This Should Be Interesting

post from Talking Points Memo on 19 July 2009 01:41:00 PM. © Talking Points Memo

In recent weeks, over at TPMMuckraker, we've been covering the White House's firing of CNCS Inspector General Gerald Walpin. At first it looked like a pretty iffy decision by the White House. But subsequent information made it seem like Walpin had no[...]

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The Killing Of "Ms. Kim".

post from field negro on 19 July 2009 01:35:00 PM. © field negro

There was a killing in Philly yesterday (So field, what else is new?) but this one was a little different. Killings are so common around here that they are usually just worth a line or two on my Killadelphia Murder Count. (See sidebar) Still, this one had some elements to it that made me want to say a few things.

Ms. Kim (as she was affectionately called by neighbors) was a store owner in the East Mt. Airy/Germantown part of town. This is a fairly solid part of town, made up of primarily working class black folks. They have their share of crime, but nothing like West, North, or Southwest Philly. From all accounts, Ms. Kim was loved and well respected in the neighborhood. She ran the store with her husband and she was always known to let her customers slide if they owed money for their purchases.

Yesterday Ms. Kim lost her life, because she chose to confront one of her customers who had allegedly stolen a bag of potato chips. (Or a mop depending on who you believe) Ms. Kim, confronted the alleged thief outside of her store; the women struggled; and when it was over, the shopkeeper was dead. Again, depending on whose account you believe, the killer took a gun out of her pants and shot the shop keeper four times from point blank range in the face. After shooting Ms. Kim the woman allegedly calmly walked to the pay phone and called the police.

People in the community are devastated, and they all want to know how someone could have taken the life of "poor Ms. Kim."

So let's talk for a minute: Apparently the shooter had some mental issues, and everyone in the community knew it. When the woman tried to steal the mop (or the potato chips) should Ms. Kim have confronted her, or should she have called the police? And, what is it, exactly, that is preventing our people from starting or own businesses in certain neighborhoods? Is it because we don't have the financial backing or resources? Is it because we would rather work for someone else? Or is it because the risks are too great and we don't want to end up like Ms. Kim?

And finally, if this woman had mental issues, just how the hell did she get her hands on a handgun? (You don't have to answer that one, I already know) The shooting of Ms. Kim in East Mt. Airy yesterday will make the news for the obvious reason: A cold blooded murder perpetrated by someone of the fairer sex in the middle of the day. But the issues surrounding Ms. Kim's murder are troubling as well. Some of them are uncomfortable, so they will never be spoken out loud. Some of them we will talk about, but not until another tragedy that is so great and so unspeakable merits a pause at the water cooler.

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Mormon Mysteries #549

post from My Left Wing - Front Page on 19 July 2009 01:30:25 PM. © My Left Wing - Front Page

Crossposted from Town Called Dobson

click to enlarge
The crazy sex issues of the Mormon church, such as the polygamy and the back lash against gays, are just a couple of things that make Mormonism so odd. And don't get me started on their "special" underwear.

I guess this is a bad time to admit I am a big fan of HBO's Big Love?

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Banks Profit While Loans Drop

post from Firedoglake on 19 July 2009 01:30:16 PM. © Firedoglake

Bank profits come from trading. How is that going to accomplish the Administration's goal of getting bank lending restarted so we can get out of this financial mess?[...]

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What assault weapon would Jesus carry

post from AMERICAblog News| A great nation deserves the truth on 19 July 2009 01:23:00 PM. © AMERICAblog News| A great nation deserves the truth

The future of the Republican party in all its glory.

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Flashback: Cronkite Warned In Lead-Up To Iraq War
— ‘We Are Going To Be In Such A Fix’

post from Think Progress on 19 July 2009 01:19:00 PM. © Think Progress

Americans of all ages and the journalist community are remembering the life and career of Walter Cronkite, famously revered as “the most trusted man in America.”

Salon’s Glenn Greenwald notes that the media is largely glossing over Cronkite’s “most celebrated and significant moment” — “when he stood up and announced that Americans shouldn’t trust the statements being made about the war by the U.S. Government and military, and that the specific claims they were making were almost certainly false.” Indeed, few journalists have noted Cronkite’s criticism of the Iraq war just as the invasion took place in March 2003:

At a Drew University forum, Cronkite said he feared the war would not go smoothly, ripped the “arrogance” of Bush and his administration and wondered whether the new U.S. doctrine of “pre-emptive war” might lead to unintended, dire consequences.
“Every little country in the world that has a border conflict with another little country ? they now have a great example from the United States,” Cronkite, 86, said in response to a question from Drew’s president, former Gov. Thomas Kean. [...]
While many are confident the United States would easily oust Saddam Hussein, Cronkite said he isn’t so sure. “The military is always more confident than circumstances show they should be,” he said.
Cronkite speculated that the refusal of many traditional allies, such as France, to join the war effort signaled something deeper, and more ominous, than a mere foreign policy disagreement.
“The arrogance of our spokespeople, even the president himself, has been exceptional, and it seems to me they have taken great umbrage at that,” Cronkite said. “We have told them what they must do. It is a pretty dark doctrine.”
Cronkite chided Congress for not looking closely enough at the war and attempting to ascertain a viable estimate of its eventual cost, particularly in light of Bush’s commitment to tax cuts.
“We are going to be in such a fix when this war is over, or before this war is over ? our grandchildren’s grandchildren are going to be paying for this war,” Cronkite said.
“I look at our future as, I’m sorry, being very, very dark. Let’s see our cards as we rise to meet the difficulties that lie ahead,” he added, in a play on Bush’s dismissive remarks about France.
But Cronkite, who spent many days and nights on battlefields and in campgrounds with U.S. forces, also spoke of supporting the troops.
“The time has come to put all of our, perhaps distaste, aside, and give our full support to the troops involved. That is the duty we owe our soldiers who had no role in deciding this course of action,” Cronkite said.

“Walter was always more than just an anchor,” President Obama said in a statement released Friday night. “He was someone we could trust to guide us through the most important issues of the day; a voice of certainty in an uncertain world. He was family. He invited us to believe in him, and he never let us down.”

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Sam Riddle Arraigned in Detroit Corruption Case

post from TalkLeft on 19 July 2009 01:16:00 PM. © TalkLeft

The Detroit corruption case that snagged Monica Conyers, wife of Rep. John Conyers, continues to grow. Political adviser Sam Riddle (well known in Colorado for his representation of the family of Isaiah Shoels, a student killed at Columbine) and his significant other, Mary Waters pleaded not guilty to corruption charges in federal court Thursday. The charges were expected and both have maintained their innocence, reportedly refusing to consider plea offers. Ms. Waters' attorney, Todd Flood, had a great line after court:

Asked how Waters is holding up, Flood replied, "She continues to inspire me."

Riddle said:

"I will not be a fall guy for the privileged or well-connected."

After his arraignment, he tweeted:

My arraignment in Fed Ct was intense-had to take deep breath to respond to judge. My lawyer David Stiengold w/30 years fed exp chills me out.”

[More...]

As to the charges:

[Riddle] was charged in two indictments with 10 criminal counts that include conspiracy, bribery, extortion, mail fraud and making false statements to the FBI. The most serious charges carry 20-year penalties.

Waters is charged in one indictment with one count of conspiracy and two counts of bribery. The most serious charges carry 10-year penalties.

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Orszag: Some using delays to kill health care
reform

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White House budget director Peter Orszag expects health care reform bills by August. Orszag says some are trying to slow down the process in an attempt to kill it. "The typical Washington bureaucratic game of ? ?if you don?t have a better alternative, just delay in the hope that that kills something? is partly what?s playing out here," said Orszag.

Think Progress noted that GOP consultant Alex Castellanos suggested "if we slow this sausage-making process down, we can defeat it."

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Public Option Now

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The news is full of reports of Congressional wrangling over Public Option health care and the present reign of chaos in health services.

I don't like to refer to the health care market as a "system", because a "system" is an integrated whole comprised of its interconnected and interdependent parts. Since at least 47 million Americans have no health insurance and no "systematic" way to get care when they need it, if you say we have a "system" then you must also agree that fifteen percent of the country is "systematically" included from the health care market.

I think it's more accurate to say that we have a health care "market." A market is a place where you may or may not find various goods and services, and where the prices are controlled by such unpredictable forces as "supply and demand", collusion, price fixing, control of supply, manipulation of demand, and all sorts of other sordid practices and forces that make the functioning of the market unpredictable.

You really can't say that America has a "free market" for medicine, since the Government controls who can practice medicine, how they are licensed, approves and refuses to approve medications, and controls where we can purchase medications (in the USA) and where we cannot (from overseas).

Pace-makers and insulin pumps can be manufactured anywhere, according to the Government, but the supply and the price of Prozac is controlled by the requirement that it must be purchased through US pharmacies and supply lines.

It is partly because the Government controls so much about the US health market that the Government is at fault and responsible if 15% of the population has no access to medical care, and the rest have limited access. It is like the Government assuming a monopoly over mail delivery and then excluding three or four states from the delivery mechanism. Then, it surely is the Government's fault that mail doesn't get delivered in those areas.

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Everyones Gone to the Moon

On the 40th anniversary of the moon landing, Walter Cronkite would tell us the problem is not that everyone's gone to the moon. The problem is that too many of stayed home.[...]

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