Global Warming And The Old Confederacy

Tuvalu comprises nine coral atolls between Australia and Hawaii. Their highest point is 15 feet above sea level. As sea level has risen, Tuvalu has experienced lowland flooding. Saltwater intrusion is adversely affecting drinking water and food production. Tuvalu's leaders predict that the nation will be submerged in 50 years. The map above isn't Tuvalu; it's Florida by 2100 if the oceans continue to rise

I was struck by something in Ken's Monday night post about The South. He quotes Garry Wills, a son of The South, explaining how "the current South is willing to cut off its own nose to show contempt for the government," citing the case of Florida Gov. Rick Scott turning down $2 billion-plus for a high-speed rail system "that would have created jobs and millions of dollars in revenues" ("in this mood, his forebears would have turned down TVA") as well as encroachments like federal money for better health care (which "no one needs more than the South"), not to mention possible government largesse for education ("preferring to inoculate its children against science by denying evolution"). The part that I couldn't get out of my mind though was when Wills asserted that "No part of the country will suffer the effects of global warming earlier or with more devastation than the South, yet its politicians resist measures to curb carbon emissions and deny the very existence of climate change-- sending it to the dungeon with evolution and biblical errancy. One doesn't need much imagination to see the South with lowered or swollen waters in its rivers and ports, raging kudzu, swarming mosquitos, and record-breaking high temperatures, still telling itself that global-warming talk is just a liberal conspiracy. But it just digs deeper in denial. The South has decided to be defeated and dumb..." And they are absolutely positive they are entitled to their own facts and their own reality.

In Monday's Inaugural Address, President Obama infuriated Confederate Republicans by bringing up Climate Change. “We will respond to the threat of climate change, knowing that the failure to do so would betray our children and future generations. Some may still deny the overwhelming judgment of science, but none can avoid the devastating impact of raging fires, and crippling drought, and more powerful storms." Guess who saw that as a slap to their faces? And he even brought God into it... something they believe only they are allowed to invoke. “The path toward sustainable energy sources will be long and sometimes difficult. But America cannot resist this transition; we must lead it. We cannot cede to other nations the technology that will power new jobs and new industries-- we must claim its promise. That is how we will maintain our economic vitality and our national treasure-- our forests and waterways; our croplands and snowcapped peaks. That is how we will preserve our planet, commanded to our care by God. That’s what will lend meaning to the creed our fathers once declared."

This is a tough one politically. Republican financial backers-- Big Energy (which has dumped over a quarter billion dollars into lobbying Congress last year alone and has spent $419,749,114 on political races since 1990, almost all of it going to Republicans and Blue Dogs)-- have demanded that slowing down amelioration of Climate Change be non-negotiable. They have taken their case to the public, spending millions of dollars on misleading advertising and other media efforts. And it's paid off. The public is confused and unsure about global warming, climate change and Science itself.

According to the poll, which was conducted last week, 49% agree with the White House that global warming is a proven fact and is due to emissions from cars, power plants and factories. That's twice as high as the number who say that global warming has not been proven, as well as the 24% who say that it is a proven fact but is not due to manmade sources. But the 49% figure is down seven points from 2007.

There's an expected partisan divide on the question, with two-thirds of Democrats saying global warming is man made. That number drops to 48% among independent voters and is at 28% among Republicans.

The president tried and failed in his first term to get a climate change bill through Congress.

If you get your information from Fox or from someone who gets it from Fox, chances are you are living in a universe constructed by the Koch brothers and other right-wing extremists looking to make a buck while destroying the planet. And there's a good chance you believe the Sandy Hook massacre was a hoax perpetrated by Obama so he could grab your guns. How do you argue with people like these?

“We need to make sure that we tackle climate change in these next four years and this president is going to do it,” Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, wearing his traditional ten-gallon hat and bolo tie, told the crowd Monday night.

“We are going to lift our game in the interlocking challenges of climate change and energy,” said John Holdren, who is Obama’s top science adviser.

“Energy and climate policy are going to be a top priority,” added Heather Zichal, the top White House energy and climate aide.

...“On public lands alone, we have already permitted 10,400 megawatts of renewable energy power in the United States,” said Salazar, who is stepping down in March.

“We are going to achieve the President’s goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 17 percent by 2020,” Zichal told the crowd.

Other speakers included Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Chairman Jon Wellinghoff, Navy Secretary Ray Mabus, and Energy Secretary Steven Chu.

Obama administration officials have touted several first-term policies like substantially toughening auto mileage standards, but the administration also faced setbacks on climate change and energy, including the collapse of emissions-capping legislation in Congress.

The president has yet to fill in the details of his second-term climate agenda.

Climate advocates are pushing for several executive actions. Among them: Environmental Protection Agency's establishment of carbon emissions standards for existing power plants.

Vermont's Independent Senator Bernie Sanders was relieved to hear Obama speak up so forcefully on Climate Change. I wish my own two senators would release statements as thoughtful and positive:

“The president is right to make action on global warming a central goal of his administration. The overwhelming scientific consensus is clear. Unless we take bold action soon the temperature of our planet could rise by up to 8 degrees Fahrenheit. That would be catastrophic. The Senate is about to vote on more than $50 billion in aid to help recover from Hurricane Sandy and insurers tell us that is only a fraction of the price we will continue to pay for extreme natural disasters made worse by our warming planet.

“While the president can, and must, move aggressively to use executive powers to reduce pollution and reject harmful projects like the Keystone XL pipeline, he also must help lead an effort to pass strong legislation that moves our nation away from polluting fossil fuels and toward energy efficiency and sustainable energy.

“Next month, I will introduce comprehensive legislation that will charge the fossil fuel corporations a fee for their carbon pollution. My legislation will end fossil fuel subsidies, and as the president called for, make historic investments in energy efficiency and sustainable energy technologies such as wind, solar, geothermal and biomass. This bill will also ensure that all Americans receive a rebate to offset any efforts by the fossil fuel companies to jack up their prices.

“The president and Congress have made some good progress in his first term, including significant investments in clean energy and strong new fuel economy standards for cars and trucks. To put meaning into the words he eloquently expressed in his Inaugural Address, and to protect our planet for our children and grandchildren, we must do much, much more. We must do nothing less than transform our energy system away from fossil fuels into energy efficiency and sustainable energy. When we do that we will not only lead the world in a new direction but create millions of jobs in the United States.”

Obama's Inaugural Speech Was About Ordinary American Families, Not About Republican Politicians In DC

Far right congressmen like Steve King (R-IA) found President Obama off-putting

The GOP just doesn't get it. The President fired up the country with an inspiring Inaugural speech filled with hope and promise-- what South Dakota Republican lunkhead John Thune disapprovingly referred to as "30,000-foot stuff." Thune will never understand the kind of speech President Obama gave; that's why he's a Republican. This was a speech for the American people, not for grubby Republican politicians who immediately went into victim mode, whining that Obama didn't offer them any reconciliation. What clowns!

The President-- as guilty as any politician of almost always pandering to the middle class-- offered hope to the millions of American families living in poverty today, if not to multimillionaire right-wing Members of Congress like John McCain (R-AZ- $10.35 million), Michael McCaul (R-TX- $294.21 million), Darrell Issa (R-CA- $220.40 million), Vern Buchanan (R-FL- $44.21 million), Bob Corker (R-TN- $21.18 million) and Mike Kelly (R-PA- $11.90 million). And President Obama became the first president in history to use the Inaugural address to fold millions of gay and lesbian citizens into the Great American Family. I'm surprised none of them had heart attacks when the President said, "We, the people, declare today that the most evident of truths-- that all of us are created equal-- is the star that guides us still; just as it guided our forebears through Seneca Falls, and Selma, and Stonewall." Paying homage to a bunch of Feminazis and runaway slaves is bad enough if you're a Republican but to refer to a mob of transvestites in New York City beating up policemen who had been abusing and exploiting them and thereby getting the whole gay-liberation war rolling... how that must have inflamed cowardly obdurate closet queens like Lindsay Graham (R-SC), Trent Franks (R-AZ), Miss McConnell (R-KY), Patrick McHenry (R-NC), Aaron Schock (R-IL), Dave Camp (R-MI) and the rest. "Our journey," he continued, "is not complete until our gay brothers and sisters are treated like anyone else under the law." To a fearful Republican like any of the above, these are scary partisan words, red flags and danger signals.

Phrases like "the patriots of 1776 did not fight to replace the tyranny of a king with the privileges of a few or the rule of a mob" and "through blood drawn by lash and blood drawn by sword, we learned that no union founded on the principles of liberty and equality could survive half-slave and half-free" were no doubt interpreted by Republicans as affronts to their ideology-- if not outright attacks on everything they and their party stands for. "Together," he intoned, "we determined that a modern economy requires railroads and highways to speed travel and commerce; schools and colleges to train our workers." That isn't what you learn in Asshole 101 at Republican College. Republican senators don't identify with the goals and aspirations of ordinary Americans; they're not part of that "we." So they were furious that Obama excluded them. and they're not part of these "togethers": "together, we discovered that a free market only thrives when there are rules to ensure competition and fair play" and "together, we resolved that a great nation must care for the vulnerable, and protect its people from life’s worst hazards and misfortune." It probably took all they could muster to just not stand up and walk out in disgust, or start screeching like Joe Wilson (R-SC) once did at a formal televised speech.

“I would have liked to have seen some outreach,” said Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), who lost to Obama in the 2008 presidential race. “This is the eighth [inauguration] that I've been to and always there's been a portion of the speech where [the president says], 'I reach out my hand because we need to work together.’ That wasn't in this speech."

...Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) said she believed Obama intended to reach out to Republicans in his second term, but that the speech strayed too far toward partisan rhetoric... “I had hoped his speech would be a little less partisan than it was at times, but I nevertheless think he intends to reach out and work together, and I liked the diversity of the program,” Collins said.

McCain himself must have found it personally galling to have the president dare to say-- and right in front of him-- that "We, the people, still believe that enduring security and lasting peace do not require perpetual war." McCain's entire disgraceful career is based on perpetual war. He surely must have felt very much the odd man out in terms of what normal Americans hear when someone makes a pitch for ending war. And the KKK member of the Senate, Alabama's always confused and fact-averse Jeff Sessions summed up the reaction from all his Confederate colleagues who are mortified to see an African-American in the White House: "The president just doesn’t get it. No economic plan can succeed that ignores our staggering and surging debt." Steve King (R-IA), probably the biggest troll in the House, was flipping out because the President dared to address Global Warming as a problem that has to be faced and dealt with. His remarks on climate change “took me back a little bit,” said King. No doubt. Perhaps he could have won King over by admitting the Sandy Hook massacre was a hoax he had perpetrated so he could grab everyone's guns. Short of that... there's probably not much the President could say to please the hard-core anti-democracy America-haters like Sessions and King.

Easily the most extreme right senator outside the old Confederacy, is Wisconsin reactionary Ron Johnson. He was whining that Obama's speech wasn't all about dismantling Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid, Johnson's priorities. “We as Republicans have to show the American people this is what the problem is, this is how serious it is, this is why it needs to be addressed... That’s always been the problem with this president. He gives wonderful speeches, his rhetoric is phenomenal, but he does the exact opposite. He says, ‘I’m willing to work with you’ and then he doesn’t. It’s very disappointing.” And one of the "big thinkers" behind modern Republican Party politics, Fox TV clown Bill O'Reilly, asserts that Obama won't help the GOP end the social safety net because he sees Republicans as “purveyors of white privilege.” O'Reilly celebrated Martin Luther King Day on his hate-filled show by baring his racist fangs:

“It's pretty clear that [Obama] doesn't like them because he doesn't feel-- he feels that they are the purveyors of white privilege. He's never going to say that, but that's the theme that runs through his advisors: The white privilege has to be broken down.”

Boehner Whispered A Message When No One Was Looking

As you can see in the video above, while President Obama was being inaugurated 4 years ago, Republican leaders were plotting against the country to make him look bad so he would be easier to defeat 4 years hence. That worked out badly for them. Yesterday, in the middle of the Inaugural ceremonies for President Obama's second term, Boehner timed a news dump that would otherwise have made headlines, headlines Republicans are very split over. Later today most Republicans in the House will vote with the Democrats to raise the debt limit. That shouldn't be a big deal-- it's very routine in fact-- except that it's been ginned up by far right extremists who have given it a crossing-the-Rubicon kind of pseudo-significance. AP:

Republican officials say the House will vote Wednesday on an increase in the nation's debt limit, a move designed to prevent a first-ever government default.

The vote marks a change in strategy for House Republicans who run the chamber and who remain adamant about reducing government spending but decided not to use the debt limit to trigger a confrontation with President Barack Obama.

The Speaker had the Rules Committee post the legislation by Boehner puppet Dave Camp as everyone in DC headed off to the Inaugural ceremonies. There's an unconstitutional stipulation in it that suspends congressional pay if they don't pass a budget by April 15. If these defenders on the Constitution actually read it, they would know that Congress can't pass any laws about their own salaries during the session. They can penalize the next Congress, but not the current one. Abram Brown at Forbes gave a simple explanation of how to solve the debt ceiling "crisis" once and for all:

Placing debt under Congressional authority is suppose to help restrain the spendthrift nature that defines Washington, D.C. Fact is, the debt ceiling is more a plot device for Beltway drama than an effective way to restore fiscal sensibility.

By Republican posturing today you’d think that they always voted against any more debt. Wrong. In 2003, 2004 and 2006, Senate Republicans led the push for increasing it. They did so because, at least for the past decade, the majority party has been the one to engineer the necessary support for increasing the debt ceiling. By turn, Democrats orchestrated it in 2009 and 2010. Only when one party controls the White House and another Congress did debt ceiling votes become bipartisan.

The minority party always votes in opposition because it allows an easy opportunity to smear the majority. Indebtedness is, unquestionably, a risk to fiscal stability-- be it a company’s or a country’s. The minority scores easy points against rivals by painting them as imprudent.

Financial bona fides aside, increases to the debt ceiling at such moments are critical. Without it, the U.S. defaults on its debt. That would throw financial markets into a state quite like… well, we don’t actually know. It’s never happened. The crisis it would cause among U.S. creditors is almost unimaginable. Even the mere suggestion that it might nearly propelled the U.S. into another recession in 2011. And it would also force a darkening of more than 40% of the government, further exacerbating the situation.

...That both parties extended U.S. indebtedness in the past decade show the gamesmanship behind the debt ceiling. It’s time to change the rules for the better.

The latest attempts by GOP radicals to use the debt ceiling to wreck the government entirely, inspired Jerry Nadler (D-NY) and five other members of the Progressive Caucus-- Hank Johnson (D-GA), Jim Moran (D-VA), Jan Schakowsky (D-IL), Keith Ellison (D-MN) and Peter Welch (D-VT)-- to propose new legislation meant to abolish the debt ceiling entirely. Like Brown, they see as superfluous and just another impediment for partisan childishness or, in this case, right-wing domestic terrorists, to use as a weapon of sabotage against further economic recovery and against their bane, equality. According to Nadler, "Only a year-and-a-half after the last disastrous debt ceiling debate, House Republican leaders plan to use the same political brinksmanship again this year in order to impose their extreme and economically regressive agenda on the American people. A repeal of the debt ceiling would allow Congress to move forward with legislation that actually promotes jobs, economic recovery and growth... The modern debt ceiling, set in 1939 based on amendments to the Second Liberty Bond Act of 1917, consolidated federal debts in order to provide the U.S. Treasury more flexibility to reduce interest costs and minimize financial risks. In the 1980s and early 1990s, the House of Representatives, at times, used a mechanism, referred to as the Gephardt Rule, to automatically increase the debt ceiling to keep pace with annual congressional spending. In the last 10 years, Congress has voted to increase the debt ceiling 10 times. The 2011 debt ceiling face-off reflected a shift from 30 years of clean debt ceiling increases and resulted in Standard & Poor’s downgrading of the U.S. economy for the first time in history."

It looks like Boehner and Cantor decided they'd better not fight that battle at this time. Smart move on their part. But I can't wait to hear what the Republican House extremists like Steve King, Louie Gohmert, Paul Broun, Tom Price, Tim Huelskamp, Patrick McHenry, Steve Stockman, Trey Redel and the other psychopaths have to say. Tomorrow!

You probably listened to Obama's Inaugural address live yesterday. I just figured I'd excerpt a few paragraphs that sounded... well, like he made history. I mean, this really was a great Inaugural speech... although, I dare say, it must have driven Republicans insane. He undermined the entire basis of their existence.

Today we continue a never-ending journey, to bridge the meaning of those words with the realities of our time. For history tells us that while these truths may be self-evident, they have never been self-executing; that while freedom is a gift from God, it must be secured by His people here on Earth. The patriots of 1776 did not fight to replace the tyranny of a king with the privileges of a few or the rule of a mob. They gave to us a Republic, a government of, and by, and for the people, entrusting each generation to keep safe our founding creed.

For more than two hundred years, we have.

Through blood drawn by lash and blood drawn by sword, we learned that no union founded on the principles of liberty and equality could survive half-slave and half-free.  We made ourselves anew, and vowed to move forward together.

Together, we determined that a modern economy requires railroads and highways to speed travel and commerce; schools and colleges to train our workers.

Together, we discovered that a free market only thrives when there are rules to ensure competition and fair play.

Together, we resolved that a great nation must care for the vulnerable, and protect its people from life’s worst hazards and misfortune.

Through it all, we have never relinquished our skepticism of central authority, nor have we succumbed to the fiction that all society’s ills can be cured through government alone. Our celebration of initiative and enterprise; our insistence on hard work and personal responsibility, are constants in our character.

But we have always understood that when times change, so must we; that fidelity to our founding principles requires new responses to new challenges; that preserving our individual freedoms ultimately requires collective action. For the American people can no more meet the demands of today’s world by acting alone than American soldiers could have met the forces of fascism or communism with muskets and militias. No single person can train all the math and science teachers we’ll need to equip our children for the future, or build the roads and networks and research labs that will bring new jobs and businesses to our shores. Now, more than ever, we must do these things together, as one nation, and one people.

This generation of Americans has been tested by crises that steeled our resolve and proved our resilience. A decade of war is now ending. An economic recovery has begun. America’s possibilities are limitless, for we possess all the qualities that this world without boundaries demands: youth and drive; diversity and openness; an endless capacity for risk and a gift for reinvention. My fellow Americans, we are made for this moment, and we will seize it-- so long as we seize it together.

For we, the people, understand that our country cannot succeed when a shrinking few do very well and a growing many barely make it. We believe that America’s prosperity must rest upon the broad shoulders of a rising middle class. We know that America thrives when every person can find independence and pride in their work; when the wages of honest labor liberate families from the brink of hardship. We are true to our creed when a little girl born into the bleakest poverty knows that she has the same chance to succeed as anybody else, because she is an American, she is free, and she is equal, not just in the eyes of God but also in our own.

We understand that outworn programs are inadequate to the needs of our time. We must harness new ideas and technology to remake our government, revamp our tax code, reform our schools, and empower our citizens with the skills they need to work harder, learn more, and reach higher. But while the means will change, our purpose endures:  a nation that rewards the effort and determination of every single American. That is what this moment requires. That is what will give real meaning to our creed.

We, the people, still believe that every citizen deserves a basic measure of security and dignity. We must make the hard choices to reduce the cost of health care and the size of our deficit. But we reject the belief that America must choose between caring for the generation that built this country and investing in the generation that will build its future. For we remember the lessons of our past, when twilight years were spent in poverty, and parents of a child with a disability had nowhere to turn. We do not believe that in this country, freedom is reserved for the lucky, or happiness for the few. We recognize that no matter how responsibly we live our lives, any one of us, at any time, may face a job loss, or a sudden illness, or a home swept away in a terrible storm. The commitments we make to each other-- through Medicare, and Medicaid, and Social Security-- these things do not sap our initiative; they strengthen us. They do not make us a nation of takers; they free us to take the risks that make this country great.

We, the people, still believe that our obligations as Americans are not just to ourselves, but to all posterity. We will respond to the threat of climate change, knowing that the failure to do so would betray our children and future generations. Some may still deny the overwhelming judgment of science, but none can avoid the devastating impact of raging fires, and crippling drought, and more powerful storms. The path towards sustainable energy sources will be long and sometimes difficult.  But America cannot resist this transition; we must lead it. We cannot cede to other nations the technology that will power new jobs and new industries-- we must claim its promise. That is how we will maintain our economic vitality and our national treasure-- our forests and waterways; our croplands and snowcapped peaks. That is how we will preserve our planet, commanded to our care by God. That’s what will lend meaning to the creed our fathers once declared.

We, the people, still believe that enduring security and lasting peace do not require perpetual war. Our brave men and women in uniform, tempered by the flames of battle, are unmatched in skill and courage.Our citizens, seared by the memory of those we have lost, know too well the price that is paid for liberty.The knowledge of their sacrifice will keep us forever vigilant against those who would do us harm.But we are also heirs to those who won the peace and not just the war, who turned sworn enemies into the surest of friends, and we must carry those lessons into this time as well.

We will defend our people and uphold our values through strength of arms and rule of law. We will show the courage to try and resolve our differences with other nations peacefully-- not because we are naïve about the dangers we face, but because engagement can more durably lift suspicion and fear. America will remain the anchor of strong alliances in every corner of the globe; and we will renew those institutions that extend our capacity to manage crisis abroad, for no one has a greater stake in a peaceful world than its most powerful nation. We will support democracy from Asia to Africa; from the Americas to the Middle East, because our interests and our conscience compel us to act on behalf of those who long for freedom. And we must be a source of hope to the poor, the sick, the marginalized, the victims of prejudice-- not out of mere charity, but because peace in our time requires the constant advance of those principles that our common creed describes:  tolerance and opportunity; human dignity and justice.

We, the people, declare today that the most evident of truths-- that all of us are created equal-- is the star that guides us still; just as it guided our forebears through Seneca Falls, and Selma, and Stonewall; just as it guided all those men and women, sung and unsung, who left footprints along this great Mall, to hear a preacher say that we cannot walk alone; to hear a King proclaim that our individual freedom is inextricably bound to the freedom of every soul on Earth.

It is now our generation’s task to carry on what those pioneers began. For our journey is not complete until our wives, our mothers, and daughters can earn a living equal to their efforts. Our journey is not complete until our gay brothers and sisters are treated like anyone else under the law-- for if we are truly created equal, then surely the love we commit to one another must be equal as well. Our journey is not complete until no citizen is forced to wait for hours to exercise the right to vote. Our journey is not complete until we find a better way to welcome the striving, hopeful immigrants who still see America as a land of opportunity; until bright young students and engineers are enlisted in our workforce rather than expelled from our country. Our journey is not complete until all our children, from the streets of Detroit to the hills of Appalachia to the quiet lanes of Newtown, know that they are cared for, and cherished, and always safe from harm.

That is our generation’s task-- to make these words, these rights, these values-- of Life, and Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness-- real for every American. Being true to our founding documents does not require us to agree on every contour of life; it does not mean we will all define liberty in exactly the same way, or follow the same precise path to happiness. Progress does not compel us to settle centuries-long debates about the role of government for all time-- but it does require us to act in our time.

For now decisions are upon us, and we cannot afford delay.  We cannot mistake absolutism for principle, or substitute spectacle for politics, or treat name-calling as reasoned debate. We must act, knowing that our work will be imperfect. We must act, knowing that today’s victories will be only partial, and that it will be up to those who stand here in four years, and forty years, and four hundred years hence to advance the timeless spirit once conferred to us in a spare Philadelphia hall.

My fellow Americans, the oath I have sworn before you today, like the one recited by others who serve in this Capitol, was an oath to God and country, not party or faction-- and we must faithfully execute that pledge during the duration of our service. But the words I spoke today are not so different from the oath that is taken each time a soldier signs up for duty, or an immigrant realizes her dream. My oath is not so different from the pledge we all make to the flag that waves above and that fills our hearts with pride.

They are the words of citizens, and they represent our greatest hope.

You and I, as citizens, have the power to set this country’s course.

You and I, as citizens, have the obligation to shape the debates of our time-- not only with the votes we cast, but with the voices we lift in defense of our most ancient values and enduring ideals.

Let each of us now embrace, with solemn duty and awesome joy, what is our lasting birthright. With common effort and common purpose, with passion and dedication, let us answer the call of history, and carry into an uncertain future that precious light of freedom.

So, let's pray this is who he really is-- and not just a setup for another disappointment. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) was optimistic in his response:

“President Obama’s second inaugural address was eloquent in its simplicity and inspiring in its basic theme that we’re all in this together.

“On the day our nation was marking the birthday of Martin Luther King Jr., our first African American president invoked our country’s long history of advancing civil rights, as he put it, from Seneca Falls to Selma to Stonewall.

“As we rebuild our economy and as we bring an end to a decade of wars, the president laid out a strong vision for how we must protect our planet and renew our commitment to securing fundamental rights for all Americans.

“As the president brings forth his budget and legislative priorities, I look forward to working with him to create the millions of jobs that our workers need, to provide health care for all Americans and to protect the social safety net for seniors, veterans, children and the poor.”

Obama Slams Bush And GOP In No Uncertain Terms (Really)

I wonder if President Obama will be able to bring Americans along on His Great Big Post-Partisan Adventure. They sure booed Bush when he came out for the inaugural ceremonies yesterday-- or were they booing John Boehner? I guess it doesn't matter. At least all the show throwing ended the day before (see White House photo above). Nor was it just the 1.8 million unwashed masses eager to see Bush for the last time. Even Colin Powell threw a proverbial shoe at the ex-boss who turned his name to mud. On CBS News yesterday he waxed poetic about how American prestige abroad had improved significantly when Obama beat McCain, who the world saw as a stand in for Bush.

...Barack Obama's election to the nation's highest office a "reaffirmation of American principles values that will help us overcome some of the difficulties of recent years with respect to the attitude of the world toward us... I think it has really, really been a remarkable event in terms of getting everybody to stand back and say, look at what we have seen here in America," Powell said. "The America we remember is back again."

And even President Obama, for all the sickening post-partisan mania, took some major slugs at the Bush Regime-- if not Bush personally-- and at the Republican's venal philosophy of governance... in, of all places, his Inaugural. In fact, on a personal level, he was very kind to the universally reviled failed ex-president: "I thank President Bush for his service to our nation as well as the generosity and cooperation he has shown throughout this transition," the new president began as politely as his grandma taught him.

Now let me pull a few lines out that tore into the GOP and the 8 years of malfeasance and incompetence that has virtually wrecked the country. In fact, on a personal level, he was very kind to the universally reviled failed ex-president:

Our economy is badly weakened, a consequence of greed and irresponsibility on the part of some but also our collective failure to make hard choices and prepare the nation for a new age.

Homes have been lost, jobs shed, businesses shuttered. Our health care is too costly, our schools fail too many, and each day brings further evidence that the ways we use energy strengthen our adversaries and threaten our planet.

These are the indicators of crisis, subject to data and statistics. Less measurable, but no less profound, is a sapping of confidence across our land; a nagging fear that America's decline is inevitable, that the next generation must lower its sights.

If that doesn't sound like an indictment of Republicanism in general and Bushism in particular, you haven't been paying attention. And this next line wasn't really a slam against Senator McCain as much as it was a slam at Bush and the GOP again: "On this day, we gather because we have chosen hope over fear, unity of purpose over conflict and discord. On this day, we come to proclaim an end to the petty grievances and false promises, the recriminations and worn-out dogmas that for far too long have strangled our politics." Do you think those lines made Bush, McConnell, Boehner, et al sweat a little? I don't; but they should have. He even turns God against them: "We remain a young nation, but in the words of Scripture, the time has come to set aside childish things. The time has come to reaffirm our enduring spirit; to choose our better history; to carry forward that precious gift, that noble idea, passed on from generation to generation: the God-given promise that all are equal, all are free, and all deserve a chance to pursue their full measure of happiness."


The President talks about the path to greatness and makes it clear it isn't one Bush took and it isn't one Republicans take. "It must be earned... It has not been the path for the faint-hearted, for those who prefer leisure over work, or seek only the pleasures of riches and fame." He talked about an America filled with men and women who "worked till their hands were raw," not exactly something one associates with Republicans, and about Americans who saw our nation "as bigger than the sum of our individual ambitions; greater than all the differences of birth or wealth or faction." That's how the Chamber of Commerce fascist scum define the communism they tried pinning on Obama during the election campaign. "[O]ur time of standing pat, of protecting narrow interests and putting off unpleasant decisions-- that time has surely passed. Starting today, we must pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and begin again the work of remaking America."

I think by then Bush was praying 1.8 million people weren't going to start throwing their shoes at him. And then Obama walloped him and his reactionary and rejected party:

We will restore science to its rightful place and wield technology's wonders to raise health care's quality and lower its costs. We will harness the sun and the winds and the soil to fuel our cars and run our factories. And we will transform our schools and colleges and universities to meet the demands of a new age.

Each line must have felt like another shoe bouncing off his skull. So Obama gave him a respite-- and went after the GOP itself (and maybe their Blue Dog allies as well):

Now, there are some who question the scale of our ambitions, who suggest that our system cannot tolerate too many big plans. Their memories are short, for they have forgotten what this country has already done, what free men and women can achieve when imagination is joined to common purpose and necessity to courage.

What the cynics fail to understand is that the ground has shifted beneath them, that the stale political arguments that have consumed us for so long, no longer apply.

The question we ask today is not whether our government is too big or too small, but whether it works, whether it helps families find jobs at a decent wage, care they can afford, a retirement that is dignified.

He slammed Republican theology and their most sacred hysterically-guarded dogma: "[T]his crisis has reminded us that without a watchful eye, the market can spin out of control. The nation cannot prosper long when it favors only the prosperous." That line, more than any other is probably what set Hannity off on another of his utterly out of sync, tone deaf tirades today. And then it was back to Bush-- with a vengeance: "As for our common defense, we reject as false the choice between our safety and our ideals. Our founding fathers faced with perils that we can scarcely imagine, drafted a charter to assure the rule of law and the rights of man, a charter expanded by the blood of generations. Those ideals still light the world, and we will not give them up for expedience's sake." (Actually that might have gone right over Bush's head, even if he was paying attention. But I hope it was Eric Holder who was paying attention then anyway and that Russ Feingold and Bernie Sanders repeat it to him... quickly.)

There was more than an implied criticism of Bush's approach to foreign policy; it was more like a complete condemnation of its very foundations:

And so, to all other peoples and governments who are watching today, from the grandest capitals to the small village where my father was born: know that America is a friend of each nation and every man, woman and child who seeks a future of peace and dignity, and we are ready to lead once more.

Recall that earlier generations faced down fascism and communism not just with missiles and tanks, but with the sturdy alliances and enduring convictions.

They understood that our power alone cannot protect us, nor does it entitle us to do as we please. Instead, they knew that our power grows through its prudent use. Our security emanates from the justness of our cause; the force of our example; the tempering qualities of humility and restraint.

We are the keepers of this legacy, guided by these principles once more, we can meet those new threats that demand even greater effort, even greater cooperation and understanding between nations. We'll begin to responsibly leave Iraq to its people and forge a hard- earned peace in Afghanistan.

Although this may sound like he's talking to Mitch McConnell, Jim DeMint, John Boehner and Eric Cantor, the context seems to indicate it was meant specifically for foreign fanatics, not domestic ones: "To those who cling to power through corruption and deceit and the silencing of dissent, know that you are on the wrong side of history, but that we will extend a hand if you are willing to unclench your fist." Although this next bit was a warning shot he clearly wanted Republicans to hear: "And to those nations like ours that enjoy relative plenty, we say we can no longer afford indifference to the suffering outside our borders, nor can we consume the world's resources without regard to effect. For the world has changed, and we must change with it." I think Wall Street knew he wanted them to hear too. When he got to the Oval Office he started signing proclamations: "I'm a lefty. Get used to it," which he is, though not in the way we wish he was.

Meanwhile, Bush made a halfhearted stab at defending his disastrous legacy of misery to small crowds in Midland and Waco, Texas after President Obama's stark repudiation. Perhaps not fully cognizant that his wrong-headed policies have left President Obama with the worst economy since the Great Depression, 2 wars, a hostile and distrustful world and a divided nation, Bush blathered on how “I always felt it was important to tackle the tough issues today and not try to pass them on to future presidents, and future generations."

Fox News And GOP Fanatics-- Skunks At The Inauguration

I don't watch a lot of TV. When Joe Scarborough isn't on and I have some need for TV News, I watch MSNBC. I've loved watching Keith Olbermann and Rachel Maddow over the last few months. Sometimes, like when MSNBC has Scarborough on or those shows about living in prison, I'll try CNN. But this morning I did something I've never done before. I actually found Fox News on my TV and watched it for 15 minutes.

Despite the Obama post-partisan mantra I've seen enough anti-American GOP websites and heard enough vicious and obstructionist rhetoric from hard core right-wing fanatics from Jim DeMint (R-SC) and Paul Broun (R-GA) in the Congress to some of the kooks running for RNC Chair to the likes of GOP psychotic drug addicts like Rush Limbaugh, to know that for many Republicans bringing down America so they can blame Obama is the name of the game. One of the extremists running for RNC chair is the former Secretary of State of Ohio who helped Bush steal the 2004 election, Ken Blackwell. Friday he wrote a piece on a neo-fascist website about sabotaging Obama's rescue plan for the economy. Citing John Boehner as his source, Blackwell rants and raves about why Republicans should oppose the stimulus package.

While only a few details are known, one overlooked issue is that it could create a major electoral advantage for Democrats at taxpayer expense. That would be unacceptable for what is being touted as a nonpartisan measure, and gives Republicans yet another reason to oppose it if not restructured... But most federal employees, that are not political appointees, vote Democrat. Since Washington, DC is the seat of government, whenever new federal bureaucrats are created many live in Maryland and Virginia. In 2008, Virginia went Democrat for the first time since 1964, and Mr. Obama won it by 130,000 votes. Creating 600,000 new jobs might help cement Virginia in the Democrat column, making it harder for Republicans to retake the White House.

Clearly, Blackwell has no interest in Obama's post-partisan vision. But neither do the other nutjobs running for the RNC post. South Carolina fringe radical Katon Dawson is a serious contender too. Take a look at his vision of the role of the Republican Party going forward:



Limbaugh:

"My hope, and please understand me when I say this. I disagree fervently with the people on our side of the aisle who have caved and who say, 'Well, I hope he succeeds. We've got to give him a chance.' Why? They didn't give Bush a chance in 2000. Before he was inaugurated, the search-and-destroy mission had begun. I'm not talking about search-and-destroy, but I've been listening to Barack Obama for a year-and-a-half. I know what his politics are. I know what his plans are, as he has stated them. I don't want them to succeed
.
"If I wanted Obama to succeed, I'd be happy the Republicans have laid down. And I would be encouraging Republicans to lay down and support him. Look, what he's talking about is the absorption of as much of the private sector by the U.S. government as possible, from the banking business, to the mortgage industry, the automobile business, to health care. I do not want the government in charge of all of these things. I don't want this to work. So I'm thinking of replying to the guy, 'Okay, I'll send you a response, but I don't need 400 words, I need four: I hope he fails.' (interruption) What are you laughing at? See, here's the point. Everybody thinks it's outrageous to say. Look, even my staff, 'Oh, you can't do that.' Why not? Why is it any different, what's new, what is unfair about my saying I hope liberalism fails? Liberalism is our problem. Liberalism is what's gotten us dangerously close to the precipice here. Why do I want more of it? I don't care what the drive-by story is. I would be honored if the drive-by media headlined me all day long: 'Limbaugh: I Hope Obama Fails.' Somebody's gotta say it."

Well on Fox News they're afraid to say it-- overtly. But the sentiment is behind every line uttered over their airwaves. Despite approval ratings around 80% for Obama-- compared to 13% for Cheney and 22% for Bush-- and despite tremendous optimism throughout the country, Fox is clearly the skunk at the Inauguration Party. When I watched today they had a right wing radio talk show host, Laura Ingraham, on to diminish and disparage the national joy and to sow discord where Obama is trying to forge unity. Ingraham warned that Obama is lying about wanting to run a post-partisan administration and was moaning and groaning he wouldn't adopt Republican policies. (I can't imagine why not, can you?) Interestingly, Schumer was assuring CNN viewers at the same time that Obama won't be leading a left-wing government. Meanwhile, Ingraham and the crazed, sullen Fox hosts started whining that Jesus isn't welcome and that Bishop Gene Robinson wasn't Jesus-oriented enough and that there was no room at the inn for Jesus and that he had to sleep on the Mall in a sleeping bag. These people are demented and poisonous and having them dominate the public airwaves is harmful to the nation's unity and security. Fox, Limbaugh, Coulter, Hannity, Ingraham... they're the living, breathing best promotion for reinstating the Fairness Doctrine, the far right's greatest fear-- along with taking away roadblocks to unionization (via the Employee Free Choice Act)-- in an Obama Administration. I hope Obama lives up to those fears... but I wouldn't put money on it.


UPDATE: OBAMA'S SPEECH

In his Inauguration Address today President Obama was eloquent and inspiring. He spoke about the greatness of our country and "the need to pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and begin again the work of remaking America." He acknowledged that "greed and irresponsibility on the part of some," careful not to mention George Bush, the Republican Party or the banksters, have brought our economy low. But the thrust of his speech was anything but blame; instead it was about going forward and getting things right again-- boldly and swiftly. (From his mouth to God's ear; Obama even honored "non-believers" in his speech.) Here's part of what he had to say:

That we are in the midst of crisis is now well understood. Our nation is at war, against a far-reaching network of violence and hatred. Our economy is badly weakened, a consequence of greed and irresponsibility on the part of some, but also our collective failure to make hard choices and prepare the nation for a new age. Homes have been lost; jobs shed; businesses shuttered. Our health care is too costly; our schools fail too many; and each day brings further evidence that the ways we use energy strengthen our adversaries and threaten our planet.

These are the indicators of crisis, subject to data and statistics. Less measurable but no less profound is a sapping of confidence across our land-- a nagging fear that America's decline is inevitable, and that the next generation must lower its sights.  

Today I say to you that the challenges we face are real. They are serious and they are many. They will not be met easily or in a short span of time. But know this, America-- they will be met.
 
On this day, we gather because we have chosen hope over fear, unity of purpose over conflict and discord.
 
On this day, we come to proclaim an end to the petty grievances and false promises, the recriminations and worn out dogmas, that for far too long have strangled our politics.
 
We remain a young nation, but in the words of Scripture, the time has come to set aside childish things. The time has come to reaffirm our enduring spirit; to choose our better history; to carry forward that precious gift, that noble idea, passed on from generation to generation: the God-given promise that all are equal, all are free, and all deserve a chance to pursue their full measure of happiness.

In reaffirming the greatness of our nation, we understand that greatness is never a given. It must be earned. Our journey has never been one of short-cuts or settling for less. It has not been the path for the faint-hearted-- for those who prefer leisure over work, or seek only the pleasures of riches and fame. Rather, it has been the risk-takers, the doers, the makers of things-- some celebrated but more often men and women obscure in their labor, who have carried us up the long, rugged path towards prosperity and freedom.

For us, they packed up their few worldly possessions and traveled across oceans in search of a new life.

For us, they toiled in sweatshops and settled the West; endured the lash of the whip and plowed the hard earth.

For us, they fought and died, in places like Concord and Gettysburg; Normandy and Khe Sahn.
 
Time and again these men and women struggled and sacrificed and worked till their hands were raw so that we might live a better life. They saw America as bigger than the sum of our individual ambitions; greater than all the differences of birth or wealth or faction. 

This is the journey we continue today. We remain the most prosperous, powerful nation on Earth. Our workers are no less productive than when this crisis began. Our minds are no less inventive, our goods and services no less needed than they were last week or last month or last year. Our capacity remains undiminished. But our time of standing pat, of protecting narrow interests and putting off unpleasant decisions-- that time has surely passed. Starting today, we must pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and begin again the work of remaking America.

For everywhere we look, there is work to be done. The state of the economy calls for action, bold and swift, and we will act-- not only to create new jobs, but to lay a new foundation for growth. We will build the roads and bridges, the electric grids and digital lines that feed our commerce and bind us together. We will restore science to its rightful place, and wield technology's wonders to raise health care's quality and lower its cost. We will harness the sun and the winds and the soil to fuel our cars and run our factories. And we will transform our schools and colleges and universities to meet the demands of a new age. All this we can do. And all this we will do.

Now, there are some who question the scale of our ambitions-- who suggest that our system cannot tolerate too many big plans. Their memories are short. For they have forgotten what this country has already done; what free men and women can achieve when imagination is joined to common purpose, and necessity to courage.
 
What the cynics fail to understand is that the ground has shifted beneath them-- that the stale political arguments that have consumed us for so long no longer apply. The question we ask today is not whether our government is too big or too small, but whether it works-- whether it helps families find jobs at a decent wage, care they can afford, a retirement that is dignified. Where the answer is yes, we intend to move forward. Where the answer is no, programs will end. And those of us who manage the public's dollars will be held to account-- to spend wisely, reform bad habits, and do our business in the light of day-- because only then can we restore the vital trust between a people and their government.

Nor is the question before us whether the market is a force for good or ill. Its power to generate wealth and expand freedom is unmatched, but this crisis has reminded us that without a watchful eye, the market can spin out of control-- and that a nation cannot prosper long when it favors only the prosperous. The success of our economy has always depended not just on the size of our Gross Domestic Product, but on the reach of our prosperity; on our ability to extend opportunity to every willing heart-- not out of charity, but because it is the surest route to our common good.

As for our common defense, we reject as false the choice between our safety and our ideals. Our Founding Fathers, faced with perils we can scarcely imagine, drafted a charter to assure the rule of law and the rights of man, a charter expanded by the blood of generations. Those ideals still light the world, and we will not give them up for expedience's sake. And so to all other peoples and governments who are watching today, from the grandest capitals to the small village where my father was born: know that America is a friend of each nation and every man, woman, and child who seeks a future of peace and dignity, and that we are ready to lead once more. 

Recall that earlier generations faced down fascism and communism not just with missiles and tanks, but with sturdy alliances and enduring convictions. They understood that our power alone cannot protect us, nor does it entitle us to do as we please. Instead, they knew that our power grows through its prudent use; our security emanates from the justness of our cause, the force of our example, the tempering qualities of humility and restraint.

We are the keepers of this legacy. Guided by these principles once more, we can meet those new threats that demand even greater effort-- even greater cooperation and understanding between nations. We will begin to responsibly leave Iraq to its people, and forge a hard-earned peace in Afghanistan. With old friends and former foes, we will work tirelessly to lessen the nuclear threat, and roll back the specter of a warming planet. We will not apologize for our way of life, nor will we waver in its defense, and for those who seek to advance their aims by inducing terror and slaughtering innocents, we say to you now that our spirit is stronger and cannot be broken; you cannot outlast us, and we will defeat you.

For we know that our patchwork heritage is a strength, not a weakness. We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus-- and non-believers. We are shaped by every language and culture, drawn from every end of this Earth; and because we have tasted the bitter swill of civil war and segregation, and emerged from that dark chapter stronger and more united, we cannot help but believe that the old hatreds shall someday pass; that the lines of tribe shall soon dissolve; that as the world grows smaller, our common humanity shall reveal itself; and that America must play its role in ushering in a new era of peace. 

To the Muslim world, we seek a new way forward, based on mutual interest and mutual respect. To those leaders around the globe who seek to sow conflict, or blame their society's ills on the West-- know that your people will judge you on what you can build, not what you destroy. To those who cling to power through corruption and deceit and the silencing of dissent, know that you are on the wrong side of history; but that we will extend a hand if you are willing to unclench your fist.

To the people of poor nations, we pledge to work alongside you to make your farms flourish and let clean waters flow; to nourish starved bodies and feed hungry minds. And to those nations like ours that enjoy relative plenty, we say we can no longer afford indifference to suffering outside our borders; nor can we consume the world's resources without regard to effect. For the world has changed, and we must change with it.

As we consider the road that unfolds before us, we remember with humble gratitude those brave Americans who, at this very hour, patrol far-off deserts and distant mountains. They have something to tell us today, just as the fallen heroes who lie in Arlington whisper through the ages. We honor them not only because they are guardians of our liberty, but because they embody the spirit of service; a willingness to find meaning in something greater than themselves. And yet, at this moment-- a moment that will define a generation-- it is precisely this spirit that must inhabit us all.

For as much as government can do and must do, it is ultimately the faith and determination of the American people upon which this nation relies. It is the kindness to take in a stranger when the levees break, the selflessness of workers who would rather cut their hours than see a friend lose their job which sees us through our darkest hours. It is the firefighter's courage to storm a stairway filled with smoke, but also a parent's willingness to nurture a child, that finally decides our fate. 

Our challenges may be new. The instruments with which we meet them may be new. But those values upon which our success depends-- hard work and honesty, courage and fair play, tolerance and curiosity, loyalty and patriotism-- these things are old. These things are true. They have been the quiet force of progress throughout our history. What is demanded then is a return to these truths. What is required of us now is a new era of responsibility-- a recognition, on the part of every American, that we have duties to ourselves, our nation, and the world, duties that we do not grudgingly accept but rather seize gladly, firm in the knowledge that there is nothing so satisfying to the spirit, so defining of our character, than giving our all to a difficult task.

This is the price and the promise of citizenship.

This is the source of our confidence-- the knowledge that God calls on us to shape an uncertain destiny.

This is the meaning of our liberty and our creed-- why men and women and children of every race and every faith can join in celebration across this magnificent mall, and why a man whose father less than sixty years ago might not have been served at a local restaurant can now stand before you to take a most sacred oath.

Bush is finally gone-- and America is safer already!