Tag Archives: New York Times

I’M FROM THE GOVERNMENT AND I’M HERE TO HELP

Posted on August 22, 2011 | 1 Comment
BARACK OBAMA ON HIS WAY TO HELP

When Anthony Weiner, the former Democratic congressman of Facebook fame resigned in disgrace, it was a foregone conclusion that his replacement would be another Democrat.  Only one in four voters in his district is registered as Independents or Republicans.  Nonetheless, it is turning out to be a race in this super-solid Democratic district that gave birth to Sen. Schumer and other leading Democrats.  The reason is broadly held feelings of deep disgust for Barack Obama among working class Democrats.  It’s a local situation with national implications.

From today’s New York Times

Dale Weiss, a 64-year-old Democrat, approached the Republican running for Congress in a special election and, without provocation, blasted the president for failing to tame runaway federal spending.  “We need to cut Medicaid,” she declared, “but he won’t do that.”  She shook her head in disgust.  “He is a moron.”

After nodding approvingly for a time, the Republican candidate, Bob Turner, signaled for an assistant to cut off Ms. Weiss.  Frustration with Mr. Obama is so widespread, he explained later, that he tries to limit such rants to about 30 seconds, or else they will consume most of his day.

“It’s endemic in the district,” Mr. Turner said.  “You can’t stop them once they get started.”

Working people can be quite forgiving of a leader’s mistakes when they believe the leader is doing his best.  People will endure a great deal of hardship from a leader who is with them in it.  But even then, there is a limit.  When working people see themselves as on a sinking ship and you yell “I’m here to help” as you speed by in your yacht, you have lost them.

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Posted in News, Opinion

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IT’S THE INTERNET, STUPID

Posted on August 15, 2011 | Leave a comment
Thomas Friedman, American journalist, columnis...

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Anything written by Thomas Friedman is always worth a read. Agree or not, he always makes you think and rarely makes you mad. In last Sunday’s New York Times he has the temerity to propose The Theory of Everything (Sort of). He just may be right (sort of).

Friedman notes the pestilent (Arab Spring) and the peaceful (Tea Party) rebellions taking place around the world and asks, why now?

It starts with the fact that globalization and the information technology revolution have gone to a whole new level. Thanks to cloud computing, robotics, 3G wireless connectivity, Skype, Facebook, Google, LinkedIn, Twitter, the iPad, and cheap Internet-enabled smartphones, the world has gone from connected to hyper-connected.

This is the single most important trend in the world today.

The columnist mixes in his observations of changes in the workplace and the evolution of those skills required for success. Many are falling short. At the same time the “globalization/I.T. revolution enables the globalization of anger, with all of these demonstrations now inspiring each other.”  Today, any displeased soul with an internet connection is a potential community organizer.

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Posted in Political philosophy

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LIBYA – OBAMA’S WAR

Posted on June 20, 2011 | 2 Comments

The New York Times had the following to say regarding the Commander in Chief’s ordering of U.S. participation in the Libyan hostilities.

President Obama rejected the views of top lawyers at the Pentagon and the Justice Department when he [Obama] decided that he had the legal authority to continue American military participation in the air war in Libya without Congressional authorization.

Jeh C. Johnson, the Pentagon general counsel, and Caroline D. Krass, the acting head of the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel, had told the White House that they believed that the United States military’s activities in the NATO-led air war amounted to “hostilities.” [that] required Mr. Obama to terminate or scale back the mission after May 20.

Presidents have the legal authority to override the legal conclusions of the Office of Legal Counsel and to act in a manner that is contrary to its advice, but it is extraordinarily rare for that to happen. Under normal circumstances, the office’s interpretation of the law is legally binding on the executive branch.

It was strictly a matter of copy and paste from NY Times to the RandomThots post other than minor editing, within the brackets, for clarity.  You can read the original article by clicking here.

My question is – what would you have written for a headline?  Perhaps “President Defies Legal Opinion of Government Counsel’? Or how about ”Obama Acts Contrary to Law According to Department of Justice and Pentagon Attorney”.  As a former headline copy writer, I can see that’s too long.  Here’s my choice, “Obama Decline to Obey the Law”.

The Times headline — “2 Top Lawyers Lost to Obama in Libya War Policy Debate”.

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Posted in Opinion, Political polemics

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HEALTHCARE, PROFITS AND INSURANCE

Posted on May 16, 2011 | Leave a comment

 The New York Times Business page reports:
“Health Insurers Making Record Profits”

Well I hope so.

Record profits lead to record jobs. Record profits means a greater positive contribution to a growing economy than ever before. Record profits support growth in dividends, the staple of retired people depending on the fruits of their personal life savings in their end years. Record profits increase the value of a company and its shares of public ownership. When those shares go up in price it increases the value of pension plans and retirement funds. The more companies there are reporting record profits, the more companies there will be paying record taxes. Record profits are a good thing.

What happens when there are no record profits? By definition, a company that’s not reporting record profits is not doing as well as it once did. The enterprise has fallen into a state of decline. Its contribution to the national GDP is less than it was. The general definition of a recession is three quarters of negative GDP. Companies reporting lower levels of profit tend to be a drag on GDP until profits start to grow again. When companies are in a slump they postpone expansion and temper hiring programs even when the decline is judged to be a temporary state. Lower profits are not a good thing.

Somehow I suspect the Times doesn’t see it that way.

Bob B

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Posted in News, Opinion, Political philosophy

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COMPARE THIS

Posted on March 20, 2011 | Leave a comment

OBAMA, MARCH 19, 2011 ‘Today we are part of a broad coalition. We are answering the calls of a threatened people. And we are acting in the interests of the United States and the world’…

BUSH, MARCH 19, 2003 ‘American and coalition forces are in the early stages of military operations to disarm Iraq, to free its people and to defend the world from grave danger’… (By way of the Drudge Report)

HILLARY IN THE MIDDLE

Friday’s online Africa edition of the New York Times led with this headline, “Obama Takes Hard Line With Libya After Shift by Clinton”. (emphasis ours). The attack on Libya is being dubbed “Hillary’s War”.

Coincidentally, anti-war protests were held in several cities yesterday, including one at the White House where some were arrested. We say coincidentally because they were protesting the Iraq war, not the decision to launch an attack on Libya. Then it occurred to me why it is being framed as Hillary’s War. It’s the 2012 election, stupid!

The Make-Love-Not-War protesters are an important component of Obama’s core constituency. Anti-war, any war, voters are by no means limited to the radical element either. By deferring to the United Nations and the will of Europe, then allowing himself to be boxed in by Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama can claim the decision was taken away from him; that he had no choice but to authorize military action.

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Posted in Political philosophy, Political polemics

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LIEBERMAN ACCORDING TO THE NEW YORK TIMES

Posted on January 19, 2011 | 4 Comments

One thousand and fourteen words, and not one of them favorable in this announcement by the New York Times.

Okay, one could argue that “…voters once embraced Mr. Lieberman, the son of a liquor store owner who entered politics as a reform-minded Democrat in 1970, for his folksy ways and his common-sense approach to issues” was complimentary. But at the big city paper, “folksy ways” is the way they say unsophisticated and “common sense” means not very intellectual.

That may have been a bit vague, however, the Times was perfectly clear two sentences later. Quoting a prominent Democrat  they wrote of Lieberman’s pending departure, “It’s the first thing he’s done in 10 years to make Connecticut Democrats completely happy.”

It will have been 24 years of honorable service when he walks out that door, and all they can say to him is we are glad you are gone. Even the Mafia after all, gives one a parting.

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Posted in Political polemics

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911 FIRST RESPONDERS HEALTH CARE BILL

Posted on December 14, 2010 | 2 Comments

When you see a headline like this one from the Baltimore Sun, “Republicans deny medical aid to 9/11 First Responders ” the first thought that should come to anyone’s mind is – why? And there is always a reason why. But it often takes some effort to find it.

In this case, the first thing that came to my mind is “no they don’t”.  The headline is a not so subtle propagandic phrase. What the Republicans are denying is this particular proposition for expansion of certain medical benefits. There are just four objectives that drive political actions, power, money, election/re-election and the good of the country.  Meanness does not further any of these objectives; however, painting your opponent as being mean, does.

Democrats could have passed the bill in July. Democrats controlled the Senate; Democrats controlled the House. The party that controls the House sets the House procedural rules for each bill. The vote was 255 in favor to 159 opposed. Why didn’t it pass? The New York Times explained

“Democrats used rules requiring a wider majority for approval to prevent Republicans from offering amendments on the floor that would embarrass Democrats in an election year”

And further stated,

“the federal government has been appropriating money on an annual basis to monitor the health of people injured at ground zero and to provide them with medical treatment. But the bill’s supporters said there were problems with the year-to-year approach, including that money for the program was subject to the political whims of Congress and the White House.

So, if we are to believe the New York Times, it was the procedural rules set by Democrats in charge that killed the bill. And it was done to prevent certain “embarrassments” to Democrats in an election year. See above, paragraph 2, objective 3, “election/re-election.”

Also according to the Times, the 911 first responders have been getting funds from the federal government all along. No one, neither Republicans nor Democrats have denied medical benefits to these heroes. The bill is less about the first responders (objective 4) than it is about power, money and election/re-election (objectives 1 to 3).

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Posted in Political philosophy, Political polemics

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TIMES COVERS OBAMA ADMINISTRATION

Posted on September 27, 2010 | Leave a comment

It’s Monday morning. Michael Coates explosive testimony was Friday. See our Saturday post. As far as one can tell from Google, the editors at the print edition of the New York Times have not heard about it yet.

The NYT Online edition posted a short piece by the AP but without any comment of their own.

PRESS COVERAGE

Click the cartoon, then hold Ctrl and press the + key a few times to  enlarge it.

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Posted in Cartoons, Political polemics

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RANDOM STUFF Sept 13, 2010

Posted on September 13, 2010 | Leave a comment

The New York Times reports today in the print edition, “A majority of those who voted for Obama still approve of the job he is doing”. Another way of putting it would be, that among those who voted for Obama, nearly half were willing to admit to a pollster that they were wrong, and that they disapprove of the job Obama is doing. I can use a truthful statement to spin a poll just as well as can the big boys at the paper still considered by some to be the one of record.

Now about those parties, the way the Obama’s are partying one would think they had won the lottery, or were spending someone else’s money. It makes one wonder if Barack feels he only has two more years and is milking it for all he can get while he can get it. I am getting a little irked. He lives in our house and we let him stay there because he has pledged to be of service to us. Then he throws one private party after another and we are not invited, at least most of us are not. We let him live rent free, he changes the furniture and sends us the bill. It’s time we threw the bum out.

Crime seems to be on the increase. Sometimes it is downright disgusting. Take Cabbagegate for instance. Some creep named Steve Miller down in De Kalb County Georgia has been growing too many vegetables, and his crop wasn’t limited to cabbage either. He was even giving spinach and some green peppers to his neighbors, but they caught him, slapped a 5,000 dollar fine on the scoundrel. Read about it here.

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Posted in Satire

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CONSERVATISM SPEAKS OUT AT THE NEW YORK TIMES

Posted on August 30, 2010 | 1 Comment

Bill Kristol was considered to be the only conservative columnist at the New York Times…until he was fired. Then there were none…until his replacement arrived, a man by the name of Ross Douthat. Here are some excerpts from Mr. Douthat’s Op-Ed piece on the Restoring Honor Rally.

Mr. BECK GOES TO WASHINGTON. New York Times, Published: August 29, 2010

Just as Michael Moore, amid Democratic disarray, became the unlikely face of liberal opposition to George W. Bush, the mercurial, weepy, demagogic Beck has spent the last 18 months filling the void left by the institutional collapse of the Republican Party. And just as Moore’s influence diminished as the Democrats came roaring back, it seemed plausible that Beck would matter less and less as the midterms and then the 2012 election re-empowered actual Republican politicians.

This was a tent revival crossed with a pep rally intertwined with a history lecture married to a U.S.O. telethon — and that was just in the first hour.

There was piety — endless piety, as speaker after speaker demanded that Americans rededicate themselves to God.

[It was possible] to justify almost any interpretation of the event. A Beck admirer could spin “Restoring Honor” as proof that left-wing fears about the Tea Partiers are overblown: But a suspicious liberal could retort that all the God-and-Christ talk and military tributes were proof enough that a sinister Christian nationalism lurked beneath the surface.

Similarly, one could call the rally a gross affront to the memory of King, who presumably wouldn’t have cared much for Beck’s right-wing politics. But one could also call the day a strange, unlooked-for fulfillment of King’s prophecies: 47 years after the “I Have a Dream” speech, here were tens of thousands of white conservatives roaring their approval of its author.

A weepy demagogue. the Michael Moore of the Republican Party, surrounded by white folks roaring their approval. That’s the report from the Conservative desk of the New York Times.

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Posted in Political polemics

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