Peter’s Blog

Normally I really like Roger Cohen’s columns but today’s, “The EU in an Irish bog,” is atrocious. He buys hook, line and sink into the rediculous argument that because the Irish have benefitted significantly from EU membership their No vote is dumb, crass, ungrateful, etc, etc. He even says their voting was ‘unconscionable’! I hate this attitude towards politics, as it reduces people’s options to the ‘right choice’ or being guilty of false consciousness.

Bushs veto threat provokes skirmish on housing bill - International Herald Tribune

Bush, in threatening to veto Franks bill, has called on Congress to pass those two measures as stand-alone legislation. As Democrats tried to bring their bill to the floor on Wednesday, House Republicans threw up procedural roadblocks, including a series of votes on motions to adjourn.

The majority leader, Representative Steny Hoyer of Maryland, gave a floor speech early in the evening accusing the Republicans of an “abuse of process.”

In response, the Republican leader, Representative John Boehner of Ohio, accused the Democrats of cutting Republicans out of the legislative process.

“We dont have many ways to express our grievance on the housing bill because we have no amendment we can offer,” Boehner said. “All we are asking is to be treated fairly.”

What goes around, comes around, and every time it’s stupid.

Big Tax Breaks for Businesses in Housing Bill - New York Times

The Senate proclaimed a fierce bipartisan resolve two weeks ago to help American homeowners in danger of foreclosure. But while a bill that senators approved last week would take modest steps toward that goal, it would also provide billions of dollars in tax breaks — for automakers, airlines, alternative energy producers and other struggling industries, as well as home builders.
The tax provisions of the Foreclosure Prevention Act, which consumer groups and labor leaders say amount to government handouts to big business, show how the credit crisis, while rattling the housing and financial markets, has created beneficiaries in the power corridors of Washington.

It also shows how legislation with a populist imperative offers a chance for lobbyists to press their clients’ interests.

Every day is government handout day!

In Washington, a Split Over Regulation of Wall Street - New York Times

The Treasury Department is rushing to complete its own blueprint for overhauling what is now an alphabet soup of federal and state regulators that often compete against each other and protect their particular slices of the industry as if they were constituents.

But maybe they are constituents, or more. For instance, Michael Powell was the head of the FCC and ruled on some issues involving AOL. His father, Colin Powell, was a one-time member of AOL’s board.

Update: On the second page of the article there is this telling bit of information.

Except for the Federal Reserve, all of the federal bank agencies receive funding from fees paid by member institutions, and some specialists have long argued that the agencies competed with each other to woo institutions with lighter regulation.

(Say his name with some real pop to the B)

The Collected Controversies of William F. Buckley

diesel sweeties: pixelated robot romance web comic

Too true.

My friend Qalandar has gone back to Pakistan and has been working for democracy. Below is the introduction to his editorial for the next issue of Naked Punch. I hope you enjoy it.

A renowned poem of Faiz Ahmed Faiz was brought to my attention last night. Sitting for dinner in a restaurant in Lahore the one-man entertainment with his key-board and mike walked up to my table and kindly asked if I had a request. ‘Yes, A ghazal…of Faiz’, I replied. Happy to be playing something other then the latest Bollywood film song he returned to his keyboard and began to sing:

That which was ours, my love,
Don’t ask me for that love again

The poem of Faiz goes on:

but there were other sorrows, comforts other than love.
The rich had cast their spell on history:
Dark centuries had been embroidered on brocades and silks.
Bitter threads began to unravel before me
As I went into alleys and in open markets
Saw bodies plastered with ash, bathed in blood.
I saw them sold and bought, again and again.
This too deserves attention. I can’t help but look back
When I return from those alleys – what should one do?
And you still are so ravishing – what should I do?
There are other sorrows in this world,
Comforts other than love.
Don’t ask me, my love, for that love again.

And here is the actual document: Oppressions Other Than Love (DOC, 152 kb)

From The BEAST:

9. You

Charges: You believe in freedom of speech, until someone says something that offends you. You suddenly give a damn about border integrity, because the automated voice system at your pharmacy asked you to press 9 for Spanish. You cling to every scrap of bullshit you can find to support your ludicrous belief system, and reject all empirical evidence to the contrary. You know the difference between patriotism and nationalism — it’s nationalism when foreigners do it. You hate anyone who seems smarter than you. You care more about zygotes than actual people. You love to blame people for their misfortunes, even if it means screwing yourself over. You still think Republicans favor limited government. Your knowledge of politics and government are dwarfed by your concern for Britney Spears’ children. You think buying Chinese goods stimulates our economy. You think you’re going to get universal health care. You tolerate the phrase “enhanced interrogation techniques.” You think the government is actually trying to improve education. You think watching CNN makes you smarter. You think two parties is enough. You can’t spell. You think $9 trillion in debt is manageable. You believe in an afterlife for the sole reason that you don’t want to die. You think lowering taxes raises revenue. You think the economy’s doing well. You’re an idiot.

Exhibit A: You couldn’t get enough Anna Nicole Smith coverage.

Sentence: A gradual decline into abject poverty as you continue to vote against your own self-interest. Death by an easily treated disorder that your health insurance doesn’t cover. You deserve it, chump.

The NY Times story on the CIA tapes had this interesting note:

The CIA has said that the Justice Department and other elements of the executive branch reviewed and approved the use of a set of harsh techniques before they were used on any prisoners, and that the Justice Department issued a classified legal opinion in August 2002 that provided explicit authorization for their use.

Since when do Justice Departments issue secret rulings? I thought the whole point of the rule of law, from the Code of Hammurabi on down, is that the laws are public. But I guess that’s pre-9/11 thinking for you.

Henry Louis Gates, Jr. has a very interesting op/ed piece about African-American poverty called “Forty acres and a gap in wealth”.