Saturday, April 17, 2010
John McCain Goes Maverick on J.D. Hayworth
It is funny but is it fair? We think so.
John McCain faces a tough primary challenge in his bid for reelection to the U.S. Senate. The conservative wing of the Republican Party found a former Congressman and radio talk show host named J.D. Hayworth to run against McCain.
If the conservative wing had supported McCain more enthusiastically in 2008, he might be President today. Instead many vowed in the spring of 2008 to vote for Hillary Clinton. McCain had to settle for staying in his U.S. Senate seat for Arizona. Now they want to deny him that office too.
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
Virginia Governor McDonnell Commended for His Intellectual Dishonesty
The Confederate History Month proclamation that Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell issued last week continues to reverberate, at least in the minds of the Sons of Confederate Veterans.
When the proclamation was first issued, they were all smiles. A "nail in the coffin of political correctness" they trumpeted.
But when the Governor added a paragraph on slavery to the proclamation, their smiles turned upside down. They yanked the proclamation off their website with a direction to "visit the Governor's site to read his revised proclamation."
And they added a resolution of their own that ends with this missile:
"THE VIRGINIA DIVISION, SONS OF CONFEDERATE VETERANS, does hereby commend Governor Robert F. McDonnell for the issuance of the Confederate History Month proclamation; and"
"THE VIRGINIA DIVISION, does hereby absolutely refute the claim that Confederate soldiers went to the field of battle for the sole purpose of preserving slavery as an intellectually dishonest argument; and"
"THE VIRGINIA DIVISION does not endorse any statement that the Confederacy existed entirely for the defense of slavery and considers such statements to be a detriment to the memory of the many Virginians who gave their lives to defend against the illegal federal invasion of the Commonwealth of Virginia in a long and bloody war."
There are several ways to look at this. One is that this neoconfederate effort to recast the causes of the Civil War is a dangerous whitewashing of history that may hide a secret racist agenda.
Another is that the revisionism is in some sense a good thing, as it shows any acceptance of slavery is no longer acceptable in our society. It's sometimes too easy to brand as racist, or too quick to find guilt by association. This may be nothing more than it purports to be, an interest in history colored by a personal connection of descendants to some of the participants in that history.
My view is that groups like the Sons of Confederate Veterans can be proud of their heritage. No one should feel they can't be proud of their ancestors. I just don't think they need to try so hard to refute anything they regard as a blemish on their ancestors' honor.
There were blemishes on the honor of both sides in the Civil War. We can be proud of Abraham Lincoln, even though he was ready to amend the U.S. Constitution to preserve slavery in the existing slave states as a way to avoid war. We can be proud he kept the country together, even though the cost in lives of doing so was very high.
When the proclamation was first issued, they were all smiles. A "nail in the coffin of political correctness" they trumpeted.
But when the Governor added a paragraph on slavery to the proclamation, their smiles turned upside down. They yanked the proclamation off their website with a direction to "visit the Governor's site to read his revised proclamation."
And they added a resolution of their own that ends with this missile:
"THE VIRGINIA DIVISION, SONS OF CONFEDERATE VETERANS, does hereby commend Governor Robert F. McDonnell for the issuance of the Confederate History Month proclamation; and"
"THE VIRGINIA DIVISION, does hereby absolutely refute the claim that Confederate soldiers went to the field of battle for the sole purpose of preserving slavery as an intellectually dishonest argument; and"
"THE VIRGINIA DIVISION does not endorse any statement that the Confederacy existed entirely for the defense of slavery and considers such statements to be a detriment to the memory of the many Virginians who gave their lives to defend against the illegal federal invasion of the Commonwealth of Virginia in a long and bloody war."
There are several ways to look at this. One is that this neoconfederate effort to recast the causes of the Civil War is a dangerous whitewashing of history that may hide a secret racist agenda.
Another is that the revisionism is in some sense a good thing, as it shows any acceptance of slavery is no longer acceptable in our society. It's sometimes too easy to brand as racist, or too quick to find guilt by association. This may be nothing more than it purports to be, an interest in history colored by a personal connection of descendants to some of the participants in that history.
My view is that groups like the Sons of Confederate Veterans can be proud of their heritage. No one should feel they can't be proud of their ancestors. I just don't think they need to try so hard to refute anything they regard as a blemish on their ancestors' honor.
There were blemishes on the honor of both sides in the Civil War. We can be proud of Abraham Lincoln, even though he was ready to amend the U.S. Constitution to preserve slavery in the existing slave states as a way to avoid war. We can be proud he kept the country together, even though the cost in lives of doing so was very high.
Saturday, April 10, 2010
Whereas April is the Cruelest Month for Celebrating Confederate History
Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell, darling of the Republican Party election victories of November 2009, put his foot into it this week when he issued a proclamation declaring April Confederate History Month in Virginia.
Two clauses in the Governor's proclamation raised eyebrows. One clause describes the Civil War as a "four year war between the states for independence." I could wonder at some length about whose independence from what is being talked about, but I'll let that go.
Another calls upon "all Virginians to reflect upon our Commonwealth's shared history, to understand the sacrifices of the Confederate leaders, soldiers and citizens during the period of the Civil War."
I'd call on Virginians to reflect on the stupidity of the Confederate leaders' shared groupthink in leading the South into a ruinous war, but that's probably a lost cause, at least among the group that requested this proclamation, the Sons of Confederate Veterans.
And I'll reflect that the term "citizens" meant only white residents. The sacrifices of black residents during or before the Civil War apparently not being worthy of notice. That failure to include any acknowledgment of slavery proved to be a big problem for McDonnell. After a few days of waffling, he apologized by adding a clause to his proclamation:
"WHEREAS, it is important for all Virginians to understand that the institution of slavery led to this war and was an evil and inhumane practice that deprived people of their God-given inalienable rights and all Virginians are thankful for its permanent eradication from our borders, and the study of this time period should reflect upon and learn from this painful part of our history."
If you go to the website of the Sons of Confederate Veterans, you will find a copy of the Governor's original proclamation. But they haven't found time yet to update their website to add the new slavery clause. Look for that in May at the earliest and at the latest, never.
This unintentionally ironic statement has also not been removed from their website: "If the proclamation does anything, it hopefully will be a nail in the coffin of political correctness, an insidious disease infecting our nation."
And what makes April so special in Confederate history? In Virginia, it's the month that the legislature voted to secede from the Union in 1861. It's also the month that Confederate General Robert E. Lee surrendered the Army of Northern Virginia at Appomattox Courthouse, Virginia in 1865. Virginia is hoping to reap an influx of tourists when the 150th anniversary of the Civil War begins next year.
Two clauses in the Governor's proclamation raised eyebrows. One clause describes the Civil War as a "four year war between the states for independence." I could wonder at some length about whose independence from what is being talked about, but I'll let that go.
Another calls upon "all Virginians to reflect upon our Commonwealth's shared history, to understand the sacrifices of the Confederate leaders, soldiers and citizens during the period of the Civil War."
I'd call on Virginians to reflect on the stupidity of the Confederate leaders' shared groupthink in leading the South into a ruinous war, but that's probably a lost cause, at least among the group that requested this proclamation, the Sons of Confederate Veterans.
And I'll reflect that the term "citizens" meant only white residents. The sacrifices of black residents during or before the Civil War apparently not being worthy of notice. That failure to include any acknowledgment of slavery proved to be a big problem for McDonnell. After a few days of waffling, he apologized by adding a clause to his proclamation:
"WHEREAS, it is important for all Virginians to understand that the institution of slavery led to this war and was an evil and inhumane practice that deprived people of their God-given inalienable rights and all Virginians are thankful for its permanent eradication from our borders, and the study of this time period should reflect upon and learn from this painful part of our history."
If you go to the website of the Sons of Confederate Veterans, you will find a copy of the Governor's original proclamation. But they haven't found time yet to update their website to add the new slavery clause. Look for that in May at the earliest and at the latest, never.
This unintentionally ironic statement has also not been removed from their website: "If the proclamation does anything, it hopefully will be a nail in the coffin of political correctness, an insidious disease infecting our nation."
And what makes April so special in Confederate history? In Virginia, it's the month that the legislature voted to secede from the Union in 1861. It's also the month that Confederate General Robert E. Lee surrendered the Army of Northern Virginia at Appomattox Courthouse, Virginia in 1865. Virginia is hoping to reap an influx of tourists when the 150th anniversary of the Civil War begins next year.
Thursday, April 8, 2010
Going Rogue Earns Sarah Palin a Lot of Pearls
When former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin appeared with Minnesota Congresswoman Michele Bachmann at a Tea Party rally in Minnesota yesterday, we could not help but notice the pearls. Is that three strings of pearls, or four? Clearly quitting her job as Governor and Going Rogue is not cutting into Sarah Palin's jewelry budget.
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
Saturday, April 3, 2010
Welcome to the Club, the Special Relationship is Over
French President Nicolas Sarkozy speaking at Columbia University in New York City on March 30, 2010:
"Welcome to the club of states who don't turn their back on the sick and the poor ... When we look at the American debate on reforming health care, it's difficult to believe. The very fact that there should have been such a violent debate simply on the fact that the poorest of Americans should not be left out in the streets without a cent to look after them ... is something astonishing to us. If you come to France and something happens to you, you won't be asked for your credit card before you're rushed to the hospital."
Who would have predicted that the welcome to the club of socialized medicine would come from a French right-winger like Sarkozy? Maybe that means Sarkozy is not a true right-winger. Or that the health care reform is not truly socialized medicine.
We would inform Sarkozy that you never have to show a credit card to the ambulance driver in America. The bill comes later. After that, if you get a big pile of bills and fall through the health insurance cracks, comes the personal bankruptcy.
What Europeans and even some Americans don't understand is that a large section of America is afraid that the health care bills, instead of bankrupting the individual, will bankrupt the nation. I don't know if we will be able to get over that fear. I hope we will.
Sarkozy also had this to say on America's role in the world:
"Reflect on what it means to be the world's No. 1 power. The world needs an open America, a generous America, an America that shows the way, an America that listens."
Maybe Sarkozy has it backwards and it's we who should be welcoming them to the club. I think that's what France and Europe really want, but they should be careful what they wish for. Britain has been a member of the club, and now a committee of the British parliament has determined its special relationship with America is no longer politically correct:
"The use of the phrase 'the special relationship' in its historical sense, to describe the totality of the ever-evolving UK-US relationship, is potentially misleading, and we recommend that its use should be avoided. The overuse of the phrase by some politicians and many in the media serves simultaneously to de-value its meaning and to raise unrealistic expectations about the benefits the relationship can deliver to the UK."
"The perception that the British government was a subservient 'poodle' to the US administration leading up to the period of the invasion of Iraq and its aftermath is widespread both among the British public and overseas. This perception, whatever its relation to reality, is deeply damaging to the reputation and interests of the UK."
The reality is that the support British Prime Minister Tony Blair gave the Bush administration was crucial, both in obtaining support from the American people and in persuading other countries to join the coalition. And let's not forget the role of the British intelligence services in touting the threat of WMD. Britain wasn't a poodle but a bulldog who now has trouble accepting its share of responsibility. Maybe we should be kicking them out of the club.
My advice to Britain, France, and the rest of Europe: If you want America to listen, you need to speak more clearly. Your private counsels to American governments count for nothing with the American public. And if you are going to tell us a story, make it a true story.
Getting back to Sarkozy, it is too easy to just hear the mocking of America. When Sarkozy asks for "an America that shows the way" he is begging for American leadership.
Listen up, many Americans don't want the responsibility of being No. 1. We didn't ask for it and it runs counter to our most cherished democratic ideals. Our idea, the world must remember, was the UN Security Council, where the big powers would include the small powers, work things out, and act together. The failure of the UN Security Council to bring security has been a great disappointment to America.
The European Union is perhaps the best example to prove our good faith in our intentions. Has there ever, in the history of the world, been a No. 1 power that allowed such a union of countries to be created without a fight? Yet America has encouraged and embraced the European Union.
The reality is that America looks at the potential security risks facing the world, a resurgent Al Qaeda, a nuclear-armed Iran, an unstable North Korea, with trepidation. All that has happened in the last decade, from the 9/11 attacks to the financial crisis, does not give America any comfort or confidence in being labeled No. 1. I don't know how soon we will get our confidence back. I hope we will.
The latest security challenge is the troop buildup the Obama administration is putting together for Afghanistan. Europe, we're listening, how many combat troops are you going to send? If none, tell us in plain words why not.
Remember, Europe, you asked for us to put aside the Republican party and vote for Obama, and many of Americans obliged by voting Democratic for the first time in their lives. I don't know if they will do that again. I do know that hope is not going to cut it the second time around.
"Welcome to the club of states who don't turn their back on the sick and the poor ... When we look at the American debate on reforming health care, it's difficult to believe. The very fact that there should have been such a violent debate simply on the fact that the poorest of Americans should not be left out in the streets without a cent to look after them ... is something astonishing to us. If you come to France and something happens to you, you won't be asked for your credit card before you're rushed to the hospital."
Who would have predicted that the welcome to the club of socialized medicine would come from a French right-winger like Sarkozy? Maybe that means Sarkozy is not a true right-winger. Or that the health care reform is not truly socialized medicine.
We would inform Sarkozy that you never have to show a credit card to the ambulance driver in America. The bill comes later. After that, if you get a big pile of bills and fall through the health insurance cracks, comes the personal bankruptcy.
What Europeans and even some Americans don't understand is that a large section of America is afraid that the health care bills, instead of bankrupting the individual, will bankrupt the nation. I don't know if we will be able to get over that fear. I hope we will.
Sarkozy also had this to say on America's role in the world:
"Reflect on what it means to be the world's No. 1 power. The world needs an open America, a generous America, an America that shows the way, an America that listens."
Maybe Sarkozy has it backwards and it's we who should be welcoming them to the club. I think that's what France and Europe really want, but they should be careful what they wish for. Britain has been a member of the club, and now a committee of the British parliament has determined its special relationship with America is no longer politically correct:
"The use of the phrase 'the special relationship' in its historical sense, to describe the totality of the ever-evolving UK-US relationship, is potentially misleading, and we recommend that its use should be avoided. The overuse of the phrase by some politicians and many in the media serves simultaneously to de-value its meaning and to raise unrealistic expectations about the benefits the relationship can deliver to the UK."
"The perception that the British government was a subservient 'poodle' to the US administration leading up to the period of the invasion of Iraq and its aftermath is widespread both among the British public and overseas. This perception, whatever its relation to reality, is deeply damaging to the reputation and interests of the UK."
The reality is that the support British Prime Minister Tony Blair gave the Bush administration was crucial, both in obtaining support from the American people and in persuading other countries to join the coalition. And let's not forget the role of the British intelligence services in touting the threat of WMD. Britain wasn't a poodle but a bulldog who now has trouble accepting its share of responsibility. Maybe we should be kicking them out of the club.
My advice to Britain, France, and the rest of Europe: If you want America to listen, you need to speak more clearly. Your private counsels to American governments count for nothing with the American public. And if you are going to tell us a story, make it a true story.
Getting back to Sarkozy, it is too easy to just hear the mocking of America. When Sarkozy asks for "an America that shows the way" he is begging for American leadership.
Listen up, many Americans don't want the responsibility of being No. 1. We didn't ask for it and it runs counter to our most cherished democratic ideals. Our idea, the world must remember, was the UN Security Council, where the big powers would include the small powers, work things out, and act together. The failure of the UN Security Council to bring security has been a great disappointment to America.
The European Union is perhaps the best example to prove our good faith in our intentions. Has there ever, in the history of the world, been a No. 1 power that allowed such a union of countries to be created without a fight? Yet America has encouraged and embraced the European Union.
The reality is that America looks at the potential security risks facing the world, a resurgent Al Qaeda, a nuclear-armed Iran, an unstable North Korea, with trepidation. All that has happened in the last decade, from the 9/11 attacks to the financial crisis, does not give America any comfort or confidence in being labeled No. 1. I don't know how soon we will get our confidence back. I hope we will.
The latest security challenge is the troop buildup the Obama administration is putting together for Afghanistan. Europe, we're listening, how many combat troops are you going to send? If none, tell us in plain words why not.
Remember, Europe, you asked for us to put aside the Republican party and vote for Obama, and many of Americans obliged by voting Democratic for the first time in their lives. I don't know if they will do that again. I do know that hope is not going to cut it the second time around.
Johnny Mac and the Local Forecast
Johnny Mac and the Local Forecast performing at Sally O'Brien's in Union Square, Somerville, Massachusetts on April 2, 2010.
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