"It's the Power, Stupid: Be it Soft, Hard, or Smart, It's All About Power," A Lecture by Prof. Dr. Christianna N. Leahy McDaniel College

Published on Feb 8, 2013 "It's the Power, Stupid: Be it Soft, Hard, or Smart, It's All About Power"

A Lecture by Prof. Dr. Christianna N. Leahy, Professor of Comparative Politics, Chair, Department of Political Science and International Studies, McDaniel College

The ICD Annual Conference on Cultural Diplomacy in the USA
"Options on the Table": Soft Power, Intercultural Dialogue, and the Future of US Foreign Policy" The Institute for Cultural Diplomacy (Washington D.C., January 9th - 11th, 2013)

*****

Kevin Dayhoff Soundtrack: http://kevindayhoff.blogspot.com/ = http://www.kevindayhoff.net/ Kevin Dayhoff Art: http://kevindayhoffart.blogspot.com/ or http://kevindayhoffart.com/ = http://www.kevindayhoff.com/ Kevin Dayhoff Westminster: http://kevindayhoffwestgov-net.blogspot.com/ or http://www.westgov.net/ = www.kevindayhoff.org Twitter: https://twitter.com/kevindayhoff Twitpic: http://twitpic.com/photos/kevindayhoff Kevin Dayhoff's The New Bedford Herald: http://kbetrue.livejournal.com/ = www.newbedfordherald.net Explore Carroll: www.explorecarroll.com The Tentacle: www.thetentacle.com

20080417 Mikulski slams White House on lack of DOJ COPS funding

Mikulski slams White House on lack of DOJ COPS funding

During a Senate Appropriations Committee hearing on April 16, 2008, Maryland Democrat Senator Barbara Mikulski gave White House budget director Jim Nussle a piece of her mind over the Bush administration’s lack of funding for Department of Justice domestic law enforcement programs… Hat TIP: “Think Progress” and “Amanda.”

20080416 Mikulski slams White House over DOJ COPS funding

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7uxZHgRSo24



[Postscript: By way of the wonders of technology – the visual and the audio are not well synched. And perhaps that is prophetic – as upset as Senator Mikulski is in this clip. Listen to the words – smile at the out of synch technology…]

Related: 20080528 Bush cuts aid to US cops by David Lightman; 20080416 Mikulski slams White House over DOJ COPS funding; 20080623 What is Community Policing?

Think Progress:

Mikulski Slams White House: ‘Since You’re Pugnacious, Guess What? I’m Going To Be Pretty Pugnacious, Too’

http://thinkprogress.org/2008/04/17/mikulski-nussle/

By Amanda on Apr 17th, 2008

The White House has proposed a $108 billion emergency-spending bill to fund the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Frustrated that U.S. taxpayers continue to pay for the wars while domestic needs go unmet, lawmakers have attempted to attach spending for domestic programs to the bill. But Bush has balked, promising to veto any such bills.

During a Senate Appropriations Committee hearing yesterday, White House budget director Jim Nussle ironically blasted lawmakers for “sky-is-the-limit mind-set” on the spending bill. One of the most combative moments came when Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D-MD) chastised Nussle for his “snarky, scolding, dismissive” responses to the senators and the Bush administration’s attitude toward funding the nation’s law enforcement officers:

Your testimony has been disappointing in both tone and substance. I personally take offense at the snarky, scolding, dismissive way that this testimony represents. And I think it’s inappropriate. […]

This is an ideological commentary, not the testimony of OMB. So since you’re pugnacious, guess what? I’m going to be pretty pugnacious, too, only my pugnaciousness is not going to be directed at the Congress. It’s going to be pugnacious about the people I represent. […]

Number one, let’s go to safety and security. We have funded the surge of Baghdad, but we have not funded the surge of violent crime in Baltimore, Biloxi, or other places. You have zeroed out the COPS program. You have zeroed out the Byrne grant.

Bush has requested $603 million to train Iraqi police. But at the same time, his FY 2009 budget includes a 61 percent cut for state and local law enforcement programs at the Justice Department.

Transcript:

MIKULSKI: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. And thank you very much for calling this hearing. I think it’s the essential thing we need to do.

Mr. Nussle, I’ve got to tell you, I’m really disappointed in your testimony. It’s been some time that I have heard the kind of tone that has been expressed by a representative of the Bush administration. Your testimony has been disappointing in both tone and substance.

I personally take offense at the snarky, scolding, dismissive way that this testimony represents. And I think it’s inappropriate.

[…]

This is an ideological commentary, not the testimony of OMB. So since you’re pugnacious, guess what? I’m going to be pretty pugnacious, too, only my pugnaciousness is not going to be directed at the Congress. It’s going to be pugnacious about the people I represent.

So let’s get to it. Pugnacious? You bet. Let’s pick up on what Leahy and Harkin said about the Byrne grant. You want the regular order? I am the regular order. I chair CJS. And what this administration has done here has been outrageous.

Number one, let’s go to safety and security. We have funded the surge of Baghdad, but we have not funded the surge of violent crime in Baltimore, Biloxi, or other places. You have zeroed out the COPS program. You have zeroed out the Byrne grant.

When Shelby and Mikulski tried to do something last year in the regular budget, we were told, Eat $3 billion or face a veto threat. So we foraged and we skimped and we squeezed in to be able to make sure that our bill didn’t get a veto threat, and we came up with $170 million.

You can talk about all your smokestacks and whatever, but you bet there’s smoke. There’s smoke right here and now, and there is frustration from state and local police officers that say they need help. They need help.

And this administration has funded $5 billion over the last couple of years to fund the training of Iraqi police. You bet they need training. But I am telling you, I need the money, Senator Shelby and I need the money to make sure that our local law enforcement, the thin blue line, gets the money that they need to fight violent crime. So I’m going to ask in plain English: If, in fact, we (inaudible) the supplemental, restore the Byrne grants and only the Byrne grants to the needed level of $560 million, will you support it or will we face a veto threat?

NUSSLE: Well, Senator, I can only repeat what the president has said.

MIKULSKI: The president didn’t say anything about this. You think if I went to see the president, he would say, No ?

NUSSLE: Senator, I can only repeat what the president said. And his two priorities that he stated were that the bill stay within the $108.1 billion request and that it support the troops. That’s what he has said on the topic.

Beyond that, I don’t believe he has — I think the senator is correct — not spoken directly to those issues. But I also believe that the regular appropriations process is the time and the place to deal with those challenges. And…

MIKULSKI: But you eliminated it. You eliminated the COPS program, and you eliminated the Byrne grant program in your regular appropriations request.

So you’re saying, Don’t fund it in the supplemental. The president doesn’t request it in the regular order. And now you’re telling me you can’t accept it in the supplemental because the president didn’t talk about it. And when you sent us the CJS president’s request, it’s not in there for ‘09.

[…]

Mr. Chairman, with your cooperation, I hope that we do and fund it. If we’re talking about a safe and secure America, I want to make sure the streets of the United States of America are safe and secure. And I will work on a bipartisan basis to do it.

BYRD: Senator Murray?

MURRAY: Mr. Chairman, thank you very much for having this hearing.

And, Mr. Nussle, I share the anger, frustration, I guess pugnaciousness of the senator from Maryland. It is extremely disturbing to me that we are getting an emergency supplemental request for Iraq and Afghanistan five-and-a-half years into this war that’s being paid for off the books.

Public Safety Law and Order DOJ Federal Domestic Grants

People Maryland Mikulski – US Sen. Barbara Mikulski

20080417 Mikulski slams White House on lack of DOJ COPS funding

20080528 Bush cuts aid to US cops by David Lightman

Bush cuts aid to US cops by David Lightman

Bush cutting aid to U.S. cops

MORE BUDGETED FOR IRAQI POLICE

http://www.kentucky.com/216/story/417234.html

Posted By David Lightman on Wed, May. 28, 2008, DLIGHTMAN@MCCLATCHYDC.COM

WASHINGTON -- At the same time the Bush administration has been pushing for deep cuts in a popular crime-fighting program for states and cities, the White House has been fighting for approval of $603 million for the Iraqi police.

The White House earlier this year proposed slashing the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant program, which helps local law enforcement officials deal with violent crime and serious offenders, to $200 million in the next fiscal year, which begins Oct. 1.

In 2002, the year before the Iraq war, the program received $900 million.

The administration and the Democratic-controlled Congress are headed for a showdown over the domestic money, probably next month. When the Senate last week passed the emergency Iraq war funding bill, it allotted an immediate $490 million for the domestic grants while keeping the Iraqi police funds intact.

[…]

"State and local policing should be left to state and local governments. I don't see any advantage to federal meddling," said Chris Edwards, an analyst at Washington's Cato Institute.

Cato opposed the Iraq war, but Edwards said the issue of Iraq's police funding "is a foreign policy question, and foreign policy should depend on things other than economics."

But Travis Sharp, military policy analyst at the Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation, disagreed.

"There are tradeoffs in the federal government, and one of the arguments a lot of people make is that money spent in Iraq is not spent here," he said.

Those angry with the administration have a powerful ally in Sen. Barbara Mikulski, D-Md., who chairs the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice and Science that oversees the Justice Department.

"While President Bush requests millions of dollars for the war in Iraq, his domestic spending continues to shortchange our safety at home," she said.

When Budget Director Jim Nussle testified before her subcommittee last month, neither side showed any desire to compromise.

Mikulski called Bush's policies "outrageous" and labeled Nussle's testimony "snarky, scolding, dismissive."

"We have funded the surge of Baghdad, but we have not funded the surge of violent crime in Baltimore, Biloxi or other places," the senator said. She then asked Nussle if Bush would support restoring most of the Byrne grant.

[…]

The Iraq police funds are listed as money due to Iraq's Ministry of Interior. Also included in "new obligations" to the "Iraq Security Forces Fund" are $603 million for the Interior Ministry, $744 million for the Ministry of Defense and $153 million for "quick response."

The Congressional Research Service estimates that since the war began, the United States has spent about $20.75 billion to train and equip Iraqi soldiers and police officers.

Read the entire article here: Bush cutting aid to U.S. cops

20080528 Bush cuts aid to US cops by David Lightman

20080531 “Is McCain the new Goldwater” by Delmarva Dealings

Is McCain the new Goldwater by Delmarva Dealings

June 6^th, 2008

As I was trying to do some file maintenance – and put away everything from last week’s columns and get ready for another Sisyphisian exercise in writing another three columns for next week – I was once again taken by a post by Cato, May 31, 2008, over at Delmarva Dealings: Is John McCain the New Goldwater?

I have done a good bit of research on Arizona Sen. Barry Goldwater and I’m not inclined to see Arizona Sen. John McCain as the next “Goldwater,” with one caveat – Senator McCain, like Senator Goldwater, is well known as a principled public servant who has had very few, if any, “election campaign conversions.”

Nevertheless, it is my view, whether or not Senator McCain is our next president – and I certainly hope that he is – history will be very kind to him as it has been with Mr. Buckley, President Reagan, and Senator Goldwater.

Senator McCain, who is the presumptive Republican candidate for president in this fall’s election, certainly has earned the adjective, “maverick,” and has no concept of political expediency.

And he is certainly not running for President George W. Bush’s third term.

As an aside, I appreciated a recent AP article which quoted Senator McCain:

“You will hear from my opponent's campaign in every speech, every interview, every press release that I'm running for President Bush's third term," McCain said. "You will hear every policy of the president described as the Bush-McCain policy. Why does Senator Obama believe it's so important to repeat that idea over and over again? Because he knows it's very difficult to get Americans to believe something they know is false."

For the younger readers in our midst, Senator Goldwater was first elected to the U. S. Senate in 1952. History may know him best by way of his 1964 campaign for the presidency against the political juggernaut, known as Lyndon Johnson.

Although he lost the election, he is remembered by history, as are William F. Buckley and President Ronald Reagan, as the gold standard for advocating less government, strong national defense, disciplined federal spending and reigning-in federal social welfare programs that do not facilitate personal responsibility or empowerment. Senator Goldwater retired in 1986.

I well understood “Cato’s” comment:

In Quin Hillyer’s excellent piece in the American Spectator, we are treated to a rare objective piece on McCain from a conservative POV. As I have previously noted, just not as eloquently, McCain has been a principled politician most, if not all, of his career.

I certainly don’t agree with the Senator on everything…

[…]

He’s right on a great many more issues. He also appears to be an honorable man.

Read (or hopefully re-read) Goldwater’s Conscience of a Conservative.

While McCain may be weak on excessive government regulation, his record AND rhetoric are much in line with this true blue print of American conservative thought. Rather than risk someone without a true record, but instead one who panders to a philosophy in which they do no believe, McCain can be the bridge that we need from the Bush years back to that shining city.

Read Delmarva Dealings’ entire post here: Is John McCain the New Goldwater?

Thanks for calling “Quin Hillyer’s excellent piece in the American Spectator,” to our attention. And suggesting that we (re) read Goldwater’s Conscience of a Conservative.

####

20080531 “Is McCain the new Goldwater” by Delmarva Dealings

20080528 Ex Press Aide Writes Bush Misled US on Iraq by Michael D. Shear Washington Post

Ex-Press Aide Writes That Bush Misled U.S. on Iraq

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/05/27/AR2008052703679_pf.html

By Michael D. Shear Washington Post Staff Writer Wednesday, May 28, 2008; A01

Former White House press secretary Scott McClellan writes in a new memoir that the Iraq war was sold to the American people with a sophisticated "political propaganda campaign" led by President Bush and aimed at "manipulating sources of public opinion" and "downplaying the major reason for going to war."

McClellan includes the charges in a 341-page book, "What Happened: Inside the Bush White House and Washington's Culture of Deception," that delivers a harsh look at the White House and the man he served for close to a decade. He describes Bush as demonstrating a "lack of inquisitiveness," says the White House operated in "permanent campaign" mode, and admits to having been deceived by some in the president's inner circle about the leak of a CIA operative's name.

The book, coming from a man who was a tight-lipped defender of administration aides and policy, is certain to give fuel to critics of the administration, and McClellan has harsh words for many of his past colleagues. He accuses former White House adviser Karl Rove of misleading him about his role in the CIA case. He describes Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice as being deft at deflecting blame, and he calls Vice President Cheney "the magic man" who steered policy behind the scenes while leaving no fingerprints.

McClellan stops short of saying that Bush purposely lied about his reasons for invading Iraq, writing that he and his subordinates were not "employing out-and-out deception" to make their case for war in 2002.

But in a chapter titled "Selling the War," he alleges that the administration repeatedly shaded the truth and that Bush "managed the crisis in a way that almost guaranteed that the use of force would become the only feasible option."

Read the entire article here: Ex-Press Aide Writes That Bush Misled U.S. on Iraq

20080521 President and Mrs. Bush Saddened by Death of Hamilton Jordan

For Immediate Release

Office of the Press Secretary

May 21, 2008

President and Mrs. Bush Saddened by Death of Hamilton Jordan

http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2008/05/20080521-1.html

Laura and I are saddened by the death of Hamilton Jordan. Hamilton Jordan was a man whose love for American politics and his country took him at a young age from the State Capitol in Georgia to the White House. As President Carter's close advisor, Hamilton played an important role in shaping our Nation's policies. We value his service to our country.

Hamilton Jordan was also a great community leader, using lessons learned during his personal struggle against cancer to encourage other cancer survivors to remain optimistic and embrace the blessings of each day. Through their work with Camp Sunshine, he and his wife Dorothy have helped thousands of children enjoy life as they cope with the challenges of cancer.

Our thoughts and prayers are with the Jordan family.

# # #

20080521 Media Matters: Michael Savage plays Dead Kennedys song "in some respect for" Sen. Kennedy

Media Matters: Michael Savage plays Dead Kennedys song "in some respect for" Sen. Kennedy

http://mediamatters.org/items/200805210001

Wed, May 21, 2008

Even those of us who have never fully appreciated Massachusetts Senator Ted Kennedy were left wondering that if this was “in some respect for” Sen. Kennedy, we sure are worried about Mr. Savage’s response if he didn’t like the second longest serving public servant in the Senate.

---

Summary: On the day it was announced that Sen. Ted Kennedy had been diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor, nationally syndicated radio host Michael Savage opened his show by interspersing audio of Kennedy singing "Ay Jalisco No Te Rajes" with clips of news reporters discussing Kennedy's diagnosis and audio from Kindergarten Cop in which Arnold Schwarzenegger's character says, "It's not a tumor." Later, Savage played the Dead Kennedys song "California Über Alles" after stating: "The poor guy's been suffering for years, you know? Unfairly he's been accused of alcoholism, but we see now that it was something much more deep-seated. And so, to cut this out in some respect for Ted Kennedy, here's a tune coming at you from the Dead Kennedys. Go ahead and play it, please."

---

Following the announcement that Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-MA) has been diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor, nationally syndicated radio host Michael Savage opened his May 20 show by interspersing audio of Kennedy singing "Ay Jalisco No Te Rajes" with clips of news reporters discussing Kennedy's diagnosis and audio from the 1990 film Kindergarten Cop in which Arnold Schwarzenegger's character says, "It's not a tumor." Later, Savage played the Dead Kennedys song "California Über Alles" after stating: "The poor guy's been suffering for years, you know? Unfairly he's been accused of alcoholism, but we see now that it was something much more deep-seated. And so, to cut this out in some respect for Ted Kennedy, here's a tune coming at you from the Dead Kennedys. Go ahead and play it, please."

After reading from the lyrics of "California Über Alles," Savage said, "No gloating today, no laughter, all serious. You don't joke about a man's cancer. I do it, but I won't do it today; it's something I will not do." At one point in the program, he told a caller, "You know I'm playing the Dead Kennedys not to mock Ted Kennedy. It's just appropriate, that's all."

Later in the program, Savage aired a clip of Sen. Robert Byrd (D-WV) offering a tribute to Kennedy on the Senate floor before describing Byrd as "a senile senator" and "a walking psycho." Savage went on to assert, "For years now, Byrd has been blubbering on the floor of the Senate. For years, I mean, to be honest, Kennedy didn't seem sane to me." He continued, "Forget about the drunk stories and all that -- anybody can drink. The guy sounded like he was off for years, I'm sorry."

Savage subsequently aired a clip of Kennedy singing "Ay Jalisco No Te Rajes" before he asserted, "This is running America. No wonder [Iranian President Mahmoud] Ahmadinejad's racing ahead with a nuclear weapon. He's afraid of these old men? He's afraid of these men who don't know what they're talking about? They don't know what they're talking about. No wonder Al Gore can receive a prize -- a Nobel Prize for something that doesn't exist. No wonder. Nobody knows what's going on." Savage added, "Either they're senile, or they're bought out, or they're corrupt, or they're crazy, or they're on medication. And we the people are sitting here saying, 'The king has no clothes,' and the king says, 'Off with your head.' Play 'California Über Alles' by the Dead Kennedys for me. I'm not going to get too worked up right now -- lunch is coming up for me anyway."

In February, discussing the death of Rep. Tom Lantos (D-CA), the only member of Congress to have survived the Holocaust, Savage stated, "You're not supposed to talk badly about the dead. I generally wouldn't do it. But in the case of Tom Lantos, I'll make an exception. I think he was one of the most -- he was a scoundrel. And I'll tell you why I detested Tom Lantos. The man survived the Holocaust of World War II and used it as a weapon the rest of his life."

Talk Radio Network, which syndicates Savage's show, says that Savage is heard on more than 350 radio stations. The Savage Nation reaches more than 8.25 million listeners each week, according to Talkers Magazine, making it one of the most listened-to talk radio shows in the nation, behind only The Rush Limbaugh Show and The Sean Hannity Show.

From the May 20 edition of Talk Radio Network's The Savage Nation:

[begin audio clip]

[Ted Kennedy singing "Ay Jalisco No Te Rajes"]

VARIOUS REPORTERS: Our breaking news this afternoon: Ted Kennedy ... Tumor in the left lobe of his brain ... Malignant brain tumor ... This is a malignant brain tumor ... Let me, let me pick your brain -- on probably the area you know best ... He's showing great energy –

Read the entire post from Media Matters here: Media Matters: Michael Savage plays Dead Kennedys song "in some respect for" Sen. Kennedy

http://mediamatters.org/items/200805210001

Wed, May 21, 2008

*****

Take Action!

Contact information:

Michael Savage
michaelsavage@paulreveresociety.com

Talk Radio Network
Talk Radio Network
Talk Radio Network
P.O. Box 3755
Central Point, Oregon 97502
Phone: 541-664-8827
Fax: 541-664-6250

The Savage Nation
The Savage Nation
The Paul Revere Society
150 Shoreline Hwy, Bldge E
Mill Valley, CA 94941
Fax: 415-339-9383

When contacting the media, please be polite and professional. Express your specific concerns regarding that particular news report or commentary, and be sure to indicate exactly what you would like the media outlet to do differently in the future.

####

20071101 Smithsonian Channel: Tribute to Brig. Gen. Paul W. Tibbets

Smithsonian Channel: Tribute to Brig. Gen. Paul W. Tibbets

November 2^nd, 2007

OUR TRIBUTE TO THE COMMANDER OF THE ENOLA GAY.

On November 1st, Brig. Gen. Paul W. Tibbets Jr. died at the age of 92. Tibbets guided the famous plane, named after his mother, and dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima. The story is captured here in MEN WHO BROUGHT THE DAWN.

20070912 Comparing MoveOn.org’s NYTimes ad to ads about Sen. John Kerry in 2004

Comparing MoveOn.org’s NYTimes ad to ads about Sen. John Kerry in 2004

September 12^th, 2007

A number of folks have vigorously defended The General Petraeus New York Times Ad by regurgitating the Swift Boat Veterans’ ads about 2004 presidential candidate Sen. John Kerry.

To be certain, both Senator Kerry and General Petraeus testified in front of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

But here is where the wheels come off the cart. As so eloquently memorialized by Col. Oliver North on August 27^th, 2004, in a column titled, “Bring it in John,” he wrote:

On April 22, 1971, under oath, you told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that you had knowledge that American troops "had personally raped, cut off ears, cut off heads, taped wires from portable telephones to human genitals and turned up the power, cut off limbs, blown up bodies, randomly shot at civilians, razed villages in fashion reminiscent of Genghis Khan, shot cattle and dogs for fun, poisoned food stocks, and generally ravaged the country side of South Vietnam." And you admitted on television that "yes, yes, I committed the same kind of atrocities as thousands of other soldiers have committed."

And for good measure you stated, "(America is) more guilty than any other body, of violations of (the) Geneva Conventions ... the torture of prisoners, the killing of prisoners."

In a compare and contrast of General Petraeus and Sen. Kerry, those of us who know history and witnessed the events of April 22, 1971 are quite surprised that liberals dare even mention the name Sen. Kerry in the same paragraph with General Petraeus.

References and related:

20040827 “Bring it on John” by Oliver North

20070912 Hatch on Move On by Don Surber

20070910 The General Petraeus New York Times Ad

20070730 NYTimes Op-Ed: A War We Just Might Win by O’Hanlon and Pollack

20070910 Petraeus Doesn’t Cook the Books Just the facts by Michael O’Hanlon

20070908 Officials: Sen. Hagel not to run again AP

Officials: Sen. Hagel not to run again

By DAVID ESPO, AP Special Correspondent September 8, 2007

WASHINGTON - Nebraska Sen. Chuck Hagel, a persistent Republican critic of the Iraq war, intends to announce on Monday he will not seek a third term, according to Republican officials.

The officials also said Hagel does not plan to run for the White House in 2008, despite earlier flirting with a candidacy.

The 60-year-old senator arranged a news conference for Monday in Omaha, Neb., to make his formal announcement. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity to avoid pre-empting the event.

The decision by Hagel is the latest in a string of setbacks for minority Republicans in the Senate, who must defend 22 of the 34 seats on the ballot next fall.

Last week, Sen. John Warner of Virginia announced his retirement, a decision expected to create an intensely competitive race for a seat he probably would have held easily had he decided to run again.

Nebraska is one of the most Republican states in the nation, but Hagel's retirement could open the way for former Democratic Sen. Bob Kerrey to attempt a political comeback. […]

Read the entire article here: Officials: Sen. Hagel not to run again

20070813 Wall Street Journal: Karl Rove to Resign at the End of August

Wall Street Journal: Karl Rove to Resign at the End of August

Karl Rove to Resign at the End of August

By a WALL STREET JOURNAL Staff Reporter

August 13, 2007 4:00 a.m.

Karl Rove, President Bush's longtime political adviser, is resigning as White House deputy chief of staff effective Aug. 31, and returning to Texas, he said in an interview with Paul Gigot, editor of The Wall Street Journal's editorial page.

(See related editorial.) 'THE MARK OF ROVE'

Read the editorial by The Wall Street Journal's editorial page editor, Paul Gigot, on his interview with Karl Rove.

Mr. Rove, who has held a senior post in the White House since President Bush took office in January 2001, told Mr. Gigot …

Read the rest of the article here: Karl Rove to Resign at the End of August

The Wall Street Journal published the interview Monday.

RELATED ARTICLES AND BLOGS

Related Content may require a subscription Subscribe Now -- Get 2 Weeks FREE

Related Articles from the Online Journal

'The Mark of Rove'

Bush Invokes Executive Privilege

White House Won't Rule Out Eventual Pardon for Libby

House Democrats Issue New Subpoena

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB118698747711695773.html?mod=hpp_us_whats_news

20070813 Wall Street Journal: Karl Rove to Resign at the End of August

Wall Street Journal: Karl Rove to Resign at the End of August

Karl Rove to Resign at the End of August

By a WALL STREET JOURNAL Staff Reporter

August 13, 2007 4:00 a.m.

Karl Rove, President Bush's longtime political adviser, is resigning as White House deputy chief of staff effective Aug. 31, and returning to Texas, he said in an interview with Paul Gigot, editor of The Wall Street Journal's editorial page.

(See related editorial.) 'THE MARK OF ROVE'

Read the editorial by The Wall Street Journal's editorial page editor, Paul Gigot, on his interview with Karl Rove.

Mr. Rove, who has held a senior post in the White House since President Bush took office in January 2001, told Mr. Gigot …

Read the rest of the article here: Karl Rove to Resign at the End of August

The Wall Street Journal published the interview Monday.

RELATED ARTICLES AND BLOGS

Related Content may require a subscription Subscribe Now -- Get 2 Weeks FREE

Related Articles from the Online Journal

'The Mark of Rove'

Bush Invokes Executive Privilege

White House Won't Rule Out Eventual Pardon for Libby

House Democrats Issue New Subpoena

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB118698747711695773.html?mod=hpp_us_whats_news

20070425 On Boris Yeltsin

On Boris Yeltsin

April 25^th, 2007

The photo above is credited to: Alexander Zemlianichenko / AP file

“Then Russian President Boris Yeltsin dances at a rock concert in Rostov, Russia, in June 1996. View related photos ("Never one for protocol, Yeltsin was entertaining.")

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q5FIoocja4k

My Wednesday, April 25, 2007 Tentacle column is on Boris Yeltsin, Dead at 76

Best known for standing on a tank in the middle of Moscow and almost single-handedly defying a coup in 1991, Boris Nikolayevich Yeltsin is the same person who just two years earlier had fished himself out of a river clad only in his underwear.

It was in 1989 that the man history may reflect upon as one of the most significant players in dismantling the U.S.S.R somehow ended up in a police station outside Moscow dripping wet.

According to a Reuters' account, Mr. Yeltsin claimed that he "had been attacked, his head covered with a sack and dumped off a bridge into a river. Top communists said he had been drunk while on his way to a tryst with a lover."

On Monday, in Moscow's Central Clinical Hospital, he died of heart failure. A walking-talking contradiction, history has yet to fathom his legacy.

Read the rest of the column here: Boris Yeltsin, Dead at 76.

This may be one of my many favorite Yeltsin moments – which I remember seeing, really time…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HQULzrgC3dg

####

20070422 Baltimore Premiere of “Mr. Conservative: Goldwater on Goldwater” at the Charles

Cinema Sundays Spring 2007 Series 39 at the Charles Theatre

Baltimore Premiere of “Mr. Conservative: Goldwater on Goldwater”

Sunday, April 22, 2007

The other day I called Jonathan Palevsky at the Charles Theatre ever so slightly too late…

He had called and left a message asking me to be the presenter this Sunday for the “Baltimore Premiere of Mr. Conservative: Goldwater on Goldwater. Directed by Julie Anderson. Starring Barry Goldwater, James Carville, Walter Cronkite, John Dean, John McCain, the Goldwater Family, and almost every other figure who was ever involved in American politics.”

I would have loved to do it as I have done a great deal of research on the incredible career of Barry Goldwater.

Nevertheless, the person who called Mr. Palevsky back before I did is probably much more eminently qualified to speak on the topic of Senator Goldwater – Barry Rascovar, the pre-eminent Gazette columnist.

Mr. Rascovar, retired from the Baltimore Sun in August 2001 in one the many awkward decisions made by the paper since it was purchased by Tribune a number of years ago. Moves which many of us feel has caused the paper to shift precipitously to the left as nowadays, the paper is often considered to be the unofficial web site for the liberal point of view and the Maryland Democratic Party…

But I guess that matter is well beyond the scope of this post. And, after-all, it all worked out as Mr. Rascovar was quickly picked up by Gazette…

Meanwhile, Mr. Palevsky e-mailed me the following information…

Cinema Sundays at the Charles Continues its 39th series on April 22nd with the Baltimore Premiere of Mr. Conservative: Goldwater on Goldwater. Directed by Julie Anderson. Starring Barry Goldwater, James Carville, Walter Cronkite, John Dean, John McCain, the Goldwater Family, and almost every other figure who was ever involved in American politics.

2007 USA Rated R for Republican. 90 minutes.

Synopsis

Barry M. Goldwater, rose from being a local businessman in Arizona (which was not yet a state when he was born) to become a hugely influential U.S. Senator whose 30-year career reached a crescendo with his ill-fated run for President in 1964.

The film follows that tumultuous year, as well as others in a career that encompassed numerous political and ideological triumphs. Though he never achieved the ultimate prize, the election of Ronald Reagan in 1980 vindicated the conservative agenda Goldwater had long championed.

Ironically, in later years, Goldwater's support of issues like abortion and gay rights were diametrically opposed to those of the "new conservative" leadership, underscoring both the distance the country has traveled in the last 40 years, as well as the dogged independence Goldwater embodied up to his death in 1998.

At the height of his power, Goldwater was the symbol of conservatism, denouncing Liberals and Communists while advocating limited government, free enterprise, separation of church and state, and a strong defense.

But because of his unequivocal opinions, Goldwater was vulnerable to attacks that labeled him pro-war and anti-Civil Rights. Those perceptions, coupled with JFK's death a year before the election, undermined Goldwater's presidential hopes, though he remained a strong and influential Senate voice for 23 more years.

In addition to detailing Goldwater's rise in politics, Mr. Conservative: Goldwater on Goldwater includes a myriad of anecdotes and insights about Goldwater's private and public life. Identified as much with his home state of Arizona as JFK was with Massachusetts, Goldwater was, according to George Will, "not just from Arizona .... he looked like Arizona."

In an era when JFK became the first Catholic ever to be elected President, Goldwater was in fact half Jewish. Remembers Robert MacNeil, "He often told the story about being born of a Jewish father and an Episcopalian mother. He would say things like, 'I went to a golf club where they wouldn't let Jews play, and I said, "I'm only half Jewish. Can I play nine holes?'"

Mr. Conservative: Goldwater on Goldwater includes interviews with Senators Edward Kennedy, Hillary Rodham Clinton (a onetime "Goldwater Girl") and John McCain (who succeeded Goldwater in Arizona); former TV anchorman Walter Cronkite; humorist Al Franken; TV correspondent Robert MacNeil; former Washington Post editor Ben Bradlee; author George Will; 60 Minutes' And y Rooney; CBS News' Bob Schieffer; White House reporter Helen Thomas; political consultant James Carville; former White House Counsel John Dean; Goldwater's brother, Bob; sons Barry, Jr. (a onetime House Representative from California) and Michael; daughters Joanne and Peggy; and others.

Click here for official site and trailer!

http://www.hbo.com/docs/programs/mrconservative/index.html

Ladies and gentlemen. I promised you a documentary and by gosh we have one. I was hoping to book The Romance of the 7 Tractor Drivers…a seven hour epic about life on the collective farm but sadly the 14mm print wasn’t available from Belarus films. Instead we have what should be a fascinating look at one of the most interesting and enduring figures of American political life.

Our speaker for this week is Barry Rascovar who writes for The Gazette, is featured on WYPR’s Inside Maryland Politics and is also a political commentator for WBAL TV. His own persona l take on Barry Goldwater should prove most interesting.

I want to thank our speaker from last week Joseph Schaub for his work on Fracture, I know we all appreciated his insights.

I am so looking forward to seeing you on Sunday.

Jonathan Palevsky Jpalevsky AT aol.com

_____

If you’ve never been to Cinema Sundays before, see below for our stimulating yet official description.

So what exactly happens at Cinema Sundays…Well, Here’s everything you’ve always wanted to know about Cinema Sundays but were afraid to ask.

Doors open at 9:45 There’s hot coffee, fresh bagels, (including my favorite the crunchy sunflower) and a discreetly hidden penguin in the post modernist ecologically vegan friendly industrial lobby of the Charles. Moderate bagel consumption takes place until 10:30 (after which we adjourn to the Dada era screening room for some introductory remarks by the host and the guest speaker. After the movie is screened (completely devoid of rude people talking during th e film or using their cell phones) the post screening discussion, will be moderated by the guest speaker, with Jonathan and Jerry on the mics fielding questions from YOU, the audience.

Please feel free to visit us at… Http://www.cinemasundays.com

Tickets: $15 at the door.

Or buy a mini-membership.

1711 N. Charles St.

410-727-3464

info: Karen AT cinemasundays.com

20070415 Al Sharpton on FOX News Sunday

Transcript: Al Sharpton on 'FOX News Sunday'

Sunday , April 15, 2007

http://www.foxnews.com/printer_friendly_story/0,3566,266213,00.html

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,266213,00.html

WASHINGTON —

The following is a partial transcript of the April 15, 2007, edition of "FOX News Sunday With Chris Wallace":

"FOX NEWS SUNDAY" HOST CHRIS WALLACE: Joining us now from New York to discuss the fallout from the Don Imus controversy is the Reverend Al Sharpton, a civil rights activist who was among the first to call for the radio host to be fired.

Reverend Sharpton, now that Don Imus is off the air, will you go after the rappers who say a lot worse things than Imus ever has, as well as the radio companies, the music record companies and the broadcast companies that make so much money off this kind of language?

REV. AL SHARPTON: I think the real question is whether or not the major media will cover our already having gone after some of the rappers and record companies that they have in some cases not covered. In some cases they have.

I led a campaign against the whole song "It's Hard Out Here to be a Pimp" and said it should have never gotten an Oscar nomination. I led a campaign and had marches against the show "Boondocks" that used the "N" word. Both are blacks involved.

Read the rest here: Al Sharpton on 'FOX News Sunday'

For more information on Reverend Sharpton go here: The Saga of Big Al Sharpton

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20070128 Hanoi Jane – She’s Baaaack

Hanoi Jane – She’s Baaaack

H/t for vintage picture of Hanoi Jane – Michelle Malkin.

She’s back. Now isn’t this special.

The Gateway Pundit has much of the story. Click here.

And in another story, the Gateway Pundit reports:

HotAir reports tonight that Sparling got spat at during the protest.

You may remember PFC. Joshua Sparling...

Michelle Malkin reported this from FOX and Friends back in December 2005:

Lots of readers watched Fox & Friends this morning and e-mailed about the disgusting greeting card a wounded soldier received while hospitalized at Walter Reed Army Hospital.

The card front, decorated with patriotic and holiday stamps, was deceptively innocuous. But, when you take a look inside it says "P.S. DIE".

According to Kilmeade, who visited Walter Reed on Friday, a US Army soldier named Joshua Sparling received the death wish while recovering from a gunshot wound he received in Ramadi, Iraq. It's the only Christmas card he received.

The Hill reports:

Anti-war protesters spray paint Capitol building

By Jackie Kucinich

Anti-war protesters were allowed to spray paint on part of the west front steps of the United States Capitol building after police were ordered to break their security line by their leadership, two sources told The Hill.

According to the sources, police officers were livid when they were told to fall back by U.S. Capitol Police (USCP) Chief Phillip Morse and Deputy Chief Daniel Nichols. "They were the commanders on the scene," one source said, who requested anonymity. "It was disgusting."

Read the rest here.

For more on Hanoi Jane – click here.

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