Hard times coming can be good times too

I expressed this thought before, that hard times don't have to be bad times. Here's a more playful way to see that in action.

The Blues Brothers movie (the real one) is set in Chicago in the late 1970s, before Reagan got to us. This is every major city in the U.S. pre–spit-and-polish, pre–Sex and the City. Looks like there's still fun to be had.

Brother Ray tells the tale:



Sweet home Chicago indeed.

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Rachel Maddow on contractors and the 'withdrawal'

In my earlier discussion of contractors in Operation New Dawn, I focused on the SpecOps side. Here, Rachel Maddow discusses the whole spectrum of dependence* on contractors by the military and State Dept. (which takes front seat from the DOD in our new "enduring relationship").

*Dependence — One layer less clear than "shoveling money out the door to your Congressionally connected friends."



Take-aways:

• 50,000 U.S. troops will remain for 16 months.


• 72,000 contractors (including what Engel calls DOD "service contractors," like those great KBR electricians, I'm sure).


• Richard Engel: "This draw-down is all being brought to you by KRB. They are the biggest contractor involved in ... moving things to the south."


• And: "About 45% of all of the contracts right now are KBR contracts."

Finally, I must express admiration for Rachel's role in these Iraq segments.

Having listened to the Air America version of her show for years, I know the subtlety of her understanding of the Iraq war and "Life During Wartime." In my view, she walks a beautiful line between being one of the NBC on-air people who presents the official view, and a commentator who presents her own thinking.

Because of my familiarity with her views, I know what she's not discussing (those KBR electrical death-traps, for example). But nothing that she is saying violates her integrity; and she is saying a lot. Rachel Maddow is a smart, capable woman and beyond the obvious, this is subtle stuff.

The Friday show from which this was abstracted is rich; time permitting, I may bring more segments later this week.

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Obama and marriage equality for gay couples

Kerry Eleveld in the Advocate:

I get the distinct feeling the White House hopes it can simply duck the marriage question straight through 2012, and I’d also bet dollars to doughnuts it won’t be able to. What became clear to me while interviewing attendees of the August 6 meeting was that while the friendly audience may have cut the administration some slack on legislative items like the Employment Non-Discrimination Act and the Defense of Marriage Act, the one place advocates unapologetically stood their ground was on marriage equality.

Why? Because on that issue state activists have been the proverbial tip of the spear, if you will. They may not have a front-row seat to the maddening process of trying to chisel equality from the gut of an ossified federal government, but state-by-state they have shed blood, sweat, and tears for the recognition of their love and their families.

Make no mistake, this is an issue that the president’s chief advisers have misjudged from day one. They underestimated how angry people were that candidate Barack Obama wasn’t more vocal in his opposition to Proposition 8; they dismissed the devastation felt by millions of queers who poured their hearts into electing Obama only to watch Prop. 8 proponent Rick Warren give the invocation at the inauguration; they remained silent in 2009 as gay Mainers fought to preserve their right to love, marry, and build a life with their partner; and then David Axelrod reassured the nation two weeks ago that the president still opposes granting the freedom to marry to all Americans.

When Gibbs lampooned the professional left it was code for, “Oh, it’s just those coastal big-city liberals pushing their intemperate views in the media again.”

But that couldn’t be further from the truth on the issue of marriage equality after the sting of bigotry tromped from Florida to Maine to California and nearly every state in between. The president and his advisers may hope to stay below the radar on the question of marriage straight through 2012, but they are flying blind if they can’t see that activists across the nation are already seething.

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Countdown: 3/4 of the BP oil is 'still in the environs'

The oil's still "out there"; the levees still suck; the Obama administration still hasn't found its inner Embeds. (Sigh.)

First Keith, then comments:



Cripes, is this segment loaded or what? Here's just a taste of what we learn:

• There's at least one plume 22 miles long, more than one mile wide, and 3000 feet below the surface. It's degrading only slowly in the cold water. I'm willing to bet it has friends.


• The government's own report is being called into question. Senator Markey: NOAA released an overly optimistic report that sends a wrong "signal in regard to how much of the problem remains."
  
  Cui bono? (That's Latin for "BP keeps the change and a hefty tip.")


• So who does the gov't work for in this matter? Who is our government's client? We know that at Interior, Secretary Salazar sees Norwegian oil giant Statoil as his client. (Click the link and search on Statiol. The Salazar quote is stark, startling.)


• As to the levees, catch what Corps of Engineers whistleblower Maria Garzino says about the hydraulic pumps. What's that song? The pumps don't work 'cause the vandals took the government captive. Yeah, that's the one.
  
  Is Obama a captive? And if so, of whom, his Embeds or his campaign contributors?


• Finally, note Harry Shearer at 5:10 in the clip. (He says it better than I could.)

The Big Uneasy. Again, big sigh.

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Pat Boone suggests that Obama is a Muslim-loving marxist, or something

Funny that such a great singer could be so nuts.

Some liberal, "change happy" Obamaphiles will instantly call me names for even thinking what I've just said, but I want you and any objective reader to look at the following facts. Then see if you can come to a different conclusion.

We are all, to a great or lesser degree, the inevitable product of how we were raised, what we were taught and experienced as children. Barack Hussein Obama was born to an 18-year-old Caucasian woman and a Kenyan father. Virtually all his early influences, including his biological father and his Indonesian stepfather, his mother and grandparents – were socialists, atheists, and/or Muslims.

He went to two schools in Indonesia as a young, impressionable boy. One was Catholic, the other Muslim. In both, he was identified as a Muslim, and in the latter he was of course indoctrinated in the Muslim faith. Other students and several teachers who remember him during that period say he was attentive, studious and better than average in his Muslim studies.

Then, he relates that at Occidental College, student Barack "sought out" other dissidents, political activists and outright Marxist professors. Is there a discernible pattern here?

One of his close friends took him on a prolonged visit to Pakistan during those years, and the question remains about Obama's passport. If it was American, he would not have been allowed in Pakistan – so what was it?

Almost immediately upon assuming the presidency, he began to make statements claiming America was no longer a Christian nation and that America might be considered a Muslim nation.

Muslims and homosexual activists have been invitees at the White House more than any Christian or Jewish representatives have; odd for a Christian, isn't it?

Glad that the White House effort to take the middle road on everything has really put to rest the GOP charges of extremism. Read the rest of this post...

Sunday Talk Shows Open Thread

Another weekend with an array of guest and topics.

In the wake of the last combat troops leaving Iraq, General Ray Odierno, will be appearing on CBS and CNN.

ABC has Afghanistan's (corrupt) President Hamad Karzai -- and will do a segment on Cordoba House.

NBC has a typically unbalanced slew of guests to talk politics: GOP Senate Leader Mitch McConnell, former GOP House Majority Leader/Head Teabagger Dick Armey, former GOP Congressman/NY GOP Gubernatorial candidate Rick Lazio and Gov. Jennifer Granholm (D-MI).

And, FOX has Blago.

Here's the full lineup. Read the rest of this post...

Countdown: Worst Persons mixed bag

I'm not sure I'd class this as fun, but at least it's light.

Countdown's first Worst Person on Friday was the guy who laid off a 68-year-old cancer surgeon, then marched him out of the hospital he worked at his whole life, marched him out like a criminal. (Those of you in high-tech know this drill; the beast can't ever be too careful.)

The second Worst is a serial paint-huffer. Anyone else see Rev. Jim in all those mugshots?

And the third, and most Worst, Ted Nugent. I didn't know he was such a racist, but hey, you learn. The cherry at the center? He's a speaker at Rev. Glenn's "I have a (white guy's) dream" MLK–counter-event on August 28 at the Lincoln Memorial. (As they say, when the movie's well cast, it's half directed.)



Enjoy,

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