Third Estate Sunday Review

The Third Estate Sunday Review focuses on politics and culture. We're an online magazine. We don't play nice and we don't kiss butt. In the words of Tuesday Weld: "I do not ever want to be a huge star. Do you think I want a success? I refused "Bonnie and Clyde" because I was nursing at the time but also because deep down I knew that it was going to be a huge success. The same was true of "Bob and Carol and Fred and Sue" or whatever it was called. It reeked of success."

Sunday, January 31, 2010

The myth of the need for bi-partisanship

"We cannot wage a perpetual campaign where the only goal is to see who can get the most embarrassing headlines about their opponent -- a belief that if you lose, I win," declared the finger pointer in chief Barack Obama Wednesday night. "Neither party should delay or obstruct every single bill just because they can. The confirmation of well-qualified public servants should not be held hostage to the pet projects or grudges of a few individual senators."

Reality check: (A) Sometimes people say "no" to Barack's nominees because they are clearly unqualified. And (B) there's nothing wrong with "NO."

If the Democrats could ever get their s**t together, we'd applaud them. If they would have used The Power Of No when they were in the minority, there would be NO Iraq War, there wouldd be NO No Child Left Behind, there would be none of the hideous programs and wars Bully Boy Bush wanted.

Bully Boy got them because Democrats helped him.

We're not going to trash the Republican Party for using The Power Of No. Shame on the Democrats for never having the spine to stand up.

Even now.

Barack tossed around 'bi-partisanship' repeatedly in his State of the Union speech and if you don't get what a trap that is, think for a moment about which president first pushed it.

Or maybe you don't know who first pushed it? If so, drop back with us to Saturday's All Things Considered (NPR -- link has audio and text):

[Guy] RAZ: Now it turns out the whole idea of appealing to bipartisanship isn't really rooted in American political tradition.

Dr. SAM HASELBY (Historian, Harvard University): It started in the early '70s.

RAZ: That's Harvard historian Sam Haselby.

Dr. HASELBY: It was conservative Southern Democrats under the Nixon administration who were pro-Vietnam War and anti-Civil Rights, and they were looking for a way to represent those positions which were very unpopular in their party - in the Democratic Party at the time. And they started talking a lot about bipartisanship.

RAZ: And Richard Nixon adopted the idea. In his 1972 State of the Union address, Nixon used the word four times when he called on Congress to pass his agenda.

President RICHARD NIXON: ...which should and must be the subject of bipartisan action by this Congress, in the interest of the country in 1972.

Richard Nixon. The concept has no historical background in the Congress. It's a conceit pushed by Tricky Dick and Barry O wants to pimp it.

If you're not getting it, this is how we get attacks on Social Security. One group wants to do something (cut funds) and the other group, instead of standing strong, says 'bi-partisanship!' and that's how the country loses -- over and over.

Senate Committee calls out Secretary of the Navy

That's Ray Mabus. He's the US Secretary of the Navy and he's having some problems with the job President Barack Obama appointed him to, the job he assumed June 18, 2009.

Thursday in the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee markup hearing, Ranking Member Richard Burr explained:

Today as we sit here getting ready for this markup, even though under US Code 42, statutorily the Secretary of the Navy is obligated to pay for the studies required to understand the health and mortality effects of this exposure, the Secretary of the Navy refuses to fund the CDC's arm at ASTDR that is obligated entity to go out and share with the country their scientific conclusion. Let me say that again: The Secretary of the Navy has refused to fund -- even though the law says he has to. So for me in good conscience to turn this over to the Dept of Defense to determine the scope of coverage for these individuals is insane. If the outcome of this vote is pre-determined, then so be it. I would hate for members to leave the markup today and believe that they will not revisit this issue. It will be revisited time and time and time again until the Congress recognizes that maybe the Dept of Defense, maybe the Secretary of the Navy can hide but the Congress can't hide from these people. These are people we represent. These are people that have asked us to come here and represent their interests, their health concerns, their future and I can't hide from them.

Why is Mabus not following the law?

At the end of the hearing, it was agreed to refer the matter to the Senate Armed Services Committee (specifically to Chair Carl Levin and Ranking Member John McCain).

When Mabus is circumventing the law and being called out for it publicly by a Senate Committee, why is it that the press fails to report on it?

The Committee joins US House Reps Brad Miller, John Dingell and Bart Stupak in calling for the Secretary of the Navy to follow the law. The issue involves the polluted water at Camp Lejeune which has effected many people including newborns whose parents were exposed to chemicals.

Pompous Ass in Chief

"But if anyone from either party has a better approach that will bring down premiums, bring down the deficit, cover the uninsured, strengthen Medicare for seniors and stop insurance company abuses, let me know," pompous ass Barry Obama declared Wednesday.

His plan to "cover the uninsured" was not a plan. His way of doing that was to pass a law making it mandatory for every US citizen to PURCHASE insurance and, if they didn't, they would face a steep fine.

That is not a plan to provide insurance. (It is a plan to perpetuate a corrupt system.)

Barack Obama better grasp really quickly his problem is not the Republican Party; his problem is the fact that the American people (left, right, center and apathetic) did not take a shine to his lousy plan to funnel billions of their dollars into Big Pharma and the out-of-control Insurance Industry.

The real deal of the week of the week

Friday, as the Iraq Inquiry heard from Tony Blair, the people gathered outside calling out the War Criminal and his illegal war.

England has technically pulled out of Iraq (they're still going to be 'advisers') but that didn't prevent the real activists, the real change makers, from showing up to decry an ongoing and illegal war. (Photo from UK's Stop The War.)

Scary Ass Stupid

Stupidity, despite what MSNBC might tell you, is not the exclusive province of the Republican Party. Meet US House Rep Alan Grayson, a man whose template appears to be Buford Pusser.

Not surprising for a man of his carriage, Grayson hauls around a lot of stupid. And he's never shied from pulling it out and wagging it in the public's face.

Such as Saturday on All Things Considered (NPR -- link has audio and text) when journalist Guy Raz attempted to speak to him:

RAZ: I mean, you say that there's no other way to solve the problems, but I mean - but what if the result is gridlock? I mean, how do you expect the voters in the United States to accept that? And surely, they would blame the Democrats for that.

Rep. GRAYSON: What do you mean "surely"? Are you a Republican?

"What do you mean 'surely'? Are you a Republican?"

This is what you get when MSNBC is seen as the standard for the left, crap like this.

In a functioning political system, Grayson would be laughed off the public stage for responding to questions he doesn't like by accusing the reporter of being a Republican. But we don't have a functioning political system and Ass Stupid Grayson will probably be allowed to self- and party-embarrass for many years to come.

Freak Show Tony Blair

Testifying to the Iraq Inquiry on Friday, Tony Blair attempted to justify his actions and the illegal war on the basis of 9-11 -- a September 11, 2001 deadly terrorist attack on US soil.

When the attack took place, Tony Blair was Prime Minister of England. Despite that, he was woefully unaware of the facts and we recommend he be sent to an isolation room at Guantanamo and locked in there with Rudy Giuliani as a tutor until he can grasp that 2,973 people were killed in the attacks (not the "over 3,000" he repeatedly mentioned -- possibly Tony counts the hijackers as 'victims') and where the attacks took place (Tony repeatedly and falsely identified them as attacks on New York when, in fact, two planes hit NYC; one plane hit the Pentagon and one plane crashed in a field in Shanksville, Pennsylvania).

If you're going to try to hide your criminal activity behind a tragic event, it's probably a good idea to know the actual facts and figures, Tony Blair.

'Inspiration' comes from familiar places

Barack Obama's speech writers get worse and worse. No doubt, they're very tired, forever dashing off another piece of meaningless, hollow crap for Priss of the US Barry to deliver. But the cribbing is getting a little obvious.

For example, Wednesday's State of the Union ripped off multiple sources but to focus on only one passage, we'll note the following section:

But I wake up every day knowing that they are nothing compared to the setbacks that families all across this country have faced this year. And what keeps me going -- what keeps me fighting -- is that despite all these setbacks, that spirit of determination and optimism -- that fundamental decency that has always been at the core of the American people -- lives on. It lives on in the struggling small business owner who wrote to me of his company, "None of us," he said, "are willing to consider, even slightly, that we might fail."
It lives on in the woman who said that even though she and her neighbors have felt the pain of recession, "We are strong. We are resilient. We are American."
It lives on in the 8-year-old boy in Louisiana, who just sent me his allowance and asked if I would give it to the people of Haiti. And it lives on in all the Americans who've dropped everything to go some place they've never been and pull people they've never known from rubble, prompting chants of "USA! USA! USA!" when another life was saved.
The spirit that has sustained this nation for more than two centuries lives on in you, its people.

Sound familiar? It should.

We're honestly surprised he didn't toss out, "Ingonyama nengw' enamabala."

That garbage, boys and girls, is what you get when speech writers stay up too late waiting for inspiration, find none and pop in DVDs of The Lion King II Simba's Pride (see "He Lives In You") and Death Becomes Her, specifically the funeral scene. Here's a sample of the latter:

And it's here, among us, in the hearts of his friends. And the secret of eternal youth right here in the lives of his children and his grandchildren. It is my opinion that our beloved Ernest is one man who will indeed live forever.

Those assembled Wednesday night should have followed Meryl Streep's lead and uttered her line of reply, "Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah."

Highlights

This piece is written by Rebecca of Sex and Politics and Screeds and Attitude, Cedric of Cedric's Big Mix, Kat of Kat's Korner, Betty of Thomas Friedman is a Great Man, Mike of Mikey Likes It!, Elaine of Like Maria Said Paz, Ruth of Ruth's Report, Marcia of SICKOFITRADLZ, Stan of Oh Boy It Never Ends, Ann of Ann's Mega Dub. and Wally of The Daily Jot. Unless otherwise noted, we picked all highlights.

"I Hate The War" -- Most requested highlight of the week, C.I. on Blair's phony 'interest' in a second resolution from the UN.

"Iraq snapshot," "Senator Wally" and "Jon Tester gets bitchy" -- C.I., Wally and Kat report on a Congressional hearing they attended.

Isaiah's The World Today Just Nuts "Wheel of Misfortune" -- Isaiah takes on the State of the Union speech.

Isaiah's The World Today Just Nuts "Commander of the Groin" -- But wait, Isaiah did two new comics last week. This one is about Barry and his fan base.

"Social Security and other issues" -- Betty on what to watch for.

"Bernanke and American Dad (Wally)" -- Dick Durbin is a joke, Wally explains why.

"Out-FM" and "Connect the Lies with Lila Garrett" -- Ruth and Elaine offer media criticism. As does Ann and, at Trina's request, we're noting all of Ann's posts from last week: