Outrageous! Let's have hearings

Various estimates have the past weekend's storm having dumped between 15 and 20 inches of snow on NYC. Now that outrage is flowing as freely as beer at a tailgate party, the estimates are reaching higher. In step the politicos: Mayor Bloomberg finally admitted that the storm was more than a mere inconvenience (to a rich man with a limo what else would it be?), and now other politicians are seen an opportunity to posture and glower.


Criticism of the city’s response to what has been called its sixth-largest storm has been widespread and top-to-bottom, from the man on the street to Christine M. Quinn, the City Council speaker, who announced hearings regarding the cleanup, which she called “unacceptable.”

Hearings? To determine what? For anything more than to allow politicians to appear indignant in front of the cameras?

Some things are becoming tolerably clear.

At her confirmation hearings last year, Sonia Sotomayor spent a lot of time assuring senators that empathy would play no part in her work on the Supreme Court. That was a sort of rebuke to President Obama, who had said that empathy was precisely the quality that separated legal technicians like Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. from great justices. Justice Sotomayor would have none of it. “We apply law to facts,” she told the Senate Judiciary Committee last year. “We don’t apply feelings to facts.” We are now three months into Justice Sotomayor’s second term on the court. That is awfully early in a justice’s career to draw any general conclusions. But some things are becoming tolerably clear. Justice Sotomayor has completely dispelled the fear on the left that her background as a prosecutor would align her with the court’s more conservative members on criminal justice issues.

Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. is in some ways Justice Sotomayor’s ideological and temperamental counterpart. In an amusing and astute post on his legal blog, Mike Sacks said the two justices had become “their sides’ enforcers.”

Hawaii’s Governor Takes On ‘Birthers’

Gov. Neil Abercrombie of Hawaii, who befriended President Obama’s parents when they were university students here, has been in office for less than three weeks. But he is so incensed over “birthers” — the conspiracy theorists who assert that Mr. Obama was born in Kenya and was thus not eligible to become president — that he is seeking ways to change state policy to allow him to release additional proof that the president was born in Honolulu in 1961. “It’s an insult to his mother and to his father, and I knew his mother and father; they were my friends, and I have an emotional interest in that,” Governor Abercrombie said in a telephone interview late Thursday. “It’s an emotional insult. It is disrespectful to the president; it is disrespectful to the office.” The governor, a Democrat and former congressman, said he has initiated conversations with the state’s attorney general and the chief of its Health Department about how he can release more explicit documentation of Mr. Obama’s birth on Aug. 4, 1961, at Kapiolani Maternity and Gynecological Hospital. He said he has done so of his own accord, without consulting the White House, which declined to comment.

Supreme Court debates shift to the left

From left, Justices Sonia Sotomayor, Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Elena Kagan in the justices' conference room before Kagan's investiture ceremony. (Steve Petteway / Supreme Court / December 26, 2010)


For most of the last two decades, Supreme Court conservatives led by Justice Antonin Scalia dominated the debates during oral arguments. They greeted advocates for liberal causes with sharp and sometimes caustic questions, putting them on the defensive from the opening minute. But the tenor of the debate has changed in recent months, now that President Obama's two appointees to the court, Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan, have joined the fray and reenergized the liberal wing.  Gone are the mismatches where the Scalia wing overshadowed reserved and soft-spoken liberals like now-retired Justices David H. Souter and John Paul Stevens. Instead, the liberals often take the lead and press attorneys defending the states or corporations.


New York toughness has met New York toughness, and N ew York toughness has changed the balance, one again.

Five years ago, then- President George W. Bush strengthened the court's conservative wing when he named Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. and Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. to the court. Smart and capable, they had an immediate effect by combining with the senior conservatives to shift the law to the right on several fronts, most notably on widening the flow of money into politics. Obama almost certainly had a similar goal in mind, but from the opposite political perspective. Since October, the court seems to have shifted subtly, judging by the arguments, during which the justices grill the lawyers in an attempt to resolve their own doubts or win over an undecided vote. One thing, however, already is clear. Attorneys can expect to be grilled by conservative and liberal judges for years to come.

NORAD tracks flying sleigh

Who is that man in red?

More a party hack than revolutionary

Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey has become a hero in the Republican Party because he talks a blunt message about state government deficits.

He has scored early, and easy, points by showing a combative style and an unwillingness to let things continue as they have been. Well enough.

Christie, who sends his own children to Catholic parochial schools and like any good Republican supports school vouchers, clearly has it in for public schools.

He has been combative with teachers, and has seized on the parochial (pun intended) view of civil servants as overpaid, underworked, undeserving louts.


The Christie view, again solidly Republican, is that public employees have accrued too many benefits and enjoy financial security superior to those in the private sector — the ones who pay their salaries! This ignores a key point: Public employees also pay taxes. It also ignores the fact that when the economy was booming and private-sector employees were getting raises, bonuses and perks well beyond what teachers and police and firemen were getting, these same put-upon taxpayers didn’t hesitate to look down their noses at the “losers” who opted for the stability of government employment.

Those who can, do; those who can't teach is a favourite refrain of the corporate crowd. Heard it many times.

It’s inevitable that some of the benefits negotiated over the years by public-service unions in New Jersey, California and other states will have to be rolled back, and governments and unions will have to negotiate in good faith to that end. But it should be equally certain that state-level deficit problems won’t be solved by spending cuts alone. Voters will not let public services be cut to the bone: Even the well-to-do cannot isolate themselves completely from inadequate fire and police protection, crumbling infrastructure and dysfunctional government services.

Instead of castigating and insulting, and, yes, lambasting public employees, he and his ilk might start a dialogue and stop with the attacks and lectures. But the combative style is a calculated political ploy.


The most reasonable solution would be for the federal government to provide loans to tide over state governments until the economy recovers and restores state revenues. But while it was all right for Washington to rescue Wall Street bonuses, it seems to be politically anathema to provide the same support for such minor goods as public safety and our children’s education. Republican king-maker Rush Limbaugh has anointed Christie as “gutsy,” and numerous Web sites celebrate the “Christie Revolution” as a harbinger of America’s future. But Christie, appointed U.S. attorney in New Jersey in 2001 on the basis of his successful fundraising for the Bush-Cheney presidential campaign despite a lack of experience in criminal law, appears to be nothing more than the blunt-speaking Jersey version of a party hack.

This article appeared in MarketWatch. To say that that surpirses me does not begin to express how much it indeed surprised me.

Da Pres has a good day

His best day since inauguration.

Senate Passes 9/11 Health Bill as Republicans Back Down

By RAYMOND HERNANDEZ 10 minutes ago

Facing criticism for stalling the bill to cover medical costs for 9/11 responders, Senate Republicans agreed to a deal providing $4.3 billion over five years.

With Obama’s Signature, ‘Don’t Ask’ Is Repealed

By SHERYL GAY STOLBERG 11:44 AM ET

President Obama on Wednesday signed legislation ending the military’s ban on service by gays and lesbians.

Michael Reynolds/European Pressphoto Agency

Senate Passes Russia Arms Control Treaty

By PETER BAKER 28 minutes ago

A treaty that scales back cold war nuclear arsenals caps a successful lame-duck session for President Obama. Above, Senators John Kerry and Richard G. Lugar after the vote.

• How the Senate Voted | Times Topics: Lame-Duck Session

• The Caucus: Obama’s Day of Accomplishment

• Live Video Via MSNBC: Obama Speaks

Wasted money, diverted attention

Sand Berms Captured Little Oil, Panel Finds Sand piles designed to block oil in the Gulf of Mexico from hitting the Louisiana coast captured a "minuscule" amount of petroleum at an "overwhelmingly expensive" cost, according to a government report. The report by the National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Offshore Drilling also says that federal officials who coordinated the government's cleanup efforts in the Gulf approved the use of berms not because they believed they would succeed in trapping oil but in response to the pleas of Louisiana politicians, whose demands "overwhelmed" the government's scientific analysis.

• Complete Coverage: Gulf Oil Spill

63 years of family history at end

Patrick Kennedy Packs Up 63 Years of Family History - When Patrick J. Kennedy’s eighth term in Congress ends next month, no member of his family will hold national office for the first time since 1947.

Declare victory, and leave

LBJ and Nixon shoulda done this: Obama Cites Afghan Gains as Report Says Exit Is on Track. It's over; go.

Post-Holbrooke Question: ‘What Now?’

When President Obama turned to Richard C. Holbrooke during a White House meeting on Afghanistan last year, Mr. Holbrooke spoke gravely of the historic challenge the two men faced, likening it to when Clark M. Clifford advised Lyndon B. Johnson about what to do in Vietnam. “Richard,” an impatient Mr. Obama interrupted him, “do people really talk like that?” That strained exchange helps explain why Mr. Holbrooke, the special representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan, was an awkward fit in the Obama administration. A man of high drama and an acute sense of his own role, he ruffled feathers in a White House that prides itself on team-playing and a lack of drama.

That lack of acceptance of a dissenting voice can be the basis of failure. President Obama has made an impressive showing with his tax policy compromise with Republicans, but Afghanistan is his crucible.

Intelligence Reports Offer Dim View of Afghan War

With Mr. Holbrooke’s death on Monday, the administration has lost one of its most resonant voices, just as it completes its latest review of its Afghan war strategy. His death confronts the White House and State Department with some difficult questions, starting with how to replace a larger-than-life statesman in a post that was created for him and which he built from scratch.


For all the encomiums, though, Mr. Holbrooke was on tenuous footing with the White House. He was left off Air Force One on Mr. Obama’s last two trips to Afghanistan and was increasingly marginalized in policy debates. He held on to his job, several officials said, mainly because Mrs. Clinton protected him.

In the game of political hardball, he had his supporters and detractors. Only Secretary CLinton could protect him from the President's impatience, surely.

Got any money?

Over the last year, Save the Children emerged as a leader in the push to tax sweetened soft drinks as a way to combat childhood obesity. The nonprofit group supported soda tax campaigns in Mississippi, New Mexico, Washington State, Philadelphia and the District of Columbia. At the same time, executives at Save the Children were seeking a major grant from Coca-Cola to help finance the health and education programs that the charity conducts here and abroad, including its work on childhood obesity.

Sort of hypocritical, but:


The talks with Coke are still going on. But the soda tax work has been stopped. In October, Save the Children surprised activists around the country with an e-mail message announcing that it would no longer support efforts to tax soft drinks. In interviews this month, Carolyn Miles, chief operating officer of Save the Children, said there was no connection between the group’s about-face on soda taxes and the discussions with Coke. A $5 million grant from PepsiCo also had no influence on the decision, she said. Both companies fiercely oppose soda taxes. Ms. Miles said that after Save the Children took a prominent role in several soda tax campaigns, executives reviewed the issue and decided it was too controversial to continue.

Right. And the moon is green cheese.

Narco-state?

I have never liked this salute. No.


Despite being a federal fugitive, accused of laundering millions of dollars for one of Mexico’s most ruthless drug cartels, Julio César Godoy says he simply walked into the national legislature here unnoticed in September, right past the cordon of federal police officers watching the building. He then raised his right arm, swore allegiance to the Mexican Constitution and, 15 months after disappearing from public view, finally claimed the congressional seat he won last year. It was too late for prosecutors to do much about it. Mr. Godoy’s newly conferred status came with a special perk: immunity from prosecution.

Now, a political saga that underscores the persistent fears of political infiltration by drug cartels and the many frustrations of rooting it out continues to swirl around him. Mexico’s attorney general has been incensed at Mr. Godoy’s ability to hide in plain sight, while others debate intriguing details in local news reports, like accounts that Mr. Godoy had actually been spirited into the building’s basement garage in another lawmaker’s car.

What about those standing around him?

Once a conservative ...

In Health Law, Old Debate Gets New Airing

By DAVID LEONHARDT

Resistance to the expansion of the social safety net stems from tension between two competing traditions. Ronald Reagan took a stand against Medicare in the 1960s.

Dr. No's Yes roils GOP

Looks funky with that beard.s the Senator from Oklahoma going counter-culture?

Bubba's back in town

President Obama brought President Clinton out to the White House press room, handed te podium over to him, and left. Chris Matthews was deliriously happy, the New York Post sees it as O being overshadowed: amazing how people see what they want to see.

J. Scott Applewhite/Associated Press - President Obama ceded the lectern to former President Bill Clinton at an unexpected news conference Friday in the White House briefing room. Mr. Clinton endorsed the tax plan the White House reached with Republicans and went on from there.

I have reviewed this agreement that the president reached with the Republican leaders,” Mr. Clinton told reporters. “The agreement taken as a whole is, I believe, the best bipartisan agreement we can reach to help the most Americans.”

After finishing one soliloquy, Mr. Clinton summed up with, “for what it’s worth, it’s what I think.” From the side, and just out of camera range, Mr. Obama piped up: “It’s worth a lot.”

But after Mr. Clinton began taking questions, the current president politely interjected that Michelle Obama was expecting him at one of the many holiday parties that presidents host during December. “I’ve been keeping the first lady waiting,” Mr. Obama said. “I don’t want to make her mad,” Mr. Clinton quipped. “Please go.”

Nader: Bloomberg can win

This makes sense?

Republicans Block U.S. Health Aid for 9/11 Workers
Senate Republicans raised concerns about how to pay for the $7.4 billion bill to provide medical care to those who became ill from fumes near ground zero.

Republicans extol their patriotism, but their actions show what hypocrites they are: tax cuts, yes, help 'heroes'? no.

Obama gets intense

It is about time. After the Election Day debacle, following Republican gloating and continued recalcitrance, the President struck a tax deal with the Republicans. It extends the Bush tax cuts for two years, cuts the payroll tax, and a few other things. Liberals are apoplectic.


If that's the standard by which we are measuring success or core principles, then, let's face it, we will never get anything done," Obama said. "People will have the satisfaction of having a purist position and no victories for the American people, and we will be able to feel good about ourselves and sanctimonious about how pure our intentions are and how tough we are

Exactly. What liberals continue to fail to see and understand is that this country can not governed from the left. They thought they had their guy in Obama, and can not accept he is not doing their bidding. Katrina vanden Heuvel is one of the lefties that is upset: Obama: On the way to a failed presidency? This isn't about conventional politics. This is simply about the fate and future of our country. This president has a clear and imperative historic mandate. If he shirks it, he risks more than failing to get reelected. He risks a failed presidency.

She details the liberal agenda that she charges the President has abandoned, and the conservative agenda he has adopted. But, in his first two years the President (almost) had 60 votes in the Senate; in one month he won't. How is he supposed to accomplished the liberal agenda?

McWeasel

Today's front page of the New York Daily News castigates the Senator from Arizona, that purported patriot.

Ailing Ground Zero hero: Sen. John McCain said he 'can't help' on Zadroga bill before weaseling away is one story.

and a column  Heroes of 9/11 hear you loud and clear, Republicans; next time they should turn and run