This says it perfectly. More tomorrow.
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
Monday, January 10, 2011
Arizona Shooting and Hate Speech
Gabrielle Giffords/Wikipedia
By Emily Steinberg
On Saturday, Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, D-AZ, was outside a supermarket, meeting with her constituents, when she was brutally gunned down. The shooter, a 22 year old armed with a Glock, shot 20 people before he was wrestled to the ground and disarmed. Among the dead are a nine year old girl and a Federal Judge. Rep. Giffords remains in critical condition. There are many complex issues and questions arising from this senseless tragedy. Why was an unhinged 22 year old carrying a Glock semiautomatic pistol? Was the shooter ever identified as a mental health risk? If so, because of the penurious way mental health is meted out by the insurance companies, was he able to get treatment?
But the main culprit, as I see it, is the pervasiveness of hate speech on the airwaves that has permeated our country since the 2008 election. Paul Krugman's editorial, Climate of Hate, in today's New York Times, addresses this issue spot on. The unrelenting geyser of hate and vitriol has been spewing forth unchecked for two years. Tea Party leaders, misusing and misunderstanding a Thomas Jefferson quote, urge their followers to water the tree of liberty with the blood of tyrants. In this case, the tyrants were a 40 year old congresswoman, a nine year old girl and four others. Is it any wonder that some of it seeped into the psyche of this mad gunman?
The Sheriff of Pima County, Clarence Dupnik, was right when he called on the media to cut it out. Rush Limbaugh, Glenn Beck and Sean Hannity, is it really necessary to ratchet up the fear and loathing that you peddle on a daily basis? And let's not forget Sarah Palin's infamous Tweet, "Commonsense Conservatives & lovers of America: 'Don't Retreat, Instead - RELOCK and RELOAD!", or her equally repulsive target map of congressional Democrats. This country needs some serious introspection right about now. It's way past time for us to grow up. A moment of silence for the dead and restoratoration for the wounded.
Read David Brock's entreaty to Rupert Murdoch: Your Network Must Take a Stand, at MediaMatters for America.
Thursday, January 6, 2011
Gone With the Gibbs
by Emily Steinberg
The news that Robert Gibbs is stepping down as Press Secretary for the Obama Administration is long overdue. Mr. Gibbs, one of Obama's most trusted and longest serving staffers, (he has been with the President since 2004), is no doubt a good and smart man. He served Obama extremely well in the 2008 campaign and would have better served the President in a behind the scenes White House advisor capacity.
But the reality is that Mr. Gibbs has the personality of an extremely wet noodle. His delivery as Press Secretary was, although well informed, limp, mono-tonal and uninspiring. I believe that part of Obama's failure to connect with the country falls squarely on Mr. Gibbs shoulders. it's good news that he is stepping down, we wish him well in his future endeavors, and now, bring on someone who can explain the President's agenda with some energy and panache.
Oh, and Happy New Year! Now that Congress is back in session.......YourBasic Lefty is back too!
Thursday, December 23, 2010
GOP Holiday Chorus
Photos/Wikipedia/Steinberg Photoshop
clockwide from upper left: Sen. McCain, Sen. McConnell, Rep. Cantor, Rep. Boehner, Sen. Graham, Sen Kyl
by Emily Steinberg
Great day in Washington DC yesterday! President Obama signed the repeal of DADT and the Senate finally voted to ratify the START treaty with Russia and pass a 911 Health Bill that extends government support to 911 first responders who got sick from working at Ground Zero. President Obama is back on top. He and Nancy Pelosi in the House and Harry Reid in the Senate deserve praise for getting their agenda through the Lame Duck session of the 111th Congress.
The GOP, however, even though a few crossed the aisle in the end, stalled and obstructed all year on these important votes. The START treaty has been in Congress since April and the GOP couldn't be bothered to deal with it for months, giving one lame excuse after another. But this past week's excuse was beyond the pail. Republican lawmakers took to the floor whining and complaining that they couldn't pass the treaty because Christmas was coming and everyone in Washington was distracted by the holiday season. Seriously? Are these guys for real?
They have the audacity to get on TV and tell the American people that they just don't have the time to work on the country's urgent business because it's the holiday season? Tell that to George Washington, Mr. McConnell, who was amassing his troops to cross the Delaware River and attack the British on December 25, 1776. Tell that to our current troops in Iraq and Afghanistan, Mr Kyl, who would like to be home for the holidays, but are serving the country at the moment. Tell that to all of the American men and women who would like to be home for the holidays, Mr. Graham, but who have to be at their jobs because they actually have to work to support their families. The GOP Holiday Chorus of NO, luckily for them and us, didn't succeed in obstructing the country's business at this juncture. But not because they didn't try.
Related Articles:
Tuesday, December 21, 2010
Senator John McCranky Pants
Photo/U.S. Congress Official Portrait
by Emily Steinberg
The time has come to ask the question, What has happened to Senator John McCain? He used to be somewhat reasonable, even known for acting in a bipartisan fashion and making friends across the aisle. When he ran for President in 2000 he was amiable and had fun with the press in the back of his Straight Talk Express Bus. He seemed to enjoy the political sausage making process.
Ah, what a difference a decade makes. Ever since he emerged as the front runner in the 2008 election, he has been grumpy and snarly. Then, he committed the ultimate misjudgment of inviting Sarah Palin onto the national stage, and as if he realized his colossal mistake, but can't quite admit it, he has soured on the world. Last weekend he proclaimed it was a sad day for America when 'Don't Ask Don't Tell' was repealed. He came down on the wrong side of history, disagreeing with his pal Joe Lieberman and his wife and daughter, who all support the repeal. He has been snarky to Obama and testy towards Democrats in Congress. What's eating at John McCain? He is acting like someone who doesn't like himself anymore.
Read Joe Klein's article in Time Magazine: Two Dreams, One Dead
Monday, December 20, 2010
No Contest
Photos/Wikipedia Palin Photo/David Shankbone
by Emily Steinberg
The notion that Sarah Palin is even a viable candidate for president in 2012 is beyond belief. How is it possible that this nasal voiced woman has paraded to the front of the Republican would be presidential contender conga line? It defies reason. But Ms. Palin has a gift for glittering in the spotlight. She is political eye candy and appeals to a segment of the American population who do not think deeply about anything other than who won Dancing With the Stars. Her latest stint as the star of her own reality TV show, complete with a live shooting of caribou, exposes this woman, (as if it hasn't already been revealed), as a somewhat dim and ordinary person elevated to a position of prominence by a media famished for good looks and saucy stories. Message to the Media: Seriously Folks? Cut the cord. Stop giving her airtime and she will deflate as surely as the Wicked Witch of the West when Dorothy threw a bucked of water on her.
Putting President Obama in a serious head to head competition with Sarah Palin is ridiculous. Obama is a Columbia Grad and Harvard Law Grad. He was President of the Harvard Law Review. He is an accomplished thinker and writer, and he possesses a keen intelligence.
Sarah Palin went to five schools before graduating. She was Mayor of Wasilla, Alaska, garnering 651 votes to 440 in her first run in 1996. She was Governor for 2 years, resigning mid-stream to attend to her burgeoning celebrity.
I still think it's more advisable to have someone smarter than me in The Oval Office. It appears the American people, in their inimitable wisdom, agree. Polls show President Obama mopping the floor in a head to head contest with Palin. But even the idea that she is a serious contender is irksome and displays the lack of seriousness in our political discourse.
In a related matter, It appears that Obama's move to the center is working. Good news for the country. Charles Krauthammer, someone I usually can't stand to listen to or read, wrote a very good article today about why Obama will be re-elected. Crazy Dude!
Saturday, December 18, 2010
Something to Celebrate - Senate Repeals DADT
Today the Senate finally actually did something we can be proud of! They repealed the grotesque Don't Ask, Don't Tell law that has been on the books since 1993. Now American servicemen and women of any sexual orientation can serve their country with out fear of being outed and dismissed. Senator Joe Lieberman, (I) Conn., spearheaded the effort in the senate, making up for many of the wrongheaded stances he has taken in the last decade, particularly, his support of Senator John McCain in the 2008 election. Senator McCain, (R) Ariz., to no-ones surprise, voted against the repeal and said it was a sad day in American history.
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