McCain’s debate stunt
September 24th, 2008September 24, 2008
Republican nominee John McCain called today for postponing Friday’s presidential debate until the resolution of the financial mess on Wall Street, and even vowed to suspend his campaign to concentrate on finding a solution. A delay could change the dynamics of a campaign that has not gone well for him in the last two weeks. And perhaps McCain hopes the gesture would make him look as if he were putting politics aside amid an emergency.
But altering the debate schedule would hardly serve voters. If anything, debates are most valuable at times of national crisis, because voters need to hear candidates highlight their policy differences.
And while the subject of tomorrow’s debate is foreign policy, not economics, the Wall Street crisis casts shadows all around the world. A darkening financial picture inhibits the nation’s ability to keep troops abroad, for instance, and alters its relationship with China and major oil nations.
McCain’s desire to seize the initiative is understandable, for the meltdown on an ill-regulated Wall Street is the harshest indictment possible of Republican stewardship of the economy. And McCain’s initial response to the mess — his odd claim that the fundamentals of the economy are strong – made him look out of touch. But if he now thinks the problem can be tidied up during a short break from the campaign trail, he needs some new economic advisers.onomic advisers. [more]
Stay for Troy Davis
September 23rd, 2008From: National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty Reply-To:
Dear Friends,
The execution in Florida is expected to continue, however, Troy Davis has been granted a stay by the U.S. Supreme Court. Check the developing news at www.ajc.com for details.
–abe
Troy Davis Update - Take More Action!
September 23rd, 2008Dear Abolitionists,
Other than Georgia’s Board of Pardons and Paroles, the U.S. Supreme Court can stop the execution of Troy Davis. Troy Davis is scheduled to be executed on Tuesday, September 23 at 7:00 p.m. for his alleged murder of Police Officer Mark MacPhail in Georgia. Yet serious doubts of his guilt remain and compelling evidence of his innocence has not been heard in court.
There is no physical evidence linking Troy to the crime; no DNA, no murder weapon. Seven out of 9 witnesses have recanted their testimony implicating Troy, and one of the two remaining witnesses is the likely suspect. All Troy Davis has ever asked for is the chance to be tried in a court of law with the actual evidence. Now more than ever is the time for justice to be served.
Troy Davis and his family need your help!
Please see Bob Herbert’s column in the New York Times, also below, and note the following, send the e-mail, send the fax, and on Monday morning make yourself heard again via telephone… The message is simple: “I am calling to ask the Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles to reconsider the case of Troy Davis and to stop this execution.”
A friend in California called me to say that “…in reference to telephone numbers, I discovered this morning that for the State of Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles, the most accessible - i. e., a real person answered and spoke versus a series of recordings encountered at (404)656-5712 - is (404)656-5712….”
“…in reference to facsimile numbers, (404)651-8502 works….”
“…in reference to electronic messages. clemency_information@pap.state.ga.us will most likely work….
“…according to the individual with whom this morning I spoke, more than 84,000 electronic messages, more than 20,000 facsimiles and an unquantified number of telephone calls had in favor of Mister Davis been received….
“…THE STATE OF GEORGIA BOARD OF PARDONS AND PAROLES IS COUNTING….
“…PLEASE CONTINUE TO MAKE YOUR VOICE COUNT….
Read about last week’s protests in Atlanta, including a fast going on now that you can join in solidarity… www.ajc.com/news/content/metro/atlanta/stories/2008/09/19/davis_execu tion_protest.html
In the New York Times…. www.nytimes.com/2008/09/20/opinion/20herbert.html?hp
More: National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty www.NCADP.org
US Generals Planning for Resource Wars
September 23rd, 2008US Generals Planning for Resource Wars writes Tom Clonan The Irish Times
ANALYSIS: The US military sees the next 30 to 40 years as involving a state of continuous war against ideologically-motivated terrorists and competing with Russia and China for natural resources and markets.
AS GENERAL Ray Odierno takes command of US forces in Baghdad from troop surge architect Gen David Petraeus, America has begun planning in earnest for its phased withdrawal.
More: www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/opinion/2008/0922/1221998220381.html
Just How Secretive Was the Bush Administration?
September 21st, 2008By James P. Pfiffner
Mr. Pfiffner is University Professor in the School of Public Policy at George Mason University. This essay is drawn from his book, Power Play: The Bush Administration and the Constitution (Brookings 2008).
The Bush administration, in addition to its over-classification of documents, has undertaken more policies in secret than any administration in recent memory. For instance:
President Bush’s Military Order of November 13, 2001, which authorized military commissions (which were later invalidated by the Supreme Court), was kept secret from National Security Adviser Rice and Secretary of State Powell until the president had signed it.
President Bush ordered the National Security Agency to conduct surveillance of Americans without warrants, in spite of the clear language of the law that warrants were required. Even the legal memorandum justifying the program was kept secret from Congress and from NSA lawyers.
President Bush’s memorandum pursuant to the Military Commissions Act (MCA), reinterpreting Common Article 3 of the Geneva Conventions to allow harsh interrogation techniques, was kept secret from the public and Congress. [more]
Sarah Palin and the Politics of the Irrational
September 21st, 2008By Joseph Palermo
Mr. Palermo is Associate Professor of American History at CSU, Sacramento. He’s the author of two books on Robert F. Kennedy: In His Own Right (2001) and RFK (2008).
In The Age of American Unreason, Susan Jacoby writes: “If Bush’s election was not a measure of conscious anti-intellectualism on the part of voters, it was certainly a measure of the public’s indifference to demonstrable mental acuity and knowledge as standards for the presidency.” (p. 285)
In recent years, presidential races have become highly personalized media events. They focus voters’ short attention spans on the individuals who are running, rather than on the policy prescriptions they represent. This battle of wills allows the Republicans to construct a false narrative that might resonate with just enough voters to put them over the top in the Electoral College. The qualifications of a presidential candidate don’t seem to matter much. Experience, intelligence, and competence actually can be detriments — just ask Al Gore and John Kerry. Whether it’s the Florida recount in 2000 with an assist from a Republican Supreme Court, or Swift Boaters eviscerating a war hero’s military record in 2004, or Willie Horton scaring the bejeezus out of white middle-class people in 1988, the Republicans have turned American presidential elections into quadrennial experiments in applied social psychology. [more]
