. Adding "wiki" to your search can be a powerful information tool that gives you an information-access advantage. Conservatives who dismiss Wikipedia might just be giving themselves a handicap.

Oxford Dictionary editors

May 23, 2010

Finacial Reform Goes to Conference

It's a bit wonkish to talk about Washington legislative procedure, as in the House/Senate conference committee coming up to reconcile the differences in their separate bills pass on financial reform. But, a lot can happen behind the closed doors in conference committees, bad or good, so we need to keep the pressure on. Let them know we common people are paying attention.

The details of last week's Senate process found the newly elected Massachusetts Senator Scott Brown feeling the pressure. Some of that pressure is said to have come from Obama's grassroots arm, Organizing for America... and both sides are counting on grassroots pressure to play a role in House/Senate conference committee to craft the final bill.

Some Republicans are calling for the conference committee to be televised. House Financial Services Committee Chair Barney Frank has picked up on this desire for transparency saying

"We will have a conference, I think, that will work well. It will be conducted, the formal parts, in public" ... "That means that no agreements reached, no compromises, which obviously are being discussed, will be made part of anything without being publicly presented and voted on and discussed."

Regardless of whether the conference committee on financial reform is televised, our voices need to be heard.

For Your Convenience:

Contact the Broadcast Media
Contact the Newspapers
Contact the US Senate
Contact the House of Representatives

Sources:

Chris Good, The Atlantic Magazine blog, Financial Reform Gets Closer ... Much Closer, Thanks to Scott Brown, May 20, 2010.

May 22, 2010

Compounding Unfair Advantages for Bad Banks

Today we read...

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Treasury Department indicated Friday it expects taxpayers will lose billions less from the financial bailouts than earlier estimated. The problem is, its revised forecast assumes Treasury's shares of bailed-out companies are gaining value despite this week's plunge in stock prices.

Below the surface of this story is another. It's a story of conflicts of interest that could lead to further unfair preferential treatment of bad-actor banks at the cost of banks that played by the rules.

The US Treasury Department has a clear interest in promoting the stock price of the banks it bailed out. This creates pressures for Treasury to set policies and make decisions for the benefit of these bad-actor banks, improving their balance sheets, regardless of merit. A bank could be a crappy business, and Treasury would still want it's stock price to increase.

Given that these bad-actor banks compete in some ways with other banks that didn't have to be bailed out, being propped up in this way by Treasury has the effect of creating an unfair advantage. This unfair advantage merely adds to the more blatant unfair advantage of the original bailout; huge banks that could have been allowed to fail and naturally break up were, instead, propped up or forced into being bought by other banks resulting in fewer, larger banks.

This situation cries out for anti-trust action by the Government; these huge banks need to be broken up. This is justified for technical reasons of avoiding avoiding too-big-to-fail crises in the future and creating a more fair competitive market for good banks. It's also justified on basic principles of fairness.

Sources:

Associated Press, Lower bailout estimate assumes higher stock prices, May 22, 2010.

May 17, 2010

The Accused

It is old news, but law professor Francis A. Boyle's complaint against Bush administration officials "the Accused*" for crimes associated with “extraordinary rendition” is noteworthy. That's because Boyle's complaint is being brought under the International Criminal Court (ICC), of which the U.S.A. is not a signatory. The ICC is sometimes referred to as the Rome Statue after the treaty signed in Rome in 1998.

* Accused: U.S. citizens George W. Bush, Richard Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld, George Tenet, Condoleezza Rice , and Alberto Gonzales.

One might think, if the U.S.A is not a signatory to the Rome Statue, there is no case. However, Boyle has pierced the shield of impunity on the following legal grounds, as conveyed in the transmittal letter of his complaint:

The United States is not a contracting party to the Rome Statute. Nevertheless, the Accused ordered and were responsible for the commission of these I.C.C. statutory crimes on, in, and over the respective territories of several I.C.C. member states, including many located in Europe. Therefore, the I.C.C. has jurisdiction over the Accused for their I.C.C. statutory crimes in accordance with Rome Statute article 12(2)(a)

We need to hold Bush administration officials accountable for their crimes, otherwise we risk setting precedent of allowing impunity.

July 25, 2010

July 22, 2010

July 19, 2010

July 18, 2010

July 17, 2010

July 7, 2010

July 6, 2010

June 27, 2010

June 25, 2010

June 23, 2010

June 16, 2010

June 15, 2010

June 14, 2010

June 13, 2010

May 31, 2010

May 24, 2010

May 23, 2010

May 22, 2010

May 17, 2010

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