New disturbing comments from Chairman of Joint Chiefs on DADT

Joe and I are both going to be writing much more about this tomorrow. But in a nutshell, Admiral Mike Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs, was asked about Don't Ask Don't Tell today. His response? Read it for yourself.

Mullen appeared to be distancing himself from Obama and the possible repeal of the policy. He talked about the impact lifting the ban would have on military families - and not in a good way. This is a new excuse, and doesn't even make any sense. Mullen also talked about "changing" the policy (again that word), rather than repealing it.

I just received the following email from Richard Socarides, former top aide to President Clinton, about Mullen's comments. Richard gave me permission to print it:

Mullen's comments are offensive and insulting. It's shocking that the civilian leadership allows him to talk about a group of Americans as if we were second class citizens.

How can you advocate a measured approach to equality? Deliberate is what I'm looking for. Deliberate is what we were promised.

And his comments about "the impact [of a policy change] on our people and their families" is outrageous. What about the impact of the current policy on gay servicemenbers? Are they not "his people." Not to mention the chilling effect official, government sanctioned discrimination has on all of us as Americans.

This is one of the most senior leaders of our government talking about us as if we were second class citizens. It has got to stop.

Sixteen years ago Sam Nunn and Colin Powell did this to us and no one called them on it. And we ended up with this policy. Now we must speak up. These are not legitimate opposing views. He, Mullen, is not expressing an American view of equality. And, shockingly, one of his main jobs is to articulate the policy views of his boss, the president.

It's happening all over again. The military is running roughshod over a Democratic commander in chief. Does anyone believe for a moment that a Republican president would let his military commanders get away with this kind of insubordination? Read the rest of this post...

The great food waste

Thanks to reader Cat who found a fascinating read in the Financial Times about the massive waste in the Big Food industry. Actually, if anything it's the larger businesses that have refined the art of maximizing their food but even still, the numbers are shocking. As I've mentioned many times before, Joelle and I always are checking the shelves for special prices on food that needs to move. Some foods last much longer than the listed dates (quality yogurt comes to mind) but the freezer always welcomes new arrivals. This FT article is a real eye opener that exposes the significant waste in the UK though it's hard to imagine radically different results elsewhere in the industrialized world. It's definitely a good read.

Soon after graduating, I started to work on a media campaign about food waste. I took newspaper, radio and television crews round the back of supermarkets and showed them what was being thrown away. The level of interest was overwhelming. Early on in that process, a BBC journalist persuaded me to make a feature for the Politics Show in 2003. She set up an interview with Lord Haskins, then one of the chief advisers to the government on food and farming and the former chairman of Northern Foods, one of Britain’s largest food-processing companies. I was just preparing my tirade when Lord Haskins launched into his own: sell-by dates were absurdly strict and, by his estimation, an incredible 70 per cent of all food produced was wasted. I nearly fell off the park bench we were sitting on. This was the highest figure I had heard, and it was coming not from a campaigner but from a senior member of the food industry. My hunch about the scale of the problem was confirmed.

In terms of back-of-store waste, smaller shops and chains often perform worse than large supermarkets. Timothy Jones, a specialist on food waste in the US, claims that the best-managed supermarket chains in north America have “leaned down” their waste to less than 1 per cent of the food coming into the stores. Convenience stores as a sub-sector compare unfavourably, with average wastage levels of 26 per cent. However, this should not distract from the fact that supermarkets hide much of their waste by pushing it further up the supply chain, forcing manufacturers and farmers to discard huge amounts of edible produce.

Read the rest of this post...

Sen. Schumer: "There will be a public option in the final bill."

The thing about Senator Chuck Schumer is that he's a political creature. All Senators are to some extent, but Schumer sees all things through a political lens. So, when Schumer supports the public option in legislation to reform health care, it makes political sense. And, Schumer not only supports the public option, today, he guaranteed it:

The healthcare reform bill that emerges from Congress this year will include a government-run public health insurance option, regardless of the bipartisan negotiations seeking a compromise in the Senate, Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said Sunday.

"Make no mistake about it, the president is for this strongly. There will be a public option in the final bill," Schumer said on CBS News's "Face the Nation."

Schumer made his prediction just days before the Senate returned to the work of getting a bill passed by the first week of August amid significant disagreement between Democrats and Republicans -- and among Democrats themselves -- over controversial issues such as the public option.

We already know the policy reasons for including the public option. Nothing says the public option is good politics more than Schumer's blessing. Read the rest of this post...

'We misread how bad the economy was'

(Visualize me sitting at my desk slapping me head in disbelief.) I guess this explains why Obama chose the business-as-usual economic team that he chose though it also provides some insight into how misguided he has been on the key issue of the day according to him and his team. Obama campaigned hard on this subject yet he still had no idea. How do you not force change (or give people the boot) with such a critical miscalculation? What Biden is saying is that the Obama economic experts were and are a bunch of buffoons. Nice. Imagine what it's going to take for other issues to sink in with this tone deaf White House.

Vice President Joe Biden said the Obama administration "misread how bad the economy was" but stands by its stimulus package and believes the plan will create more jobs as the pace of its spending picks up.

Biden, in an interview airing Sunday on ABC's "This Week," said the nation's 9.5 percent unemployment rate is "much too high."

"The figures we worked off of in January were the consensus figures and most of the blue chip indexes out there," Biden said.

"We misread how bad the economy was, but we are now only about 120 days into the recovery package," Biden added. More jobs will be created in coming months, he said.

Also of note is that for the second consecutive week, someone inside the administration has raised the subject of the second stimulus. But of course, they really don't want a second stimulus. Read the rest of this post...

The Party of No Ideas does have a bag full of tricks to aid with obstruction

House Republicans don't have any ideas, but they do have a bag of tricks -- courtesy of their leader, John Boehner. These are the people with whom the President wants to work. But, the House Republicans act like a bunch of frat boys:

Trying to build opposition to a climate change measure being considered as the Fourth of July recess loomed, Mr. Boehner commandeered the floor for an hour to mount an unofficial filibuster and ridicule the legislation. He has sanctioned efforts by rank-and-file Republicans to tie up the House with dozens of procedural votes. During the debate on the economic stimulus, he threw the huge bill to the floor with a theatrical thump.

“There are times when the majority just does such outrageous things that you have to find a way to make your point to the American people,” said Mr. Boehner, who began his House career as one of the so-called Gang of Seven, a group of Republican upstarts that confronted Democrats over the House banking scandal and other institutional abuses.

Mr. Boehner has various motivations for using whatever means are at his disposal to make a political case. Republicans portray the climate measure as a flawed threat to the economy. Given the fact that his party is almost totally powerless, a little stagecraft can be the only way to get attention. Then there is the issue of bolstering morale among his beleaguered House colleagues, who said they were energized by Mr. Boehner’s performance against the energy bill.

“Our side has been waiting for somebody to swing back,” said Representative Tom Cole, Republican of Oklahoma, who predicted Mr. Boehner’s efforts would elevate him in national Republican circles.

Can't you see them all high-fiving each other in the House cloakroom? And, people on the Hill wonder why the public has such a low image of Congress. Read the rest of this post...

How many in Congress have had to beg like this?

Something tells me Grassley nor Landrieu have ever had to ask friends and family in the community to help fund health care expenses. The closest that comes to mind is Newt Gingrich's ex wife living from church handouts when he left her dying in the hospital as he moved on to the next wife. The fact remains that few in Congress can fully appreciate the debate because they don't live in that world.

When carpenter Greg Douglas crashed his pickup truck, his toolbox hit him and smashed his ribs and collarbone. After a month in the hospital, the medical bills hit him even harder, totaling $165,000.

Douglas is among thousands of people now telling their stories on videos, ads and Web sites on both sides of the health care debate.

He said he was drawn into political advocacy after neighbors in Harpswell, Maine, raised $3,000 toward his hospital bills with a church dinner and collection cans in stores.

Douglas said he may not understand the intricacies of President Barack Obama's top domestic priority, but he knows he wants affordable health care for everyone, so nobody has to beg.

See the stories on YouTube thanks to the SEIU. Maybe Obama is ashamed or afraid of the liberal label but not everyone is so gutless, thank heavens. Read the rest of this post...

Sunday Talk Shows Open Thread

The best thing about the shows today is that Wimbledon preempts "Meet the Press." From there, you get Biden back from his trip to Iraq. Who knows what will come out of his mouth.

We're going to be getting a dose of Iraq, probably some Afghanistan and a helping of health care reform.

Representing the GOP/insurance industry lobbyists is Iowa's Chuck Grassley, the ranking Republican on the Senate Finance Committee. Last week, Grassley told a group of his constituents that if the person wanted better and cheaper health insurance, "just go work for the federal government." Grassley has had very good, taxpayer funded health insurance since 1975. And, of course, he's a fierce opponent of the public option.

Here's the lineup:

ABC's "This Week" — Vice President Joe Biden.

___

CBS' "Face the Nation" — Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; Sens. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, and Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.

___

NBC's "Meet the Press" — Pre-empted by coverage of Wimbledon tennis.

___

CNN's "State of the Union" — Former Secretary of State Colin Powell; Mullen; Queen Noor of Jordan.

"Fox News Sunday" _ Mullen; Reps. Steny Hoyer, D-Md., and John Boehner, R-Ohio.

Read the rest of this post...

The Zombies do Gershwin's Summertime

Until a few days ago, we have been roasting over here though after months of rain it's hard to complain too much. Sitting next to a couple of laptops made for some warm afternoons and I almost pulled out the fan. Almost. Instead I opted for turning off everything else including lights to reduce the heat but my MacBook could easily replace a space heater. It's a in the 60's (F) now (8:30-ish my time) but creeping back up to the high 80s this afternoon so it's time to get out on the bike now. Read the rest of this post...

Economic crisis hitting everywhere

When you see the riches at the Vatican, it's hard to imagine any financial difficulties but mismanagement of all kinds run deep in that organization. It's probably asking too much to ask the Prada wearing Pope to trim expenses. Vow of poverty this.

The Vatican said Saturday it ran a deficit in 2008 as its finances and donations from across the world were hit by the global economic crisis.

The Vatican posted a budget deficit for a second straight year, though the figures improved strongly from 2007. The Holy See's 2008 deficit was around euro0.9 million ($1.28 million), compared with a loss of euro9.06 million a year earlier.

The financial report released Saturday by the Holy See's press office listed revenues of euro253.9 million and expenses for euro254.8 million.

Most of expenses went to support the activities of Pope Benedict XVI and the Holy See's offices, especially Vatican Radio and other media divisions, the report said.

Read the rest of this post...

Blind man sees again

This is an amazing story, assuming this is not one of those crazy stories from the British press. It's being carried by both Sky and The Telegraph so far as well as the tabloid outlets so it looks like it's for real. Telegraph:

Mr Liu is a corneal specialist and Consultant Ophthalmic Surgeon based at Sussex Eye Hospital, Brighton. He is also President of the British Society for Refractive Surgery.

The procedure began when one of Mr Jones' canine teeth was removed and converted into a holder for a special optical lens by drilling a hole in it.

The tooth was then inserted into his cheek for three months to enable it to grow new tissue and blood vessels.

Then finally came the delicate operation to insert the tooth, complete with the fitted lens into Mr Jones' right eyeball.

Within two weeks of the final operation to implant the tooth in his eyeball his sight returned and he was told he had almost perfect vision in his right eye.

Read the rest of this post...