Category Archives: Politics

Isn’t There A Term For This? Something-Something Complex

Politics,

You know the generals who opine on your television about the necessity of the next war and massive defense spending? They’re being paid by defense contractors on the side.

As David Barstow reports in the New York Times:

In the spring of 2007 a tiny military contractor with a slender track record went shopping for a precious Beltway commodity.

The company, Defense Solutions, sought the services of a retired general with national stature, someone who could open doors at the highest levels of government and help it win a huge prize: the right to supply Iraq with thousands of armored vehicles.

Access like this does not come cheap, but it was an opportunity potentially worth billions in sales, and Defense Solutions soon found its man. The company signed Barry R. McCaffrey, a retired four-star Army general and military analyst for NBC News, to a consulting contract starting June 15, 2007.

Four days later the general swung into action. He sent a personal note and 15-page briefing packet to David H. Petraeus, the commanding general in Iraq, strongly recommending Defense Solutions and its offer to supply Iraq with 5,000 armored vehicles from Eastern Europe. “No other proposal is quicker, less costly, or more certain to succeed,” he said.

Thus, within days of hiring General McCaffrey, the Defense Solutions sales pitch was in the hands of the American commander with the greatest influence over Iraq’s expanding military.

“That’s what I pay him for,” Timothy D. Ringgold, chief executive of Defense Solutions, said in an interview.

Nobody thinks they can be swayed by a conflict of interest. That’s why rules are in place requiring their disclosure.

I Suppose Bush’s Name Becoming Synonomous With Failure is Better Than Nothing

Politics, , , ,

I thought this exchange between French President Nicolas Sarkozy and Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin was funny, in a chilling real-politic sort of way. From the Times Online:

With Russian tanks only 30 miles from Tbilisi on August 12, Mr. Sarkozy told Mr. Putin that the world would not accept the overthrow of Georgia’s Government. According to Mr. Levitte, the Russian seemed unconcerned by international reaction. “I am going to hang Saakashvili by the balls,” Mr. Putin declared.

Mr. Sarkozy thought he had misheard. “Hang him?” — he asked. “Why not?” Mr. Putin replied. “The Americans hanged Saddam Hussein.”

Mr. Sarkozy, using the familiar tu, tried to reason with him: “Yes but do you want to end up like [President] Bush?” Mr. Putin was briefly lost for words, then said: “Ah — you have scored a point there.”

In one good thing might come from our dimwit President’s disastrous reign, it could be that for generations to come, heads of state wake up, look at themselves in the mirror in the morning, and say, “Don’t pull a Bush today.”

As for Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili, he responded to this exchange as one might assume:

Mr. Saakashvili, who was in Paris to meet Mr. Sarkozy yesterday, laughed nervously when a French radio station read him the exchange. “I knew about this scene, but not all the details. It’s funny, all the same,” he said.

I bet he thinks it’s hilarious!

Palin “Didn’t Understand Africa Was a Continent”

Politics, ,

First seen on Daily Kos (via Balloon Juice), here’s a Fox News interview reporting that Sarah Palin “didn’t know which countries were in NAFTA” and “didn’t understand Africa was a continent rather than a country just in itself.”

Here’s a partial transcript provided by Daily Kos diarist ksh01:

Smith: Now that the election is over, Carl, tell us more about those reports of infighting between Palin and McCain staffers.

Cameron: I wish I could have told you more at the time but all of it was put off the record until after the election. There was great concern in the McCain campaign that Sarah Palin lack the degree of knowledgeability necessary to be a running mate, a vice president, and a heartbeat away from the presidency. We’re told by folks that she didn’t know what countries that were in NAFTA, the North American Free Trade Agreement, that being the Canada, the US, and Mexico. We’re told she didn’t understand that Africa was a continent rather than a country just in itself … a whole host of questions that caused serious problems about her knowledgeability. She got very angry at staff, thought that she was mishandled…..was particularly angry about the way the Katie Couric interview went. She didn’t accept preparation for that interview when the aides say that that was part of the problem. And that there were times that she was hard to control emotionally there’s talk of temper tantrums at bad news clippings……

How any can say that McCain ran a responsible campaign after hearing this is beyond me. Hopefully this kills any chance of a Palin resurgence in 2012. Apparently she really hasn’t read a newspaper, at any time, ever.

Election Returns by Population Density

Politics,

When nationwide maps of election returns are presented, one thing that bothers me is the disconnect between the size of a state (i.e., its physical landmass) and its population. Typical electoral maps (below) show vast swaths of red across the central United States, implying broad national Republican support, when in reality tiny Connecticut has more people than Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wyoming combined.

When you adjust the map so that each state’s size is proportional to its population, the Democrats achieve a broader visual base of support.

Although that diminishes a bit when voting results are broken down by county in the same manner.

Of course, even the most liberal or conservative county doesn’t vote in concert (well, maybe a couple in Utah), so a map that’s color-coded to represent varying levels of voting support might be the best way to view the situation.

That’s America right there.

All images created by University of Michigan professor of Mark Newman, who does a much better job of explaining these concepts at his web site.

Krugman on the Obama Win

Politics, ,

New York Times columnist Paul Krugman offers another apt summation of how many of us feel at this moment.

Last night wasn’t just a victory for tolerance; it wasn’t just a mandate for progressive change; it was also, I hope, the end of the monster years.

What I mean by that is that for the past 14 years America’s political life has been largely dominated by, well, monsters. Monsters like Tom DeLay, who suggested that the shootings at Columbine happened because schools teach students the theory of evolution. Monsters like Karl Rove, who declared that liberals wanted to offer “therapy and understanding” to terrorists. Monsters like Dick Cheney, who saw 9/11 as an opportunity to start torturing people.

And in our national discourse, we pretended that these monsters were reasonable, respectable people. To point out that the monsters were, in fact, monsters, was “shrill.”

Four years ago it seemed as if the monsters would dominate American politics for a long time to come. But for now, at least, they’ve been banished to the wilderness.