The Fireside chat for May 22, 2010 (VIDEO)

The President announces that the independent commission he created for the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Offshore Drilling will be chaired by former Florida Governor and Senator Bob Graham and former EPA Administrator Bill Reilly. He promises accountability not just for BP, but for those in government who bore responsibility.

So, my opinion doesn't count in this Rand Paul business?

Yesterday, thanks to Rand Paul, we received proof positive that the rotten racist apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.

I am of course speaking of Rand Paul’s not-necessarily disastrous decision to advocate for the repeal of the 1964 Civil Rights Act.

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I say not-necessarily, because this is still Kentucky we're talking about. Not the most racist state in the Union (too many nominees to mention), but just about as racist as they come.

Mr. Paul's racism has, of course, generated a lot of chatter on the TeeVee, and in the blogosphere. In most cases, a lot of journalists went out of their way to say that Rand Paul was not a racist. Ezra Klein's post is but one example. There are more.

Why? Because he said so.

But with regard to racism, I don't believe in any racism. I don‘t think we should have any government racism, any institutional form of racism.

That was from the Maddow interview of May 19th.

Guess that takes care of that.

If this douchebag is going to so casually throw my rights (as an African-American) under the bus to serve his ideological aims, while his remain intact (what a coincidence), how does that not make him a racist?

Put another way, a better way by Adam Serwer (first highlighted by Ezra Klein):

Paul's defenders will argue -- as conservatives did with Barry Goldwater -- that Paul himself is not a racist. Indeed, Paul said he finds racism abhorrent and would not frequent a segregated business. And Paul rather incoherently defended his position as being "the hard part about believing in freedom." This is a key statement because it rather poignantly expresses the utter selfishness at the heart of Paul's argument against the Civil Rights Act.

Paul would never face the actual "hard part" of his vision of freedom, because it would never interfere with his own life, liberty, or pursuit of happiness. Rand Paul would not have been turned away from a lunch counter, be refused a home, a job, or denied a loan, or told to sit in the black car of a train because of his skin color, or because of the skin color of his spouse. Paul thinks there is something "hard" about defending the kind of discrimination he would have never, ever faced. Paul's free-market fundamentalism is being expressed after decades of social transformation that the Civil Rights Act helped create, and so the hell of segregation is but a mere abstraction, difficult to remember and easy to dismiss as belonging only to its time. It's much easier now to say that "the market would handle it." But it didn't, and it wouldn't.

But, there is another thing that has bothered me about this debate.

Where are the African-Americans? I mean, it's not like we don't have an opinion on this thing.

For some reason, the debate about Rand Paul, about his beliefs, about his racism, has happened exclusively in the province of white people.

That’s not to say that white people don’t have a say in this matter (in fact, some of my best friends are white people). But they are only half of the equation in any discussion about race in America. Worse still, they are not exactly experts when in comes to suffering under racism. (Though a some are experts at dishing it out.)

Sorry, fellow Liberals. I’m not trying to insult you, I’m just reflecting an honest truth. I know you hate racism. I know you will act against it whenever it’s identified for you. But any expertise you have comes from the outside looking in. You don’t live it like I do, or any African-American does.

It’s the same way I viscerally hate Anti-Semitism, from my gut. Still, I have to acknowledge that any Jew anywhere is better suited to speak to the issue than I am.

Following that, in a discussion about the harm Public and Private Institutions can inflict upon American Citizens of color, and the Government’s role in ending that harm, why weren’t there any African-American (people who are the authority on this kind of harm) on the TeeVee??

Yeah, we had Jim Clyburn. Twice. Both times on MSNBC. Once on Andrea, once on Keith.

That’s it?

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Not that Jim Clyburn didn’t hit it out of the park, he did. He was great. He spoke for me, word for word.

But come on, you’re trying to tell me there weren’t more Black people who could talk about this?

Eugene Robinson? (MSNBC Regular)

Melissa Harris-Lacewell? (MSNBC Regular)

LeBron James? (It's not like he hasn't been in the news).

Tiger Wo--

Yeah, you're right. Scratch that. Bad idea.

It wasn’t until Rachel Maddow (who started his mess by taking an oft-reported local story and putting on said TeeVee) interviewed Benjamin Jealous of the NAACP that we had another black person talking about the subject.

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Child, please.

Listen, it’s bad enough that you have a segment of the population desirous to go back to the “bad old days”. It’s bad enough that a moment of true racial transcendence (the election of the first black President) has become mired in an explosion of racial divisiveness.

But is it too much to ask, that if you have a discussion about race in America that we be a part of it?

Leaving African-Americans out may be the most offensive thing about all this.

The President's Speech on Jobs in Youngstown, Ohio (VIDEO)

This one almost slipped past me. It got almost zero coverage on the national stage.

Not the most extraordinary speech he's ever given, but its a good template for the campaign ahead. If you've been watching him speak, you've heard a lot of this stuff before. The crowd reaction felt a little restrained. The biggest laugh/applause lines seemed to come whenever he talked concrete job numbers (i.e., the people in the next county over, thanks to the G.M. bailout are coming back to work). That's how it should be.

The President read the room. He dispensed with the smiles quickly, and told the people of Youngstown what he did, and how it helped.

Now, we’ve got a long way to go before this recovery is felt in the lives of our neighbors and in all the communities that have lost so much ground in this recession and in years before.

But despite that sobering reality, despite all the naysayers in Washington, who are always looking for the cloud in every silver lining, the fact is our economy is growing again. Last month, we gained 290,000 jobs. (Applause.) So think about this. We gained more jobs last month than any time in four years. And it was the fourth month in a row that we’ve added jobs -- and almost all those jobs are in the private sector. Everybody talks about government was doing this, government was doing that. Now, what we did was we encouraged the private sector, gave them the funding, the financing, the support, the infrastructure support in order to invest and get the economy moving again.

And last month also brought the largest increase in manufacturing employment since 1998 -- (applause) -- 1998, because I believe in manufacturing and I believe in manufacturing right here in the United States of America. We can compete against anybody. Youngstown can compete against anybody. You got the best workers. There’s no reason why we can’t compete with anybody if you guys have the support that you need.

And you know what? I think those critics who have been trying to badmouth these efforts -- they know it’s working. These folks who opposed this every step of the way, predicting nothing but failure, they know it’s working because -- this always puts a smile on my face -- even as they’ve tried to score political points attacking these members of Congress, a lot of them go home and then they claim credit for the very things they voted against. They’ll show up at the -- to cut the ribbons. They’ll put out a press release. They’ll send the mailings touting the very projects that they were opposing in Washington. They’re trying to have it both ways.

I know that’s hard to imagine in politics, that a politician might try to have it both ways, but here’s the fact: If the “just say no” crowd had won out, if we had done things the way they wanted to go, we’d be in a deeper world of hurt than we are right now. Families wouldn’t have seen those tax cuts. Small businesses wouldn’t have gotten those loans or those health care tax credits that they’re now eligible for. Insurance companies would still be deciding who they want to cover and when they want to cover them, and dropping your health care coverage whenever they felt like it.

The Fireside chat for May 15, 2010 (VIDEO)

The President explains how Wall Street Reform will not only end bailouts and bring accountability for big banks, but empower consumers, shareholders and community banks.

"None of our challenges and difficulties are our own fault..."

From a Michael Kinsey piece in Atlantic, bagging on the Teabaggers (and rightly so). Still, this paragraph caught my attention (especially after Andrew Sullivan highlighted it as well).

Some people think that what unites the Tea Party Patriots is simple racism. I doubt that. But the Tea Party movement is not the solution to what ails America. It is an illustration of what ails America. Not because it is right-wing or because it is sometimes susceptible to crazed conspiracy theories, and not because of racism, but because of the movement’s self-indulgent premise that none of our challenges and difficulties are our own fault.

“Personal responsibility” has been a great conservative theme in recent decades, in response to the growth of the welfare state. It is a common theme among TPPs—even in response to health-care reform, as if losing your job and then getting cancer is something you shouldn’t have allowed to happen to yourself. But these days, conservatives far outdo liberals in excusing citizens from personal responsibility. To the TPPs, all of our problems are the fault of the government, and the government is a great “other,” a hideous monster over which we have no control. It spends our money and runs up vast deficits for mysterious reasons all its own. At bottom, this is a suspicion not of government but of democracy. After all, who elected this monster?

Eyjafjallajökull the Video...

Nothing to do with Politics, just...well, just look...

Iceland, Eyjafjallajökull - May 1st and 2nd, 2010 from Sean Stiegemeier on Vimeo.

Scolding B.P. (VIDEO)

It starts as a standard Presidential report on the state of the Gulf Oil Spill, along with usual plea for speedy passage of some legislation.

Then you hit the 3:17 mark...

The President, the Reporter and the Hovercraft (VIDEO)

I know, I know. We're in the middle of two wars, too many people can't get jobs, and the entirety of the Gulf of Mexico is about to be poisoned...

...but stuff like this is fun. It's fun to stop and take a moment, engage in some well-meaning silliness. This is the stuff that makes being President fun, and keeps him from having to "play" Barack Obama.



What do I mean by that? Check out Jonathan Alter's book on May 18th.

Hamsters (still) don't vote.

Caught this on Andrew Sullivan's blog. Worth remembering.

President Obama's commencement address at Hampton University (VIDEO)

Yes! To a historically Black University!

Yes! He did chip on the iPad, though the story's a tad overblown.

The Fireside chat for May 8, 2010 (VIDEO)

The President goes through the benefits in health insurance reform that are already kicking in for young adults, retirees, and families, and says more benefits are coming down the pike.

I agree...

...with Senator Robert Menendez (D-NJ) when he cracked on the President:

"Telling people we're not going to get a legislative solution this year, or to suggest maybe that it's not possible this year, is not in the best interests of the nation."

Not sure if "Machete" is going to help... (VIDEO)

Yes, this a trailer for an actual movie. This isn't Funny or Die stuff, this is coming out September 3rd, 2010. (Can't say much for its box office prospects).



Let's be honest, the trailer was cut to respond to/take advantage of the Arizona Law. As quick as Rodriguez works, this had to have been in the works for the last year at least. (I've been hearing about a Machete movie since the first Spy Kids movie came out, so...)

This is Duncan Hunter's Brother?!? (VIDEO)

Okay, basic story: there's a canal separating the U.S. and Mexico near San Diego. It 's also the most dangerous body of water in the U.S. as crossing it has cost 550 people, mostly illegal immigrants, their lives.

And...there is a avid right-winger out there, working overtime, risking arrest, to put in some semblance of safety features across this canal, to allow the illegals to at least arrive alive...

...and this right winger is Duncan Hunter's brother???

Great Gosh a'mighty...


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Comparitive Journalism 101

Mr. President, are you sure you want me reading the Huffington Post? I'm a Liberal, and I'm not sure.

Here's the headline on the front of their Politics page right now:

WHITE HOUSE NOT BUDGING ON DRILLING
Gibbs Says It's 'Premature' To Take Additional Offshore Drilling Off The Table

The Obama administration said on Monday that it remains "premature" to rule out including additional offshore drilling as part of comprehensive energy legislation, even as Senate Democrats warn that such a provision would make the bill "dead on arrival."

White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said that the president will determine whether to stay with or abandon his call for additional drilling off various parts of the coast once he gets the findings of an investigation into the massive oil spill in the Gulf.

Funny, because Greg Sargent at the Plum Line (and a TPM alum) has this headline off the same damn story:

Did Gibbs Open Door To Reinstating Drilling Ban?

President Obama has an opportunity on his hands: He could, if he so chose, seize on the Gulf oil spill to reverse his announcement of new offshore drilling and reinstate the ban on it. No idea if he’ll take this opportunity, but it’s there.

The left is redoubling its push for him to resinstate the ban, arguing that strong leaders aren’t afraid to change their minds when empirical evidence suggests they should do so. And Obama has repeatedly said he will base his administration’s decisions on “science” and “facts.”

This strong new MoveOn ad, for instance, argues that “sometimes great leaders are tested.” The ad calls for the ban to be revived, and asks: “President Obama: Will you lead our country into a clean energy future?”

At the press briefing just now, Robert Gibbs was pressed on whether this is a possibilty, and interestingly, he didn’t rule it out. Asked if the administration’s thinking had shifted, Gibbs noted that Interior Secretary Ken Salazar was probing the spill, adding:

“This is an administation that is going to take whatever we get from that and have that dicate our decision-making going forward. It would be premature to get to far ahead of where Secretary Salazar’s investigation is…

“The investigation is to determine what happened and to use that information going forward to dictate any changes in our policy.”

That seems to leave the door open to a possible policy change. Now, we don’t know what the investigation will find, and it’s very possible that the administration will ultimately argue that this one disaster is an exception and doesn’t undercut the case for more drilling.

But either way, Obama has an opening here to change direction. And if he were to reinstate the drilling ban, he would be in a better position to argue that the spill proves in vivid, horrifying detail that the cost of remaining addicted to oil, and the price of inaction on energy reform, are too great to risk any longer.

The President's busy-busy Sunday... (VIDEO)

Both New York City and the Gulf Coast in one brief statement. I'm sure more is to come...

President Obama's Commencement Address at...that University (VIDEO)

...that University being...Michigan.

Can you tell I'm an Ohio State Fan? (What, the President couldn't have gone to Columbus first? Michigan isn't in play. Ohio might be.)

Maybe I'm being too hard on Michigan after all. When your Football Program sucks, and your Basketball program sucks, you need something to justify your existence. Just don't go bringing down the Boss's Presidency, Big Blue!

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Oh, and this may be my 1000th post. Enjoy!

The Fireside chat for May 1, 2010 (VIDEO)

As the President beats back lobbyists seeking to weaken Wall Street Reform, he talks about an even broader threat that would vastly expand the influence of massive industries and their lobbyists in Washington. A recent Supreme Court decision opened the floodgates for corporations, including foreign corporations, to spend endless money on political ads that would give them even more power at the expense of American families – the President pledges to fight for reforms to stem that influence.

What scares me about Arizona...

...is apparently what scares Ta-Neishi Coates of the Atlantic Monthly as well.

Carrying an illegal gun in New York is a crime, and it was a crime before New York City began searching people, stopped for another infraction, for illegal guns. Likewise, being an illegal alien was also, necessarily, a crime before Arizona's law. Both laws also place a burden of search on people who may well be innocent.

But whereas New York proving your innocence in New York means simply not having an illegal gun on your person, proving your innocence in Arizona means carrying around identification that you aren't an illegal alien. The right comparison isn't New York requiring you to submit to a search for illegal guns--it's New York requiring you to carry proof that you don't own an illegal gun.

Put differently, it was always a crime to carry an illegal gun in New York, but it was not always a (state) crime in Arizona for legal immigrants to leave their proof of residency at home. Now it is. Moreover, from what I can tell, this actually understates the law. Essentially, Arizona has made it a crime for anyone in the state to not have proof of citizenship on them at all times. Defenders of the law will say that police still have to stop you for something, and they still have to "suspect" that you did something.

Forgive, but I don't find that comforting. Amadou Diallo is dead because the police "suspected" he was drawing a gun. Oscar Grant is dead because the police "suspected" he needed to be tased. My old friend, Prince Jones, Howard University student and father of a baby girl, was murdered by the police in front of his daughter's home because police "suspected" he was a drug-dealer. (The cop was not kicked off the force.) Only a year ago, I was stopped in Chelsea, coming from an interview with NPR, because police "suspected" I was the Latino male who'd recently robbed someone.

This comes down to police power, and how comfortable you are with its extension. George Will, in a bit of populist demagoguery, implies that the critics of the Arizona law are people who only know illegal immigrants as cheap labor. But I suspect Will mostly has the exact same relationship with illegal immigrants. Moreover, I suspect that he only knows the police as the kind of Officer Friendlies who only arrest "the bad people."

I don't want to be cheap here, but it needs to said that when you actually know decent people who are dead because of our insane drug war, your perspective on police power changes. This is a multi-million dollar lawsuit waiting to happen. Someone is going to get killed. And the fact that "the vast majority of police are awesome" will not bring them back.

"I measure progress by a different pulse" (VIDEO)

3.2 GDP Growth is undeniably good news, but...

After the single biggest economic crisis in our lifetimes, we’re heading in the right direction. We’re moving forward. Our economy is stronger; that economic heartbeat is growing stronger.

But I measure progress by a different pulse -– the progress the American people feel in their own lives day in, day out. And this week, I spent a few days visiting with folks in small towns in the Midwest -– places where the damage done by the worst recession in our lifetimes is profound. They’re still trying to recover from a shockwave of lost homes, lost businesses, and more than eight million lost jobs. It’s a tragedy that has families and communities across America too often feeling like they’re on life support.

So while today’s GDP report is an important milepost on our road to recovery, it doesn’t mean much to an American who has lost his or her job and can’t find another. For millions of Americans -– our friends, neighbors, and fellow citizens ready and willing to get back to work -– “you’re hired” is the only economic news they’re waiting to hear. And they are why the work of moving this economy forward remains our focus every single day.

Now, government can’t replace every job that has been lost. That’s not government’s role. It is America’s business all across the country -- the private sector, businesses -- that have always been and will always be the engines of our job creation. Our task, then, is to create the conditions necessary for those businesses to open their doors, expand their operations, and ultimately hire more workers.