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We began our third subscription drive Monday.  We've reached 29% of our goal.  We acknowledge the impact of the recession and the fact that our last drive was held in the heat of the election campaign.  Still, we're behind the pace.

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This is a momentous era, a great time to join.  So please subscribe, or donate, in the column on the right, so that we can keep going.  Urgent Agenda is needed more than ever. 

We have been flooded with e-mails in the last few days, coinciding with the start of the Obama presidency.  Each one will be answered.  Please give us a little time.  Thanks.

SATURDAY,  JANUARY 24,  2009

ENOUGH ALREADY - AT 5:44 P.M. ET:  From NewsBusters:

Wednesday’s post-inaugural edition of The Oprah Winfrey Show, taped at a Washington restaurant, overflowed with strange and messianic notions about Obama and how the thrill over him is unanimous. Actor Forest Whitaker summed it up for Oprah: "The light of the New Age is here." Oprah pal Gayle King passed along her agreement with a message that "Not only does he hear us. He feels us. That when I hear Barack Obama, they said, he talks to my soul." Whitaker also strangely claimed "we’re not used to seeing" a president and a First Lady who love each other, but the Obamas have signaled "it’s okay to love."

COMMENT:  This doesn't do the president a bit of good.  After a while, it starts looking ridiculous.  Some people need maturity lessons.  The president should be embarrassed, and should tell his friends to cool it.

HOW ENCOURAGING - AT 5:37 P.M. ET:  From The Washington Post:

MEXICO CITY -- President Felipe Calderon's war on drug trafficking has led to his own doorstep, with the arrest of a dozen high-ranking officials with alleged ties to Mexico's most powerful drug gang, the Sinaloa Cartel.

The U.S. praises Calderon for rooting out corruption at the top. But critics say the arrests reveal nothing more than a timeworn government tactic of protecting one cartel and cracking down on others.

COMMENT:  Mexico is another country that likes to lecture the United States.  It should solve some of its problems first.

MISSION IMPOSSIBLE - AT 5:33 P.M. ET:  From the Jerusalem Post:

George Mitchell will make his first trip to the region later this week as Washington's new Middle East envoy. He will hold talks with Israeli and Palestinian Authority leaders.

A Foreign Ministry official told the Associated Press that Mitchell would be arriving on Wednesday.

Sources in Jerusalem said they were eager to hear what Mitchell has to say, following on from the very positive initial contacts with both US President Barack Obama and Secretary of State Hilary Clinton.

COMMENT:  Very preliminary.  Israel votes on February 10th, so the current government is a lame-duck affair.  The Palestinians are almost in a civil war.  Why would Mitchell want a job like this?

COMING DOWN TO EARTH - AT 5:29 P.M. ET:  From The Politico:

The Gallup Poll on Saturday released the first job-approval rating for President Obama, based on interviews during his first three full days in office: 68 percent.

Now that he’s in office, Obama’s approval ratings are starting to normalize, as partisan back-and-forth picks up. Just a week ago, Gallup found an astonishing 83 percent approval of how he has handled his transition, showing he had even won over most Republicans.

COMMENT:  Please notice that there are also early references in the news to the fact that there'll be another election in two years - for Congress.  Not too early to plan.  If the economy doesn't revive by then, it's possible Republicans can make great gains.

ACTION IN AFGHANISTAN:  From The New York Times:

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) -- The U.S. coalition said Saturday that an overnight raid killed 15 Taliban militants but village elders who quickly traveled to speak with government officials said the dead were all civilians.

A detailed U.S. statement said multiple teams of militants fired on the coalition forces during a raid in the eastern province of Laghman, including a woman the U.S. said was carrying a rocket-propelled grenade.

COMMENT:  The key point here is that this occurred on Obama's watch, and his administration went forward with the raid.  There was also a missile strike into the border area with Pakistan.  Too early to detect the specifics of the Obama policy, but the fact that both attacks went forward is telling. 

DEMOCRATIC WARS

Posted at 7:43 a.m. ET

It is approaching armed combat within the Democratic Party of New York.  Sides are being chosen.  Gun stores are being emptied.  At its core:  Instead of picking Caroline Kennedy for the Senate seat vacated by Hillary Clinton, Governor David Paterson picked an upstate congresswoman backed by the NRA, someone whose apparent sin is that she doesn't do fine dining in Manhattan often enough.  The Caroline thing won't go away, as the New York Post reports:

Gov. Paterson rapped Caroline Kennedy at a private event the night before he tapped Kirsten Gillibrand for the Senate, telling guests Kennedy had been "nasty" to him and shown "disrespect" with how she bowed out, attendees told The Post.

The governor's attack came just hours after his office issued a statement wishing her well and disavowing quotes from a source close to him who had told The Post Kennedy had never been in true contention for the seat and was "mired" in personal issues.

There is now widespread talk of the Dem establishment mounting primary campaigns in 2010 against both Paterson and Gillibrand.  The Kennedy crowd is angry.  The gun-control crowd is angry.  The chic New York City feminists are angry.  And there is salt in the wound.  Again, the New York Post reports:

Gov. Paterson yesterday named upstate Rep. Kirsten Gillibrand to be the state's new US senator - but the press conference took a bizarre turn when Republican mega-lobbyist Alfonse D'Amato moved front and center.

Democrats statewide were aghast to see the former senator and GOP power broker standing close to Gillibrand on stage throughout the nationally telecast news conference that Paterson called to unveil his surprise replacement for Hillary Rodham Clinton.

The fact is that Gillibrand was once an intern for D'Amato. 

Two notes:  President Obama pointedly called Senator-designate Gillibrand to congratulate her.  Also, the Post reports, and no one denies, that allies of Hillary Clinton worked to get Gillibrand the appointment, something they'd never have done without Clinton's approval.  Clinton, understandably, did not want to be succeeded by Caroline Kennedy, who worked against her in the presidential primaries.

This is a continuing saga, with national implications.  If the New York Dems dissolve into civil war, the GOP could conceivably win Gillibrand's Senate seat, and the right GOP candidate for president might have a shot at the state in 2012.

So much fun. 

January 24, 2009.      Permalink          

MORE DISGRACE, AT 7:02 A.M. ET:  From The New York Times:

SCO Family of Services, a nonprofit agency based on Long Island, started the year with a $25 million credit line at its bank, which it planned to use to pay its bills while awaiting government reimbursements and donations.

Now, after its bank has cut its credit line twice and withdrawn a promise to support a critical bond offering, the organization is worried about whether it can pay its employees this month.

COMMENT:  Wasn't the purpose of the first bailout to get the credit markets going?  There is no accountability and not many questions asked in Washington.  Republicans should have opposed this bailout.  They should oppose new ones that don't have absolute transparency.  I'd love to know how many "executive" bonuses were paid with our money, while charities like the ones above go begging.  We, on our side, claim that we'd rather have private agencies dispense social services, rather than governments.  Let's back up the rhetoric with action.

DISGRACEFUL, AT 6:54 A.M. ET:  Get this, from Reuters, especially the second paragraph:

President Barack Obama's administration will have to "drastically revise" American policies relating to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict if Washington seeks to maintain its leadership role in the Middle East, Saudi Arabia's ambassador to the U.S. said on Friday.

In an article on the Financial Times Web site, Prince Turki al-Faisal said former President George W. Bush had left a "sickening legacy" in the Middle East.

COMMENT:  Utterly disgraceful language.  This is the ambassador to Washington from a country shoulder deep in preaching hatred of Christians and Jews, and he presumes to lecture us, and to make entirely inappropriate remarks about the former president.  It won't happen, but the proper response should be a formal protest by the State Department, and a possible demand that the ambassador be replaced.  You can be sure, though, that the Saudi lobby will make sure things are glossed over.

FRIDAY,  JANUARY 23,  2009

ADVICE FROM THE TOP - AT 9:10 P.M. ET:  From the New York Post:

WASHINGTON -- President Obama warned Republicans on Capitol Hill today that they need to quit listening to radio king Rush Limbaugh if they want to get along with Democrats and the new administration.

"You can't just listen to Rush Limbaugh and get things done," he told top GOP leaders, whom he had invited to the White House to discuss his nearly $1 trillion stimulus package.

COMMENT:  Now, do Republicans have to certify that they've thrown away their radios?  Taken the batteries out?  What if they're caught listening by the Radio Police?  Does this include car radios?  If Rush is interviewed on another show, do they have to turn that off, too?  The president should be clear on what the rules are for participation in government.  They should be written. 

THE LATEST IN CULTURE - AT 8:51 P.M. ET:  From London's Telegraph:

In tough times, celebrities are embracing what the head of Chanel has christened 'The New Modesty'

Not since bustles and smelling salts has modesty been considered a virtue. But last week Karl Lagerfeld breathed new life into a long outmoded word: "Bling is over," he declared. "I call it 'the New Modesty'." Quite how seriously we can take this sentiment from a man who wears diamond knuckledusters, bathes in Evian and still keeps close the comfort cushion he had as a 10-year-old is up for discussion, but the notion is as timely as it is wide reaching.

COMMENT:  Thought you'd like to know about the latest trend.   I give this trend a week.

DIFFERENT RULES FOR DIFFERENT GUYS - AT 8:33 P.M. ET:  From ABC News:

Two days after introducing what he heralded as the most sweeping ethics rules in American history -- ones that would "close the revolving door that lets lobbyists come into government freely" -- President Barack Obama today waived those rules for his nominee for Deputy Secretary of Defense, William Lynn.

Until last fall, Lynn was a registered lobbyist for the defense contractor Raytheon.

COMMENT:  Can you just imagine if George W. Bush had done this.

DOW DOWN - AT 4:29 P.M. ET:  The Dow closed down 45 points, at 8078.  It did manage to close above the psychological 8000 mark, but has been trending downward for most of this week.

UNBELIEVABLE - AT 3:56 P.M. ET:  I was just monitoring the TV news channels, which I do every day for Urgent Agenda, and Bush-bashing author Ron Suskind was on CNN, announcing that our intelligence capabilities will now improve because Obama is president.  Why?  Because people will like us and give us information.  Suskind claimed that human intelligence, getting information from people willing to give it, "died" under Bush.

Mr. Suskind doesn't know what he's talking about.  Human intelligence didn't die under Bush.  The fact is, we've never been very good at it.  When I was in the CIA, and that was in the sixties, one of the first things were were told was that the agency was strong on technology, weak on human intelligence.  Human intelligence depends on "native assets," citizens of a particular country who are willing to help us.  Rarely is this willingness related to how much we've loved.  It usually has more to do with money, resentments, and favors.  (We recently bribed some local chieftains in the Afghan/Pakistan border area with Viagra.)

The fact is, though, that very few people in any country will stick their necks out to help a foreign intelligence organization, even if they hate their own government.  And, by the way, about 80 percent of intelligence information is collected openly.

Mr. Suskind has seen too many James Bond movies. 

THIS JUST IN - AT 3:53 P.M. ET: 

(CNSNews.com) - Actress Susan Sarandon says that Egypt, Abu Dhabi and “the world” are impressed with the American people for selecting Barack Obama as their president.

“I know just coming back from Egypt and Abu Dhabi and other places in Europe that the world is so happy that we’ve changed direction. They’re so hopeful,” Sarandon told CNSNews.com at The Creative Coalition’s post-inauguration dinner on Tuesday night. “They are as hopeful as we are, and they are really impressed with the American people that they have taken on this guy and that uh, he’s going to be – they hope, managing things in a different way.”

COMMENT:  We're so moved that Ms. Sarandon knows what the world is thinking.  Apparently, actresses have this sixth sense.  Oh, by the way, we wonder if she knows that Egypt and Abu Dhabi are dictatorships.  Just asking.

THE TRUTH COMES OUT - AT 11:01 A.M. ET:  We asked yesterday whether President Obama's order requiring that interrogations of suspects,including terror suspects, stick to the limits of the Army Field Manual had any exceptions, secret or otherwise.  The Wall Street Journal has the important answer:

The unfine print of Mr. Obama's order is that he's allowed room for what might be called a Jack Bauer exception. It creates a committee to study whether the Field Manual techniques are too limiting "when employed by departments or agencies outside the military." The Attorney General, Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Director of National Intelligence-designate Dennis Blair will report back and offer "additional or different guidance for other departments or agencies."

In other words, Mr. Obama's Inaugural line that "we reject as false the choice between our safety and our ideals" was itself misrepresenting the choices his predecessor was forced to make. At least President Bush was candid about the practical realities of preventing mass casualties in the U.S.

COMMENT:  Bottom line - President Obama doesn't want thousands of American casualties on his head if we fail to get information from a high-value subject.  He's left the required loophole.

NOW THE DOW - AT 10:25 A.M. ET:  The Dow is down 135, to 7987, below that 8000 psychological mark.

TO THE SHRINK - AT 10:17 A.M. ET:  You just won't believe this.  From Fox News:

CHICAGO -- Illinois' embattled but defiant governor, so fond of reciting poetry as he defends himself against federal corruption allegations, has turned instead to the history books to describe the emotional strain his arrest put on him and his family.

In an interview Thursday with The Associated Press, Gov. Rod Blagojevich compared his early morning December arrest by FBI agents to Japan's 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor.

He says it was a "complete surprise" but he'll prevail, just like America in World War II.

COMMENT:  An informed source tells me that the governor's state-funded health plan includes psychiatric care.  He should avail himself of the benefit.

THERE IS FEVER, THERE IS PAIN - AT 9:20 A.M. ET:  Triple ace political writer Fred Dicker reports on the mental distress and physical pain felt by liberal New York Democrats over the selection, by Governor David Paterson, of moderate Congresswoman Kirsten Gillibrand to replace Hillary Clinton.  There is talk of revolt, of primary challenges, even against the governor himself.  Oh, it's so delicious.

MILLI VANILLI FOR LONGHAIRS - AT 8:46 A.M. ET: From The New York Times:

It was not precisely lip-synching, but pretty close.

The somber, elegiac tones before President Obama’s oath of office at the inauguration on Tuesday came from the instruments of Yo-Yo Ma, Itzhak Perlman and two colleagues. But what the millions on the Mall and watching on television heard was in fact a recording, made two days earlier by the quartet and matched tone for tone by the musicians playing along.

COMMENT:  We can't even trust our classical musicians anymore.  Civilization is near its end. 

WITH THE CLINTONS, IT'S ALWAYS SOMETHING - AT 8:37 A.M. ET:  From The Washington Times:

Former President Bill Clinton's foundation, despite identifying more than 200,000 of its donors in recent weeks, will not say who paid it windfall prices for stock in a struggling Internet firm with links to the Chinese government.

The William J. Clinton Foundation has identified donors and promised unusual transparency in order to reassure critics who fear the foundation could become the object of largesse from foreign interests seeking to influence his wife, Hillary Rodham Clinton.

COMMENT:  Influence the Clintons?  Whoever heard of such a thing?  Look, I suspect Hillary has enough smarts to insulate herself.  She's ambitious.  She doesn't want to blow it.  But money can complicate things.

DON'T TELL ME WE HAVE NOTHING TO FEAR BUT FEAR ITSELF - AT 8:29 A.M. ET:  From The New York Times:

BEIRUT, Lebanon — The emergence of a former Guantánamo Bay detainee as the deputy leader of Al Qaeda’s Yemeni branch has underscored the potential complications in carrying out the executive order President Obama signed Thursday that the detention center be shut down within a year.

The militant, Said Ali al-Shihri, is suspected of involvement in a deadly bombing of the United States Embassy in Yemen’s capital, Sana, in September. He was released to Saudi Arabia in 2007 and passed through a Saudi rehabilitation program for former jihadists before resurfacing with Al Qaeda in Yemen.

COMMENT:  Puts all the fast talk about "closing Gitmo" in a bit of perspective, ay?  Maybe the fast closers should be put in a room with parents of some Americans who'll probably be killed by this guy.  And, of course, once again the name Saudi Arabia surfaces.  You know that great ally of the United States? 

THE OBAMA STARE - AT 8:11 A.M. ET: Benny Goodman, the great band leader, used to beam a stern look at musicians who weren't playing the way he wanted them to.  It was called the ray.  Now President Obama has his own version.  From Fox News:

WASHINGTON -- President Obama paid a surprise visit to members of the White House press corps Thursday evening when he walked through their working area of the West Wing, but he quickly became agitated when he was confronted with a question by one of the journalists.

According to reports, when the Politico's Jonathan Martin asked the president about his nominee for deputy secretary of defense, William Lynn, Obama refused to answer, saying he was not there to take questions.

"I came down here to visit. I didn't come down here -- this is what happens. I can't end up visiting you guys and shaking hands if I am going to grilled every time I come down here," the president said.

Pressed further by the Politico reporter about his Pentagon nominee, Obama turned more serious, putting his hand on the reporter's shoulder and staring him in the eye.

"All right, come on" he said, with obvious irritation in his voice. "We will be having a press conference, at which time you can feel free to [ask] questions. Right now, I just wanted to say hello and introduce myself to you guys -- that's all I was trying to do," Politico.com reported.

COMMENT:  As reported here yesterday, there were also testy moments between the press corps and White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs.  Already there is some tension between the media and the new administration.  In a way, that's good for the reporters.  The more they get out of the in-the-tank-for-Obama mode, the better for all of us.

TIMELY TROUBLE - AT 8:04 A.M. ET:  More signs of financial disaster at The New York Times.  From The New York Times:

The New York Times Company is in advanced negotiations to sell a substantial portion of its 52-story headquarters building on Eighth Avenue in Midtown Manhattan to W. P. Carey & Company, an investment and management firm that specializes in so-called sale-leaseback transactions, the newspaper company confirmed on Thursday.

COMMENT:  The building was just built.  There are still factory warranties on the equipment.  The Times is in serious trouble, and does not want to confront the fact that its product just isn't as respected as it once was.  That is why readers drop away, and fewer readers means less advertising.  This is an important story because The Times is still the most influential journalistic institution in the country.   

THE STRANGEST BEDFELLOWS - AT 7:58 A.M. ET: From The Jerusalem Post:

Israel made a "big mistake" by ending Operation Cast Lead without overthrowing the Hamas regime in the Gaza Strip, a Palestinian Authority official in Ramallah said on Thursday.

His remarks came as the PA security forces intensified their crackdown on Hamas in the West Bank.

"It was a big mistake to end the war this way," the official said. "The fact that Hamas is still in power is bad for all."

The PA leadership had decided to take draconian measures to thwart any attempt by Hamas to stir unrest in the West Bank, the official also said.

COMMENT:  The Palestinians are in a near civil-war situation.  The more moderate (comparatively) wing, the Palestinian Authority, is in conflict with Hamas, a radical Islamic group.  The PA official is right:  Once again, under international pressure, Israel withdrew before the job was done.  Soon, though, Israel will have a new government - elections are scheduled for next month - and maybe some better strategic planning will result. 

IN TODAY'S EPISODE...

Posted at 7:22 a.m. ET

CUE ORGAN MUSIC:  In today's episode, Caroline Kennedy, daughter of fame and fortune, is crushed by press reports saying that she had to bow out of the race to replace Hillary Clinton in the Senate because of problems involving taxes, a nanny, and possibly her marriage.

ORGAN MUSIC UP:  At the same time, David Paterson, wily governor of New York and son of Democratic power Basil Paterson, is ready to appoint Kirsten Gillibrand, upstate congresswoman, to Clinton's seat.

PATRIOTIC ORGAN MUSIC:  Meanwhile, back at the State Department, Hillary Clinton, who has it in for Caroline because Caroline backed Obama in the primaries, is in her glory, with a wide smile, introducing the president and vice president to the State Department staff.  She is satisfied that Caroline didn't get her seat.

SINISTER ORGAN MUSIC:  But in Albany, State Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, son of the powerful Mario, and who was once married to Caroline's cousin, and who wanted to be senator, steams over the rejection by the hated David, and plots revenge as he paces his office.

HAPPY ORGAN MUSIC:  As all this is going on, Rose, daughter of Caroline, whoops it up at Harvard, hanging with guitarist Mike Einziger, who's some kind of important music guy.

FUNEREAL ORGAN MUSIC:  Watching are liberal Dems, seething, angry, weeping, because new Senator Kirsten Gillibrand is backed by the NRA.  There is talk of revenge, plots, betrayal.

Brought to you by Tide, for whiter whites and bluer blues.  Tune in tomorrow...

January 23, 2009.      Permalink