Watchmen is opening big this weekend. But it remains to be seen if the film adaptation of the legendary graphic novel is too dark and geeky, or perhaps too frequently ripped off over the years, to be the next comic book movie blockbuster.
HAPPY INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY!
** NEW COLUMN COMING UP … QUIS CUSTODIET IPSOS CUSTODES? (Okay, it’s about Watchmen, but I haven’t come up with a title in English yet.)
** OBAMA TODAY – SUNDAY. President Barack Obama has no public events.
Vice President Joe Biden has one public event, attending a tribute at Kennedy Center this evening for the ailing Senator Ted Kennedy. Caroline Kennedy will present her uncle with the John F. Kennedy Profiles In Courage Award.
The unsettled Treasury Department situation is getting more settled, with three new assistant treasury secretaries selected.
Obama will withdraw 12,000 US troops from Iraq in September.
They will be joined in withdrawal by 4,000 British troops. That will end the British presence in Iraq.
The US troop withdrawal amounts to a reduction of US combat power in-country from 14 brigades to 12. The US withdrawal is gradual at first, leaving most troops in place for national elections.
Meanwhile, a terrorist bombing today killed dozens of recruits in Baghdad at Iraq’s main police academy.
** FROM THE ARNOLD FILE – SUNDAY. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is in Columbus, Ohio for his annual Arnold Classic festival of bodybuilding, powerlifting, and fitness.
President Barack Obama, in his weekly video/radio address, discusses a busy week.
** OBAMA TODAY – SATURDAY. President Barack Obama has no public events today.
Here are some excerpts from his weekly video/radio address, which you can watch above: Yesterday, we learned that the economy lost another 651,000 jobs in the month of February, which brings the total number of jobs lost in this recession to 4.4 million. The unemployment rate has now surpassed 8 percent, the highest rate in a quarter century. These aren’t just statistics, but hardships experienced personally by millions of Americans who no longer know how they’ll pay their bills, or make their mortgage, or raise their families.
From the day I took office, I knew that solving this crisis would not be easy, nor would it happen overnight. And we will continue to face difficult days in the months ahead. But I also believe that we will get through this — that if we act swiftly and boldly and responsibly, the United States of America will emerge stronger and more prosperous than it was before.
That’s why my administration is committed to doing all that’s necessary to address this crisis and lead us to a better day. That’s why we’re moving forward with an economic agenda that will jumpstart job creation, restart lending, relieve responsible homeowners, and address the long-term economic challenges of our time: the cost of health care, our dependence on oil, and the state of our schools. …
Of course, like every family going through hard times, our country must make tough choices. In order to pay for the things we need — we cannot waste money on the things we don’t.
My administration inherited a $1.3 trillion budget deficit, the largest in history. And we’ve inherited a budgeting process as irresponsible as it is unsustainable. For years, as Wall Street used accounting tricks to conceal costs and avoid responsibility, Washington did, too.
These kinds of irresponsible budgets — and inexcusable practices — are now in the past. For the first time in many years, my administration has produced a budget that represents an honest reckoning of where we are and where we need to go. …
Yes, this is a moment of challenge for our country. But we’ve experienced great trials before. And with every test, each generation has found the capacity to not only endure, but to prosper — to discover great opportunity in the midst of great crisis. That is what we can and must do today. And I am absolutely confident that is what we will do. I’m confident that at this defining moment, we will prove ourselves worthy of the sacrifice of those who came before us, and the promise of those who will come after.
The Senate needs to find some more pork to take out of the federal appropriations bill, already in the system when Obama became president. It’s one vote short of blocking a threatened Republican filibuster.
Obama had dinner in the White House with congressional committee chairs on Wednesday night, in part to deliver the message that the insertion of special projects into legislation had to be throttled way back.
Obama may also be contemplating his Treasury Department this weekend, which is not looking very good.
Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner – chief of the New York Federal Reserve Bank as the Wall Street crisis secretly grew – did not impress last month when he rolled his long-awaited but strikingly vague bank rescue plan. And Geithner has a skeleton crew of deputies, with his latest pick not flying on Capitol Hill.
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, visiting Ankara, Turkey on Saturday, announced that President Obama will visit Turkey in the next month and discussed the two US envoys now meeting with Syrian leaders in Damascus.
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is in Ankara, Turkey today meeting with top Turkish leaders. Turkey has a key role to play with regard to Afghanistan, Iraq, Iran, Syria, Israel, and Russia.
Obama will visit Turkey in April, either before or after his appearance at the G-20 (group of 20 top national economies) summit in London. It is not clear that this is where he will deliver his promised major address in a Muslim city during the first 100 days of his presidency.
Yesterday, Clinton was in Geneva, Switzerland to meet with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. Russia has already opened up new supply lines for US and NATO troops fighting in Afghanistan, something made necessary by in the increased instability in Pakistan.
Word has it that the US and Russia are discussing a compromise on the missile defense shield the Bush/Cheney Administration proposed to build in Poland the Czech Republic, ostensibly aimed at Iran, which is infuriating to Moscow. The compromise could trade the shield, which is not popular in the countries which would host it, for Russian success in negating Iran’s nuclear weapons program. Or it could involve a multi-national unit administering the system.
** FROM THE ARNOLD FILE – SUNDAY. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is in Columbus, Ohio for his annual Arnold Classic sports festival.
** THE TROUBLE WITH TWITTER: WHY “TWEETS” ARE LIKE “BLIPVERTS.” I love technology. I’ve been a BlackBerry person since 2002, a Mac person since the ’80s. Back in the early ’90s, when I was new to the Internet, I once spent 26 hours straight on it. Never did find the end. I’ve blogged walking down the street talking to a candidate. I use a wireless network of laptops, with one or more frequently playing an international news channel.
But early adoption can go down wrong paths. I spent weeks trying to teach a Newton handheld to read my handwriting. The $5,000 I spent for the souped-up version of the PowerBook that saved the planet in Independence Day was not the wisest investment, though mine never caught fire. And there was ISDN, an early high-speed Internet connection. Uh, no, give me back my dial-up!
Which brings us to Twitter. I get news alerts and sitreps, e-mails, memos, and press releases, day and night. I write at any hour. But do I want tiny “tweets,” bitelets of what is arguably information, frequently trivial and not infrequently wrong, demanding my attention at any moment? Do I want to send such stuff out? …
** YET ANOTHER CALIFORNIA CAMPAIGN: ELECTIONS ABOUND IN THE ARNOLD ERA. And they’re off. Again.
The only year since 2001 that California has not had a statewide election was 2007. And that was when Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger was busy with his rather Rube Goldberg-esque coalition of some business, labor, and health groups trying to pass a version of universal health care. Every other year, including this, has seen the tarnished Golden State holding at least one statewide election.
This May 19th it’s another special statewide election, the fourth of the Arnold Era.
What’s this one about? The recently, arduously concluded state budget compromise to close a $42 billion gap over 18 months caused by a combination of tax cuts, program expansions, and the economic crisis. …
** WHITMAN’S SAMPLER: THE EX-EBAY CEO’S MOVES MIRROR THE REPUBLICAN CRISIS. Like Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal’s rebuttal to President Barack Obama’s speech to the joint session of Congress, former eBay CEO Meg Whitman’s moves at this past weekend’s California Republican Party convention point up the crisis afflicting the Republican Party. …
** OBAMA: RIDING WITH HISTORY. (NOTE: As Barack Obama was inaugurated as the 44th president of the United States, this column was the featured column on the top of the front page of the Huffington Post.) … From my January 19th Huffington Post column.
** 24/7 LIVE TV NEWS FEED FROM RUSSIA TODAY. Russia has re-emerged as one of the world’s great powers. Click here for a live TV news feed on your computer, bringing you English-language, jargon-free, fast-paced coverage of global and Russian news from the new Russia Today channel. You probably already know about CNN International, BBC World, and Al Jazeera. Russia Today, which also features culture, entertainment, and sports, is based in Moscow and is owned and operated by the TV Novosti division of Russia’s state news agency, RIA Novosti.
While it’s quite foolish to expect to see, say, criticism of Vladimir Putin on Russia Today, which I know as a former DemRussia advisor, the channel is very interesting nonetheless. With U.S. cable news chattering away as it does, this sort of respite can be informative. The NWN live link to RT does not constitute an endorsement of the channel’s views. It’s presented as an otherwise unavailable new media window.
** 24/7 LIVE TV NEWS FEED FROM AL JAZEERA. With the US entangled in two wars in the region, it’s valuable to keep up with news and perspectives from the leading Middle Eastern-based TV news network. Based in the Gulf Arab state of Qatar, Al Jazeera is very influential and more than a bit controversial.
Among them is what I’m sure is the first piece examining Schwarzenegger’s legacy as governor of California. Since he will actually be governor of California until 2011. No technology known to be disruptive to the space/time continuum was used in its preparation.
** TRACK GLOBAL AND NATIONAL ENERGY PRICES IN NEAR REAL TIME VIA BLOOMBERG ENERGY MARKET WATCH. After crashing over $147 for yet another record on July 11th, crude oil closed at $45.52 per barrel on Friday. Which is up over $10 a barrel over recent lows due to the global recession. Energy markets are closed on the weekend.
Senator Ted Kennedy, ailing from brain cancer, made a dramatic appearance yesterday at President Barack Obama’s White House health care summit. Kennedy’s knighthood was announced on Wednesday in British Prime Minister Gordon Brown’s address to a joint session of Congress.
The ban came into being as then President George W. Bush followed the bidding of the fundamentalist Christian right.
In the interim, California developed its own stem cell research program, promoted by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, which has become the world’s largest.
** IN WAKE OF MARIN RESIGNATION, SCHWARZENEGGER MAKES A MOVE. California Consumer Services Secretary Rosario Marin has resigned after it came out that she has taken huge speaking fees from corporations she is arguably involved with regulating. And, actually, it seems pretty obvious that you can’t be in office and do that.
So now Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is requiring that his top appointees post their economic statements of interest online, along with their expense reports. As it happens that some were double-dipping on their expenses.
I’m sure this is not the first time such things have happened. But Marin taking $15,000 speaking fees from pharmaceutical corporations was probably a new low.
Marin is a nice person, but she has benefited tremendously from a core problem of Republican politics; a lack of high-profile people of color. She parlayed her mayoralty of a small LA area city into serving as US treasurer, along with a misfiring run for the US Senate. Schwarzenegger, who is criticized by his own party for not appointing enough Republicans, placed her in his Cabinet as she is a three-fer for him: Latina, female, and Republican.
** THE REPUBLICAN RESPONSE TO THE DEMS’ WINNING RUSH LIMBAUGH GAMBIT: GET RAHM EMANUEL. What’s the Republican comeback to the succeeding Democratic effort to make right-wing radio host Rush Limbaugh the face of the Republican opposition? Go after White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel.
This seems, let’s say, misdirected …
** FIELD POLL: BOXER CRUISING TO RE-ELECTION. U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer looks to be on course to yet another election to the California seat she first won in 1992. The latest Field Poll shows her easily besting any Republican, including Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, in next year’s election.
Schwarzenegger, who has the nod for the Republican nomination if he wants it, is not running for the Senate, and has taken a real pounding in the polls during the chronic California budget crisis.
The two likely Republican candidates are former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina, who chaired the national Republican Victory Committee for John McCain’s presidential campaign, and far right Orange County Assemblyman Chuck DeVore.These are not winning profiles in California politics.
Fiorina, who recently suffered a cancer diagnosis, is the more formidable of the two but may not run.
Neither can beat Boxer.
** THE TROUBLE WITH TWITTER: WHY “TWEETS” ARE LIKE “BLIPVERTS.” I love technology. I’ve been a BlackBerry person since 2002, a Mac person since the ’80s. Back in the early ’90s, when I was new to the Internet, I once spent 26 hours straight on it. Never did find the end. I’ve blogged walking down the street talking to a candidate. I use a wireless network of laptops, with one or more frequently playing an international news channel.
But early adoption can go down wrong paths. I spent weeks trying to teach a Newton handheld to read my handwriting. The $5,000 I spent for the souped-up version of the PowerBook that saved the planet in Independence Day was not the wisest investment, though mine never caught fire. And there was ISDN, an early high-speed Internet connection. Uh, no, give me back my dial-up!
Which brings us to Twitter. I get news alerts and sitreps, e-mails, memos, and press releases, day and night. I write at any hour. But do I want tiny “tweets,” bitelets of what is arguably information, frequently trivial and not infrequently wrong, demanding my attention at any moment? Do I want to send such stuff out? …
** OBAMA TODAY. President Barack Obama is in Columbus, Ohio to address police recruits whose positions were just saved by is economic recovery program. He returns to the White House this afternoon.
Unemployment rose last month to 8.1%, with another 650,000 jobs lost.
Vice President Joe Biden spoke this morning in Florida at the Miami Police Department.
The Senate needs to find some more pork to take out of the federal appropriations bill, already in the system when Obama became president. It’s one vote short of blocking a threatened Republican filibuster.
Jon Stewart discusses the amusingly appalling track record of CNBC.
Obama had dinner in the White House with congressional committee chairs on Wednesday night, in part to deliver the message that the insertion of special projects into legislation had to be throttled way back.
Meanwhile, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is wrapped things up yesterday at the NATO foreign ministers meeting in Brussels, Belgium. She propsed an international conference on Afghanistan co-sponsored by the United Nations. Iran will be invited to this conference. The conference will take place at the end of March.
With Clinton and Obama’s support, NATO is resuming normal relations with Russia. These ties were suspended in the wake of last summer’s Russia-Georgia War.
Today Clinton is in Geneva, Switzerland to meet with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. Russia has already opened up new supply lines for US and NATO troops fighting in Afghanistan, something made necessary by in the increased instability in Pakistan.
The annual Geneva auto show opened to the public yesterday in the midst of the auto market plunge. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger visited the day before.
** FROM THE ARNOLD FILE. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is in Columbus, Ohio for his annual Arnold Classic sports festival.
State Consumer Services Secretary Rosario Marin has resigned after revelation that she has received large speaking fees from corporations.
** YET ANOTHER CALIFORNIA CAMPAIGN: ELECTIONS ABOUND IN THE ARNOLD ERA. And they’re off. Again.
The only year since 2001 that California has not had a statewide election was 2007. And that was when Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger was busy with his rather Rube Goldberg-esque coalition of some business, labor, and health groups trying to pass a version of universal health care. Every other year, including this, has seen the tarnished Golden State holding at least one statewide election.
This May 19th it’s another special statewide election, the fourth of the Arnold Era.
What’s this one about? The recently, arduously concluded state budget compromise to close a $42 billion gap over 18 months caused by a combination of tax cuts, program expansions, and the economic crisis. …
** WHITMAN’S SAMPLER: THE EX-EBAY CEO’S MOVES MIRROR THE REPUBLICAN CRISIS. Like Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal’s rebuttal to President Barack Obama’s speech to the joint session of Congress, former eBay CEO Meg Whitman’s moves at this past weekend’s California Republican Party convention point up the crisis afflicting the Republican Party. …
** OBAMA: RIDING WITH HISTORY. (NOTE: As Barack Obama was inaugurated as the 44th president of the United States, this column was the featured column on the top of the front page of the Huffington Post.) … From my January 19th Huffington Post column.
** 24/7 LIVE TV NEWS FEED FROM RUSSIA TODAY. Russia has re-emerged as one of the world’s great powers. Click here for a live TV news feed on your computer, bringing you English-language, jargon-free, fast-paced coverage of global and Russian news from the new Russia Today channel. You probably already know about CNN International, BBC World, and Al Jazeera. Russia Today, which also features culture, entertainment, and sports, is based in Moscow and is owned and operated by the TV Novosti division of Russia’s state news agency, RIA Novosti.
While it’s quite foolish to expect to see, say, criticism of Vladimir Putin on Russia Today, which I know as a former DemRussia advisor, the channel is very interesting nonetheless. With U.S. cable news chattering away as it does, this sort of respite can be informative. The NWN live link to RT does not constitute an endorsement of the channel’s views. It’s presented as an otherwise unavailable new media window.
** 24/7 LIVE TV NEWS FEED FROM AL JAZEERA. With the US entangled in two wars in the region, it’s valuable to keep up with news and perspectives from the leading Middle Eastern-based TV news network. Based in the Gulf Arab state of Qatar, Al Jazeera is very influential and more than a bit controversial.
Among them is what I’m sure is the first piece examining Schwarzenegger’s legacy as governor of California. Since he will actually be governor of California until 2011. No technology known to be disruptive to the space/time continuum was used in its preparation.
** TRACK GLOBAL AND NATIONAL ENERGY PRICES IN NEAR REAL TIME VIA BLOOMBERG ENERGY MARKET WATCH. After crashing over $147 for yet another record on July 11th, crude oil is trading in the $44 to $45 per barrel range. Which is up some $10 a barrel over recent lows due to the global recession.
President Barack Obama called for major reforms today at his White House forum on health care.
** THE TROUBLE WITH TWITTER: WHY “TWEETS” ARE LIKE “BLIPVERTS.” I love technology. I’ve been a BlackBerry person since 2002, a Mac person since the ’80s. Back in the early ’90s, when I was new to the Internet, I once spent 26 hours straight on it. Never did find the end. I’ve blogged walking down the street talking to a candidate. I use a wireless network of laptops, with one or more frequently playing an international news channel.
But early adoption can go down wrong paths. I spent weeks trying to teach a Newton handheld to read my handwriting. The $5,000 I spent for the souped-up version of the PowerBook that saved the planet in Independence Day was not the wisest investment, though mine never caught fire. And there was ISDN, an early high-speed Internet connection. Uh, no, give me back my dial-up!
Which brings us to Twitter. I get news alerts and sitreps, e-mails, memos, and press releases, day and night. I write at any hour. But do I want tiny “tweets,” bitelets of what is arguably information, frequently trivial and not infrequently wrong, demanding my attention at any moment? Do I want to send such stuff out? …
** A POTENTIAL SOLUTION TO THE BURRIS PROBLEM: BILL DALEY. With Rod Blagojevich-appointed Senator Roland Burris having become a controversial figure in his own right – he forgot to mention he agreed to raise money for the ousted Illinois governor before he got appointed to the Senate – the upcoming 2010 election to choose a permanent replacement for Barack Obama has become a problem.
Enter the potential solution, former US Commerce Secretary Bill Daley. He is talking with former California Governor Gray Davis campaign director Larry Grisolano to handle his campaign. Grisolano was director of paid media in the Obama campaign, and is now a partner in Obama chief strategist David Axelrod’s old consulting firm, which is now sort of presided over by Obama campaign manager David Plouffe. Daley was a national co-chairman of the Obama campaign, and raised a lot of early money for the then freshman senator. His brother is the mayor of Chicago. As was his father.
** NEW COLUMN COMING UP … THE TROUBLE WITH TWITTER: WHY “TWEETS” ARE LIKE “BLIPVERTS.”
** HOTLINE POLL: OBAMA HIGHLY POPULAR, BUT MORE DOUBT ABOUT PROGRAM AMONG CLOSEST OBSERVERS. The new Hotline poll shows President Barack Obama highly popular, with a 68% favorable rating and 67% job approval.
However, while Obama’s economic programs are favored by large margins, the margins go down amongst those who say they have spent a lot of time examining the programs.
First, U.S. Senator and former San Francisco Mayor Dianne Feinstein is the strong favorite if she runs. Of course, as she is the new chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee, that’s not very likely. Which is why the two East Coast polls, more sensitive to Washington politics, do not include her, whereas the San Francisco-based Field Institute does.
LA Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, who won re-election Tuesday night in underwhelming fashion, runs a fairly close second to Brown in the potential Democratic field. But his favorables with Democrats and numbers with the overall electorate are much lower.
San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom runs a more distant third behind Brown and Villaraigosa. His numbers are quite problematic. Somewhat with Democrats, quite so with the overall electorate.
On the Republican side, former eBay CEO Meg Whitman has ridden a wave of recent publicity into a slight lead for the nomination, over former Silicon Valley Congressman Tom Campbell and state Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner. But most voters don’t know much about any of them.
Whitman trails all the top Democrats in general election match-ups, as does Poizner. Brown has the biggest lead.
** CALIFORNIA SUPREME COURT HEARING ARGUMENTS ON PROPOSITION 8. The Court is hearing arguments in the challenge to Proposition 8, the initiative which last November reversed the right of same sex marriage the Court itself had granted earlier last year. You can watch the arguments this morning on the California Channel.
British Prime Minister Gordon Brown discussed the “economic hurricane” that has swept round the world in his address yesterday to a joint sesssion of Congress.
** OBAMA TODAY. President Barack Obama, in his public schedule today, focuses on health care.
Following his daily intelligence and economic briefings, and meeting with senior staffers, all in the Oval Office, Obama delivers opening remarks at the White House forum on health care reform in the East Room.
He then meets in the Oval Office with Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner on the financial and economic crisis. Several massive corporations are in deep trouble, including insurance giant AIG and auto giant GM.
After that, he holds a dialogue with health care forum participants in the East Room.
Vice President Joe Biden addresses the AFL-CIO executive council meeting in Miami, Florida. He and Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood and Miami Mayor Manny Diaz then visit a big construction site in Miami funded by the Obama economic recovery program.
Meanwhile, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is wrapping things up at the NATO foreign ministers meeting in Brussels, Belgium. She is proposing an international conference on Afghanistan co-sponsored by the United Nations. Iran will be invited to this conference.
NATO and Russia are resuming normal ties, which had been suspended in the wake of the Russia-Georgia War last summer.
With Clinton and Obama’s support, NATO is resuming normal relations with Russia. These ties were suspended in the wake of last summer’s Russia-Georgia War.
Tomorrow Clinton will be in Geneva, Switzerland to meet with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.
** FROM THE ARNOLD FILE. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has no scheduled public events today. He is in Los Angeles having private discussions on the aftermath of passage of the new state budget and visiting with his family.
Schwarzenegger, our European governor, is back from a whirlwind trip to Europe. He was in Hannover, Germany for the huge CeBit high tech trade fair, which he opened and for which California was the only state partner.
Then he ducked over to Geneva, Switzerland, where he took in the annual international auto show, one of the premiere events on the global auto show circuit. Joined there by top car company executives, mostly from Germany, Schwarzenegger took in many of the new models, a number of which are built on new, greener, technology.
From Geneva, Schwarzenegger flew to Graz, Austria. There he visited the grave of his mother and visited with friends in a local hotel before flying back to the US.
Tomorrow the former action superstar will be in Columbus, Ohio for his annual Arnold Classic, a festival of bodybuilding, powerlifting, and fitness.
** YET ANOTHER CALIFORNIA CAMPAIGN: ELECTIONS ABOUND IN THE ARNOLD ERA. And they’re off. Again.
The only year since 2001 that California has not had a statewide election was 2007. And that was when Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger was busy with his rather Rube Goldberg-esque coalition of some business, labor, and health groups trying to pass a version of universal health care. Every other year, including this, has seen the tarnished Golden State holding at least one statewide election.
This May 19th it’s another special statewide election, the fourth of the Arnold Era.
What’s this one about? The recently, arduously concluded state budget compromise to close a $42 billion gap over 18 months caused by a combination of tax cuts, program expansions, and the economic crisis. …
** WHITMAN’S SAMPLER: THE EX-EBAY CEO’S MOVES MIRROR THE REPUBLICAN CRISIS. Like Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal’s rebuttal to President Barack Obama’s speech to the joint session of Congress, former eBay CEO Meg Whitman’s moves at this past weekend’s California Republican Party convention point up the crisis afflicting the Republican Party. …
** OBAMA: RIDING WITH HISTORY. (NOTE: As Barack Obama was inaugurated as the 44th president of the United States, this column was the featured column on the top of the front page of the Huffington Post.) … From my January 19th Huffington Post column.
** 24/7 LIVE TV NEWS FEED FROM RUSSIA TODAY. Russia has re-emerged as one of the world’s great powers. Click here for a live TV news feed on your computer, bringing you English-language, jargon-free, fast-paced coverage of global and Russian news from the new Russia Today channel. You probably already know about CNN International, BBC World, and Al Jazeera. Russia Today, which also features culture, entertainment, and sports, is based in Moscow and is owned and operated by the TV Novosti division of Russia’s state news agency, RIA Novosti.
While it’s quite foolish to expect to see, say, criticism of Vladimir Putin on Russia Today, which I know as a former DemRussia advisor, the channel is very interesting nonetheless. With U.S. cable news chattering away as it does, this sort of respite can be informative. The NWN live link to RT does not constitute an endorsement of the channel’s views. It’s presented as an otherwise unavailable new media window.
** 24/7 LIVE TV NEWS FEED FROM AL JAZEERA. With the US entangled in two wars in the region, it’s valuable to keep up with news and perspectives from the leading Middle Eastern-based TV news network. Based in the Gulf Arab state of Qatar, Al Jazeera is very influential and more than a bit controversial.
Among them is what I’m sure is the first piece examining Schwarzenegger’s legacy as governor of California. Since he will actually be governor of California until 2011. No technology known to be disruptive to the space/time continuum was used in its preparation.
** TRACK GLOBAL AND NATIONAL ENERGY PRICES IN NEAR REAL TIME VIA BLOOMBERG ENERGY MARKET WATCH. After crashing over $147 for yet another record on July 11th, crude oil is trading in the $44 to $45 per barrel range. Which is up some $10 a barrel over recent lows due to the global recession.
Fugate is a longtime disaster management veteran, as one might guess from his expericne in Florida.
Lest anyone not get the Obama contrast with former President Bush’s hapless FEMA director, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano will introduce Fugate tomorrow as the new FEMA chief. In New Orleans.
** L.A. STORY: APATHY. 15% turnout in yesterday’s city-wide election, in which Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa won re-election with 55.5% of the vote over a field of unknown and fringe candidates with few if any resources.
One of the mayor’s city council allies won easily for city controller; the other, and closer council ally, fell far shot of a majority which some thought he could get and is in a tough run-off on May 19th.
The mayor’s signature ballot proposition, the solar energy-promoting Measure B, is going down to defeat with all precincts in, 49.7% to 50.3%. The measure, which has an outside chance of prevailing amongst some uncounted ballots, trails by over a thousand votes. Which is a lot in this very low turn-out scenario. It would have changed the city charter to give the city council more control over the independent Department of Water & Power and put the DWP’s incumbent union in the catbird seat on solar contracting.
In 1997, when then Mayor Dick Riordan ran for re-election against state Senator Tom Hayden, Riordan got a much bigger vote than did Villaraigosa yesterday. He beat Hayden, 61.5% to 35%.
Not hearing much about Villaraigosa’s future plans in the aftermath. He has been seen as a potential Democratic candidate for governor, and some in his circle looked to a powerful showing in his re-election campaign to catapult him into the race.
It seems that Villaraigosa has recouped from the controversies earlier in his term, but has not nearly regained the glow that once surrounded him.
** GENEVA INTERNATIONAL AUTO SHOW FEATURES NEW MODELS, NEW TECHNOLOGIES, NEW SURVIVAL EFFORTS FOR INDUSTRY. The big annual international motor show in Geneva, Switzerland is just underway now.
The Californian chaired the Congressional Inauguration Committee, which is why you saw her playing such a high profile role at Obama’s Inauguration ceremony and at the Congressional luncheon honoring the new president just after in Statuary Hall.
“We deeply regret that you were unable to witness this historic event, and offer our sincerest apology,” writes Feinstein, in her capacity as chair of the Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies.
The letter comes with “a special, limited-edition printing of packets of the 56th Inaugural commemorative programs, invitations, photos of the President and Vice President, and a full color photo print of the Ceremony.”
** POLL SHOWS LITTLE SUPPORT FOR HARVEY MILK DAY. A new robopoll by Survey USA finds that only 19% of Californians support the establishment of Harvey Milk Day as a “day of significance.” 69% oppose the idea. San Francisco state Senator Mark Leno has a bill to make Harvey Milk Day happen. Yesterday, Sean Penn, who just won the Best Actor Academy Award for playing the assassinated San Francisco supervisor in Milk, joined Leno in San Francisco to promote the idea.
It may be that respondents worried that Harvey Milk Day would be a full-fledged holiday. Hard to gauge that sort of thing with a robopoll. And it may be that there is not the sort of popular support for Harvey Milk as an iconic figure as there is for Cesar Chavez, the last to receive this sort of California honor.
Milk was a big critical success. In addition to Penn’s Oscar it also won the Oscar for best screenplay. But it was not a real box office hit, grossing just over $30 million at the domestic box office despite all the honors.
As a point of disclosure, I voted for Penn, with whom I’ve had dinner a couple of times, as best actor in the Screen Actors Guild Awards, which he won, and for Milk as best ensemble, the SAG equivalent of best picture. It lost, as at the Oscars, to Slumdog Millionaire. (I didn’t vote for former colleague Josh Brolin, who played assassin Dan White, for best supporting actor because he was up against Heath Ledger’s Joker in The Dark Knight.) At one point, I was going to play a bit part in the picture as a reporter or a cop, but couldn’t do it because Hillary Clinton kept running for so long last year and I was locked into saturation coverage and analysis. I actually met Harvey Milk, who was a good, funny, very smart guy. Penn, incidentally, is a fantastic actor and a great character with whom it’s fun to argue.
** CALIFORNIA FIELD POLL: OBAMA HIGHLY RATED, HUGE JUMP IN THOSE WHO SEE NATION MOVING IN RIGHT DIRECTION. Mirroring national polls, the new Field Poll of California voters finds that President Barack Obama is highly popular in the Golden State.
65% of California voters say Obama is doing a good job as president. That’s 87% of Democrats and 69% of independents. In contrast, only 30% of Republicans say Obama is a good president.
Only 21% of all voters disapprove of Obama’s performance as president.
In perhaps the most dramatic finding – which mirrors a national poll I reported on yesterday – 42% now say America is on the right track. 47% say it is not. However, this is a massive turnaround from last July, when only 15% said right track while 75% said wrong track.
This is the first time in five years that less than half of Californian voters have felt that America is on the wrong track.
Obama, of course, defeated John McCain in California’s November election, 61% to 37%.
California’s drought is starting to have a real impact.
** L.A. STORY: VILLARAIGOSA AVOIDS RUN-OFF AGAINST NO-NAME FIELD, HAS WORK TO DO. Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa won an easy re-election last night against a field of fringe candidates.
With all but one city precinct counted, Villaraigosa had 55.5% of the vote. Runner-up Walter Moore, a business trial lawyer and Republican, had 26.3% of the vote, quintupling his showing of four years ago when Villaraigosa went on to defeat incumbent James Hahn. A fellow who calls himself Zuma Dog finished fourth.
While Villaraigosa ally Councilwoman Wendy Gruehl easily won the city controller’s post, his close ally Councilman Jack Weiss came nowhere near that, finding himself in a dog fight. Weiss finished first, but with only 36.5% of the vote, and faces a May 19th run-off.
Villaraigosa’s signature ballot measure, the rather murky solar energy-promoting Measure B, which was opposed by the LA Times, appears to have gone down to defeat, 49.7% to 50.3%.
Many of those around Villaraigosa, who just a few years ago was touted on national magazine covers as the future of American politics, and last year was a national chair of Hillary Clinton’s campaign, hoped for a powerful showing in this election to catapult him into the California governor’s race.
However, while it’s always good for an incumbent mayor to avoid a run-off, 55% isn’t much of a showing for one running against an incredibly weak field. No one protested when Villaraigosa decided not to debate his opponents, none of whom could afford TV advertising while the mayor spent millions. I’m personally aware of only a couple of them, and not as serious figures.
Will Villaraigosa, after he presumably helps Weiss win in his May 19th run-off, run for governor nonetheless?
Here’s what he said late yesterday morning, before the results became apparent late last night: “Don’t be surprised if I say I’m not gonna do it.”
** OBAMA TODAY. In his public schedule, President Barack Obama focuses on a very troubled federal contracting system today along with relations with Congressional committee leaders. And British Prime Minister Gordon Brown continues his Washington trip with an address to a joint session of Congress.
Obama and Vice President Joe Biden – who heads to Europe next week for high-level consultations there with leaders of the North Atlantic Council – jointly receive the daily intelligence and economic briefings in the Oval Office.
Obama delivers remarks about his plan to reform a broken and increasingly wasteful system of contracting at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building.
He meets with senior advisors and consults with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who visited the West Bank earlier.
Tonight he and First Lady Michelle Obama host dinner with the Congressional committee chairs in the East Room of the White House.
The mission there? Better coordination with the lords and ladies of Capitol Hill, who have embarrassed the Obama Administration at times with insertion of items into spending bills that are easy fodder for embarrassment.
Meanwhile, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown – who will chair the G-20 (group of 20 industrialized nations) meeting next month in London – will preview much of what he will say there in his address today to the Congress.
Gordon Brown wants the US and UK to collaborate on a “global New Deal,” with coordinated stimulus efforts around the world and a new financial regulatory regime. He wants the same banking standards governing transparency, disclosure, accountability and other issues that apply in the United States and Britain to apply to institutions in other nations, particularly those in areas like Eastern Europe or Latin America.
Gordon Brown, who lacks the flair of his Labour prime minister predecessor, Tony Blair, is in trouble in British politics. He trails Conservative leader David Cameron, who is a sort of Blair lite who is a far cry from the conservatives in America, in public opinion polls.
The Guardian calls Brown’s speech “possibly the most important of his political life.” The speech “will be watched closely by Obama to see if Brown could act as a significant ally in the battle to persuade the international stockmarkets that European politicians have answers to the collapse of confidence. It will also be pored over by domestic audiences to see if Brown will join his chancellor, Alistair Darling, in admitting that the government has made mistakes. Brown has told friends that he has no intention of apologising since he believes the banking crisis that started in the US cannot be laid at his door.”
Democrats are very happy about the central role of right-wing radio host Rush Limbaugh in national Republican politics.
** FROM THE ARNOLD FILE. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has no scheduled public events today. He concluded his major role at CeBit, the world’s largest technology trade fair, in Hannover, Germany, last night.
Where is he?
Geneva, Switzerland. What’s going on there? Well, the NATO foreign ministers will be meeting there … Not that that, necessarily, is why the former action superstar is there.
** YET ANOTHER CALIFORNIA CAMPAIGN: ELECTIONS ABOUND IN THE ARNOLD ERA. And they’re off. Again.
The only year since 2001 that California has not had a statewide election was 2007. And that was when Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger was busy with his rather Rube Goldberg-esque coalition of some business, labor, and health groups trying to pass a version of universal health care. Every other year, including this, has seen the tarnished Golden State holding at least one statewide election.
This May 19th it’s another special statewide election, the fourth of the Arnold Era.
What’s this one about? The recently, arduously concluded state budget compromise to close a $42 billion gap over 18 months caused by a combination of tax cuts, program expansions, and the economic crisis. …
** WHITMAN’S SAMPLER: THE EX-EBAY CEO’S MOVES MIRROR THE REPUBLICAN CRISIS. Like Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal’s rebuttal to President Barack Obama’s speech to the joint session of Congress, former eBay CEO Meg Whitman’s moves at this past weekend’s California Republican Party convention point up the crisis afflicting the Republican Party. …
** OBAMA: RIDING WITH HISTORY. (NOTE: As Barack Obama was inaugurated as the 44th president of the United States, this column was the featured column on the top of the front page of the Huffington Post.) … From my January 19th Huffington Post column.
** 24/7 LIVE TV NEWS FEED FROM RUSSIA TODAY. Russia has re-emerged as one of the world’s great powers. Click here for a live TV news feed on your computer, bringing you English-language, jargon-free, fast-paced coverage of global and Russian news from the new Russia Today channel. You probably already know about CNN International, BBC World, and Al Jazeera. Russia Today, which also features culture, entertainment, and sports, is based in Moscow and is owned and operated by the TV Novosti division of Russia’s state news agency, RIA Novosti.
While it’s quite foolish to expect to see, say, criticism of Vladimir Putin on Russia Today, which I know as a former DemRussia advisor, the channel is very interesting nonetheless. With U.S. cable news chattering away as it does, this sort of respite can be informative. The NWN live link to RT does not constitute an endorsement of the channel’s views. It’s presented as an otherwise unavailable new media window.
** 24/7 LIVE TV NEWS FEED FROM AL JAZEERA. With the US entangled in two wars in the region, it’s valuable to keep up with news and perspectives from the leading Middle Eastern-based TV news network. Based in the Gulf Arab state of Qatar, Al Jazeera is very influential and more than a bit controversial.
Among them is what I’m sure is the first piece examining Schwarzenegger’s legacy as governor of California. Since he will actually be governor of California until 2011. No technology known to be disruptive to the space/time continuum was used in its preparation.
** TRACK GLOBAL AND NATIONAL ENERGY PRICES IN NEAR REAL TIME VIA BLOOMBERG ENERGY MARKET WATCH. After crashing over $147 for yet another record on July 11th, crude oil is trading in the $44 to $45 per barrel range. Which is up some $10 a barrel over recent lows due to the global recession.
President Barack Obama, meeting with British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, says he is confident that America will dig its way out of “a really deep hole.”
** VILLARAIGOSA WINNING EASILY BUT UNDERWHELMINGLY IN LOS ANGELES. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa is winning easily but underwhelmingly over a field of fringe in a race that some around him hoped to use to catapult him into the California governor’s race. With 75% of the precincts in at half past midnight, he has 55.9% of the vote over his unfunded and unknown field of opponents. His close ally, Councilman Jack Weiss, is headed for a May 19th run-off for city attorney. He has 36.9% of the vote. More to follow in the AM.
** NEW POLL: OBAMA DEMOCRATS VS. REPUBLICANS – NO CONTEST. The new Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll measures President Barack Obama against his Republican opposition, and it’s no contest. Under Obama’s leadership, Democrats are trusted to right the economy over Republicans, 48% to 20%. Republicans get the blame for bipartisanship not happening by a two-to-one ratio.
Strikingly, despite 70% being dissatisfied with the economy, the number thinking America is on the right track is on the rise.
41% say America is moving in the right direction, while 44% say it is not. This is up from 26% saying America is headed in the right direction just before Obama’s inauguration, and only 12% just before his November election. The right track number is the highest it’s been since January 2004.
In the past, similarly sudden improvements in national mood were recorded only after national emergencies that prompted a rallying effect, such as the 2001 terrorist attacks. In this case, the boost is being driven by Democrats and other Obama voters who are pleased with the opening weeks of the administration. Overall, two-thirds of all Americans say they feel “hopeful” about Mr. Obama’s leadership and plans, compared with 28% who say they feel “doubtful.” …
Part of the explanation for the numbers is that few blame Mr. Obama for the bad economy, with the vast majority of Americans saying he inherited the situation. About half the people will give Mr. Obama at least two years before assigning him responsibility.
** CALIFORNIA 2010. Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, a potential Democratic candidate, holds his mayoral re-election victory party tonight at the fabulous Bonaventure Hotel in downtown LA. The former state Assembly speaker and city councilman is assured of triumph for a second term over a field of fringe candidates. … San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom, who’s been out and about doing town halls around the state exploring his potential run for the Democratic nomination (I attended one and filmed the whole thing) has more than 31,000 supporters now on Facebook, the most of any of the potential candidates in either party. Barack Obama had over 5 million in his campaign. … Former Governor-turned-Attorney General Jerry Brown, who has not announced an exploratory committee but leads all potential contenders by a wide margin in fundraising, addressed the California Police Chiefs convention this morning in Pasadena. He spoke on policing and crime fighting in economic hard times and – joined by several district attorneys and police chiefs – memorialized police officers who died in the line of duty in 2008.
** 2009 LOOKS LIKE BIGGEST DECLINE IN PERSONAL COMPUTER SALES EVER. The Gartner Group forecast of global personal computer sales predicts an 11.9% decline this year.
The decline is entirely accounted for a stunning drop in the sales of desktop computers and by markedly slower growth in full-featured laptop computers.
The only segment showing significant growth is low-cost netbooks. But netbooks, a relatively new phenomenon, which cost only $300 to $500, are expected to make up only 8% of the personal computer market.
Desktop computers are projected to be down 31.7% this year. Full-featured laptops are projected to be up 2.7% this year.
Laptops had already caught and passed desktop computers in the marketplace. Apple was the first big company where that happened, back in 2005.
As personal point of reference, I went laptop only for much of the 1990s, going back to desktop only when the iMac came out.
From mid-2002 on, I’ve been laptop only, and currently run things off of three Apple laptops, two of which are on a wireless network with the oldest in reserve for emergency use.
** NEON TOMMY COVERS THE L.A. ELECTIONS. NWN friend and colleague Marc Cooper advises that Neon Tommy, the new online newspaper launched recently by the USC Annenberg School for Communication, will be covering the Los Angeles elections today live beginning late this afternoon.
Neon Tommy is reported and written by USC graduate and undergraduate journalism students, under the direction of Mr. Cooper.
If you’re wondering about the name, think the USC mascot, Tommy Trojan. Then, you know, add neon. For obvious reasons.
** REPUBLICAN NATIONAL CHAIRMAN’S BACKING DOWN BEFORE LIMBAUGH PLAYS RIGHT INTO DEMOCRATIC HANDS. Here’s the far right Newsmax.com crowing about Republican National Chairman Michael Steele’s abjectly backing down from his criticism of right-wing radio host Rush Limbaugh. Steele claimed over the weekend that Limbaugh is not the leader of Republicans, he is. And that Limbaugh is “an entertainer.”
Limbaugh ripped the new party chairman on his show yesterday and a few hours later, Steele did the kow-tow to El Rushbo.
President Barack Obama visited the Department of Transportation this morning, touting the impact of the transportation infrastructure spending in his economic recovery program.
** FIELD POLL: EARLY BACKING FOR CALIFORNIA SPECIAL ELECTION INITIATIVES. The new Field Poll shows California voters backing all six of the state budget-related initiatives appearing on the May 19th special election ballot. The one that needs a real selling job is the borrowing of future Lottery proceeds, which is only ahead by eight points.
Not that the state budget compromise, tortuously worked out over months and barely passed with the state’s unusual two-thirds vote requirement, is popular. It’s not. Not surprisingly.
The poll also finds big support for the open primary, which emerged as a final condition for state budget passage at the insistence of moderate Republican state Senator Abel Maldonado.
Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger’s job approval rating is at 38%. Which will improve now that there is at last a budget and he is no longer sequestered in a tedious schedule which had me writing the same thing day after day about his activities.
The poll, as is common with the California public polls, was conducted over a long period of time: February 20 to March 1. Information moves faster than that.
** OBAMA TODAY. President Barack Obama has a busy Tuesday. After his daily intelligence briefing, he spoke at the Department of Transportation about some immediate impacts of the economic recovery bill, namely 200 construction projects starting up around the country in the next few weeks.
He then meets with British Prime Minister Gordon Brown in the Oval Office. Obama and Brown then have a working lunch in the White House.
After lunch, with the British PM, Obama goes over to the Department of the Interior to celebrate its 160th anniversary.
Following a meeting in the White House with the Boy Scouts of America delegation, Obama and Vice President Joe Biden meet with Defense Secretary Bob Gates in the Oval Office.
On the probable agenda: Iraq, the Afghanistan strategic review, the increasingly unstable situation in Pakistan, and the opening to Russia.
The US has new supply lines to Afghanistan, courtesy of Russia, to replace increasingly insecure lines in Pakistan.
Now there is a new opening – which has been bandied about quite a lot here on NWN in the past – with regard to the US backing away from the highly controversial missile shield in Eastern Europe (ostensibly aimed at Iran) in exchange for Russia effectively interceding against Iran’s nuclear weapons program.
The Russian media has reported that Obama sent a private letter to President Dmitri Medvedev about three weeks ago raising that prospect.
Obama and Medvedev will have a mini-summit next month in London. This is believed to be preparatory to an Obama trip to Moscow later this year.
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton met with former Israeli Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu today.
Meanwhile, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who will meet later this week in Geneva with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, is on tour in the Middle East. Today in Israel, she met with former Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu, whose conservative Likud is still trying to form a national unity government a few weeks after finishing second to the centrist Kadima in national elections.
Clinton pledged that the US will continue to support Israel. However, that will be more difficult if Netanyahu fails to form a national unity government and instead has to form a right-wing coalition government.
Clinton also said that the US will begin direct talks with Syria.
** FROM THE ARNOLD FILE. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is in Hannover, Germany today for CeBIT, the world’s biggest technology trade fair. California is an official partner of CeBIT, the only state partner. CeBIT drew a half-million attendees from nearly 100 companies in 2008.
Schwarzenegger does extensive tours of the various exhibits and conferences of CeBit throughout the day.
At the luncheon of the American Chamber of Commerce in Germany, he receives the Transatlantic Partnership Award.
In the evening, he speaks at the CeBit California reception.
** WHITMAN’S SAMPLER: THE EX-EBAY CEO’S MOVES MIRROR THE REPUBLICAN CRISIS. Like Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal’s rebuttal to President Barack Obama’s speech to the joint session of Congress, former eBay CEO Meg Whitman’s moves at this past weekend’s California Republican Party convention point up the crisis afflicting the Republican Party. …
** OBAMA: RIDING WITH HISTORY. (NOTE: As Barack Obama was inaugurated as the 44th president of the United States, this column was the featured column on the top of the front page of the Huffington Post.) … From my January 19th Huffington Post column.
** 24/7 LIVE TV NEWS FEED FROM RUSSIA TODAY. Russia has re-emerged as one of the world’s great powers. Click here for a live TV news feed on your computer, bringing you English-language, jargon-free, fast-paced coverage of global and Russian news from the new Russia Today channel. You probably already know about CNN International, BBC World, and Al Jazeera. Russia Today, which also features culture, entertainment, and sports, is based in Moscow and is owned and operated by the TV Novosti division of Russia’s state news agency, RIA Novosti.
While it’s quite foolish to expect to see, say, criticism of Vladimir Putin on Russia Today, which I know as a former DemRussia advisor, the channel is very interesting nonetheless. With U.S. cable news chattering away as it does, this sort of respite can be informative. The NWN live link to RT does not constitute an endorsement of the channel’s views. It’s presented as an otherwise unavailable new media window.
** 24/7 LIVE TV NEWS FEED FROM AL JAZEERA. With the US entangled in two wars in the region, it’s valuable to keep up with news and perspectives from the leading Middle Eastern-based TV news network. Based in the Gulf Arab state of Qatar, Al Jazeera is very influential and more than a bit controversial.
Among them is what I’m sure is the first piece examining Schwarzenegger’s legacy as governor of California. Since he will actually be governor of California until 2011. No technology known to be disruptive to the space/time continuum was used in its preparation.
President Barack Obama named Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius as US secretary of health and human services today. Former Kansas Senator Bob Dole, the 1996 Republican presidential nominee, was on hand in the White House.
** YET ANOTHER CALIFORNIA CAMPAIGN: ELECTIONS ABOUND IN THE ARNOLD ERA. And they’re off. Again.
The only year since 2001 that California has not had a statewide election was 2007. And that was when Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger was busy with his rather Rube Goldberg-esque coalition of some business, labor, and health groups trying to pass a version of universal health care. Every other year, including this, has seen the tarnished Golden State holding at least one statewide election.
This May 19th it’s another special statewide election, the fourth of the Arnold Era.
What’s this one about? The recently, arduously concluded state budget compromise to close a $42 billion gap over 18 months caused by a combination of tax cuts, program expansions, and the economic crisis. …
Here’s the duel that Obama and Limbaugh are jointly arranging:
On the one side, the president of the United States: soft-spoken and conciliatory, never angry, always invoking the recession and its victims. This president invokes the language of “responsibility,” and in his own life seems to epitomize that ideal: He is physically honed and disciplined, his worst vice an occasional cigarette. He is at the same time an apparently devoted husband and father. Unsurprisingly, women voters trust and admire him.
And for the leader of the Republicans? A man who is aggressive and bombastic, cutting and sarcastic, who dismisses the concerned citizens in network news focus groups as “losers.” With his private plane and his cigars, his history of drug dependency and his personal bulk, not to mention his tangled marital history, Rush is a walking stereotype of self-indulgence – exactly the image that Barack Obama most wants to affix to our philosophy and our party. And we’re cooperating! Those images of crowds of CPACers cheering Rush’s every rancorous word – we’ll be seeing them rebroadcast for a long time.
Rush knows what he is doing. The worse conservatives do, the more important Rush becomes as leader of the ardent remnant. The better conservatives succeed, the more we become a broad national governing coalition, the more Rush will be sidelined.
But do the rest of us understand what we are doing to ourselves by accepting this leadership? Rush is to the Republicanism of the 2000s what Jesse Jackson was to the Democratic party in the 1980s. He plays an important role in our coalition, and of course he and his supporters have to be treated with respect. But he cannot be allowed to be the public face of the enterprise – and we have to find ways of assuring the public that he is just one Republican voice among many, and very far from the most important.
Early this morning, Blackwater founder Erik Prince released a brief statement announcing he is stepping down as CEO of the infamous mercenary firm he started in 1997. A press release from the company — which last month renamed itself “Xe” — said Prince “will now focus his efforts on a private equity venture unrelated to the company.”
In a personal message sent to his employees and clients, Prince sought to cast his departure as a natural part of the firm’s ongoing evolution. “As many of you know, because we focus on continually improving our business that Xe is in the process of a comprehensive restructuring,” he wrote. “It is with pride in our many accomplishments and confidence in Xe’s future that I announce my resignation as the company’s Chief Executive Officer.”
** NEW POLICY FOR CALIFORNIA ON ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT PRISONERS. Illegal immigrants caught on parole violations are being released to federal custody for deportation. These are folks who were already in a gray area, as it is policy already to turn over illegals once they’ve done their time.
In some places, it’s already policy to turn over illegal immigrants who’ve been arrested to federal immigration authorities.
** L.A. ELECTIONS TOMORROW. Oh, yes, nearly forgot. In one of the most buzzless elections in Los Angeles in memory – and that is saying a lot – Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and all incumbent city councilmembers will be re-elected in tomorrow’s election.
It’s a far cry from the excitement around Villaraigosa’s election four years ago. Why is he winning so easily? Nobody of any note is running.
It’s tough to beat an incumbent. The professional pols can wait for Antonio to be term limited. And the job is not highly sought after enough to draw a big outsider candidate.
** NEW COLUMN COMING UP … YET ANOTHER CALIFORNIA CAMPAIGN: ELECTIONS ABOUND IN THE ARNOLD ERA.
MONDAY MORNING QUARTERBACK
Not exactly a quiet week this week in presidential and California politics, but likely quieter than the past few.
President Barack Obama appoints his friend and ally, Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius to be US health secretary, in the wake of the misfiring appointment of former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle. This is health care week for the White House.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average, sent reeling again by cratering financial stocks, tests to see if 7000 is the new floor. For a time, it seemed that 8000 was.
The Obama Administration will also have to contemplate what to do with global insurance giant American International Group. AIG, which has already been massively bailed out, is getting another $30 billion.
Why? Because it just announced that it lost $61.7 billion in the fourth quarter, the largest corporate loss in American history.
To put this in perspective, the latest bailout tranche is roughly the size of the SCHIP bill, the childrens health insurance program that then President Bush vetoed and some right-wing pundits described as a sign of socialism.
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton arrived Sunday night in Egypt for her first trip to the Middle East as America’s top diplomat.
It’s a significant week in geopolitics, with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on her maiden voyage to the Middle East as the top US diplomat. She brings fresh aid for the rebuilding of Gaza in the wake of the Israel-Hamas fighting.
Clinton also attends her first NATO foreign ministers meeting in Geneva. There she will meet separately with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. This is part of the preparation for next month’s summit meeting between Obama and Russian President Dmitri Medvedev.
Meanwhile, Pakistan continues to crumble. The national government, having granted limited sharia law in part of the country in exchange for a Taliban ceasefire, suspended the government of Punjab, a still functioning part of the country, in a factional fight.
Things are quieter in California. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, with the marathon budget negotiations at last complete – though a special election campaign for associated initiatives looms on May 19th – is out of the state.
The 2010 governors race continues in its customary low-key way.
** OBAMA TODAY. After receiving his daily intelligence and economic briefings and meeting with senior advisors, President Barack Obama appoints Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius as the new secretary of health and human services today.
In the afternoon, he meets with Veterans Affairs Secretary General Eric Shinseki, the former chief of staff of the US Army.
** FROM THE ARNOLD FILE. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is in Germany today, where he will delivers the opening ceremony address at CeBIT, the world’s biggest technology trade fair. California is an official partner of CeBIT, the only state partner. CeBIT drew a half-million attendees from nearly 100 companies in 2008.
Schwarzenegger also meets with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Lower Saxony Minister President Christian Wulff, and Hannover Lord Mayor Stephen Weil.
The cast of Watchmen, the potential next comic book movie blockbuster, says it’s darker than TheDark Knight.
** WHITMAN’S SAMPLER: THE EX-EBAY CEO’S MOVES MIRROR THE REPUBLICAN CRISIS. Like Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal’s rebuttal to President Barack Obama’s speech to the joint session of Congress, former eBay CEO Meg Whitman’s moves at this past weekend’s California Republican Party convention point up the crisis afflicting the Republican Party. …
** OBAMA: RIDING WITH HISTORY. (NOTE: As Barack Obama was inaugurated as the 44th president of the United States, this column was the featured column on the top of the front page of the Huffington Post.) … From my January 19th Huffington Post column.
** 24/7 LIVE TV NEWS FEED FROM RUSSIA TODAY. Russia has re-emerged as one of the world’s great powers. Click here for a live TV news feed on your computer, bringing you English-language, jargon-free, fast-paced coverage of global and Russian news from the new Russia Today channel. You probably already know about CNN International, BBC World, and Al Jazeera. Russia Today, which also features culture, entertainment, and sports, is based in Moscow and is owned and operated by the TV Novosti division of Russia’s state news agency, RIA Novosti.
While it’s quite foolish to expect to see, say, criticism of Vladimir Putin on Russia Today, which I know as a former DemRussia advisor, the channel is very interesting nonetheless. With U.S. cable news chattering away as it does, this sort of respite can be informative. The NWN live link to RT does not constitute an endorsement of the channel’s views. It’s presented as an otherwise unavailable new media window.
** 24/7 LIVE TV NEWS FEED FROM AL JAZEERA. With the US entangled in two wars in the region, it’s valuable to keep up with news and perspectives from the leading Middle Eastern-based TV news network. Based in the Gulf Arab state of Qatar, Al Jazeera is very influential and more than a bit controversial.
Among them is what I’m sure is the first piece examining Schwarzenegger’s legacy as governor of California. Since he will actually be governor of California until 2011. No technology known to be disruptive to the space/time continuum was used in its preparation.
President Barack Obama in his weekend video/radio address says that his proposed budget represents needed change and vows to fight “special interests” who oppose him.
** OBAMA TODAY – SUNDAY. President Barack Obama has no public events today.
But members of his administration are off and running.
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is in the Middle East for a tour of the region. Late in the week, she will meet with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Geneva.
And on the Sunday shows …
Defense Secretary Bob Gates on NBC’s Meet The Press, said it’s “a fairly remote chance” that the Iraq withdrawal plan will not work. He also said that the US will be in a better position to help Mexico, which has a huge problem with drug cartels that are destabilizing the country. And that Obama is “more analytical” than former President George W. Bush. Gates is the only member of the Bush Cabinet retained by Obama.
Gates described group meetings with Obama, in which Obama solicits opinions from everyone and then goes on to call on those who don’t offer them up.
Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Admiral Mike Mullen on Fox News Sunday said he’s confident about the Iraq withdrawal program, noting that Obama consulted extensively with the military leadership before deciding. He also declined to talk about “winning and losing” in Iraq.
Federal Budget Director Peter Orszag on ABC’s This Week expressed confidence in the Obama economic recovery program. As a result, he says that halving the federal budget deficit by 2013 is very realistic.
Right-wing radio host Rush Limbaugh told the Conservative Political Action Conference that “conservatives love people.”
White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel, on CBS’s Face The Nation, called right-wing radio host Rush Limbaugh “the intellectual force behind the Republican Party.”
As I wrote a few weeks ago, it’s clearly an Obama strategy to prod Limbaugh from time to time, and to make him the face of the right-wing Republican opposition.
A very sound strategy.
Limbaugh is too central to the Republican Party for Republican politicians to disavow and too extreme for the mainstream. The Republicans are simply stuck with him.
** FROM THE ARNOLD FILE. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is heading to Germany, where he will deliver the opening ceremony address at CeBIT, the world’s biggest technology trade fair. California is an official partner of CeBIT, the only state partner. CeBIT drew a half-million attendees from nearly 100 companies in 2008.
** WHITMAN’S SAMPLER: THE EX-EBAY CEO’S MOVES MIRROR THE REPUBLICAN CRISIS. Like Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal’s rebuttal to President Barack Obama’s speech to the joint session of Congress, former eBay CEO Meg Whitman’s moves at this past weekend’s California Republican Party convention point up the crisis afflicting the Republican Party. …
** OBAMA: RIDING WITH HISTORY. (NOTE: As Barack Obama was inaugurated as the 44th president of the United States, this column was the featured column on the top of the front page of the Huffington Post.) … From my January 19th Huffington Post column.
** 24/7 LIVE TV NEWS FEED FROM RUSSIA TODAY. Russia has re-emerged as one of the world’s great powers. Click here for a live TV news feed on your computer, bringing you English-language, jargon-free, fast-paced coverage of global and Russian news from the new Russia Today channel. You probably already know about CNN International, BBC World, and Al Jazeera. Russia Today, which also features culture, entertainment, and sports, is based in Moscow and is owned and operated by the TV Novosti division of Russia’s state news agency, RIA Novosti.
While it’s quite foolish to expect to see, say, criticism of Vladimir Putin on Russia Today, which I know as a former DemRussia advisor, the channel is very interesting nonetheless. With U.S. cable news chattering away as it does, this sort of respite can be informative. The NWN live link to RT does not constitute an endorsement of the channel’s views. It’s presented as an otherwise unavailable new media window.
** 24/7 LIVE TV NEWS FEED FROM AL JAZEERA. With the US entangled in two wars in the region, it’s valuable to keep up with news and perspectives from the leading Middle Eastern-based TV news network. Based in the Gulf Arab state of Qatar, Al Jazeera is very influential and more than a bit controversial.
Among them is what I’m sure is the first piece examining Schwarzenegger’s legacy as governor of California. Since he will actually be governor of California until 2011. No technology known to be disruptive to the space/time continuum was used in its preparation.
** TRACK GLOBAL AND NATIONAL ENERGY PRICES IN NEAR REAL TIME VIA BLOOMBERG ENERGY MARKET WATCH. After crashing over $147 for yet another record on July 11th, crude oil closed at $44.76 per barrel on Friday. Energy markets are closed on the weekend.
The oil rally of about $10 per barrel over the last week coincides with the enactment of the Obama economic recovery program, which traders think will stimulate more economic activity.
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