Tag: ek Holiday

The Party of Austerity: Still Seeking that Grand Bargain

By: David Dayen, Firedog Lake

Thursday September 6, 2012 11:36 am

One side (Republicans) wants to transform safety net programs and would probably get no further than cutting them; the other side (Democrats) wants to cut them and will use its power to force their allies along. Democrats have become the party of austerity, and they see the question as, bizarrely, one of credibility. You don’t earn your stripes in Washington unless you hurt a poor person, I guess.

Sadly, even in the midst of the speeches over the last two days, you had some austerity policy snuck in. Bill Clinton had a piece about Bowles-Simpson, the least well-received part of the whole address. Elizabeth Warren had a (fleeting, admittedly) reference to reducing debt, and she wasn’t talking about private individuals, for whom it would be a good strategy. Cory Booker introduced the party platform with several paeans to deficit fetishism. And according to a top aide, the President will pursue this as well tonight.

…

It doesn’t matter that the rank-and-file views this with skepticism. We saw how much the rank-and-file mattered on that platform vote yesterday. They’ll fall in line.

The austerity experiment in the rest of the world has been a total failure. The US is in a slightly better economic position at the moment, but that doesn’t really make it any better a position to sharply pull back on fiscal accommodation. Indeed, the fiscal accommodation is one of the reasons the country IS in that better economic position, relatively speaking. And the adequacy of these programs for beneficiaries should really be the focus rather than actuarial projections 25 years in the future. That’s especially true when there’s an ongoing mass employment crisis, a fire burning through the country of wasted human capital.

But Democrats have truly embraced this policy of fiscal austerity. What saved us from this once is the total intransigence on the part of Republicans to accept a good deal and provide the cover in the form of a modest tax increase. If Democrats let the Bush tax cuts expire, however, they can get what they term a modest tax increase through a tax cut bill, and layer on their spending austerity changes, including social insurance. So even if there’s no warp-speed “deal” after the elections, you would have to look out for one shortly thereafter.

If you want to raise your voice in dissent, now would be a good time.

Local News Anchor Challenges, Calls Out President on Kill List

By: David Dayen, Firedog Lake

Thursday September 6, 2012 10:18 am

Swann not only asked the question about the President’s kill list and the assassination of American citizens from flying robots, he provided the necessary context. The President’s answer was one of casual evasion: “You’re basing this on reports in the news that have never been confirmed by me, and I don’t talk about national security decisions in that way.” Swann didn’t let it end there but explained precisely why this is a silly evasion. We have on-the-record accounts of virtually every major national security player in the White House – including the Chief of Staff, the former Director of National Intelligence, the former CIA Director and current Defense Secretary, and yes, President Obama himself – acknowledging the use of drones in assassination of suspected terrorists abroad. Common sense dictates that the targets for drones aren’t picked through use of a dartboard, but a deliberative process. In fact, the kill list article came out of direct quotes from White House officials to the New York Times. It was held up as an example of the President’s ruthlessness in dealing with national security threats. But when anyone questions it, he retreats to the cloak of secrecy. This mirrors how the Administration deals with these things in court. It’s OK to leak to the media to boost a President’s credentials during a re-election campaign, but if you actually raise the question yourself, it’s a secret. This guarantees a one-sided view of the matter.

…

Later, Obama said that the non-existent program that he can’t confirm was narrowly targeted against Al Qaeda, has been successful in “taking them off the field,” and that this has allowed us to “transition out of Afghanistan.” And Swann called B.S. on that too. First of all, the targeted drone strikes have gone far, far afield of Afghanistan. Second, this alleged narrow targeting goes all the way to Abdulrahman Al-Awlaki, the 16 year-old son of Anwar al-Awlaki, and like his father, an American citizen. Amazingly, Swann mentions Abdulrahman, probably for the first time on Fox 19 Cincinnati. “To say that killing those two American citizens in Yemen can bring an end to the Afghanistan war? That’s simply disingenuous.”

Kamala Harris Embarrasses Herself By Touting Terrible Foreclosure Fraud Settlement

By: David Dayen, Firedog Lake

Thursday September 6, 2012 7:09 am

I have to call attention to California Attorney General Kamala Harris, who drew the short straw of having to defend this Administration’s housing policy. And she delivered in all its disingenuousness. Maybe she knew the lie at the heart of her claims, because she gave as flat a speech as I’ve ever seen her give. I saw Harris give a surrogate speech for Obama in 2008 at the California Democratic Party convention, going up against Bill Clinton, and give the better speech than the former President. She knows how to do this. Yesterday, she didn’t.

…

(N)obody “took on the banks” in the foreclosure fraud settlement. It was designed to deliver immunity for the crimes that created the Great Recession, the largest consumer fraud in history. You should not describe a penalty for documented crimes as “winning $25 billion for struggling homeowners.” And homeowners will never see the bulk of that money. Dozens of states have stolen the hard dollars out of that settlement to plug their budget holes, and that includes Harris’ home state of California. The money designated for homeowners in “credits” has not materialized into principal reduction thus far, but has almost entirely gone to short sales, which banks were engaged in for at least a year prior to the settlement. A short sale is just a kinder, gentler foreclosure which ends with the homeowner out of the home. At the root, it’s a waiver of a deficiency judgment on a home sale (where the sale price is less than the price of the mortgage, a “deficiency judgment” allows banks to go after the individual homeowner for the balance), and in a dozen states – including Harris’ home state of California – banks can’t sue for a deficiency judgment anyway.

And the key thing you have to understand about housing is that nothing has fundamentally changed in the relationship between homeowner and loan servicer. … The broken servicing market has not been fixed, and given the fact that there were no consequences the first time around, it’s pretty clear that it will never be fixed.

…

Obama is indefensible on this issue. Completely. Totally. Utterly. Harris praises him for “leadership,” but generating a foreclosure mitigation system that was nothing more than “foaming the runway” for the banks, so they could absorb foreclosures more slowly, was anything but leadership.

Eric Schneiderman had the right idea by just not going to this convention, where he would have to defend the indefensible. Harris couldn’t help herself.

What are we cheering for?

Don’t let the conventions distract you from the real lesson of 2012: America is becoming increasingly undemocratic

By Matt Stoller, Salon

Thursday, Sep 6, 2012 12:47 PM EDT

Ultimately, we’re seeing that both parties are rotten. This rot is rooted in economics. Despite the bitter rhetoric, Obama and Romney are basically in agreement about how the country should be governed. Both Romney and Obama want to see the same core economic trends continue. These are, most significantly, a transition to an energy system based on hydro-fracking of natural gas and oil deposits (and some renewable energy), a large national security state, the sale of public assets to private interests, globalized financial flows, a preservation of the capital structure of the large banks, free rein of white-collar behavior and austerity in public budgets. This policy agenda is a reflection of the quiet coup that IMF chief economist Simon Johnson wrote about in 2010.

You can see significant policy agreements in both policy and personnel choices. For instance, Ben Bernanke, the leader of the Federal Reserve, which is the only institution with any latitude for policymaking, was a Bush appointee, but was reappointed by Obama. Top Romney advisor Glenn Hubbard argues Bernanke should be reappointed for a third term. And on a policy level, whether you call it Romneycare in Massachusetts, or Obamacare nationally, it’s the same healthcare program. On trade, Romney pledged, in his economic platform, to sign three free corporate agreements on day one of his administration, those with Colombia, South Korea and Panama. The Obama administration signed them last year, and brags about them in the Democratic Platform. Both candidates ardently support the Trans-Pacific Partnership, the secretive NAFTA on steroids treaty being negotiated right now by Obama’s trade representatives.

And while much ink has been spilled on the lies contained in vice-presidential candidate Paul Ryan’s speech, the Obama campaign is equally dishonest. The premise of the Obama campaign is that the country faces a choice, between a middle class-driven economy and an economy driven by inequality and the rich. But under Obama, inequality has increased even faster than it did under Bush.

…

The larger consequences of having two candidates who share similar policy ideas, who both believe in police state tactics to suppress whistle-blowers, who both are driven by their allegiance to a wealthy political class, are not acknowledged. It isn’t that American democracy is at risk. American democracy was at risk, perhaps four or eight or 12 years ago. Today, speaking of democracy in America is quaint – the country increasingly resembles an undemocratic state, with a free wealthy elite and a much larger poorer populace, constrained by monopolistic corporations that collude with the government.

In fact, the lesson of the 2012 election, if we are honest with ourselves, is simple, and disturbing. America is shifting from a democracy into an authoritarian state. This authoritarianism is soft, with some remnants of an open civil society, and there is as yet no violence used against domestic political actors. Nazi Germany we are not. But after 14 years of political crises, starting with the impeachment of Bill Clinton and the extreme financial deregulation of the late 1990s, it’s time to face the music about what kind of country we have become. The 2012 election is more than a contest of cynicism and disillusionment, it’s an unveiling of a new quasi-authoritarian political system in place of the traditional norms of democratic deliberation.

…

There is hope. Even authoritarian systems derive their legitimacy from the consent of the governed. That’s why the 2012 election drives such bitter rhetoric – the appearance of a contest makes the public believe it has a choice in its future, and that more radical measures are unnecessary or hopeless. Nonetheless, the public is losing faith in a rigged money-driven electoral system, which is a step toward reclaiming power. Next is a recognition that it is the elite political class as a whole that is the enemy, including well-marketed corporate figures like Barack Obama, and that it is political radicalism and not liberalism or progressivism that creates the bargaining leverage necessary to force corrupt elites to concede some ground. There has also been experimentation with new models of political organization, most prominently the Occupy Wall Street phenomenon, WikiLeaks and Anonymous, as well as models in other countries.

But the idea that America is shifting into an authoritarian system is a difficult truth to handle, as it flies in the face of an endlessly marketed notion of progress and deep-seated political rhetoric about American exceptionalism. Political elites are also very good at dishonest excuses. In her convention speech, for instance, Michelle Obama remarked that change is hard, and slower than we might like. Many Democrats point out that Republicans block change at every turn. But this is misleading – in fact, Obama has turned out to be a transformative president, and has in fact solidified a bipartisan consensus in favor of a sweeping political change, for endless bailouts and endless war.  Liberals do not want to recognize that this is his agenda, and that this agenda is designed to turn America into a society where democracy exists only in small rooms of elites. Better to say there hasn’t been enough change, than to recognize the radical change that has occurred.

My Dad has often claimed that Tom Brokaw is just a drunk, but in fairness he may simply be an Ambien addict.

FACT CHECK: Clinton claims of compromise a stretch

By MATT APUZZO and TOM RAUM, Associated Press

9/6/2012 8:18:40 AM ET

CLINTON: “Their campaign pollster said, ‘We’re not going to let our campaign be dictated by fact checkers.’ Now that is true. I couldn’t have said it better myself – I just hope you remember that every time you see the ad.”

THE FACTS: Clinton, who famously finger-wagged a denial on national television about his sexual relationship with intern Monica Lewinsky and was subsequently impeached in the House on a perjury charge, has had his own uncomfortable moments over telling the truth.

Frontiers in fact checking

By Greg Sargent, Washington Post

Posted at 01:13 PM ET, 09/06/2012

I’ve figured out what the AP is getting at with this. The AP is not fact checking Clinton’s quotation of Romney’s pollster, which is indeed accurate. Rather, it is fact checking the part of Clinton’s quote where he said: “Now that is true – I couldn’t have said it better myself.”

In this context, in reminding readers of Clinton’s mendacity during the Lewinsky affair, the AP is fact checking Clinton’s implication that he holds any moral high ground when it comes to criticizing anyone else for dishonesty. Clinton, in effect, is claiming: “The Romney campaign has tacitly admitted it is willing to depart from the truth, if necessary, in order to advance Romney’s presidential ambitions. I couldn’t have said it better myself!” But, see, Clinton himself told falsehoods during the Lewinsky affair – so his passing of judgment on the Romney campaign for dishonesty is questionable.

And so, if you look closely, it’s clear what the AP is trying to do here. But it’s highly innovative to call it “fact checking,” and it perhaps says more about the AP’s desire to appear to be fact checking Clinton aggressively than it does about what he actually said.

(Apparently nobody has a schedule of tonight’s speakers.  When I can find something I’ll post it here.- ek)

4:30 PM – 6:00 PM

• Kay Hagan Member of the US Senate, North Carolina
• Walter Dalton Lieutenant Governor, North Carolina
• G.K. Butterfield Member of the US House of Representatives, North Carolina
• David Price Member of the US House of Representatives, North Carolina
• Mel L. Watt Member of the US House of Representatives, North Carolina
• James Rogers CEO Duke Energy
• Live Performance James Taylor
• Call to Order Antonio R. Villaraigosa Chair of the 2012 Democratic National Convention Committee Mayor of Los Angeles, California
• Invocation Reverend Gabriel Salguero President, National Latino Evangelical Coalition
• Presentation of Colors American Legion Post 400 of Charlotte, North Carolina, Darrell B. Bonapart, Joe Michalic, Robert E. Welch, Marvin R. Weber
• Pledge of Allegiance
• National Anthem Marc Anthony

• Progress for People Video: Seniors
• American Voices Remarks Carol Berman
• Donna F. Edwards Member of the US House of Representatives, Maryland
• Barney Frank Member of the US House of Representatives, Massachusetts
• In Memoriam Video and Remarks
• Harvey Gantt Former Mayor of Charlotte, North Carolina

6:00 PM – 7:00 PM

• John Lewis Member of the US House of Representatives, Georgia
• Stronger Together Video: Don’t Ask Don’t Tell
• American Voices Jason Crow
• Live Performance Mary J. Blige
• Debbie Wasserman Schultz Chair of the Democratic National Committee Member of the US House of Representatives, Florida
• Antonio R. Villaraigosa Chair of the 2012 Democratic National Convention Committee Mayor of Los Angeles, California
• Tammy Baldwin Candidate for US Senate, Wisconsin Member of the US House of Representatives, Wisconsin
• Michael Nutter Mayor of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
• Stay Stronger Together Video: Marriage Equality
• American Voices Remarks Zach Wahls

7:00 PM – 8:00 PM

• Jim Messina Campaign Manager, Obama for America
• American Heroes Video: Auto Workers
• American Voices Kenyetta Jones, Ryan Case, Ed Meagher, Martha Figueroa, Lucas Beenken, Rob Hach
• Vice Presidential Nomination Intro Antonio R. Villaraigosa Chair of the 2012 Democratic National Convention Committee Mayor of Los Angeles, California
• Nominating Remarks Beau Biden Attorney General of Delaware and Son of Vice President Joe Biden
• Vote by Acclamation
• Live Performance Foo Fighters
• James E. Clyburn Assistant Democratic Leader and Member of the US House of Representatives, South Carolina
• Scarlett Johansson and Kerry Washington

8:00 PM – 9:00 PM

• Caroline Kennedy
• Xavier Becerra Democratic Caucus Vice Chair and Member of the US House of Representatives, California
• Jennifer Granholm Former Governor of Michigan
• Eva Longoria
• Brian Schweitzer Governor of Montana
• Charlie Crist, Jr. Former Governor of Florida
• John Kerry Member of the US Senate, Massachusetts

9:00 PM – 10:00 PM

• Video: Veterans
• Admiral John B. Nathman United States Navy, Retired
• Angie Flores
• Dr. Jill Biden Second Lady of the United States
• Vice President Joe Biden Video
• Joe Biden Vice President of the United States

10:00 PM – 11:00 PM

• Video
• Dick Durbin Member of the US Senate, Illinois
• President Barack Obama Video
• Barack Obama President of the United States
• Celebration
• Benediction
• His Eminence Timothy Dolan Roman Catholic Cardinal and Archbishop of New York
• Retire Colors
• Adjournment

Finally.  Now at last we can relax and discuss the truly important news of the evening- why there will be no balloon drop.

We had two bags of grass, seventy-five pellets of mescaline, five sheets of high powered blotter acid, a salt shaker half full of cocaine, and a whole galaxy of multi-colored uppers, downers, screamers, laughers… and also a quart of tequila, a quart of rum, a case of Budweiser, a pint of raw ether and two dozen amyls.

Not that we needed all that for the trip, but once you get locked into a serious drug collection, the tendency is to push it as far as you can.

The only thing that really worried me was the ether. There is nothing in the world more helpless and irresponsible than a man in the depths of an ether binge and I knew we’d get into that rotten stuff pretty soon…

Michelle’s dress looked really nice.

The Troubling Myths of Opportunity and Mobility in the Democratic Convention

By: David Dayen Wednesday September 5, 2012 9:40 am

That hasn’t been true for a while, I’m sad to say. American social mobility is among the lowest in the industrialized world. We like to tell ourselves these stories about rising from hardscrabble beginnings – indeed, it was the theme of BOTH the Republican and Democratic conventions – but there’s a selection bias involved. The people telling the stories can always reach back as far as they need in their history to find some poorer ancestor whose courage and confidence led to where they are today. The poor ancestors who had just as much courage, just as much confidence, but didn’t get the same breaks, whose progeny didn’t rise above a certain level regardless of their ability? They don’t get talked about because their descendants don’t have the microphone.

…

We have a drastically unequal society, and that makes it all the harder to the vast numbers who grow up in poverty and below the middle class to make it to the top. When you only hear from the strivers, it can sound differently, that new people and new faces can always have a chance to rise, if government just gives them the opportunity.

…

But that’s simply not how it works in America. The door has been slammed shut to those who don’t have the benefits bestowed on the rich and powerful. To some, it’s unseemly to say that, I guess. But it’s true; the economy has ceased to work to reinforce this myth of getting ahead through hard work and realizing potential. And what’s also true is that equality of opportunity is not enough. The meritocracy doesn’t even work this way; it pulls up the ladder rather than extending it down a rung.

…

I don’t think the speeches reflected that, not because America isn’t ready to hear the message, but because those who benefited from the current system cannot conceive of a different one.

5 – 6 p.m.

• Call to Order: Los Angeles Mayor Antonio R. Villaraigosa
• Invocation: Bishop Vashti Murphy McKenzie, 10th Episcopal District
• Presentation of Colors
• Pledge of Allegiance
• National Anthem: musician Branford Marsalis

• Rep. Luis V. Gutierrez of Illinois
• Rep. Diana DeGette of Colorado
• John A. Pérez, speaker of the California State Assembly
• Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino
• Rep. Judy Chu of California
• Steve Westly, former state controller and CFO of California
• An Economy Built to Last video: Small Business
• Rep. John Larson of Connecticut
• Deputy Sheriff Ken Myers, Carroll County, Iowa

6 – 7 p.m.

• Richard Trumka, president, American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations
• Rep. Steve Israel of New York
• Sen. Patty Murray of Washington
• Pedro R. Pierluisi, non-voting member of U.S. House, resident commissioner of Puerto Rico
• An Economy Build to Last video: Energy
• Tom Steyer, co-founder of Advanced Energy Economy
• Sen. Chuck Schumer of New York
• Rep. Karen Bass of California
• Rep. Al Green of Texas
• Rep. Emanuel Cleaver II of Missouri
• Connecticut Gov. Dannel Malloy

7 – 8 p.m.

• Denise Juneau, superintendent of the Montana Office of Public Instruction
• House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi of California
• Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack
• Sen. Barbara Mikulski of Maryland
• Education Secretary Arne Duncan
• Progress for People video: Education
• American Voices: Johanny Adames
• Former North Carolina Gov. Jim Hunt
• Video: in memoriam
• Harvey B. Gantt, former mayor of Charlotte, N.C.
• Live performance: singer/songwriter Jessica Sanchez

8 – 9 p.m.

• Stronger Together video: Women’s Health
• American Voices: Elizabeth Ann “Libby” Bruce
• Cecile Richards, president, Planned Parenthood Federation of America
• Rep. Steny Hoyer of Maryland
• Rep. Barney Frank of Massachusetts
• American Heroes video: Veterans
• American Voices: Ed Meagher
• Gen. Eric Shinseki
• Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter
• Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper
• Sister Simone Campbell, executive director of Roman Catholic Social Justice Organization, NETWORK
• Delaware Gov. Jack Markell

9 – 10 p.m.

• Karen Mills
• Progress for People video: Small Business
• American Voices: Bill Butcher
• California Attorney General Kamala D. Harris
• Stronger Together video: Immigration
• Benita Veliz, DREAM Act activist
• Cristina Saralegui, journalist, actress and talk show host
• Sandra Fluke, attorney and women’s rights activist
• Austin Ligon, co-founder and former CEO of CarMax Inc.
• An Economy Build to Last video: Auto Industry
• American Voices: Karen Eusanio
• UAW President Bob King
• Randy Johnson, Cindy Hewitt and David Foster: former employees at companies controlled by Romney’s Bain Capital
• Rep. Chris Van Hollen of Maryland

10 – 11 p.m.

• Jim Sinegal, co-founder and former CEO of Costco
• Elizabeth Warren, candidate for Senate in Massachusetts
• Los Angeles Mayor Antonio R. Villaraigosa, chair of the 2012 Democratic National Convention Committee
• Former President Bill Clinton
• Roll call vote: Alice Germond, secretary of the Democratic National Committee
• Benediction: Rabbi David Wolpe of Sinai Temple, Los Angeles
• Retire Colors
• Recess

Because I’m such an incredible chauvinist I have to shout out my homes John Larson and Dannel Malloy from the Nutmeg State where we’ll sell you a piece of wood and call it nutmeg.  Elizabeth Warren and Bill Clinton are the real entertainment.

They will be having the official Roll Call tonight and I’d be surprised at a single dissenting vote.  They may or may not indulge in a round of passes to allow a selected State to put the delegate count over the top and end with a motion for unanimous acclamation which would be kind of old school.

Just as with the Republicans, all the real business (except for the nominations) takes place with the acceptance of the temporary officers of the Convention and the reports of the Credentials, Rules, and Platform committees.  Since there was no alternative primary candidate the votes themselves are likely to be uncontentious, but that doesn’t mean the polices are-

• Teacher’s Unions in Tension With Democrats in Charlotte
  
  By: David Dayen Tuesday September 4, 2012 7:06 am

• The Democratic Platform’s Dishonest Nonsense on Housing
  
  By: David Dayen Tuesday September 4, 2012 7:48 am

• Democratic Platform: So Much for Fixing the Affordable Care Act Later
  
  By: Jon Walker Tuesday September 4, 2012 8:50 am

• The Democratic Platform on Social Insurance and the Deficit
  
  By: David Dayen Tuesday September 4, 2012 6:28 am

Unlike the Republicans, the Democrats are delaying the release of daily schedules until 10 pm the previous night.  I hate it because it puts more deadline pressure on me and I hate to tell you how much time I’m already spending on the orchids Archie.

5:00 PM – 6:00 PM

• Call to Order Debbie Wasserman Schultz Chair of the Democratic National Committee Member of the US House of Representatives, Florida
• Invocation His Eminence Metropolitan Nicholas Bishop of the Greek Orthodox Diocese of Detroit
• Presentation of Colors Disabled American Veterans, The Stanly County Chapter 12 Honor Guard
• Pledge of Allegiance 3rd Grade Class, W.R. O’Dell Elementary School Concord, North Carolina
• National Anthem Amber Riley

• Remarks Stephen J. Kerrigan Chief Executive Officer of the Democratic National Convention Committee
• Welcome Video
• Presentation of Credentials Committee Report from Co-Chairs Bishop Vashti McKenzie African Methodist Episcopal Church, Julian Castro Mayor of San Antonio, Texas
• Presentation of Rules Committee Report from Co-Chairs Kamala D. Harris Attorney General of California, Martin O’Malley Governor of Maryland
• Appointment of Convention Officers
• Gaveling-in of Permanent Chair Antonio R. Villaraigosa Chair of the 2012 Democratic National Convention Committee Mayor of Los Angeles, California
• Remarks Steny Hoyer Parliamentarian of the 2012 Democratic National Committee Convention Democratic Whip and Member of the US House of Representatives, Maryland, Andrew Tobias Treasurer of the Democratic National Committee, Alice Germond Secretary of the Democratic National Committee
• Roll Call for Attendance

6:00 PM – 7:00 PM

• Platform Committee Remarks Barbara Lee Member of the US House of Representatives, California Lieutenant General Claudia Kennedy (Retired) First woman to reach rank of three-star general in the US Army
• Platform Video and Remarks Cory A. Booker Mayor of Newark, New Jersey
• Remarks Bev Perdue Governor of North Carolina
• American Hero Video: Education
• American Voices Remarks Ryan Case
• Remarks Mary Kay Henry International President of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU)
• Remarks from Members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Charles Gonzalez Member of the US House of Representatives, Texas Chair of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, Nydia M. Velazquez Member of the US House of Representatives, New York
• Remarks Pat Quinn Governor of Illinois
• Remarks Doug Stern Cincinnati, Ohio Firefighter
• Remarks Tim Kaine Candidate for the US Senate, Virginia Former Governor of Virginia Former Chairman of the Democratic National Committee

7:00 PM – 8:00 PM

• Remarks Anthony R. Foxx Mayor of Charlotte, North Carolina
• Harry Reid Democratic Majority Leader and Member of the US Senate, Nevada
• An Economy Built to Last Video: Education
• Women of the US House of Representatives
• Jimmy Carter Video
• Remarks Ken Salazar
• Kennedy Family Tribute Video
• Remarks Joe Kennedy III Candidate for the US House of Representatives, Massachusetts
• Live Performance Ledisi
• Remarks Robert Wexler President of the S. Daniel Abraham Center for Middle East Peace Former Member of the US House of Representatives, Florida

8:00 PM – 9:00 PM

• Remarks R.T. Rybak Mayor of Minneapolis, Minnesota Jared Polis Member of the US House of Representatives, Colorado
• Stronger Together Video: Reproductive Choice
• American Voices Remarks Maria Ciano
• Remarks Nancy Keenan President of the National Abortion Rights Action League – Pro-Choice America (NARAL)
• Progress for People Video: American Veterans
• American Voices Remarks Nate Davis
• Remarks Tammy Duckworth Candidate for the US House of Representatives, Illinois Former Assistant Secretary of the US Department of Veterans Affairs
• Lincoln Chafee Governor of Rhode Island
• James E. Clyburn Assistant Democratic Leader and Member of the US House of Representatives, South Carolina
• Progress for People Video: Health Care
• American Voices Remarks Stacey Lihn
• Remarks Xavier Becerra Democratic Caucus Vice Chair and Member of the US House of Representatives, California

9:00 PM – 10:00 PM

• Ted Strickland Former Governor of Ohio
• Kathleen Sebelius
• Rahm Emanuel Mayor of Chicago, Illinois Former White House Chief of Staff
• Remarks Kal Penn Actor/Producer Former Associate Director of the White House Office of Public Engagement
• Remarks Craig Robinson and Maya Soetoro-ng Brother of Mrs. Obama and Sister of President Obama
• Stronger Together Video: Equal Pay
• Remarks Lilly Ledbetter Women’s equality leader and namesake of the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act
• Deval Patrick Governor of Massachusetts

10:00 PM – 11:00 PM

• Martin O’Malley Governor of Maryland
• Introduction of Keynote Speaker Julian Castro Joaquin Castro Brother of Mayor Julian Castro Candidate for the US House of Representatives, Texas
• Keynote Address Julian Castro Mayor of San Antonio, Texas
• Michelle Obama Video and Remarks Elaine Brye
• Remarks Michelle Obama First Lady of the United States
• Benediction Jena Lee Nardella Founder and Executive Director of Blood: Water Mission

I’d say the highlights are Robert Wexler, Lincoln Chaffee, and Michelle Obama.  A variation TheMomCat noted is that Michelle Obama will be scheduled after the keynote, minimizing Chris Christie comparisons.

In looking at the agenda it seems the Democrats are putting more emphasis on pre-recorded contentent.

A Jim Blaine story-

I helped produce a folly of the myth of Persephone, a deeply symbolic piece about a young girl’s coming of age with incense and readings and a world beat sound track with live dancing and acting.

Performed by a cast of whomever we could scrape together and subject to 2 or 3 hours of make up and costume and choreography.

How to create this silk purse?  Pre-recording.  Teleprompters are for wimps.  Dual cassettes with live cast and 8 hours in the studio later you end up with something you hope the fireworks will distract from.

“Ok, now at the end of this song you all end up in a circle around Persephone.  Dragon?  Where’s the Dragon?  I need the Dragon on Stage now.”

The point?  There never was a bullier old ram…  oh.  Well, simply that while it may seem like a lot when you read it, the Republican convention was full of it too.

I removed all the “The Honorables” because none of them are.

A Stars Hollow Gazette Tradition

Solidarity Forever

Well Ann Romney is still the best speaker overall with Huckabee clearly second and Rice and Ryan about tied.  Christie slides to 5th just ahead of Pawlenty.  Everyone else is reality show bad or worse.

Remember my points are given on presentation not substance so the fact that Ryan’s speech was such a comprehensive compendium of lies that even inoffensive little words like ‘a’, ‘and’, and ‘the’ were overwhelmed by the onslaught is immaterial to the score.

Of course tonight we have our special super secret guest speaker which rumors say will be Clint Eastwood.  I must say if true I consider this a mistake from 2 standpoints.  Firstly I’m not sure ‘Dirty Harry’ Callahan is sufficiently ardent for the Party at this particular stage and secondly he’ll make Romney look bad.  He’s already going to have competition enough from Jeb Bush who wouldn’t even be on the stage except for his institutional strength.

I think actually that will be the speech to watch tonight.  Jon is not kidding when he calls this a rehearsal for ’16 because no one with any brains (and I had to set the bar that low to include the Villager Idiots) thinks there is a path to electoral victory for Mitt.  What we have seen so far is the chaotic evil of the id raging anti-fairies (Fairly Odd Parents, I stand by my metaphor), Jeb is the face of the soul sucking pixies and they own this town.

There are reports that ratings are tanking and the enthusiasm among the delegates distinctly down.  Other factors are contributing (Isaac) and will no doubt be blamed by those looking for excuses, but what I’m feeling is a huge emotional black hole at the center of all of this and his name is Barack Obama.

Reagan was sunshiny optimism and hope on a hill.  He had goals, evil goals but still goals.  These guys have nothing but hate, resentment, and fear.  They won’t talk about their program for America because people justifiably don’t like it.  Huge majorities, even in their own party.

However Democrats are just as bad.  One of the reasons Paul Ryan is an evil hypocritical liar is that he voted against the Bowles/Simpson report.  We should be thanking him instead.

The politicians are afraid of democracy.  Since 2006 every election has been a “change” election and attrition has replaced many of the less firmly entrenched.  There is no reason not to expect this trend to continue until conditions improve.

I’ve been watching the action on CSPAN and I highly recommend it as complete and mercifully pundit free.

7:00 p.m.

• Convention convenes
• Call to order
• Introduction of Colors US Central Command Joint Forces Color Guard Team
• Pledge of Allegiance by Dylan Nonaka
• National Anthem sung by SEVEN
• Invocation by Ken and Priscilla Hutchins

• Remarks by U.S. Rep. Connie Mack (FL)
• Reagan Legacy Video
• Remarks by Newt and Callista Gingrich
• Remarks by Craig Romney

8:00 p.m.

• Remarks by Governor former Jeb Bush (FL)
• Remarks by Bob White, chairman of Romney for President campaign
• Remarks by Grant Bennett
• Remarks by Tom Stemberg

9:00 p.m.

• Remarks by former Massachusetts Lt. Governor Kerry Healey
• Remarks by Jane Edmonds, former Massachusetts Secretary of Workforce
• Remarks by Olympians Michael Eruzione, Derek Parra and Kim Rhode

10:00 p.m.

• Remarks by U.S. Senator Marco Rubio (FL)
• Remarks by presidential nominee Mitt Romney
• Benediction by Archbishop Timothy M. Dolan
• Adjournment

Madam Zelda!  Madam Zelda!

I don’t think anybody could have predicted that these people…would try to use an airplane as a missile, a hijacked airplane as a missile.

Debt of Honor (1994)

Ah, Condi the Pianist, how predictable.  And by ‘predictable’, I mean completely… um… dictable, I guess.  The point being that I hope all of you are finding this as excruciatingly boring fun and exciting as I am.

Call me when they say something factual.  It will be man bites dog.

Yesterday’s highlights in my estimation were of course the Ron Paul floor fight and Roll Call snub.  I also liked the ‘Parade of White Guys’ from the Afternoon session.  Of the evening program about all I have to say is that Janine Turner as a blonde looks like Julia Duffy and Neil Boyd in that hat looks like Sam Kineson.  Santorum was just creepy with the hands and family values thing and got chosen to deliver the big welfare work waiver lie.  Kelly Ayotte is in fact a poor public speaker and did need a crutch.  Kasich, McDonnell, and Walker are surprisingly bad for supposed heavyweights and established the “Me, me, me” meme (oh, and that Mitt guy too) that Christie epitomized.

I’m told by those who’ve seen more of him that this is the nice Chris.

I don’t have anything bad to say about Ann Romney at all except that her Nancified look was a little obvious.  If any of the men around her were half as good they’d be the nominee and Mitt would be strapped to the outside of his Gulfstream like Rafalca headed for a fun time playing Hot Wheels in his garage.  As it is he’ll have to wait until November.

Tonight’s highlights look to be Ron Paul hour at 7 (at least instructive).  I doubt McSame can come up with anything David Gregory hasn’t already slobbered over.  Jindal will be asking the evil Zionist Occupation Government for more money than he deserves and justifiably absent.  If Mike Huckabee is smart he’ll just play the banjo, but nobody has ever accused him of that.  When he does open his mouth he’ll show you why he’s now a pro instead of a politician, because he’s wacko insane but also that good.  Maybe he’ll jam with Condoleezza who should be hiding underneath her piano.

And then the big show, Ryan himself.

Conservative Humor.

7:00 p.m.

• Convention convenes
• Call to order
• Introduction of Colors by Amputee Veterans of America Support Team (AVAST)
• Pledge of Allegiance by Brigadier General Patrick E. Rea, US Army (Ret.)
• National Anthem sung by Ayla Brown
• Invocation by Ishwar Singh

• Ron Paul Video
• Remarks by Senate Republican Leader and Convention Temporary Chairman Mitch McConnell (KY)
• Remarks by Senator Rand Paul (KY)
• Remarks by Christopher Devlin-Young and Jeanine McDonnell

8:00 p.m.

• Remarks by Senator John McCain (AZ)
• Remarks by Attorney General Pam Bondi (FL) and Attorney General Sam Olens (GA)
• Remarks by Governor Bobby Jindal (LA) (Jindal will not be attending- ek)
• Remarks by Senator John Thune (SD)
• Remarks by Senator Rob Portman (OH)

9:00 p.m.

• Remarks by Governor Luis Fortuño (PR)
• Remarks by Governor Tim Pawlenty (MN)
• Bush 41, 43 Film
• Remarks by Mike Huckabee

10:00 p.m.

• Remarks by Condoleezza Rice
• Remarks by Governor Susana Martinez (NM)
• Remarks by vice presidential nominee Rep. Paul Ryan
• Benediction by Archbishop Demetrios
• Adjournment

In the next 4 and a half hours all the actual events of the 2012 Republican National Convention will take place including the acceptance of credentials, adoption of rules, adoption of resolutions and the platform, and the roll call for the nomination of Willard “Mitt” Romney to be the Republican Party candidate for President of the United States (and the roll call for the nomination of Paul Ryan to be the Republican Party candidate for Vice-President of the United States).

Everything else is just propaganda.

And the only bit that has least little news worthiness to it is whether the Ron Paul supporters will get any air time.

Ron Paul’s Faithful Continue To Make Noise; Floor Fight Tuesday?

by Liz Halloran, NPR

August 27, 2012 05:57 pm

Surrounded by microphones, cameras, scribbling reporters, they recounted their outrage at the RNC’s decision to deny seats to duly elected Ron Paul delegates from Maine and other states.

…

Over at Romney’s native state of Michigan delegation area, a clutch of Ron Paul supporters who came to the convention as unbound delegates spoke of their misgivings about Romney.

“We personally think there’s not too much difference between Romney and Obama,” said Jacob Horward, 25, of Midland.

…

The Paulites say that there are more of them embedded in state delegations than Republican officials are willing to acknowledge, and they are trying to organize a floor fight Tuesday to take on new proposed party rules that would hobble outsider candidates seeking to seat delegates at future conventions.

Many of the pro-Paul delegates were chosen at state party conventions, and not through the allocation process based on the results of presidential caucuses and primaries. The rules change would require that delegates be picked based on caucus and primary contest outcomes; not by state conventions.

Here’s how ABC News described the proposed rule change, and an Indiana Republican committeeman’s strong reaction:

“The new rule, however, gives presidential candidates veto power over their own delegates, representing a big boost in power for the candidates and a reduction for states. If Mitt Romney, for instance, didn’t like a delegate slated to cast a vote in his favor at the convention, Romney could throw him out and choose an alternate.

” ‘This is the biggest power grab in the history of the Republican Party because it shifts the power to select delegates from the state party to the candidate,’ Republican National Committeeman Jim Bopp of Indiana said in an e-mail message to fellow committee members obtained by ABC News. ‘And it would make the Republican Party a top-down, not bottom-up party.’ “

Politico reported this schedule last night and Reince Priebus has vowed there will be no more changes.

2:00 p.m.

• Color Guard Knights of Columbus
• Pledge of Allegiance by former Gov. Tim Babcock (Mont.)/ Tom Hogan (Fla.)
• National anthem sung by Philip Alongi
• Invocation by Rabbi Meir Soloveichik
• Opening procedural steps, appointment of convention committees

Welcoming remarks, and House and Senate candidates and RNC auxiliaries including:

• RNC Chairman Reince Priebus
• RNC Co-Chairman Sharon Day
• Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn
• Convention Chief Executive Officer William Harris
• Chairman of Tampa Bay Host Committee Al Austin
• Republican congressional candidates
• State Delegate Barbara Comstock (Va.)
• Rep. Tim Griffin (Ark.)
• Republican Senate candidates
• Republican National Committee auxiliaries

And then all the official business that happens at the Convention

• Consideration of convention committee reports
• Committee on Credentials Chairman Mike Duncan
• Committee on Permanent Organization Chairwoman Zoraida Fonalledas
• Convention Permanent Chairman Speaker John Boehner, presiding
• Official convention photograph
• Committee on Rules Chairman John Sununu
• Committee on Resolutions Chairman Gov. Bob McDonnell, R-Va.
• Committee on Resolutions Co-Chairman Sen. John Hoeven
• Committee on Resolutions Co-Chairman Rep. Marsha Blackburn
• Roll call for nomination of president of the United States
• Roll call for nomination of vice president of the United States

6:40 p.m.: Recess

And that’s it.  No more reason to watch except for the speeches.

Our coverage will continue with TheMomCat around 7 pm for the evening addresses.

The Week has a pretty useful guide.

The GOP convention: A viewer’s guide

The Week

posted on August 28, 2012, at 10:25 AM

Hot speakers.

Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) says in the 7 p.m. EDT hour on Wednesday, following a video of Ron Paul. Several other former Romney rivals will also speak: Rick Santorum (7 p.m. Tuesday), Tim Pawlenty (9 p.m. Wednesday), and Newt Gingrich (7 p.m. Thursday). There are also up-and-comers of note: Utah congressional candidate Mia Love (7 p.m. Tuesday), Texas Senate candidate Ted Cruz (9 p.m. Tuesday), and Gov. Martinez (10 p.m. Wednesday). Here’s the full schedule.

Will it all be on TV?  Depends on what kind of TV you watch.

ABC, NBC, and CBS will only broadcast the 10 p.m. to 11 p.m. speeches on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. PBS will begin its coverage at 8 p.m. each night. The big three cable news channels – CNN, Fox News, and MSNBC – will devote a lot more airtime to the convention, running intermittent coverage and commentary from the Tuesday opening until Thursday’s final gavel. Current TV will cover most of the convention, hosted by former Vice President Al Gore.

…

The RNC is offering its own live stream on YouTube, plus a bunch of interactive features through its “Convention Without Walls” Facebook app, but you can also watch the convention unfold live online at Politico, ABC News, PBS NewsHour, Fox News, and The Wall Street Journal – in fact, many of these sites have multiple simultaneous live streams, available for viewing on your computer, smartphone, or tablet (you can watch ABC’s three feeds at the same time via an iPad app). You can even watch a live feed of the anti-RNC protests, courtesy of Occupy Tampa, or real-time fact-checking from the Sunlight Foundation.

I’ll probably start out with MSNBC and switch to Current if I think it will help, but I may just have to retire to my fainting couch if there are any breaches in proper decorum and something exciting happens.

Feel free to chime in with your observations and outrages.

“I am not a number.  I am a HUMAN BEING!”

Below the fold lies painful, hurtful snark.  For those who may object on issues of taste and decorum, all I can say is “I warned you”.

Pitch a No Hitter and what do you get for your trouble?  Petaluma who thrashed you much more soundly than the 6 – 4 score would indicate.

So tonight is the likely swan song for Fairfield, Connecticut in its Cinderella losers bracket run.  The game will start at 8 pm on ESPN2 or could be streamed here.

Today they’re taking the oldest commissioned warship in the U.S. Navy out for a little sail and turn around.

Navy’s oldest commissioned warship to sail again

By JAY LINDSAY, Associated Press

Fri, Aug 17, 2012

The USS Constitution, which was first launched in 1797, will be tugged from its berth in Boston Harbor on Sunday to the main deepwater pathway into the harbor. It will then set out to open seas for a 10-minute cruise.

The short trip marks the day two centuries ago when the Constitution bested the British frigate HMS Guerriere in a fierce battle during the War of 1812. It follows a three-year restoration project and is the first time the Constitution has been to sea on its own since its 200th birthday in 1997.

Now the truth is they turn it around every few years anyway for preservation and maintenance, but it’s usually shoved along by tugs.  This is a big deal for the Sailors who get to participate either as workers (who’ve been preparing for a couple of years with the rigging which is not trivial even for 4 sails) and the ‘honorary’ crew who are mostly senior enlisted personnel (NCOs).

Not to disparage the Constitution‘s victory, but as with most such it was hardly a fair fight.

The English had been fighting continuously at sea against one nation or another (Netherlands, Spain, France) for over 2 hundred years using refinements of the same technology and tactics and got quite highly organized about it.  They divided ships into various types based on firepower mostly.  Fifth raters were never used in a battle line, but instead in patrols and as messengers.  In colonial waters they’d often pursue pirates or act as commerce raiders (there’s a HUGE difference).  The captured French frigate, Guerriere was armed to suit the English practice of running right alongside close up and blasting your hull with heavy carronades (30 x 18pdr guns, 16 x 32pdr carronades, 2 x 12pdr guns, 1 x 18pdr carronade).

The United States Navy was nothing like that.

What we called a frigate was actually a Fourth Rate Ship of the Line.  The Constitution never sailed with less than 50 guns (thirty 24-pounders on the main deck, twenty-four 32-pounders and two bored out 18-pounders on the upper deck on this occasion).  It also had the advantage of a 2 x 6″ bias ply hull over a diagonally stiffened frame that improved the sailing performance.

The Battle against the Guerriere is actually kind of instructive of why you just couldn’t expect a Fifth Rate to stand up actually.

Because of it’s heavier build the English long range guns had limited effect (thus Old Ironsides) while Hull put on more sail (unknown why Dacres did not respond) and soon got in range.  They exchanged fire for about 15 minutes with the Guerriere sustaining tremendous damage, including losing the Mizzen Mast.  Dacres had been maneuvering for a clear shot and tangled with the Constitution’s rigging.  Both Captains sent boarding parties forward to the contact point but were unable to board.

During this time the ships basically continued blowing each other apart until the Guerriere’s Fore Mast fell too and the Constitution disengaged and made ready for another pass.  During this time Hull dispatched a boat to ask if Dacres wanted to strike his colors.

Well, Sir, I don’t know. Our mizzen mast is gone, our fore and main masts are gone – I think on the whole you might say we have struck our flag.

That and the Battle of New Orleans are the notable victories and we forget about Detroit and the Burning of Washington.