The Noise and News Beyond
13 September 2009 10:21 am by Taylor Marsh
–updated–
“I am not going to apologize again,” Wilson said on “Fox News Sunday.” “I apologized to the president on Wednesday night. … I believe that is sufficient.” – Politico
Speaker Pelosi, the ball is now in your court.
Of course, the noise is still swirling about yesterday’s Wingnuts in Washington carnival. While ABC continues to try to set the record straight with the event’s promoter FreedomWorks that they ever reported there were “2 million” people. That was picked up by the Daily Mail, which ran with the bogus number, blasting it everywhere with the caveat “up to 2 million”, hoping that would make it more legit. Tapper was pushing back on Twitter too, but that didn’t keep Michelle Malkin from taking a good turnout and exaggerating the reality by double digits, which is what got everyone questioning what she was writing in the first place. As for some conservatives complaining that there is a lot of focus on the wack jobs and crackpots, to quote Mark McKinnon, including the majority of signs that anyone should be ashamed to show in public, that’s because there were a whole lot of them.
Before going around the world, we start at home. George McGovern has an op-ed with a simple message: Medicare for all.
How do you think the wingnuts who hit Washington yesterday will react to that one?
But one of the most provocative titles and articles to date is from Politico: Who’s afraid of Barack Obama? The answer is easy: no one. I’ve been harping on this for months, and talking to the Democratic wall in Washington isn’t getting anywhere. Between Chas Freeman, then Van Jones, a demotion, then the recent story that the Obama administration is dropping ACORN from their census role, which is directly related to right wing ranting, plus all the bipartisanship where they get everything and we only compromise, I’d say Obama’s not in the place I’d want to be only eight months: on defense. You never get anywhere in politics when you’re punching back. Wilson’s response to being asked to apologize in the well of the House is further evidence. He’s daring Democrats, because he just doesn’t think they can win, especially since he’s got all those crazy wingnuts in Washington standing behind him.
by Paul Szep
I wrote about it earlier, but do not miss today’s New York Time’s Magazine section on “The New Israel Lobby.”
SecDef Gates has decided. More troops to Afghanistan very soon.
McClatchy unwinds a “deadly Afghan ambush.”
“The Ganjgal people have an expression,” he said: “It’s up to you to come into the valley, but it’s up to us to let you out.”
Also from Afghanistan, Bagram detainees will get a taste of justice.
Hundreds of prisoners held by the U.S. military in Afghanistan will for the first time have the right to challenge their indefinite detention and call witnesses in their defense under a new review system being put in place this week, according to administration officials. …
A report has Gen. McChrystal stating that he does “not see indications of a large al-Qaida presence in Afghanistan now.” We know security is a problem, but with no al-Qaida, troop levels shouldn’t rise, even if our mission remains steady. With no al-Qaida, which was always our goal there, how is Obama and the administration going to keep escalating our involvement? Understanding that we can never stop supporting the civil aid on the ground, especially for women and girls.
Iranian blogger Fariba Pajouh has been in solitary confinement for three weeks now. The Lede has the report.
Secretary Clinton and the Obama administration to make more news on violence against women around the world, according to Laura Rozen.
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton plans to spend some ten days in Turtle Bay, aides say. On the last day of the month, Clinton will preside over a UN meeting, Rice said. At it, the Obama administration hopes to lead passage of a measure that would strengthen implementation of a previous UN resolution condemning sexual violence against women. Rice noted that both she and Clinton have traveled in recent months to the Democratic Republic of Congo, where they witnessed the devastation caused by the massive scale of rape employed in a war that has killed more than five million people.
Pro Publica has Iran’s response issued last week dealing with the push of the international community on still unresolved nuclear issues. Given that Russian and China have nixed serious sanctions at present, the U.S. has decided to venture in to talks with Iran, obviously intent on moving these deliberations to the nuclear issue.
Ben Smith is also reporting about a “freeze for freeze” development. It’s like a quid pro quo arrangement between the U.S. and Tehran, where Iran freezes their nuclear expansion for six weeks and then completely at the end of that period, wherein the U.S. pulls back on sanctions. That noise you just heard was the reaction of the Israelis, who will raise unholy hell over the thought of implementing this idea.
On another front, Obama moves to impose tariffs on China, backing up the unions because of jobs.
In one of his first major decisions on trade policy, President Obama opted Friday to impose a tariff on tires from China, a move that fulfills his campaign promise to “crack down” on imports that unfairly undermine American workers but risks angering the nation’s second-largest trading partner.
…and get this, Wall Street is going to Washington for “meet and greets.” Call it PR on parade.
