The Truthers Are Out There

This just in from Conspiracy Theory Central: Osama was already dead. No, wait, he's really still alive. The CIA assassination of the world's most hated mass murderer was a monumental hoax, perpetrated by a desperate United States government for the purpose of further bending us to its nefarious will. The so-called insta-DNA testing was a sham; everybody knows it takes days to get results. The dead sister's brain was really Osama's brain in a jar. The White House photo that had Hillary holding a hand to her mouth to stifle a horrified gasp was really the cabinet watching a cheesy rerun of "24".  The possibilities are endless. 



"Hey. Over Here! Anybody Seen My Dialysis Machine?"



"Think about it," writes columnist and former Reagan Treasury Secretary Paul Craig Roberts. "What are the chances that a person allegedly suffering from kidney disease and requiring dialysis and, in addition, afflicted with diabetes and low blood pressure, survived in mountain hideaways for a decade?  If bin Laden was able to acquire dialysis equipment and medical care that his condition required, would not the shipment of dialysis equipment point to his location? Why did it take ten years to find him?.....This morning’s headline has the odor of a staged event.  The smell reeks from the triumphalist news reports loaded with exaggerations, from celebrants waving flags and chanting'USA USA.' Could something else be going on?"

Conspiracy theories usually pop up after the death of a larger than life figure.  Elvis sightings have been reported since he succumbed to a drug overdose. Princess Diana is hiding out somewhere with her lover Dodi: she staged her own death to get away from the paparazzi.  Truther Kevin Barrett claims Bin Laden has actually been dead since shortly after the terror attacks. "If in fact US authorities suspected Osama Bin Laden was involved with 9/11, and was still alive, they would have pulled out all the stops to take him alive" Barrett blogged. " And if they had screwed up royally and killed him, would they have immediately dumped the body at sea?! Given the formidable case that Bin Laden died in 2001, obviously US authorities would have taken pains to prove to a skeptical world that the corpse or specter or whatever it was they possessed was the real Bin Laden. Feeding the body to the fishes so fast looks...well, calling it 'fishy' would be an insult to the scaly denizens of the deep."  

No doubt about it - conspiracy theories are fun. I used to love wrapping myself up in the weekly paranoid cocoon of tongue-in-cheek "X-Files" episodes.  The only trouble is, I don't think our government is smart enough to have concocted such a convoluted fraud as a fake Osama assassination.  Too many people were involved.  The truth is out there, all right. A group of highly trained Navy Seals* took out a murderous creep and now the politicians are using it to their own advantage.  That seems pretty above-board to me.

* Update 5/4:  I took some well-deserved criticism from a reader, John from Louisiana, over my original characterization of the squad as "killing machines."  I have revised my copy accordingly. A more apt description is that the military utilizes its members as machines of war, damages their psyches in many instances, but by no means robs them of their core humanity. I stand corrected and thank John for his thoughtful commentary. 

How to Spend a Windfall in Political Capital

President Obama is having a very good week.  He actually got Donald Trump to zip his trap and go away. The killing of the world's worst terrorist and one of the most hated men in history went off without a hitch.  If Republicans aren't enthusiastically praising him, they are at least having the good sense to keep their mouths shut.*

Obama has got himself some real power, some political capital he has not possessed since his inauguration.  The question is, what will he do with it?

Will he strong-arm his opponents and push through legislation that's been stagnating in the doldrums?  If he were to march to Capitol Hill and demand passage of the DREAM Act, for example, can you imagine sourpuss Mitch McConnell responding that his main goal is not to give the president a second term?  Now is the time for Obama to come out swinging for Elizabeth Warren as permanent head of the Consumer Financial Protection Agency and show he will stand up for the middle class.

  He must capitalize on this National Assassination Celebration. Political good moods are temporary things.  George Bush the Elder had 90 percent approval ratings after the routing of Iraq from Kuwait and not long after was soundly defeated by Bill Clinton.  It was the economy, stupid -- remember?

Now is also the time to declare Mission Accomplished in Afghanistan and start bringing the troops home, ahead of the tenuous July drawdown schedule.  Otherwise, the excuses for staying will start multiplying like rabbits. Clean breaks are better than compound fractures.  Let the President point to the reduction in the defense budget as a reason to start investing in jobs and infrastructure here at home.

The next few weeks will be crucial.  Progressives will be putting Obama to the test.  If he continues to intone the Bipartisan Mantra and stall on important legislation and invite the same old compromise, I will throw up my hands in despair. He has proven he is no Jimmy Carter, so he shouldn't feel he has to be Jimmy Carter.

And if he continues to talk about civility being an end in itself, we should simply point out this incontrovertible fact.  Mr. President -- you just ordered an assassination.  So how about kicking a little Republican ass for a change?  Prove once and for all you are not one of them. Either seize the day or watch your newfound support crumble as fast as it was resurrected. 

* Update 5/9 -  Wow, was that wishful thinking or what?  What a difference a week and 2500 cable news shows make. Cheney, Cheney, Condi, Rummy, Fredo, Mukasey... all the ghouls have arisen from the grave.

Osama is Dead, But We're Still in a Mess

Killing Osama bin Laden was like squashing an aged infertile spider long after it had already spawned thousands of genetic copies of itself to keep the toxin spreading.  While I'm happy that this monster no longer draws breath, neither am I dancing in the streets and waving the American flag.  I am glad if survivors and relatives of 9/11 victims are able to find closure today. I'll be really glad if the President uses the occasion to declare "Mission Accomplished: the troops are coming home!" -- but we know that's not gonna happen.  

While I was awaiting the President's speech last night, I endured Wolf Blitzer and John King's pontifications on the Most Important Day Ever, in the History of the Entire Universe.  During a lull, Wolf conducted a telephone interview with a New York City firefighter who spent days at Ground Zero and subsequently developed cancer, probably from breathing in all those toxins the EPA blithely assured us were all perfectly innocuous.  The exchange ended like this (No transcript - I am paraphrasing).

Firefighter:  "And now that we finally got him, I hope that we can bring the troops home from Afghani-"

Blitzer:  "Back to you, John!  I see since our cameras lit up the scene in front of the White House, thousands are gathering and singing The Star Spangled Banner!" 

Cynic that I am, I have to wonder about that massive compound surrounded by razor wire, practically right next door to Pakistan's version of West Point, going unnoticed all these years.  Doesn't the CIA have Google Earth?  Didn't they talk to the neighbors, who have noticed for a long time that the occupants of the compound never brought out any freaking garbage?  Does the timing have anything to do with the killing of K-Daffy's grandkids by a NATO strike getting all that bad press?  Did they think Osama's death would cancel out that collateral damage?

I don't know.  Meanwhile, let's forget all about this week's congressional deregulation of the financial industry and the Treasury's plan to exempt trillions of dollars of foreign exchange trades from any pesky oversight. Let's pretend there is not 25 percent real unemployment and show the nervous markets how confident we all feel.  Let's all go shopping and take in a Broadway show.

DREAM Act May Become Obama's Campaign Nightmare

The President told them "No, I can't." So the fastest-growing voting demographic in the country may soon be telling him that they can't, either. Latinos are losing patience with the tired old refrain of "the Republicans won't let me."

 Presente.Org, one of the nation's largest Hispanic advocacy groups, is asking its members for input on a formal plan to withdraw active support for the president's re-election, in light of his continued failure to exert executive power to defer the deportation of a million DREAM Act candidates.


The action comes on the heels of a letter delivered to Obama earlier this month by 22 Democratic senators. who begged him to draw the same line in the sand against deportations, for humanitarian reasons.  Obama said No, he couldn't. Not without the Republicans.  He invited Hispanic leaders and celebrities to schmooze and absorb his charm offensive in the White House on Thursday.  As much as he is totally cool with  the DREAM act... well, without Republican cooperation -- No, he can't.  He is using the same strategy as that long and winding road to the repeal of DADT. Without that almighty bipartisan support, it would not get done, even though he could have gotten it done a lot sooner and saved a lot of gay troops a lot of heartache. 


From the Presente email:

"Since the DREAM Act was defeated last December, the over one million young people who would qualify have become more vulnerable than ever to immigration raids, deportations, and separation from their families. In fact, DREAMers, undocumented immigrant youth who came to the US as children, are actively being served deportation orders even though the President has said they are not an enforcement priority. At the same time, his administration has been deporting non-criminal immigrants at a higher rate than the Bush administration.President Obama has promised to fight for Comprehensive Immigration Reform and has been a vocal supporter of the DREAM Act. He has repeatedly called on Congress to act on these issues, and Congress has repeatedly failed. We, along with numerous elected officials, religious leaders, and community groups believe the President must use his executive powers to draw a line in the sand, and that that line should be the deportation of DREAM-eligible students.President Obama has said that he does not have the authority to suspend the deportations of a select group like the DREAMers, but that's simply not the case. For this reason, Presente.org is considering a campaign through which our members would threaten to not actively work on the reelection campaign unless the President uses his Executive Power to stop the deportation of DREAM eligible youth.  Often, the President has asked us to force his hand in advancing progressive policies. We think now is the time to take him up on that proposal, but we need to know whether you are behind us."  (Yes I am and yes we can).

The DREAM Act, passed last year in the still-Democratic House but defeated in the Senate, would allow undocumented immigrants under the age of 30 who were brought to the country before they were 16 and have been living in the U.S. continuously for five years to be eligible for conditional non-immigrant status.



Thursday's White House Photo-Op  -- DREAM on, La Gente





Presente joins a growing number of Latino leaders and groups becoming increasingly vocal in their disappointment with Obama's failure to get immigration reform done.  Despite paying lip service ad nauseum and ad infinitum to changing the system, and insisting he is committed to an overhaul, his  Administration deported a record 393,000 immigrants last year. That is more than during the Bush Administration. Other enforcement tactics during his tenure also have drawn criticism in the immigrant and Hispanic communities.  He recently okayed the use of Drone aircraft to catch people at the border.

Over the weekend, according to AP, Illinois Democratic Rep. Luis Gutierrez, who helped rally Hispanic voters to support Obama during the 2008 campaign, told a Chicago crowd he was not sure he could back Obama in 2012 if the president did not step up immigration changes.  This, in the President's home state!


Si, se puede, Obama hollowly promised the crowds of Spanish-speaking supporters during his campaign. Just not right now. And that huge, powerful demographic is talking right back. No nos mienten.


P.S.  All I had heard about this story in the mainstream media was the fact that Eva Longoria came out to meet the press from the Oval Office wearing false eyelashes and a skintight dress. Other attendees fled through back entrances, but as the president's new official immigration adviser, Eva talked about how much Obama cares. If Donald has spokesmodels, why can't Barack? 





New Immigration Adviser, Pictured at a White House State Dinner:  A Tough DREAM Act to Follow

 

Word Barfs and Dark Alleys



Fighting the Good Fight

 Acting Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Director Elizabeth Warren doesn't mince words.  Now that the agency is under attack by Republicans at the behest of their Wall Street backers, she is fighting back with a vengeance. If the banksters aren't confusing us with what she calls "word barfs in contracts" they're dragging us into dark alleys and sticking a knife in our ribs.  Watch this clip of Warren talking to Jon Stewart on "The Daily Show" earlier this week.


 http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/tue-april-26-2011/elizabeth-warren


Despite huge popular support, Warren may even be in danger of losing her job as well as the whole bureau. According to a report from Reuters, there are still those within the Obama Administration who think she is too controversial a choice to lead the agency she created.  Translation: they're afraid of her and her growing citizen-backed power.  If Obama has any guts, he'll publicly come to her defense,  forget about a stupid Senate confirmation battle, and name her via a recess appointment  He is kind of in a sticky situation, now that he's running for re-election and trying to hypnotize people into thinking he's a born-again progressive.  Now is his chance to prove it, or at least make a good-faith effort at proving it.  He does know how to use the bully pulpit when he wants to.  Witness his impassioned speech castigating Paul Ryan's roadmap to perdition.  Although a recess appointment for Warren would be temporary, it would give her that much more time to dig in until a Senate confirmation is mandated in another year.


But all is not smooth in The White House. There is disagreement among Barack Obama's aides over whether it would be "wise" for him to take on a highly visible fight over either a recess appointment or a confirmation for Warren in the U.S. Senate.  Not surprisingly, she has run into some really nasty opposition  from Republicans who say she would be too confrontational toward the financial industry.  But there  are also some Democrats in the mix of foes.  Among them, reportedly, is Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, who has been pointedly lukewarm toward her from the get-go.  Geithner, former chairman of the New York Fed, has long been viewed as a loyal friend of Wall Street. He has in several interviews damned her with faint praise, with nonchalant remarks to the effect of she is a fine woman... she would make a fine chairman... she is definitely on the short list.  But never a ringing endorsement, not by a long stretch.

So now, anonymous Administration sources are saying, the talk revolves around appointing an "associate" of Warren in yet another Obama Compromise, aka capitulation.But picking anyone other than Warren could be problematic and could lead to an immediate revolt from "The Base", according to Reuters


On the Republican side, there are two bills pending in the House of Representatives that aim to "defang" the agency, Warren says. The first, sponsored by Spencer Bachus (R-AL), chairman of the Financial Services Committee, would transform the CFPB leadership into a five-person board, thus diluting its power. The second, promulgated by Wisconsin Rep.Sean Duffy, would in turn make a bipartisan, separate agency approved by the same Financial Services Committee and Congress the regulator of Warren's agency. They are not even trying to hide their cynical collusion. 


Warren, a Harvard professor who headed a panel that investigated government bank bailouts during the financial crisis, has been mentioned as a possible candidate to challenge Massachusetts Republican Senator Scott Brown, who must seek re-election in 2012.  So far, though, Brown's poll numbers are looking good.  If I were advising Warren, I'd tell her to stay right where she is and fight.  We have her back.  Besides, the Obama administration would probably love nothing more than for her to resign and challenge Brown.... and just go away.  Elizabeth Warren has been around long enough to know how the game is played.  The fact that she's stuck it out this long in the cutthroat world of Inside the Beltway speaks volumes for her power and influence.

And the fact is that the powerful men who are lashing out at her are only serving to betray their own fears and insecurities. They are eminently vulnerable. 

P.S.  Thanks to Kate and Valerie for reminding me to cover this.

P.P.S.  Links in Comments don't work, (thanks again Valerie) so here is where to find the members of the House Financial Services Committee:
http://financialservices.house.gov/singlepages.aspx?NewsID=397

Update 4/30 --  The subcommittee hearings on the proposed legislation will be held on May 4 beginning at 10 a.m.  Details can be found here.

The New York Times Princess Diaries

Ross Douthat, token junior conservative at The New York Times, thinks we Americans are aching for a monarchy to keep us down where we belong.  In his blog today, he posits that we the need the pomp and circumstance and sheer stabilizing control of queens and kings, princes and princesses -- and that our current regalization of politicians and personalities just does not satisfy that yearning.


At least The Times has had the good sense to allow Douthat only one full column a week, on Mondays -- and that one goes head to head with Paul Krugman.  So poor Ross doesn't garner all that much attention.  To compensate, he appears to be aiming toward outlandishness.  From writing about fear of hell as being the best reason to be good human beings, to glorifying the monarchy today, this young man is all over the map.  One week he's Cotton Mather in a Brooks Brothers suit spewing watered-down fire and brimstone. Today he's stuck in a Disney princess movie.  And if we common folk can't admit that deep down in our little peasant hearts we don't yearn to be crushed by a bejewelled despot, then we're the crazy ones.

Cinderella Man

 "But even the American experience suggests that the anti-monarchical temper...  is ultimately artificial and unnatural, a triumph of theory over instinct and idealism over human nature. In their hearts, most people want a king and queen."  --- Ross Douthat.




Speak for yourself, Ross.  Better yet, don't speak at all.  Or try to find a job at a Fleet Street tabloid. I hate to clue you in, but the Brits are pretty damn sick of the monarchy themselves. Check this out, Douthat:



"In their hearts, most people want a king and queen..."



Disingenuous Disinvitatons

The King of Bahrain was disinvited from Kate and William's wedding because of violence against his own people. Andrew Breitbart was disinvited from election night coverage by ABC last year when an uproar by activist groups over his race baiting shamed them into it. Birther-in-Chief Donald Trump, as of this writing, has not yet been disinvited by The Washington Post to the White House Correspondents' Dinner, which will also be attended by the President. If Obama even bothers showing up (and I wouldn't blame him if he didn't) I hope he uses the occasion to subject Trump and all the prom-goers to another public shaming.  Since Stephen Colbert is not this year's entertainment, Obama should nevertheless use him as speechwriter.


Ezra Klein tweeted his profound embarrassment at his paper's association with Trump, but other than that, the paper has remained mum.  But really, the entire mainstream press is to blame, even those who continue to half-heartedly debunk the birthers.  When every respectable media outlet follows the debunking with poll numbers revealing that most Republicans don't believe Obama is a natural-born citizen, they are only perpetuating the myth.  Even Lawrence O'Donnell, successor in bombast to Keith Olbermann, keeps the story alive by publicly calling for NBC to fire Trump and then invites loony birther Orly Taitz on his show for the sole purpose of kicking her off.  Even Oprah keeps the story alive by inviting the Obamas on her show and asking "what took you so long?"  Even I am keeping the story alive by blogging about it, so I'll shut up now.  In case you missed them, here are my two New York Times comments on the issue, published today:


http://community.nytimes.com/comments/www.nytimes.com/2011/04/28/opinion/28thu1.html?permid=26#comment26


http://community.nytimes.com/comments/www.nytimes.com/2011/04/28/opinion/28collins.html?permid=1#comment1

One last thought before shutting up:  Obama is coming out of this looking mighty good.