In a classic example of closing the barn door, Afghan security forces today tightened security in Kabul, site of a brazen Taliban assault that paralyzed the capital city yesterday.
** QUICK HITS. There is no media exit poll for today’s Massachusetts special election to replace the late Senator Ted Kennedy. Why not? Because the TV networks didn’t expect it to be a real race, either, and organizing a real exit poll takes a fair amount of lead time. … This is not stopping the finger-pointing on the Democratic side from taking place even before the election is over. I’ll have more on that, and my own thoughts about the election, tomorrow. … Senator Barbara Boxer’s campaign, which is decidedly not ignoring her would-be Republican opponents — they send out a lot of stuff on the Republican candidates, which I seldom get into — announced today that she enters the election year with $7.2 million in the bank. At this point in her last re-election race, which she won handily, Boxer had $5 million cash on hand. In the last quarter of 2009, she raised over $1.8 million from 23,000 donors.
** 24 NATION.Well, 24 has returned, with a vengeance. The controversial hit TV series, one of the key shows of the past decade, is proving relevant in this decade, too. As recent polling clearly shows, it turns out that its hardball ethos on terrorism resonates just as well in the Obama Era as it did in the Bush/Cheney years.
I’ll get to the very recent Gallup polls — which indicate that the 24 ethos is majority sentiment in America — in a moment.
24 premiered in the fall of 2001, a time which serendipitously made it very of the moment in the wake of 9/11. Its innovative “real-time” experiment — the show’s conceit is that each episode equates to an hour in the latest very bad day of ace counter-terrorist agent Jack Bauer, well played in brooding anti-heroic fashion as always by Kiefer Sutherland — still works. The show attracted critical acclaim and big audiences, though the viewer increasingly had to suspend disbelief at outlandish plots. After sweeping the big Emmy Awards in its fifth season, the show sagged badly in its sixth outing before recovering somewhat last year. (It essentially lost a year to the writers’ strike.) …
** CALIFORNIA 2010: MORE ACTION IN THE REPUBLICAN GUBERNATORIAL PRIMARY. In just the latest sign of an increasingly heated Republican primary for governor of California, Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner this morning announced that former Governor George Deukmejian is now backing him.
Deukmejian, who was governor from 1983 to 1991, now counters the backing of ex-eBay CEO Meg Whitman by former Governor Pete Wilson, who succeeded Deukmejian in the governorship.
This follows a very combative interview the other day by Poizner on the popular right-wing LA talk show of radio personalities John and Ken. Poizner ripped Whitman as a fake conservative. Like Poizner, Whitman has been running way over on the right side of the track, with the exception of abortion. Both have been viewed in the past as moderates, but have been doing everything possible to appeal to the far right in the Republican primary.
Poizner noted that Whitman’s apparent chief advisor, Henry Gomez, is a former Democratic National Committee official who contributed to Barack Obama’s campaign. Poizner ripped Whitman for her backing of Senator Barbara Boxer in her last re-election campaign and for her past friendship with very controversial ex-White House aide Van Jones.
He also mocked her as someone who is faking being “tough on the environment” for contributing hundreds of thousands of dollars to the Environmental Defense Fund. In today’s conservative terms, being tough on the environment means siding with companies that resist environmental regulation.
After letting Whitman spend months — and millions — on unchallenged radio ads last year, building a primary lead in the process, Poizner last month put $15 million of his personal wealth into his campaign warchest. He probably had more cash on hand at the end of the year than Whitman.
Whitman, incidentally, has essentially disappeared for the past few weeks, something of an extension of her practice of not doing interviews with people who know California politics and issues. She had two essentially disastrous press conferences last year, one of which I filmed.
Perhaps she is preparing for the forthcoming launch of her new book, which sounds like a classic CEO tome. There are already some reviews available, most notably in the Financial Times, but I’ll write about it when it’s out later this month.
On a sad note, Whitman’s mother, whose name was also Margaret, passed away last night at the age of 89.
Republicans hope that today’s special election in Massachusetts will be a national game-changer, thwarting President Barack Obama’s agenda and loosening the Democratic grip on the U.S. Senate.
** OBAMA TODAY. President Barack Obama is in Washington and Virginia today.
He has received his daily intelligence briefing in the Oval Office.
Obama and Education Secretary Arne Duncan held a discussion with 6th grade students at Graham Road Elementary School in Falls Church, Virginia.
Obama then delivered remarks on the Race to the Top initiative at Graham Road Elementary School.
Obama wants another $1.35 billion to go with the $4.35 billion in the existing education challenge grants program, which has led to a big outpouring around the country. He also wants to continue promoting more charter schools, parental choice, and linkage of teacher evaluation to student performance.
At 8:30 AM Pacific, Obama meets with Ohio Senator George Senator Voinovich in the Oval Office. Voinovich, a moderate Republican, is not seeking re-election and could be an ally this year. The president may need him.
At 9:30 AM Pacific, Obama and Vice President Biden have lunch in the Private Dining Room.
At 10:30 AM Pacific, Obama receives the daily economic briefing in the Oval Office.
At 1:25 PM Pacific, Obama meets with senior advisors in the Oval Office.
At 5 PM Pacific, the polls close in Massachusetts’ special election for the late Ted Kennedy’s old seat in the Senate.
Democrats are grimly assessing the prospect that party nominee Martha Coakley will be upset by a previously little known Republican state senator named Scott Brown.
Coakley was in coasting mode until recently, not doing well in debates, allowing Brown to define himself and sneak up on her. He has a lot of unpopular positions, including opposition to the new tax on bailed-out banking system giving big bonuses to executives. But he is riding a pseudo-populist wave against a too complacent candidate.
Obama went to Massachusetts on Sunday to try to salvage the race.
If Coakley loses, Democrats drop one vote below the 60 votes needed to avert a filibuster in the Senate.
Which will throw a wrench in the works of the national health care bill. Obama’s talks with congressional leaders on the national health care reform bill have it nearly ready to go for final passage.
A Brown victory makes scenarios for passage significantly more difficult, and Obama will be discussing the options.
Obama, incidentally, has scheduled his State of the Union address. It is now set for January 27th.
Obama is also monitoring geopolitical crises in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Iran, as well as the Ukrainian presidential election, the first round of which took place on Sunday.
Afghanistan is clearly struggling. A few days ago, the Afghan parliament for a second time denied most of President Hamid Karzai’s cabinet appointees. This is a serious problem for Afghanistan’s already very shaky governance.
Yesterday, a small band of Taliban fighters paralyzed the capital city of Kabul with a daring strike. They’re all dead now, but security looks very lax.
Today a UN report declared that 25% of Afghanistan’s GDP is spent on bribes to public officials.
None of this is heartening in advance of next week’s international conference on Afghanistan in London.
In Ukraine, the presidential election over the weekend ended that nation’s pronounced by in recent years fading pro-American tilt, which dated back to the so-called Orange Revolution of 2004.
Both candidates have agreed to end Ukraine’s bid to be part of NATO.
This will further Russia’s strategy of consolidating influence in its “near abroad,” which is also known as the post-Soviet space.
International crews trying to deliver aid to Haiti have been hindered by pockets of violence and chaos. Meanwhile the estimated death toll has doubled to 200,000.
And there is the relief effort in Haiti, which is struggling amidst chaos and unrest.
The Haitian government, never very strong, has essentially collapsed, with the security situation perilous.
** FROM THE ARNOLD FILE. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is in Los Angeles and the San Francisco Bay Area today.
At 7 PM, he will participate in a moderated Q&A with former Secretary of State George Shultz at the Hoover Institution’s Energy Task Force Conference entitled “Evaluating America’s Energy Policies One Year into the Obama Administration.”
** THE LAST CLINTON MELODRAMA? (AND OTHER SENSATIONALIST GAME CHANGE GOSSIP) Is this the last Clinton melodrama? There is a certain air of finality to it. Not because nothing more can happen, but because the most likely melodramas of the future (and most recent past) are laid out and have received far less pushback than they would have before. … From my January 14th column.
** OBAMA’S SECURITY PROBLEMS: THE MEDIA, CHENEY AND, OH YES, THE ISSUE.President Barack Obama does have a big problem on security. Well, more accurately, he has big problems. But not all the problems that are trumpeted are real, for the trumpeting itself is a big part of the problem.
The Christmas Day attack in the skies over Detroit failed in a literal sense yet succeeded in reviving the issue of terrorism in American politics. Though not to the extent that many imagine, which I’ll get to in a moment.
** THE BAND OF THE DECADE: THE BEATLES?!What does it say that the biggest musical group of the first decade of this new millennium recorded its last album 40 years ago? … From my January 1st essay.
** 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, 2009 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 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, 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. Click here for a live TV news feed on your computer. The NWN live link to AJ does not constitute an endorsement of the channel’s views. It’s presented as an otherwise unavailable new media window.
This is up about $44 from the low of $34 per barrel prior to enactment of the Obama economic recovery program, reflecting a low point in global economic activity.
Your posts are welcome in the Forum. You can send me a private tip by clicking on the “Contact” button in the upper right.
Martin Luther King’s famed “I have a dream” speech.
** NEW COLUMN COMING UP … 24 NATION. The controversial hit TV show returns with a season premiere on Sunday night and Monday night.
** OBAMA TODAY – MONDAY. President Barack Obama is in Washington today.
Obama has received the daily intelligence briefing and met with senior advisors in the Oval Office.
At 10:30 AM Pacific, Obama hosts a conversation with a small group of African American senior citizens and their grandchildren on the legacy of the civil rights movement in the Roosevelt Room.
At 3:05 PM Pacific, Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama attend the Let Freedom Ring concert at the Kennedy Center and the president delivers remarks.
In other action, Taliban fighters launched a stunning series of strikes today across the Afghan capital of Kabul. NATO troops had to be called in to defeat them.
In yesterday’s election in Ukraine, the top two finishers were, as expected, pro-Russian candidates who will end the nation’s bid to be part of NATO. I’ll have more about that during the week. I predicted this early last year.
** FROM THE ARNOLD FILE – MONDAY. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is in Los Angeles today.
At 9:45 AM, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and First Lady Maria Shriver commemorate Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of Service at an L.A. Works service project at Van Nuys Middle School. Volunteers are devoting a day of service to revitalizing the grounds of the school.
This Haitian rescuer says the priority right now is removing the dead bodies crushed underneath buildings and putting them in mass graves.
** OBAMA TODAY – SUNDAY. President Barack Obama is in Washington and Massachusetts today.
He has received his daily intelligence briefing in the Oval Office.
Obama then attended service at Vermont Avenue Baptist Church, where he delivered remarks on Martin Luther King and the world situation.
At 10:45 AM Pacific, Obama departs Andrews Air Force Base on Air Force One en route to Boston, Massachusetts.
At 11:55 AM Pacific, Obama arrives in Boston, Massachusetts.
At 12:35 PM Pacific, Obama delivers remarks at a public event with state Attorney General Martha Coakley.
Obama is trying to salvage Coakley’s election on Tuesday to the late Ted Kennedy’s old Senate seat.
At 1:55 PM Pacific, Obama departs Boston on Air Force One en route to Andrews Air Force Base.
At 3:15 PM Pacific, Obama arrives at Andrews Air Force Base, where he boards Marine One.
At 3:30 PM Pacific, Obama lands on the South Lawn of the White House.
** FROM THE ARNOLD FILE – SUNDAY. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is in Los Angeles today.
He has no scheduled public events.
President Barack Obama has asked former Presidents George W. Bush and Bill Clinton to coordinate efforts to involve more Americans in the recovery and rebuilding effort that’s needed in Haiti. The three appeared together on Saturday morning in the White House Rose Garden.
** OBAMA TODAY – SATURDAY. President Barack Obama is in Washington today.
He has received his daily intelligence briefing in the Oval Office.
Obama then met with former President Bill Clinton and former President George W. Bush in the Oval Office.
The topic? Haiti.
Obama has asked the two to partner in spearheading relief efforts for Haiti.
Obama, Clinton, and Bush then delivered brief remarks on Haiti from the Rose Garden.
While some want to send water or blankets to help, the three presidents are asking that people donate money.
Obama is continuing talking with congressional leaders on the national health care reform bill, which is nearly ready to go for final passage.
Why the urgency? Two reasons.
First, he wants the bill before the State of the Union address, which is already likely to be later than usual.
Second, Democrats are now very worried about losing that Massachusetts special election for the late Ted Kennedy’s old seat next Tuesday. State Attorney General Martha Coakley was in coasting mode until recently, not doing well in debates, allowing state Senator Scott Brown to sneak up on her.
He has a lot of unpopular positions, including opposition to the new tax on bailed-out banking system giving big bonuses to executives. But he is riding a pseudo-populist wave against a too complacent candidate.
In his weekend video/radio address, President Barack Obama discusses his proposal for a new fee on the largest financial institutions.
Obama is going to Massachusetts on Sunday to try to salvage the race.
Obama is also monitoring geopolitical crises in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Iran, as well as the Ukrainian presidential election on Sunday.
In Afghanistan, the Afghan parliament has for a second time denied most of President Hamid Karzai’s cabinet appointees. This is a serious problem for Afghanistan’s already very shaky governance.
Since the leading candidates are pro-Russian, a pro-Russian candidate will almost certainly win the Ukrainian presidential election, ending the overtly pro-American period which began with the Orange Revolution in 2004.
This will further Russia’s strategy of consolidating influence in its “near abroad,” which is also known as the post-Soviet space.
** FROM THE ARNOLD FILE – SATURDAY. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is in Los Angeles today.
At 9:15 P, he will deliver remarks at the American Friends of The Hebrew University Scopus Dinner at the Beverly Hills Hotel.
There he will present Frank Gehry with the Scopus Award. Gehry is one of the great architects of the age.
** THE LAST CLINTON MELODRAMA? (AND OTHER SENSATIONALIST GAME CHANGE GOSSIP) Is this the last Clinton melodrama? There is a certain air of finality to it. Not because nothing more can happen, but because the most likely melodramas of the future (and most recent past) are laid out and have received far less pushback than they would have before.
I’m referring to the reading of and reportage on the Clintons from the 2008 presidential campaign contained in the gossipy new book, Game Change, by East Coast magazine reporters Mark Halperin (Time) and John Heileman (New York). It’s quite unflattering to the now secretary of state and the former president, yet there hasn’t been the sort of big response we’ve seen with regard to past attacks, journalistic and otherwise. That’s probably because most of those high-level defenders were anonymous sources for the book, or are willing to concede the points.
So perhaps the endless chronic melodrama that has gripped American politics on and off for nearly two decades is ended at last and no one will be surprised by what happens in the future.
Or perhaps we already knew all this, as is the case with most of Game Change, and we look to the book for dishy details to fill in the remaining blanks of the pictures we already see in our minds. … From my January 14th column.
** OBAMA’S SECURITY PROBLEMS: THE MEDIA, CHENEY AND, OH YES, THE ISSUE.President Barack Obama does have a big problem on security. Well, more accurately, he has big problems. But not all the problems that are trumpeted are real, for the trumpeting itself is a big part of the problem.
The Christmas Day attack in the skies over Detroit failed in a literal sense yet succeeded in reviving the issue of terrorism in American politics. Though not to the extent that many imagine, which I’ll get to in a moment.
** THE BAND OF THE DECADE: THE BEATLES?!What does it say that the biggest musical group of the first decade of this new millennium recorded its last album 40 years ago? … From my January 1st essay.
** 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, 2009 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 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, 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. Click here for a live TV news feed on your computer. The NWN live link to AJ does not constitute an endorsement of the channel’s views. It’s presented as an otherwise unavailable new media window.
** TRACK GLOBAL AND NATIONAL ENERGY PRICES IN NEAR REAL TIME VIA BLOOMBERG ENERGY MARKET WATCH. Having crashed over $147 for yet another record on July 11th, 2008, crude oil closed on Friday at $78.00 per barrel. Energy markets are closed on the weekend.
This is up about $44 from the low of $34 per barrel prior to enactment of the Obama economic recovery program, reflecting a low point in global economic activity.
Your posts are welcome in the Forum. You can send me a private tip by clicking on the “Contact” button in the upper right.
NOTE: The morning glitch, which affected my end, not the reader’s, has been fixed.
Defense Secretary Bob Gates said today that an investigation into the Fort Hood shootings — which were carried out by an Army officer who had embraced Islamic extremism — found that the military isn’t sufficiently prepared to prevent similar attacks in the future.
** NEW COLUMN COMING UP … 24 NATION. The hit TV show returns this coming Sunday night and Monday night.
** QUICK HITS. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton heads to Haiti tomorrow to oversee the massive emerging American relief effort there. … Some 10,000 U.S. troops are slated to be either on the ground in Haiti or off its coast by January 18th. … President Barack Obama is heading to Massachusetts on Sunday to try to make sure that the Democratic candidate holds the late Ted Kennedy’s old Senate seat. … In a coup for new California Republican Senate candidate Tom Campbell, highly-regarded McNally Temple Associates signed on to help his campaign. … A state court of appeals has temporarily granted Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger’s move to block state Controller John Chiang’s decision to halt the furlough of prison guards by increasing their pay.
** GETTING IT WRONG, AGAIN: ABOUT THAT BROWN “BAILOUT” … With all the turmoil in Republican ranks in California, a mostly Democratic state, Democrats are in pretty good shape electorally, right?
You’d think so, especially since President Obama is still very popular here. And in fact the answer is yes.
But an odd story cropped up on Monday. Well, let me rephrase that a bit … An odd “story” cropped up on Monday.
The San Francisco Chronicle’s Carla Marinucci, a consistent conveyor belt for the negative spin of consultant/lobbyist Garry South during the already concluded Democratic race for governor, came up with another report denigrating Jerry Brown, the former governor-turned-attorney general who has, as long expected here on NWN, cleared the Democratic field for governor.
Too bad it’s wrong. That does so spoil a story, “story” and otherwise.
In reality, I’ve known for months that the DGA would have an independent effort to back the Democratic candidate for governor. It’s fairly standard practice, as it happens. And hardly a surprise when the Republican candidate will be a free-spending sort.
And in reality, the DGA announced that it is doing this not only for Brown, but for the Democrats in many other states.
Oops.
This reminds of past erroneous Marinucci reports, some of which I’ve dealt with. But let’s not be negative heading into a holiday weekend.
Well, okay, there was the big scandal that would definitely blow Brown out of the water, right after he cleared the Democratic field last year. (Which she kept reporting was not cleared.) What was that, you say? The one about his aide recording his interviews with a few reporters, namely Marinucci, whose story in question was changed after the aide complained to her editors. Which is how we learned that he’d recorded the interview with her.
As for the cataclysmic scandal, it obviously didn’t happen, though the poor fellow did resign (well before those dire predictions). It’s not illegal to record an on-the-record interview for publication — as you might imagine — even if you don’t mention it, but a lot of reporters think it is, so it’s unwise not to mention it. Actually, there is a better way to deal with a hostile reporter.
And there was the great Bill Clinton intervention for Newsom in the governor’s race. Which, as I pointed out, was merely part of his nationwide “Payback Tour” for politicians who backed Hillary.
Marinucci, having hyped one little fundraiser in LA as a game-changing event, never got around to reporting that Clinton then proceeded to spend two days in San Francisco ignoring Mayor Newsom, who dropped out a few weeks later.
And … Well, it is a holiday weekend.
** NEW POLL: BIG SUPPORT FOR MORE PASSENGER PROFILING. A brand new Gallup Poll shows overwhelming backing for additional profiling of airline passengers.
Americans widely endorse the use of profiling to single out airline passengers for more intensive security searches before they board U.S. flights, based on their age, ethnicity, or gender. Seventy-one percent are in favor of this practice and 27% are opposed.
The attempt has renewed debate over the use of profiling on the basis that terrorists generally have certain shared characteristics. The practice is used in Israel, a country noted for its tight airport security, but not in the United States. Two common objections to its use in the U.S. are the potential violation of individual civil liberties and unequal treatment for members of certain groups.
The poll results suggest that Americans seem to give greater weight to protecting citizens against possible terrorism than to protecting against potential violations of individual liberties.
The largest difference in support for profiling among key attitudinal or demographic subgroups is seen by political ideology. Eighty-three percent of self-identified conservatives favor the use of profiling, compared with 47% of liberals. At 70%, moderates are much closer to conservatives than to liberals in their views.
Apart from liberals, other subgroups show majority support for profiling, although the level of that support does vary. For example, 87% of senior citizens (those aged 65 and older) favor the use of profiling, compared with 56% of young adults (aged 18 to 29).
Profiling of airline passengers to zero in on those who more closely approximate the profile of past terrorists is favored by Democrats, 59% to 39%; independents, 70% to 26%; and Republicans, 87% to 13%.
Greater profiling is backed by moderates, 70% to 29%; and conservatives, 83% to 15%. Liberals narrowly oppose it, 49% to 47%.
This is what I expected, writing here after the barely foiled 12/25 attack.
President Barack Obama yesterday proposed the Financial Crisis Responsibility Fee. In the wake of another wave of big bonuses for the executives of bailed-out banks, this fee is intended to make the largest financial firms meet their obligations to repay American taxpayers for the assistance provided to Wall Street.
** OBAMA TODAY. President Barack Obama is in Washington today.
Obama has received his daily intelligence briefing and met with senior advisors in the Oval Office.
At 10:45 AM Pacific, he receives the daily economic briefing in the Oval Office.
At 12:45 PM Pacific, Obama meets with Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner in the Oval Office.
Obama met with congressional leaders past midnight last night and is continuing meetings today that don’t show up on his official schedule in advance.
The topic? The national health care reform bill, which is nearly ready to go for final passage.
Why the urgency? Two reasons. First, he wants the bill before the State of the Union address, which is already later than usual.
Second, Democrats are now very worried about losing that Massachusetts special election for the late Ted Kennedy’s old seat next Tuesday. State Attorney General Martha Coakley was in coasting mode until recently, not doing well in debates, allowing state Senator Scott Brown to sneak up on her.
He has a lot of unpopular positions, including opposition to the new tax on bailed-out banks giving big bonuses to their executives. But he is riding a pseudo-populist wave against a too complacent candidate.
** FROM THE ARNOLD FILE. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is in the Los Angeles area today.
In the morning, he participates in an event in Long Beach to launch a telemedicine pilot project.
Later in the morning, he signs California’s Race to the Top application.
Last week, Schwarzenegger signed education reform legislation that will make California competitive for Obama’s national Race to the Top challenge grants.
Schwarzenegger will be joined by state Senator Gloria Romero (D-East Los Angeles), State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O’Connell and California State Board of Education President Ted Mitchell at the event at Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Elementary School in Compton.
** THE LAST CLINTON MELODRAMA? (AND OTHER SENSATIONALIST GAME CHANGE GOSSIP) Is this the last Clinton melodrama? There is a certain air of finality to it. Not because nothing more can happen, but because the most likely melodramas of the future (and most recent past) are laid out and have received far less pushback than they would have before.
I’m referring to the reading of and reportage on the Clintons from the 2008 presidential campaign contained in the gossipy new book, Game Change, by East Coast magazine reporters Mark Halperin (Time) and John Heileman (New York). It’s quite unflattering to the now secretary of state and the former president, yet there hasn’t been the sort of big response we’ve seen with regard to past attacks, journalistic and otherwise. That’s probably because most of those high-level defenders were anonymous sources for the book, or are willing to concede the points.
So perhaps the endless chronic melodrama that has gripped American politics on and off for nearly two decades is ended at last and no one will be surprised by what happens in the future.
Or perhaps we already knew all this, as is the case with most of Game Change, and we look to the book for dishy details to fill in the remaining blanks of the pictures we already see in our minds. … From my January 14th 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 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, 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. Click here for a live TV news feed on your computer. The NWN live link to AJ does not constitute an endorsement of the channel’s views. It’s presented as an otherwise unavailable new media window.
This is up about $45 from the low of $34 per barrel prior to enactment of the Obama economic recovery program, reflecting a low point in global economic activity.
Your posts are welcome in the Forum. You can send me a private tip by clicking on the “Contact” button in the upper right.
President Barack Obama said today that providing earthquake relief to Haiti is now a top priority of the U.S. government, pledging aid from the military and relief groups, along with federal cash.
** QUICK HITS. Most of organized labor today accepted a compromise on the excise tax on so-called “Cadillac” health care plans and will campaign for final passage of the national health care bill. Additional costs have been switched to the health industry. … Former Silicon Valley Congressman Tom Campbell’s brand new Senate campaign in California says it has a poll showing him leading ex-Hewlett Packard CEO Carly Fiorina and far right Orange County Assemblyman Chuck DeVore, 31% to 15% to 12% in the GOP race. Campbell won the 2000 Republican nomination for Senate. … Two Chicago men were indicted today for allegedly helping plan the Thanksgiving 2008 terrorist siege of India’s commercial capital. … A gathering of 150 Yemeni clerics today issued a fatwa against foreign intervention in Yemen, another sign of the danger of an overt American military build-up there.
For the first time since atomic bombs were dropped in 1945, leaders of nuclear weapons states are cooperating to vastly reduce their arsenals and secure all nuclear bomb-making material. And for the first time ever, industrialized and developing countries alike are pledging to limit climate-changing gas emissions that could render our planet nearly uninhabitable.
These unprecedented steps are signs of a growing political will to tackle the two gravest threats to civilization–the terror of nuclear weapons and runaway climate change. This hopeful state of world affairs leads the boards of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists–which include 19 Nobel laureates–to move the minute hand of the Doomsday Clock back from five to six minutes to midnight. By shifting the hand back from midnight by only one additional minute, we emphasize how much needs to be accomplished, while at the same time recognizing signs of collaboration among the United States, Russia, the European Union, India, China, Brazil, and others on nuclear security and on climate stabilization. ...
A key to the new era of cooperation is a change in the U.S. government’s orientation toward international affairs brought about in part by the election of Obama. With a more pragmatic, problem-solving approach, not only has Obama initiated new arms reduction talks with Russia, he has started negotiations with Iran to close its nuclear enrichment program, and directed the U.S. government to lead a global effort to secure loose fissile material in four years. He also presided over the U.N. Security Council last September where he supported a fissile material cutoff treaty and encouraged all countries to live up to their disarmament and nonproliferation obligations under the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty. These actions constitute, in part, Obama’s efforts to make good on his campaign promise–the first ever by a U.S. president–to work toward a world free of nuclear weapons.
Indeed, we may be at a turning point, where major powers no longer see the value of nuclear weapons for war-fighting or even for deterrence. As recent intelligence estimates have concluded, threats to security are more likely to come from groups bent on terrorizing civilians, or from economic collapse, or even from resource scarcity exacerbated by climate change, than from conflict between nuclear-armed superpowers. Against these new threats, nuclear weapons have no use. …
The Doomsday Clock dates back to 1947, during the early days of the Cold War. (That’s a few years before the Korean War, on the off chance that Sarah Palin is reading.) The clock was first set at seven minutes to midnight. Subsequent to that it has been advanced or retreated based on assessments of the state of the world and, especially, prospects for nuclear war.
Incidentally, I don’t know that I agree that the Clock should have been set back …
The Iranian crisis could easily lead to war.
** CAMPBELL, AS LONG EXPECTED HERE, SWITCHED TODAY FROM THE CALIFORNIA GOVERNOR’S RACE TO THE SENATE RACE. Former Silicon Valley Congressman Tom Campbell, unable to compete with super-rich Republicans Meg Whitman and Steve Poizner in the GOP gubernatorial primary, switched today to the Senate race.
While Campbell might have been the Republican candidate best equipped to take on Democrat Jerry Brown, the former governor-turned-attorney general (who as I predicted cleared the Democratic field for governor), he didn’t have the fundraising ability to get through the primary. So now he’s going against ex-Hewlett Packard CEO Carly Fiorina and far right Orange County Assemblyman Chuck DeVore, who are running neck and neck, for the right to run against Senator Barbara Boxer, who is presently in command of the overall race.
Campbell has run twice before for the Senate, narrowly losing a primary to a far right candidate in 1992 and winning the primary in 2000, before losing in the general election to Senator Dianne Feinstein. He won’t be easy to beat.
His presence in the race will make it harder for Fiorina to use her fundraising advantage to consolidate moderate and some conservative voters against the far right DeVore.
In a letter sent Thursday to donors and other supporters, the Republican says political pragmatism forced him from a race in which he was squeezed between two mega-rich opponents.
Campbell is touring California today and tomorrow to kick off his third Senate bid.
** THE LAST CLINTON MELODRAMA? (AND OTHER SENSATIONALIST GAME CHANGE GOSSIP)Is this the last Clinton melodrama? There is a certain air of finality to it. Not because nothing more can happen, but because the most likely melodramas of the future (and most recent past) are laid out and have received far less pushback than they would have before.
I’m referring to the reading of and reportage on the Clintons from the 2008 presidential campaign contained in the gossipy new book, Game Change, by East Coast magazine reporters Mark Halperin (Time) and John Heileman (New York). It’s quite unflattering to the now secretary of state and the former president, yet there hasn’t been the sort of big response we’ve seen with regard to past attacks, journalistic and otherwise. That’s probably because most of those high-level defenders were anonymous sources for the book, or are willing to concede the points.
So perhaps the endless chronic melodrama that has gripped American politics on and off for nearly two decades is ended at last and no one will be surprised by what happens in the future.
Or perhaps we already knew all this, as is the case with most of Game Change, and we look to the book for dishy details to fill in the remaining blanks of the pictures we already see in our minds.
Game Change is interesting, but there’s not much in it that wasn’t already known. I don’t think there’s anything in it that surprises with a novel twist to the historical dynamics of the 2008 presidential election. Nor does it provide any particularly fascinating explanations for why things happened as they did. It’s not a strong analytical book.
What it does do is service the celebrity culture of politics, with splashy dish on leading personalities. It’s not unlike a political People magazine, but designed to be read for longer than it takes to do one’s business in the toilet. …
A U.S. military cargo plane filled with aid supplies was unloaded at the airport in Port-Au-Prince, Haiti, where millions of people have been affected by a massive earthquake.
** OBAMA TODAY. President Barack Obama is in Washington today.
Obama and Vice President Joe Biden have received the daily intelligence briefing in the Oval Office.
Obama then met with senior advisors in the Oval Office and with Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki, also in the Oval Office.
At 8:50 AM Pacific, Obama delivers brief remarks on the financial crisis responsibility fee, which is a tax on bailed-out banks.
At 9:05 AM Pacific, Obama and Biden have lunch in the Oval Office.
At 10:45 AM Pacific, Obama delivers remarks at the opening session of the Forum on Modernizing Government in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building.
At 11:15 AM Pacific, Obama receives the economic daily briefing in the Oval Office.
At 12 noon Pacific, Obama meets with Secretary of the Treasury Tim Geithner in the Oval Office.
At 2:05 PM Pacific, Obama delivers remarks at the House Democratic Caucus retreat at the Capitol Visitors Center.
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has cut short her Pacific trip and returned to work on Haiti relief efforts. As fate would have it, she honeymooned there.
Obama has already dispatched $100 million in aid along with naval and other forces to help survivors.
And he has designated former Presidents Bill Clinton and George Bush to head Haiti relief efforts.
** FROM THE ARNOLD FILE. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is in Los Angeles and Eureka today.
Schwarzenegger will tour damage caused by the 6.5 earthquake which occurred in Humboldt County on Saturday. He will also receive a briefing and hold a media availability on the status of recovery efforts.
At 11 AM, he will hold a press conference in Old Town Eureka.
** OBAMA’S SECURITY PROBLEMS: THE MEDIA, CHENEY AND, OH YES, THE ISSUE.President Barack Obama does have a big problem on security. Well, more accurately, he has big problems. But not all the problems that are trumpeted are real, for the trumpeting itself is a big part of the problem.
The Christmas Day attack in the skies over Detroit failed in a literal sense yet succeeded in reviving the issue of terrorism in American politics. Though not to the extent that many imagine, which I’ll get to in a moment.
34-year old Lane Kiffin was introduced as the new head football coach at USC on Wednesday. The ex-Oakland Raiders head coach and USC offensive coordinator replaces Pete Carroll, who shocked the football world early this week by taking over the Seattle Seahawks.
** THE BAND OF THE DECADE: THE BEATLES?!What does it say that the biggest musical group of the first decade of this new millennium recorded its last album 40 years ago? … From my January 1st essay.
** 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, 2009 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 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, 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. Click here for a live TV news feed on your computer. The NWN live link to AJ does not constitute an endorsement of the channel’s views. It’s presented as an otherwise unavailable new media window.
This is up about $45 from the low of $34 per barrel prior to enactment of the Obama economic recovery program, reflecting a low point in global economic activity.
Your posts are welcome in the Forum. You can send me a private tip by clicking on the “Contact” button in the upper right.
Right-wing fundamentalist leader Pat Robertson, a former Republican presidential candidate who finished third in the 1988 primaries, said today on his Christian Broadcasting Network newscast that the people of Haiti forged “a pact with the Devil” to oust the colonialist French and that the cataclysmic earthquake there is “a blessing in disguise.”
** NEW COLUMN COMING UP … IS THIS THE LAST CLINTON MELODRAMA?
** QUICK HITS. The Federal Reserve’s Beige Book report this afternoon said the economy is recovering modestly in ten of 12 districts. Only Philadelphia and Richmond lagged. However, jobs market are still weak. … Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is off to Washington next week to try to get more money for the crisis-ridden California state budget. After some critical rhetoric over the past week, Schwarzenegger has this afternoon sent a more cooperative sounding letter to members of the California Congressional delegation, with whom he’ll meet next week. He’ll also meet with Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, the former Kansas governor who participated in Schwarzenegger’s Governors’ Global Climate Summit. Though the national health care bill’s likely expansion of Medicaid is funded for years, Schwarzenegger wants more funding beyond that. … Former Silicon Valley Congressman Tom Campbell looks set to exit the GOP primary race for governor tomorrow in favor of the Senate race. While he had residual support in the governor’s race from two past Senate races, and I think his Scots-Irish name went down well with Republican voters (and editorial boards liked him, too, for what that’s worth), he didn’t have the fundraising ability to compete with super-rich rivals Meg Whitman, the ex-eBay CEO who is still ducking interviews with knowledgeable reporters over a year after she started running, and Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner. (Which is why I paid little attention to him.) His presence in the Senate race will probably hurt ex-Hewlett Packard CEO Carly Fiorina, who is more moderate than Chuck DeVore, the far right Orange County assemblyman with whom she’s currently running neck and neck. … The real winner, of course, is Senator Barbara Boxer, who I already thought would win re-election, and now can watch her best-funded opponent spend her money in a nasty primary fight. … This leaves Whitman and Poizner in their own nasty primary fight in the governor’s race, vying to run against the favorite, Democrat Jerry Brown. Each is running to the far right in the primary, with the exception of the abortion issue. And each has questions about their bona fides as the conservatives they profess to be.
** A(NOTHER) SPECIAL ELECTION HIDDEN IN SCHWARZENEGGER’S STATE OF THE STATE ADDRESS? Writing in California Progress Report, Democratic strategist Eric Wooten suggests that, with all the political reform notions in last week’s State of the State address, which aren’t likely to be adopted by the Legislature, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has in mind yet another and final special election of his era. To be called after the general election. It’s an intriguing idea.
Americans’ support for U.S. healthcare legislation has crept up incrementally since early November. Now, slightly more Americans want their member of Congress to vote in favor of such legislation rather than against it, 49% vs. 46% — a first since October. …
While overall public support for passing a healthcare bill currently outweighs opposition by a slight margin, the reverse is true among Americans who are seemingly more certain in their position. This is evident in the responses to Gallup’s initial question on the healthcare vote in which 37% of Americans say they would advise their member of Congress to vote for healthcare legislation this year and 41% would advise voting against it. In the follow-up question — in which respondents who don’t initially have a view are pressed to say which way they lean — more say they lean toward supporting the bill than opposing it. …
In line with these partisan distinctions, support for passing healthcare legislation this year is higher among women than among men (54% vs. 42%), among nonwhites than among whites (67% vs. 41%), and among low-income Americans (63% of those earning less than $30,000 a year) compared to middle- (44%) and upper-income Americans (45%). Additionally, support is much higher among adults aged 18 to 34 (61%) than it is among those 35 to 54 (48%) and 55 and older (40%).
Speaking early today, President Barack Obama pledged U.S. support for the Haitian people in the wake of a powerful earthquake in the Caribbean island nation. He said images and reports coming from the country are “truly heart-wrenching.”
** OBAMA TODAY. President Barack Obama is in Washington and Maryland today.
Obama has received his daily intelligence briefing and then met with Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid in the Oval Office.
He then met with members of the Democratic leadership of the House and Senate in the Cabinet Room.
The principal topic? Sorting the national health care bill, differing versions of which have passed both houses.
At 11:30 AM Pacific, Obama tours the Joint Apprenticeship and Training Committee Center in Lanham, Maryland.
At 11:55 AM Pacific, Obama delivers remarks on clean energy jobs in Lanham, Maryland. He then returns to the White Hose.
At 1 PM Pacific, Obama meets with senior advisors in the Oval Office.
At 1:30 PM Pacific, Obama receives the daily economic briefing in the Oval Office.
Obama is clearly focusing on health care and pivoting to the economy, as he had planned to do before his vacation that hardly was in the wake of the 12/25 incident over Detroit.
But the catastrophic earthquake in Haiti, along with silliness such as the controversy over Senator Harry Reid’s comments about Obama benefiting politically from being a light-skinned black — Reid said this on background to one of two East Coast reporters who burned him in order to sell their book “Game Change,” which I’ll be writing about shortly in a column — won’t make this easy.
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s trip to Hawaii, New Guinea, Australia, and New Zealand coincides with the release of that book, incidentally, in which she and Bill Clinton fare badly.
Haiti’s devastating earthquake has left an estimated 3 million people in need of emergency aid, a Red Cross official said Wednesday, as aid groups and governments scrambled to send tons of disaster relief to the impoverished Caribbean nation.
** FROM THE ARNOLD FILE. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is in Fresno and Los Angeles today.
At 10 AM, Schwarzenegger will hold a press conference at a development in Fresno to highlight his proposal to extend and expand the $10,000 homebuyer tax credit to include the purchase of existing homes, in addition to new residences, for first-time homebuyers How will it be funded? Well, that’s the trick.
At 7 PM, Schwarzenegger will deliver remarks at the City of Hope’s Spirit of Life gala in Los Angeles to honor Tim Leiweke, president and chief executive officer of AEG. AEG is Anschutz Entertainment Group, a sporting and music entertainment presenter and a subsidiary of The Anschutz Corporation. It is the world’s largest owner of sports teams and sports events.
** OBAMA’S SECURITY PROBLEMS: THE MEDIA, CHENEY AND, OH YES, THE ISSUE.President Barack Obama does have a big problem on security. Well, more accurately, he has big problems. But not all the problems that are trumpeted are real, for the trumpeting itself is a big part of the problem.
The Christmas Day attack in the skies over Detroit failed in a literal sense yet succeeded in reviving the issue of terrorism in American politics. Though not to the extent that many imagine, which I’ll get to in a moment.
** THE BAND OF THE DECADE: THE BEATLES?!What does it say that the biggest musical group of the first decade of this new millennium recorded its last album 40 years ago? … From my January 1st essay.
** 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, 2009 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 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, 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. Click here for a live TV news feed on your computer. The NWN live link to AJ does not constitute an endorsement of the channel’s views. It’s presented as an otherwise unavailable new media window.
This is up about $45 from the low of $34 per barrel prior to enactment of the Obama economic recovery program, reflecting a low point in global economic activity.
Your posts are welcome in the Forum. You can send me a private tip by clicking on the “Contact” button in the upper right.
Former Congressman Harold Ford Jr. of Tennessee, now a New York-based commentator, began crafting his argument Tuesday for a potential bid to unseat New York Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, reinventing himself as an independent thinker battling “Washington insiders.” Gillibrand was the pick of Bill and Hillary Clinton to succeed the former senator when she was appointed secretary of state by soon-to-be-exiting New York Governor David Paterson in lieu of Obama favorite Caroline Kennedy. Republican Rudy Giuliani, once the GOP presidential frontrunner before any contests took place in 2008, has already dropped out of both the races for governor and senator.
** QUICK HITS. Not surprisingly, the California Legislative Analyst’s Office has deemed Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger’s state budget assumptions “almost non-existent.” That’s because Schwarzenegger books nearly $8 billion in federal funds. Which can’t be at all safely assumed. Yet if such a federal bailout is not forthcoming, for California and other states, the Obama Administration’s economic stimulus may stall. The LAO also finds other concerns, as you can see here. … In one of the biggest non-shocks of all time, ex-Alaska Governor Sarah Palin makes her “journalist” debut tonight on Fox News. On Bill O’Reilly’s show. (I was on that once, when it was less right-wing.) Right-wing Facebook status updates meet cable “news.” …
** THE GOP AND CALIFORNIA 2010. A few developments in the nasty Republican primary for governor of California.
As I reported he was seriously considering last month, ex-Congressman Tom Campbell, the hopeless editorial board favorite who couldn’t compete in the governor’s race, is on the verge of switching to the Senate race. Campbell has previously lost two Senate races.
And as I suggested yesterday that he could easily do, super-rich state Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner — wealthy from his role in devising cell phone tracking devices — has today matched ex-eBay CEO Meg Whitman’s move in opposing Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger’s trademark climate change program.
Thus removing one of the putative frontrunner’s edges amongst conservative primary voters.
Poizner today endorsed an initiative by far right figures Congressman Tom McClintock, Assemblyman Dan Logue, and professional initiative promoter Ted Costa to suspend AB 32 until California’s unemployment rate returns to 5.5%. It’s now over twice that.
Poizner went on to ascribe California’s recession to AB 32, which has not yet been implemented, amusingly ignoring the massive financial meltdown and epic global recession.
“In the time since AB 32 was adopted, our economy has collapsed and our unemployment rate has more than doubled. AB 32 sent a message to every business and every manufacturer that it’s going to cost you more to do business in the state of California. Dramatic change is needed to get our economy moving again and that is why I support this initiative.”
Whitman again stated that she raised $3.5 million in the second half of 2008, about half what she raised in the first half of the year. (She also donated $19 million to her bid.) But she again declined to say how much money is left in her campaign warchest. Whitman is running a consultant-heavy, free-spending effort.
In other action, a certain reporter for a falling Bay Area newspaper has again, as she has many times before, “reported” errant nonsense in an effort to discredit the Democratic candidate for governor, the favorite in the race. It’s non-serious, as always, so I’ll get to it tomorrow.
** SOME GOOD NEWS ON THE ECONOMY. A new Gallup poll shows that consumer spending is up for the first week of the new year.
Consumer Spending increased last week, as self-reported daily spending in stores, restaurants, gas stations, and online averaged $68 — up 15% from the previous week and 10% from the same week a year ago. This marks only the second time in the past year that spending has exceeded its year-ago comparable — but that could happen frequently in the weeks ahead, given January 2009′s relatively low average spending level ($64 per day). Throughout 2009, Gallup’s weekly spending estimates were down significantly from 2008, likely reflecting a “new normal” era of consumer spending. In 2010, spending might be expected to match or even exceed last year’s “new normal” spending comparisons. While an unusual lag in the “paycheck effect” (having to do with New Year’s falling on a Friday) might have influenced last week’s spending increase, spending in early January 2010 seems to be at least matching last year’s “new normal” — which is good news for the economic outlook, considering that the economy continues to lose jobs.
Economic Confidence leveled off last week, but the last two weeks have been among the most positive of the last two years. Gallup’s Economic Confidence Index was at -22 — essentially the same as the -20 of the prior week. Economic confidence is 5 points better than it was during the month of December (-27) and is up 34 points from the same week a year ago (-56). Forty-one percent of Americans say the economy is “getting better” while 53% say it is “getting worse.”At the same time, 44% rate the economy “poor” and 12% rate it “excellent” or “good.” Despite the continuing lack of job growth, Americans remain at their most optimistic about the U.S. economy since the recession began two years ago. …
On the other hand, Gallup’s job creation data confirm what has become common knowledge in the job market — layoffs are down but hiring has not improved.
** OBAMA’S SECURITY PROBLEMS: THE MEDIA, CHENEY AND, OH YES, THE ISSUE.President Barack Obama does have a big problem on security. Well, more accurately, he has big problems. But not all the problems that are trumpeted are real, for the trumpeting itself is a big part of the problem.
The Christmas Day incident over Detroit failed in a literal sense yet succeeded in reviving the issue of terrorism in American politics. Though not to the extent that many imagine, which I’ll get to in a moment.
In London today, the former communications chief of the British government, Alastair Campbell, told the Chilcot Inquiry into the origins of the Iraq War that former Prime Minister Tony Blair really wanted to disarm Saddam Hussein via the United Nations.
** OBAMA TODAY. President Barack Obama is in Washington and Delaware today.
Obama received his daily intelligence and economic briefings in the Oval Office.
He and First Lady Michelle Obama then traveled to New Castle, Delaware to attend funeral services for Mrs. Jean Biden, the mother of Vice President Biden.
At 10 AM Pacific, the Obamas depart New Castle, Delaware on Air Force One en route to Andrews Air Force Base.
At 10:35 AM Pacific, they arrive at Andrews Air Force Base, where they board Marine One.
At 10:50 AM Pacific, the Obamas land on the South Lawn of the White House.
At 1:05 PM Pacific, Obama greets the U.S. Ladies Professional Golf Association team at the White House.
At 1:30 PM Pacific, Obama meets with Defense Secretary Bob Gates in the Oval Office.
** FROM THE ARNOLD FILE. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is in Los Angeles and the San Francisco Bay Area today.
At 10 AM, Schwarzenegger will tour Cobalt Biofuels in Mountain View and hold a press conference to highlight a proposal to exempt the purchase of green tech manufacturing equipment from the sales tax as part of what he calls the California Jobs Initiative. How will it be funded? Well, that’s the trick.
Pete Carroll ended an era yesterday when he left USC for the NFL’s Seattle Seawhawks. Carroll had a 97-19 record at USC, winning two national championships and seven Pacific 10 Conference titles with the Trojans.
** THE BAND OF THE DECADE: THE BEATLES?!What does it say that the biggest musical group of the first decade of this new millennium recorded its last album 40 years ago? … From my January 1st essay.
** 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, 2009 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 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, 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. Click here for a live TV news feed on your computer. The NWN live link to AJ does not constitute an endorsement of the channel’s views. It’s presented as an otherwise unavailable new media window.
This is up about $48 from the low of $34 per barrel prior to enactment of the Obama economic recovery program, reflecting a low point in global economic activity.
Your posts are welcome in the Forum. You can send me a private tip by clicking on the “Contact” button in the upper right.
The first federal trial to determine if the U.S. Constitution prohibits states from outlawing same-sex marriage got underway today in San Francisco. The proceedings involve a challenge to Proposition 8, the anti-gay marriage initiative passed in California in November 2008.
** NEW COLUMN COMING UP … OBAMA’S SECURITY PROBLEM(S): THE MEDIA, CHENEY, AND, OH YES, THE ISSUE.
** NEW POLL ON TERRORISM.A new CNN poll on Americans’ view of the terror threat reveals that, in the wake of the Christmas Day attempt to blow up a U.S. airliner, most Americans remain confident that the Obama Administration can protect the country from terrorism.
So much for all the chatter to the contrary.
It’s probably best to largely ignore cable chat, talk radio, and blogospheric excretions on this to the degree possible.
A CNN/Opinion Research Corporation survey released Monday also indicates that the vast majority of Americans believe that full-body scanners should be used in airports across the country.
Congress voted against these scanners last year, in a bill sponsored by a far right Republican from Utah with a rather prudish viewpoint. And backed by professional civil libertarians who opposed expansion of airport scrutiny.
Nearly two-thirds of people questioned in the poll say they have a moderate or great deal of confidence in the administration to protect the public from future terrorist attacks, up 2 points from August. Thirty-five percent say they have not much or no confidence at all, down 1 point from August.
A number of Republicans have criticized the president over his handling of the attempted bombing of Northwest flight 253 from Amsterdam to Detroit. But according to the survey, 57 percent approve of the way President Barack Obama’s responded, with 39 percent disapproving of how he handled the situation.
“Only a third of Republicans have a positive view of Obama on this matter, but the key for the administration is the 55 percent of independents who approve of how the president responded to the incident on Christmas Day,” says CNN Polling Director Keating Holland. …
Six in 10 say the terrorists will always find a way to launch an attack, no matter what the government does, he adds – identical to the number who felt that way during the Bush administration.
The poll indicates that a majority of the public, 57 percent, think suspect Umar Farouk AbdulMutallab, should be tried in military court and not the civilian criminal courts that are currently handling this case. Forty-two percent back handling this case in civilian court.
This tracks with widespread opposition to the closing of the notorious prison at Guantanamo Bay.
According to the survey, Americans are also split on whether heads should roll because as a result of the attempted bombing of the airliner. Forty-six percent of people questioned feel that top officials in the federal agencies responsible for handling the issue of terrorism should be fired, with 51 percent saying no.
The poll indicates that nearly eight in 10 believe that full-body scanners should be used in U.S. airports, and only 15 percent say they would refuse to go through one of the new machines at an airport, if asked to do so.
** SILVER STATE SENSATION. Nevada has some of the wackier, trickier politics going, and this year is no exception. Senator Harry Reid’s woes — he’s now trailing three potential Republicans, though none is all that impressive, and tops 50% in unfavorability — may be impacting the governor’s race as well. His son, Rory, who chairs the Clark County (Las Vegas) area) Commission, and headed the Hillary Clinton campaign in Nevada, is the leading Democrat in the race.
And right now, he only beats the Republican incumbent, who is more unpopular than Senator Reid.
Reid is being hurt by being the partisan Democratic leader in the Senate, and by what might be described as a dry and spiky personality.
According to a Mason Dixon poll for the Las Vegas Review-Journal, the potential independent candidacy of Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman, a former Democrat (and flamboyant former mob lawyer who travels with showgirls when he promotes Sin City), could guarantee a Republican victory.
Or a Goodman victory.
In one three-candidate matchup, 35 percent of respondents chose the Republican Sandoval, 33 percent picked the independent Goodman and 20 percent favored the Democrat Reid. The margin of error was plus or minus 4 percentage points.
Sandoval is a former federal judge.
Afghan police are failing to tackle the flourishing drug trade and insurgent violence, despite billions being spent by international forces to bolster security. Foreign training programs are getting poor results because of corruption, illiteracy and a lack of infrastructure.
MONDAY MORNING QUARTERBACK.
Another very busy week in presidential politics, with a big focus on security, health care, and the economy. And some interesting developments in California politics as well.
On his first weekend after the holidays, Obama began 2010 with a 52% approval rating in the Gallup Poll, with 41% disapproving of his performance as president. Those are very solid numbers in this, or any other environment, for all the chatter otherwise.
Obama is also monitoring geopolitical crises in Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, North Korea, and Yemen.
Iran is again putting out faint signals of cooperation on its nuclear program, perhaps more misdirection, in a bid to stave off more sanctions or worse.
Afghanistan and Pakistan have serious crises of governance, with the Afghan cabinet struggling for parliamentary approval and Pakistani civilian leaders in danger of corruption charges.
North Korea wants a formal end to the Korean War, and an end to sanctions. Is it ready to play ball on its nuclear and missile programs? Or will it keep on with the provocative acts? We’ll find out.
Yemen’s president is offering amnesty to Al Qaeda fighers who promise to lay down their arms. For however long that lasts.
Obama is dealing with the fall-out, on multiple fronts, of the Christmas Day attack by a Nigerian Islamic terrorist on a Northwest Airlines flight to Detroit, instituting new security procedures to replace those which failed. Which, incidentally, he inherited from the Bush/Cheney Administration.
He has instituted some forms of passenger profiling, as well as pushing to expand airport screening methods.
Obama is also working with Democratic leaders in both houses to reconcile differences between the national health care reform bills they’ve passed and to prepare a bill for final passage.
The unemployment rate has plateaued, for now, at 10%. This comes, by unhappy coincidence, as the Wall Street bonus season is upon us. The financial industry, which triggered a global crisis and was then saved by the federal government, is likely going to reward its executives with near record levels of bonuses.
This will not go down well.
On the one hand, this is very bad, again, for Republicans. On the other hand, it’s a problem for Obama, as his top financial officials have been close to the industry, with Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner one of the prime architects of the Wall Street bail-out which did not put a stop to this practice.
Fortunately for Obama, the Republican Party is in the throes of internecine meltdown. Republican national chairman Michael Steele, a constant gaffe-machine, also presides over a party that badly trails Democrats in fundraising. Not only the party, but also the congressional campaign committees are in poor financial shape heading into this election year.
And the reality, contrary to media bleatings, is that only a handful of Democrats have stepped away from re-election bids, fewer than usual. And in fact, many more Republicans are not running for re-election to the House.
Former Arnold Schwarzenegger campaign manager Steve Schmidt, who ran the McCain for President campaign, appeared last night on the CBS program 60 Minutes. The topic? Sarah Palin. Schmidt and other top aides from the presidential race are at war with Palin, hotly disputing claims in her biography. The revelation? Palin was a dangerously ignorant and unreliable figure. Got it.
Schmidt’s interview was part of a story about a new book on the 2008 race, which I’ll get into another time.
McCain himself, worried about a possible primary challenge from the far right in this year’s Arizona Senate primary, has said as little as possible about Palin, who is firmly ensconced as the party’s Great White Right Hope.
Schwarzenegger appeared yesterday on NBC’s Meet The Press, agitating for federal money to help with the state’s big budget crisis. He ripped the deal won by Nebraska Senator Ben Nelson, who in exchange for his 60th vote for national health care won federal coverage of Medicaid expansion in his state. Which Schwarzenegger describes as “vote buying” which would never happen in Sacramento. Except, of course, as readers recall, it did last year. Or else he would never have gotten his budget through.
We are shocked, shocked to learn that politics is taking place in politics.
Actually, this is all standard legislative practice, as we all know. And what Schwarzenegger is really doing is agitating for federal money, which all the state governments will need, actually, if the recovery is to pick up steam.
A federal trial over the 2008 ballot measure banning same-sex marriage begins in San Francisco today. Proponents of Proposition 8, which former Governor-turned-Attorney General Jerry Brown, the favorite to win the governorship in 2010, isn’t defending, don’t seem optimistic.
And a bill to repeal the state’s landmark climate change legislation, AB 32, gets a hearing this week. It won’t go anywhere, but there is a proposed initiative for the November ballot. And ex-eBay CEO Meg Whitman, the GOP gubernatorial hopeful who now faces a big-spending fight with super-rich Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner, says she would suspend the program.
I don’t think that’s a good idea for her. Because Poizner isn’t really for AB 32, either, so her move is easily countered in the primary. While it will help her with fundraising against Brown, the original champion of renewable energy, in a general election — if she gets to one — she doesn’t need the money. And it will energize Democratic voters, and donors.
North Korea has called for talks on a treaty to formally end the Korean War, as well as an end to sanctions against it. Pyongyang made the appeal as a U.S. envoy said North Korea needs to improve its human rights record.
** OBAMA TODAY. President Barack Obama is in Washington today.
Obama has received his daily intelligence and economic briefings and met with senior advisors in the Oval Office.
At 1:30 PM Pacific, Obama meets with labor leaders in the Roosevelt Room.
The topic? Plans to tax “Cadillac” health care policies to help fund the near-universal health care bill and, of course, how to further stimulate the economy.
At 2:30 PM Pacific, Obama meets with combatant commanders in the Situation Room. These generals and admirals are the heads of America’s various theaters of military operations.
The topic? The multiple security challenges around the world, mostly posed by Islamic extremists.
At 4 PM Pacific, Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama host a dinner with combatant commanders and their spouses in the State Dining Room.
** FROM THE ARNOLD FILE. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is in Los Angeles today.
At 9:30 AM, Schwarzenegger will tour a manufacturing facility and hold a press conference to highlight his California Jobs Initiative.
He will tour Ace Clearwater Enterprises, an aircraft equipment manufacturer located in Torrance.
** THE BAND OF THE DECADE: THE BEATLES?!What does it say that the biggest musical group of the first decade of this new millennium recorded its last album 40 years ago? … From my January 1st essay.
** 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, 2009 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 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, 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. Click here for a live TV news feed on your computer. The NWN live link to AJ does not constitute an endorsement of the channel’s views. It’s presented as an otherwise unavailable new media window.
This is up about $49 from the low of $34 per barrel prior to enactment of the Obama economic recovery program, reflecting a low point in global economic activity.
Your posts are welcome in the Forum. You can send me a private tip by clicking on the “Contact” button in the upper right.
At last a trailer for The Ghost Writer, Roman Polanski’s adaptation of Robert Harris’s best-selling novel, The Ghost, about a former British prime minister accused of war crimes and the lethal mystery around his memoirs. The story is a roman a clef about Harris’s former friend, Tony Blair. The film premieres next month at the Berlin Film Festival, so the trailer is in German. It goes into limited release in America after that, platforming to a more general release in March. This is the film Polanski was working on at the time of his surprise arrest by the Swiss on three decade-old Los Angeles sex charges. He is finishing it while under house arrest in Switzerland.
** OBAMA TODAY – SUNDAY. President Barack Obama is in Washington today.
He has no scheduled public events.
Obama has received his daily intelligence and economic briefings in the Oval Office.
On his first weekend after the holidays, Obama begins 2010 with a 52% approval rating in the Gallup Poll, with 41% disapproving of his performance as president. Those are very solid numbers in this, or any other environment, for all the chatter otherwise.
The media culture is increasingly toxic and dysfunctional, as you may have noticed.
** FROM THE ARNOLD FILE – SUNDAY. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is in Los Angeles today.
He has no scheduled public events.
Schwarzenegger appears today on NBC’s Meet The Press.
Former Schwarzenegger campaign manager Steve Schmidt, who ran the McCain for President campaign, appears tonight on the CBS program 60 Minutes.
The topic? Sarah Palin. Schmidt and other top aides from the presidential race are at war with Palin, hotly disputing claims in her biography.
McCain himself, worried about a possible primary challenge from the far right in this year’s Arizona Senate primary, has said as little as possible about Palin.
In his weekend video/radio address, President Barack Obama talks about the tentative economic recovery and discusses the benefits of health reform that Americans will receive in the first year after its passage.
** OBAMA TODAY – SATURDAY. President Barack Obama is in Washington today.
He has no scheduled public events.
Obama has received his daily intelligence and economic briefings and met with senior advisors in the Oval Office.
Obama is working with Democratic leaders in both houses to reconcile differences between the national health care reform bills they’ve passed and to prepare a bill for final passage.
Obama is also monitoring geopolitical crises in Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Yemen.
And he is dealing with the fall-out, on multiple fronts, of the Christmas Day attack by a Nigerian Islamic terrorist on a Northwest Airlines flight to Detroit, instituting new security procedures to replace those which failed. Which, incidentally, he inherited from the Bush/Cheney Administration.
The FBI on Friday arrested two men linked to an alleged Al Qaeda associate accused of a plot to attack New York City with homemade bombs after one of the men caused a traffic accident while under surveillance.
Obama is getting a bit of a break from a media drumbeat about Democratic prospects in the controversy swirling anew around Republican National Chairman Michael Steele. Steele released a book this week that congressional leaders didn’t know about.
In it, Steele lays out an agenda for the party. Promoting it, he calls himself a “Tea Partier,” a “town haller,” referring to the disrupters of congressional town halls on health care. Which is not what many national Republicans want to hear as they worry about alienating the middle.
Steele also presides over a party that badly trails Democrats in fundraising. Not only the party, but also the congressional campaign committees are in poor financial shape heading into this election year.
And the reality, contrary to media bleatings, is that only a handful of Democrats have stepped away from re-election bids, fewer than usual. And in fact, many more Republicans are not running for re-election to the House.
** FROM THE ARNOLD FILE – SATURDAY. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is in Los Angeles today.
** THE BAND OF THE DECADE: THE BEATLES?!What does it say that the biggest musical group of the first decade of this new millennium recorded its last album 40 years ago? … From my January 1st essay.
** COPENHAGEN BLUES: OBAMA’S WEAK HAND ON CLIMATE, AND THE CALIFORNIA OPTION.As he prepares to go to Copenhagen for the deeply troubled UN climate change summit, President Barack Obama does so with a weak hand. He has no enacted legislation to brandish, no binding agreements on big greenhouse gas cuts with some of the biggest polluters, and no big financing to aid the developing world of poorer nations. … From my December 16th column.
** OBAMA’S LINCOLNESQUE NOBEL PEACE PRIZE.Who expected, two months ago when the surprise award was announced, that President Barack Obama, in accepting his Nobel Peace Prize, would deliver a speech that in many respects is about the ethics of war? … From my December 11th column.
** HOW JERRY BROWN CLEARED THE DEMOCRATIC FIELD FOR GOVERNOR OF CALIFORNIA.How did former Governor-turned-Attorney General Jerry Brown clear the Democratic field for governor of California over half a year before next year’s primary election? Without even announcing his candidacy for governor? Let’s count the ways as we set the stage for one of the biggest races in America next year.
Most California political experts did not expect this result. The state’s much diminished press corps anticipated a big primary fight. … From my December 9th column.
** 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, 2009 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 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, 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. Click here for a live TV news feed on your computer. The NWN live link to AJ does not constitute an endorsement of the channel’s views. It’s presented as an otherwise unavailable new media window.
** TRACK GLOBAL AND NATIONAL ENERGY PRICES IN NEAR REAL TIME VIA BLOOMBERG ENERGY MARKET WATCH. Having crashed over $147 for yet another record on July 11th, 2008, crude oil closed on Friday at $82.75 per barrel. Energy markets are closed on the weekend.
This is up about $49 from the low of $34 per barrel prior to enactment of the Obama economic recovery program, reflecting a low point in global economic activity.
Your posts are welcome in the Forum. You can send me a private tip by clicking on the “Contact” button in the upper right.
A Jordanian doctor-turned-suicide bomber who killed seven CIA agents at a base in Afghanistan is regarded by his family as a martyr in holy war against the United States.
** QUICK HITS. Vice President Joe Biden’s mother, Catherine Eugenia “Jean” Finnegan Biden, passed away today in Delaware. She was 93. … President Barack Obama will not, as was rumored, give his State of the Union speech on February 2nd, the night that ABC has scheduled the premiere of Lost‘s sixth and final season. We still don’t know when the speech will be delivered. … Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger’s draconian state budget proposal today drew praise only from conservatives. But no one has put forward a realistic alternative. …
The charges against him are outlined below. Clearly he will be convicted, as “shoe bomber” Richard Reid was before him.
Officials in Yemen, where he reportedly received training from Al Qaeda, are saying that Abdulmutallab was radicalized in London, where he gradated from a prestigious college. With the so-called “DC Five,” American college students who reportedly went to Pakistan to pursue jihad, this seems to be a alarming trend in the development of Islamic extremists.
THE CHARGES
* Attempted use of a weapon of mass destruction
* Attempted murder within the special aircraft jurisdiction of the US
* Willful attempt to destroy and wreck an aircraft
* Willfully placing a destructive device in or near an aircraft which was likely to endanger the safety of the aircraft
* Two counts of possession of a firearm, ie the bomb, in furtherance of violent crime
It was what was expected. Despite some published reports to the contrary, it does not contain proposed tax hikes, though it would roll back some recent corporate tax breaks. It also looks to the federal government for billions in assistance.
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger proposed an austere budget plan Friday for the coming fiscal year that takes California back to its spending level of six years ago.
To make up for a drastic drop in tax revenue and plug a $20 billion deficit, Schwarzenegger proposed making cuts to health and human services, welfare, transportation and environmental programs.
He also seeks to raise money by rolling back recent corporate tax breaks, expanding oil drilling off the Santa Barbara coast and calling on the federal government for more assistance.
The Republican governor vowed to protect spending for public schools and colleges after cutting their funding by billions of dollars in recent years, actions that have sparked student protests throughout the state. The continued austerity measures are a fallout from the national recession, which has pummeled California’s economy and boosted the state’s unemployment rate to 12.3 percent, third highest in the nation.
Schwarzenegger said the state is slowly beginning to emerge from the worst economic downturn in decades but that it would be three to four years before tax revenue recovers. “Tough times still lie ahead,” he said.
White House chief economist Christina Romer, the former Berkeley professor, says that the administration is hopeful the economy is on a rebound, with job growth coming after a dismal 2009 that saw the unemployment rate spike.
** OBAMA TODAY. President Barack Obama is in Washington today.
He is focusing on the economy today, along with the security front.
Obama has received his daily intelligence and economic briefings and met with senior advisors in the Oval Office.
At 8 AM Pacific, he met with Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner in the Oval Office.
At 8:45 AM Pacific, he met with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in the Oval Office.
At 11:45 AM Pacific, Obama makes a statement to the press in the East Room. His principal topics will be the economy, health care, and national secrity.
Obama is working with Democratic leaders in both houses to reconcile differences between the national health care reform bills they’ve passed and to prepare a bill for final passage.
Obama is also monitoring geopolitical crises in Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Yemen.
And he is dealing with the fall-out, on multiple fronts, of the Christmas Day attack by a Nigerian Islamic terrorist on a Northwest Airlines flight to Detroit, instituting new security procedures to replace those which failed. Which, incidentally, he inherited from the Bush/Cheney Administration.
** FROM THE ARNOLD FILE. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is in the Capitol today. With his new state finance director, Ana Matosantos, he will unveil his new state budget proposal to deal with a $20 billion shortfall over the next 18 months.
This will take place at 11:30 AM at a press conference at the Secretary of State Building in Sacramento.
** THE BAND OF THE DECADE: THE BEATLES?!What does it say that the biggest musical group of the first decade of this new millennium recorded its last album 40 years ago? … From my January 1st essay.
After only 20 days in release, director James Cameron’s Avatar became the second biggest movie of all time in global box office on Wednesday. Cameron, whose career blossomed thanks to his collaboration with Arnold Schwarzenegger on The Terminator, also directed the global box office champion, Titanic.
** COPENHAGEN BLUES: OBAMA’S WEAK HAND ON CLIMATE, AND THE CALIFORNIA OPTION.As he prepares to go to Copenhagen for the deeply troubled UN climate change summit, President Barack Obama does so with a weak hand. He has no enacted legislation to brandish, no binding agreements on big greenhouse gas cuts with some of the biggest polluters, and no big financing to aid the developing world of poorer nations. … From my December 16th column.
** OBAMA’S LINCOLNESQUE NOBEL PEACE PRIZE.Who expected, two months ago when the surprise award was announced, that President Barack Obama, in accepting his Nobel Peace Prize, would deliver a speech that in many respects is about the ethics of war? … From my December 11th column.
** HOW JERRY BROWN CLEARED THE DEMOCRATIC FIELD FOR GOVERNOR OF CALIFORNIA.How did former Governor-turned-Attorney General Jerry Brown clear the Democratic field for governor of California over half a year before next year’s primary election? Without even announcing his candidacy for governor? Let’s count the ways as we set the stage for one of the biggest races in America next year.
Most California political experts did not expect this result. The state’s much diminished press corps anticipated a big primary fight. … From my December 9th column.
** 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, 2009 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 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, 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. Click here for a live TV news feed on your computer. The NWN live link to AJ does not constitute an endorsement of the channel’s views. It’s presented as an otherwise unavailable new media window.
This is up about $49 from the low of $34 per barrel prior to enactment of the Obama economic recovery program, reflecting a low point in global economic activity.
Your posts are welcome in the Forum. You can send me a private tip by clicking on the “Contact” button in the upper right.
President Barack Obama said this afternoon that when it comes to terrorist threats against the nation, “The buck stops with me,” and he’s ordering changes in the handling of intelligence on potential threats.
** NEW COLUMN COMING UP … OBAMA’S SECURITY PROBLEM(S): THE MEDIA, CHENEY, AND, OH YES, THE ISSUE.
** QUICK HITS. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar will not return to Colorado to hold the governorship for Democrats following the surprise withdrawal of Governor Bill Ritter. Instead, popular Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper will run. … California got some good news with state Controller John Chiang announcing today that revenues were nearly half a billion above forecast last month, indicating returning strength for the state economy. … Director James Cameron’s Avatar, which I called the future of cinema in an essay a few days after its release last month which is linked below, yesterday passed The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King for the second spot on the all-time global box office list. In only 20 days of release, Avatar, the 3-D scifi extravaganza, has grossed $1.132 billion. The top spot on the global box office list is held by Cameron’s Titanic, which grossed $1.842 billion.
** UPDATE: President Barack Obama will now speak on the 12/25 incident report at 1:30 PM Pacific, and the security press briefing will be at 2:30 PM Pacific.
** PEREZ ELECTED CALIFORNIA SPEAKER. LA Assemblyman John Perez, designated last month as the next speaker of the state Assembly by the Democratic caucus, was this morning formally elected on a party-line 48 to 26 vote.
Democrat Karen Bass was previously elected on a unanimous vote, with Republicans going along with the Democrats.
Perez is the first openly gay speaker of a state legislative body in America, so this is probably not a coincidence.
Yemen says it has intensified its battle against Al Qaeda in its country and doesn’t want any U.S. troops on the ground.
** OBAMA TODAY. President Barack Obama is in Washington today.
He has a very big day on the security front, along with separate private meetings with Bill and Hillary Clinton.
Obama and Vice President Biden have received the daily intelligence and economic briefings and met with senior advisors in the Oval Office.
At 10 AM Pacific, Obama and Biden meet with Secretary of the Treasury Tim Geithner in the Oval Office.
At 10:30 AM Pacific, Obama meets with former President Bill Clinton in the Oval Office.
At 12 noon Pacific, Obama delivers remarks on the reports he receives today with regard to the security review of attempted Christmas Day terrorist attack.
At 12:45 PM Pacific, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano and presidential counter-terrorism advisor John Brennan accompany White House press secretary Robert Gibbs in delivering the daily press briefing.
At 12:45 PM Pacific, Obama and Biden meet with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in the Oval Office.
At 1:20 PM Pacific, Obama meets with Senators Max Baucus and Chris Dodd in the Oval Office.
Obama is working with Democratic leaders in both houses to reconcile differences between the national health care reform bills they’ve passed and to prepare a bill for final passage.
Obama is also monitoring geopolitical crises in Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Yemen.
And he is dealing with the fall-out, on multiple fronts, of the Christmas Day attack by a Nigerian Islamic terrorist on a Northwest Airlines flight to Detroit, instituting new security procedures to replace those which failed. Which, incidentally, he inherited from the Bush/Cheney Administration.
** FROM THE ARNOLD FILE. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is in Los Angeles and the Capitol today. He is prepping for tomorrow’s unveiling in the Capitol of his new state budget proposal to deal with a $20 billion shortfall over the next 18 months.
At 12:30 PM in Los Angeles, Schwarzenegger will sign education reform legislation that will finally make California competitive in Obama’s national Race to the Top challenge.
On Tuesday, he helped gain passage of long-delayed legislation in the Assembly to qualify California for Obama Administration education challenge grants. The state Senate passed legislation in November supported by Schwarzenegger and bipartisan private sector education reformers. But the Assembly, heavily influenced by teachers unions, which don’t like charter schools among other things, went in a different direction prior to yesterday.
Schwarzenegger called a special legislative session for this purpose on August 20th. State applications are due to the federal government by January 19th.
The bill includes open enrollment in schools, tying student performance to teacher evaluations, creating a system to track students from elementary school through college, establishing a new commission to set academic standards (the last effort was over 15 years ago), and allowing state officials and parents to force districts to overhaul troubled schools.
A pair of 13-0 teams, No. 1 Alabama and No. 2 Texas, are in Los Angeles now for tonight’s national college football championship game at the Rose Bowl.
** THE BAND OF THE DECADE: THE BEATLES?!What does it say that the biggest musical group of the first decade of this new millennium recorded its last album 40 years ago? … From my January 1st essay.
** COPENHAGEN BLUES: OBAMA’S WEAK HAND ON CLIMATE, AND THE CALIFORNIA OPTION.As he prepares to go to Copenhagen for the deeply troubled UN climate change summit, President Barack Obama does so with a weak hand. He has no enacted legislation to brandish, no binding agreements on big greenhouse gas cuts with some of the biggest polluters, and no big financing to aid the developing world of poorer nations. … From my December 16th column.
** OBAMA’S LINCOLNESQUE NOBEL PEACE PRIZE.Who expected, two months ago when the surprise award was announced, that President Barack Obama, in accepting his Nobel Peace Prize, would deliver a speech that in many respects is about the ethics of war? … From my December 11th column.
** HOW JERRY BROWN CLEARED THE DEMOCRATIC FIELD FOR GOVERNOR OF CALIFORNIA.How did former Governor-turned-Attorney General Jerry Brown clear the Democratic field for governor of California over half a year before next year’s primary election? Without even announcing his candidacy for governor? Let’s count the ways as we set the stage for one of the biggest races in America next year.
Most California political experts did not expect this result. The state’s much diminished press corps anticipated a big primary fight. … From my December 9th column.
** 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, 2009 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 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, 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. Click here for a live TV news feed on your computer. The NWN live link to AJ does not constitute an endorsement of the channel’s views. It’s presented as an otherwise unavailable new media window.
This is up about $49 from the low of $34 per barrel prior to enactment of the Obama economic recovery program, reflecting a low point in global economic activity.
Your posts are welcome in the Forum. You can send me a private tip by clicking on the “Contact” button in the upper right.
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