Argue With My Dad

Here we go again.  Another work week is just about over and that means it is time again for the Arguewithmydad.comFriday Free For All.  This is the one time of the week(unless you are Qman) that you, the reader, get to decide what we discuss here on AWMD. We can discuss anything that you want, as long as someone else wants to discuss it with you.  There have been alot of stories this past week that you could choose to discuss.  Or we could discuss an older, unresolved issue.

We could discuss our old friend, John Bolton’s incendiary joke at the recent CPAC, the Conservative Political Action Council.  It seems Mr. Bolton was joking when “he suggested, as something of a joke, that President Barack Obama might learn a needed lesson if Chicago were destroyed by a nuclear bomb.” http://www.motherjones.com/mojo/2009/02/john-bolton-cpac-benefits-nuking-chicago It seems that the statement/joke produced a loud laugh of approval from the CPAC crowd.  What a thing to joke about!  Even for Bolton.

We could also discuss the three witnesses that Senator Patrick Leahy has named for his 3/4/09 hearings on his proposed Truth Commission.http://legaltimes.typepad.com/blt/2009/02/leahy-names-witnesses-for-hearing-on-truth-commission.html.  I would guess that we would get a spirited response in discussing that important hearing.

Or we could discuss the ACLU’s review of the recent Pentagon report that gives Gitmo a clean bill of health as it relates to the Geneva conventions. http://blog.aclu.org/2009/02/24/pentagon-report-whitewashes-abuses-at-gitmo/.  The ACLU calls the report a whitewash.  What do you think?   

Those are just a few examples of what we could discuss, so if you have an issue that you are dying to discuss, let’s hear it.  Don’t hesitate.  Let’s hear from everyone, even the Silent Majority.

The weekend is just about over and the Oscars are just about all over with, so it is time again for our Monday Musings.  There have been several stories and issues during the week that have interested me and that have caught my eye.

The first story that caught my eye was a real tear jerker.  It seems that around 70% of former George W. Bush employees and officials have not been able to find a job since leaving Washington.  I am normally not one who relishes in the bad luck of others, but when I hear that the felonious Bush officials can’t find a job, I call it poetic justice. Here is the link to the Wall Street Journal article that depicts the tough luck the former Bush people have been having. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123518630430139343.html.  I first saw the story on the Think Progress site here, http://thinkprogress.org/2009/02/21/bush-officials-jobs/.  Nobel prize winning economist, Paul Krugman asks the question in this New York Times opinion piece, http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/02/21/ending-welfare-as-we-know-it/, whether the fact that the ex-Bushies are having such a hard time finding work means that this is the end of the “movement conservatism”?  I don’t know if it is evidence of the end of the conservative movement because most of the Bush crowd were not real conservatives.  I do know that it is a tough job market, even for people who did not spend, in some cases, eight years trying to screw the middle class.  What do you think?

This next story, also from Think Progress, interests me because it concerns the Stimulus package that many of the Republicans have been railing against.  http://thinkprogress.org/2009/02/21/lawmakers-bragging-recovery/.  It seems at least 22 Republican lawmakers who voted against the bill have been quoted touting what good the money will do for their respective districts. This New York Times article gives us several examples of these lawmakers who have been caught in their hypocrisy. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/20/us/politics/20spend.html?_r=2&ref=us.  My regular readers know by now that I believe that the word Hypocrisy is synonomous with the word “Republican”.  The stunt that the Republicans are trying to pull off here is an obvious one.  This strategy is quite possibly straight from Karl Rove and Newt Gingrich.  It is doomed to fail because these hypocrites are banking their survival on a losing proposition.  They are publicly announcing that the recession that the Republicans are responsible in causing  is good for Republican business.  They are stating that they want the Obama administration to fail so that they can succeed in the polls in the next congresssional elections.  As usual, the Republicans have misread real Americans because real Americans don’t want their country to fail for any reason.  Especially not for political gain.  Not only will the Recovery and Stimulus bill be successful in turning around the economy, it will also be the beginning of the end of the neo-con conservative movement.  Maybe Nobel Laureate, Paul Krugman was correct. 

Finally, in light of the sheer magnitude of the economic turmoil, this next story was destined for the pages of Arguewithmydad.com.  One of the architects of the economic mess we are in was one of the Bush good old boys, Phil Gramm.  It seems that the former Senator has been trying to recreate history and blame the recession on the Democrats and the Community Investment Act and Fannie May and Freddie Mac.  Mr. Gramm makes those claims again in this Washington Times opinion piece, http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123509667125829243.html.  The most enlightening part of this entire article is the bio information on the bottom of the article. ” Mr. Gramm, a former U.S. Senator from Texas, is vice chairman of UBS Investment Bank. UBS. This op-ed is adapted from a recent paper he delivered at the American Enterprise Institute.” (The bold typeface is from the Washington Times article.)  Just look at who Gramm is now working for, UBS Investment Bank.  How has UBS been doing lately?  It seems that UBS has been drinking from the public trough due to its troubled bottom line. http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2008/oct/16/ubs-creditsuisse.  Is it just a coincidence that Gramm is employed by a huge Swiss bank that has had to go on its knees to the Swiss Government for at least 60 Billion?  This Think Progress article debunks the tired claims made by former Senator Gramm.  http://wonkroom.thinkprogress.org/2009/02/20/gramm-tour/ .

I am looking forward to hearing from our readers with their opinions on all of these “musings”.  Don’t be shy and let us hear from you.

Another week has flown by and we find ourselves on the cusp of another Friday Free For All.  As the title suggests, this is the one time during the week that you, the reader, get to decide which topic(s) we will discuss.  As long as you can find someone who wants to comment on your topic, the floor is yours.  We could discuss the recent interview that Nancy Pelosi gave to Rolling Stone where she suggested that Karl Rove and Harriet Miers and Josh Bolton may still be prosecuted by the Justice Department for their contempt of Congress. http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/story/26191970/pelosi_hits_back/print.  I can’t remember ever citing or linking to an article in Rolling Stone before! 

We could also discuss whether the Federal Government should let GM and Chrysler sink into Bankruptcy or if the government should continue to work with them and provide bailout funds to these auto giants.  Here is a link to a MSNBC article that makes the case that bankruptcy would not be good for the auto industry or for the country. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29254545/.  What do you think?

Finally, we could also discuss the recent legislation winding its way through the North Dakota legislature that gives fertilized eggs all the rights of any person in an attempt to outlaw abortion. http://www.kxmc.com/getArticle.asp?ArticleId=333726.  I first saw the article on Prof. Jonathan Turley’s website, http://jonathanturley.org/2009/02/19/microscopic-people-north-dakota-votes-to-give-full-legal-rights-to-fertilized-eggs/.  I for one would doubt that even the Republican Supreme Court would approve of this obvious attempt to get around Roe v. Wade. Let us know if you want to discuss this proposed legislation.  Of course, we could discuss any other topic of your choosing.  These are only suggestions of possible topics.  You are in control here.  Let’s hear from you and let’s get ready to rumble!

Where did the week go?  I almost missed the Monday Musings because of a busy weekend and a busy President’s Day.  Take a look at these news items and let us know what you think of them and my take of them.  The first item that caught my eye was this article about our old friend, George Will, who was caught making up lies about Global Warming for a recent Washington Post story. http://thinkprogress.org/2009/02/16/will-global-warming/ and http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/02/13/AR2009021302514.html.  It seems that Georgie couldn’t successfully deny the facts so he figured he would just lie about them.  Unfortunately, George tried to claim that a report by the Artic Climate Research Center proved that global sea ice levels were at the same levels as in 1979.  As TPMuckraker reports, “But, as TPMmuckraker notes, the Arctic Climate Research Center (ACRC) quickly disputed Will’s claim:  We do not know where George Will is getting his information, but our data shows that on February 15, 1979, global sea ice area was 16.79 million sq. km and on February 15, 2009, global sea ice area was 15.45 million sq. km. Therefore, global sea ice levels are 1.34 million sq. km less in February 2009 than in February 1979. This decrease in sea ice area is roughly equal to the area of Texas, California, and Oklahoma combined.”  http://arctic.atmos.uiuc.edu/cryosphere/. I wonder why George Will would lie about the ice levels?  Could he just be a lier?  Or was he just mistaken about his facts?  What do you think?

The next story that jumped out at me was the C-Span’s Historians Survey of Presidential Leadership which found George W. Bush as the 36th President out of 42 former Presidents.  I guess the good news for Republicans is that George did beat out Millard Fillmore! http://www.c-span.org/PresidentialSurvey/presidential-leadership-survey.aspx.  There was also a story about the survey on Think Progress. http://thinkprogress.org/2009/02/15/bush-worst-cspan/.  The survey asked 65 historians and their results were not very flattering for George W. Bush.  Who would have guessed?  I had my money on Millard Fillmore so I see it as somewhat of an upset!

Finally, I would never have thought that I would ever agree with the new RNC Chairman, Michael Steele.  However, on Fox News recently he said something that I have to agree with.  He stated,

“STEELE: Yeah, no, Glenn. I’m not gonna, look, I’m not going to soft pedal this with you. I’m not going to try to blow smoke either. The reality of it is, you are absolutely right. You have absolutely no reason, none, to trust our word or our actions at this point. So, yeah, it’s going to be an uphill climb.” http://thinkprogress.org/2009/02/13/steele-no-reason-trust/.  Even I can’t argue with that logic.  Of course, I haven’t trusted the word of the Republican Party for at least 8 years! Who would have guessed that the RNC Chairman would be agreeing with AWMD?

Now it is time for you to get to work and let me know what YOU think of these news articles.  I will be looking forward to reading all of your comments. 

I just wanted to advise our readers that tomorrow, 2/14/09, I will be out of town attending the Saluki game as they take on the hated Creighton Bluejays.  I will return on Sunday to respond to your Friday Free For All comments.  Get to work and I will see you on Sunday.  Go Salukis!

It has been a few Fridays since we had our last Friday Free For All.  To be honest, I almost forgot about it.  So let’s get started on our latest Free For All.  This is you, the reader’s turn to decide what we discuss.  We could discuss any topic that you like.  As long as someone else wants to respond to it, it is fair game. 

One topic that we could discuss is the biggest story of the last few days.  What do you think about the Economic Recovery bill that has been passed by the House and is now in the Senate? Is it too much money or is it too little? Some experts think it is too small.  http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/02/12/AR2009021203832.html.  What else should Congress and the White House do to help jump start the economy?    We could also discuss Sen. Judd Gregg’s decision to decline the appointment to be the next Commerce Secretary after he had already accepted it.  http://thinkprogress.org/2009/02/12/judd-gregg-withdraw/.  What do you think?  Does it matter to you that Gregg voted in 1995 to abolish the Commerce Department? http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=104&session=1&vote=00232.  These stories are just a few of the possible issues that we could discuss.  But remember, it is up to you to decide what we discuss.  Don’t be shy and let us know what you are dying to talk about.  I am looking forward to see what our readers choose to write about.  Let’s get started!

It has been discussed before, http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/11/opinion/11balkin.html?_r=1, but now a U.S. Senator has suggested the need for a Truth Commission to investigate the abuses and crimes of the Bush regime. Here is a link to the Washington Post article that discusses Leahy’s idea. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/02/09/AR2009020903221.html?hpid=moreheadlines.  Anyone who has visited arguewithmydad.com before knows that I have been a vocal advocate of criminal investigations and prosecutions of the top Bush officials for violation of the FISA act and for ordering and authorizing the torture of prisoners under U.S. control. The full transcript of his speech can be found here: http://leahy.senate.gov/press/200902/020909a.html.  These “Truth Commisions”, in my opinion, are not a proper substitute for following the rule of law as it exists now and at the time of the actions that may be considered unlawful.

Professor Balkin, a former attorney in the Clinton Office of Legal Counsel, claims that “Of course, criminal prosecutions make sense where lawbreaking was not immunized or approved by Congress or the Justice Department, but in the most serious cases — torture and surveillance — prosecutions may be least effective. “http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/11/opinion/11balkin.html.  While Prof. Balkin makes the above claim, his op-ed provides no evidence of why he asserts that the prosecutions may not be effective.  I got the impression that Balkin may think the prosecutions would be messy and might ruffle too many feathers.   If that is Prof. Balkin’s  best reason to ignore the law already on the books, then his truth commission is a sham designed to avoid the heat that investigations and prosecutions would cause. 

Although I am generally a big supporter of Sen. Leahy, his call for a Truth Commission is a bad move.  He suggested that ”Rather than vengeance, we need a fair-minded pursuit of what actually happened,” Leahy said as he outlined his proposal during a speech at Georgetown University. “Sometimes the best way to move forward is getting to the truth, finding out what happened, so we can make sure it does not happen again.” ’ http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/02/09/AR2009020903221.html?hpid=moreheadlines.  Since when is a criminal investigation vengeance?  I have a novel response to that suggestion.  Following the law is a great way to find out what happened and will provide an even greater deterrent to future abuses by Presidents.  Without officials being held accountable for crimes that they commit while in office, why would future President’s and administration officials ever worry about going beyond the law?

I agree with Professor Jonathan Turley of the George Washington Law School and his insistence on following the rule of law.  Here is a link to a YouTube video of Turley’s recent appearance on the Keith Olberman’s Countdown program where he discusses why a Truth Commission is not a sufficient response to the crimes committed.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yFxlzPKLuvg. Also take a look at this posting on Prof. Turley’s blog where he brings up this issue. http://jonathanturley.org/2009/02/11/top-obama-aides-embrace-bushs-war-on-terror-rhetoric-and-enemy-combatant-policy/.   My final thought is that if any of us had committed felonies, would we be able to successfully prevent prosecution by claiming that the illegal action is water over the dam and is looking backward?  I think not.   Take a look at the video and the posting and let’s hear your opinion on this critical subject.

We are back at work here at AWMD and it is time to have a look at some of the recent topics that have caught my eye.  Since we have been down for 3 weeks, some of the chosen “Musings” may be a little old.  Bear with us as we get the arguewithmydad.com machine rolling into high gear.

The first topic that caught my eye is a case that is due in court today, February 9th, in San Franciso.  It is a case brought by victims of the Bush  rendition and torture programs against the Boeing company for their subsidiary’s alleged assistance to the Bush administration in arranging rendition flights to countries that tortured the plaintiffs. In this New York Times article, it discusses the lawsuit that was brought by the ACLU.  Take a look at this article and let me know your feelings.   I agree with the following statement by Anthony Romero of the ACLU,   “ In a conference call with reporters on Thursday, Anthony D. Romero, executive director of the A.C.L.U., noted that as a presidential candidate, Mr. Obama pledged to break with the past on the issues of rendition and torture. His Justice Department, however, has not yet signaled whether it will continue to assert the broad state secrets claim, alter it or simply ask for more time to consider its options.”  http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/06/us/politics/06torture.html?_r=1&scp=6&sq=Binyam%20Mohamed&st=cse.  Let me hear what you think of the importance of this case.

The next item that caught my eye was a New York Times article that quoted CIA chief-designee, Leon Panetta in his testimony before a Senate Committee.  In that testimony, after what the Times referred to as “insistent” questioning, Panetta agreed that if a ticking bomb situation was present he would consider requesting for special permission from President Obama to use harsher interrogation techniques. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/06/us/politics/06cia.html?scp=4&sq=Panetta&st=cse.  This testimony disturbed me greatly because it seems to fly in the face of the Obama administration promise to stop the torture admitted to by the Bush Administration.  In my humble opinion there are no exceptions to U.S. law and International law on the subject of torture.  The Obama administration must be reminded on a daily basis that there is no place in this country for torture.  Especially in the fictional “ticking bomb” scenarios that the Republicans like to claim are real and likely.  What is your opinion of this article?

The final “musing” of the week is a story that first caught my eye on Professor Jonathan Turley’s blog. http://jonathanturley.org/2009/02/06/terrifying-report-more-soldiers-dying-from-suicide-than-combat/. In the CNN report that the blog report is based on, we learn that our soldiers are committing suicide in alarming numbers.  Since my son is a proud Marine 2nd Lieutenant this news item had a huge impact on me.  The CNN tells us that all of the services are experiencing big increases in suicides.  The Marines reported that 41 of its own took their lives.  The reasons given for the increases include the long tours of duty and the damage caused by Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.  Take a look at this CNN story and let us know what you think should be done to reduce this scary issue. http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/02/05/army.suicides/index.html. 

We are anxious to read your comments so don’t hesitate to give us your opinion.  It is good to be back in fight again.

It has been a little over 3 weeks since arguewithmydad.com has been off-line.  Thanks to my Marine son/computer expert, we are back in business.  Thanks to all of our readers for their patience during this down period.  If you have any questions or if you run into any “glitches” let me know and we will “fix the glitch”.  You will have to re-register in order to make your comments, but it will only take a moment. 

I am looking forward to resuming our spirited discussions on many topics.  Didn’t we get a new President while we were out of commission?  I will be writing the first substantive posting of this second life of arguewithmydad.com very soon.  Sit back and let’s get ready to rumble!  Qman and XfaQtr, I thought of you when the new background was put in!!