Dianne Feinstein: An Impediment to President Obama's Agenda?

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Wednesday January 07, 2009 · 12:17 PM PST

2009/01/07 · 12:17

The dust-up over the purported appointment of Leon Panneta to head the CIA says more about Sen. Dianne Feinstein's political differences with President Obama and less about Senatorial prerogatives. Sen. Feinstein pretty much rubber-stamped George Bush's appointments, to the point that she was one of only six senators to vote to install the very controversial Michaeal Mukasey as Attorney General. A closer look at her Senatorial career makes pretty clear that she is no friend of progressives and may well present an impediment to President Barack Obama's agenda.

cafecito

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Saturday December 27, 2008 · 11:20 AM PST

2008/12/27 · 11:20

There is much that is odious in Samuel Huntington but the worst is a relentless racism that is targeted at almost anyone who is "non-Western" and includes Muslims, Chinese, Africans and most pointedly Hispanics. Huntington reserves a great deal of his vituperation against Latinos. His disdain for Hispanic culture is almost pathological but then again so are his positions on other issues. Huntington, for example, provided the theoretical basis for carpet-bombing Vietnam – it will urbanize the peasants who support the Viet Cong. As well he promoted the idea that the best kind of government for developing countries was the monolithic authoritarian single party state exemplified in the pitiful Mexican dictatorship that was the PRI’s 90 year rule. Not one to fade away, Huntington provided much of the neo-con garbage that justified the West’s war with Islam. He leaves a disgrace for a legacy

cafecito

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Friday December 12, 2008 · 10:02 AM PST

2008/12/12 · 10:02

Not one to gloat, but I told you so. I was mocked yesterday for writing that the Blago scandal would soon fade and the economy would once again take center stage. ("Blago Schmago: It's the economy stupid") Yes, there will be repercussions for the Senate, but as far as Obama goes, he's got much bigger fish to fry. The gravity of the economic crisis cannot be overstated: we are in a world of hurt, the consequences of which we are barely beginning to grasp. If you had any doubt that the Republicans were radical right-wingers, just witness them drinking the proverbial Jonestown Koolaid and gut the heart out of our industrial sector.

cafecito

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Thursday December 11, 2008 · 9:54 AM PST

2008/12/11 · 09:54

Juan Williams could hardly contain himself on NPR as he speculated on how the Blago scandal could open up opportunities for Republicans to pick up Obama's old Senate seat. The rest of the media was equally feverish in detailing every dirty little detail and no doubt ecstatic at having Jesse Jackson Jr. caught in Blago's web. Never mind the "taint" on the (yet-to-be) Obama admnistration, opined Williams. While Blago certainly gave fresh currency to the term venality, never mind stupidity, this mini-scandal is a fly on a pond compared to the economic tsunami that's engulfing this nation (and the world). At the end of the day, it is still the economy that will yield or tax political currency. So wankers on the right, enjoy yourself while you can, you will still hate yourself in the morning after this little fling with Blago.

cafecito

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Tuesday November 18, 2008 · 3:41 PM PST

2008/11/18 · 15:41

The usually reliable Valleywag is reporting that Facebook and Paypal impresario, Peter Thiel donated $1 million dollars to the anti-immigrant hate-group NumbersUSA. Peter Thiel, apparently has some fairly extreme views and co-authored the book "The Diversity Myth", which argues that "multiculturalism" is used to promote social intolerance on American college campuses. I suggest that the netroots make a statement by asking that Facebook disavow Thiel's association with a hate group.

cafecito

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Monday November 17, 2008 · 12:01 PM PST

2008/11/17 · 12:01

It is somehow fitting, even if disturbing, that Hillary Clinton is being considered as the next Secretary of State. Should it come to pass, that Clinton is appointed Secretary of State, it would consummate the full vision of her mentor, former Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan. As political junkies know, the now deceased former Senator from New York, vetted and groomed Hillary to be his successor as New York's Senator. In no small measure, this transmission of Moynihan to Clinton was based on deep ideological affinities. Like Moynihan, Senator Clinton is a liberal on social issues and a conservative on foreign policy issues. Like, Moynihan (and Senator Lieberman), she is an unquestioning champion for Israel. And lest we forget, she has never disavowed her vote in favor of the Iraq war.

Poll

53 votes Show Results

What will the appointment of Hillary Clinton signal?

53 votes Vote Now!

What will the appointment of Hillary Clinton signal?

A conservative foreign policy.

7 votes

Unwavering support for Israel.

10 votes

The Southern hemisphere will continue to be ignored.

3 votes

Confrontation with Russia.

0 votes

All of the above.

23 votes

A feminist foreign policy.

10 votes

No bailout for G.M., Ford or Chrysler!

cafecito

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Tuesday November 11, 2008 · 7:08 PM PST

2008/11/11 · 19:08

As the big three automakers stumble like a trio of drunks on a self-induced binge, they are suddenly aware that they may have to go dry due to the fact that they have spent themselves drunk, broke, busted and disgusted. Rather than face their self-created problems, they are looking for enablers to pony up for another round on the house. It's time to say enough, you guys are not going to change your ways no matter how much money we give you. And the more we give you the more you will demand. To the contary, given how you've run your businesses it will only delay the inevitable reckoning that your companies are dinosaurs living on the vestiges of cheap fossil fuel.

Poll

189 votes Show Results

Should the Obama administration bail out the car companies?

189 votes Vote Now!

Should the Obama administration bail out the car companies?

Yes, too many jobs depend on them.

81 votes

No, they should file for bankruptcy just like the airlines.

85 votes

No, who needs cars?

3 votes

Yes, what's good for GM is good for America.

5 votes

Yes, if Rahm Emanual thinks its a good idea.

4 votes

Not sure.

11 votes

Simple Decency: Pres. Obama Should Stop the harassment by ICE

cafecito

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Monday November 10, 2008 · 11:53 AM PST

2008/11/10 · 11:53

The Latino community came through strongly in favor of Barack Obama and helped turned previously Red States into nascent Blue States. In no small measure, Latinos have felt under siege by federal authorities, Immigration and Customs Enforcement ("ICE") as well as by local law enforcement authorities, under mandate from ICE. The widespread use of profiling at all levels of law enforcement has created fear and despair in the Latino community. President Barack Obama can end the harassment with a simple executive order, since the current climate of fear is the result of a Bush executive order. Simple decency cries out for such a measure.

cafecito

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Saturday November 08, 2008 · 7:07 PM PST

2008/11/08 · 19:07

On Saturday, November 8th, Daniel Schorr did his weekly commentary on NPR's weekend edition. At the end of the interview he was asked if the election of Barack Obama meant that the country was moving to the left. Schorr, stated that he did not think so, that this was not cyclical change of the country moving to the left. I like Schorr, but I don't think he was razor sharp when he gave that answer. Any sentient being with an ounce of sense taking over from the Bush frat party would by definition move the country to the left given the extreme right policies of the outgoing administration.

cafecito

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Thursday November 06, 2008 · 9:53 AM PST

2008/11/06 · 09:53

Even before the right-wing Republican corpses have yet to be carted away from the battlefield, the MSM is already constructing the narrative to hamper a progressive agenda by the Obama administration (don't you love the sound of that). As Sam Tanenhaus, of the New York Times, notes glibly in his election post-mortem, "It may well be that some of Mr. Obama’s positions are to the left of the nation’s at large..." The evolving narrative will have Obama being "pressured" by the left-wing elements of the party against the "responsible," e.g., "centrist," elements of the party. Any progressive policies will be seen as "concessions to the left," and appointments of Republican or right-leaning Democrats will be hailed as responsible leaderhsip.

cafecito

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Wednesday November 05, 2008 · 12:05 PM PST

2008/11/05 · 12:05

Given the nature of the ass-whoopin that we inflicted on McCain-Palin, I propose that we be magnanimous in victory and seriously consider The Alaskan Independence Party's claims for sovereignty. Given, Todd and Sarah Palin's desire to secede from the union, I propose that we cede, and declare independent, the westernmost part of the Aleutian Islands to the Palins. The westernmost point actually lies in Russia and is called the Commander Islands. So the Palins could become presidents/executives/monarchs, whatever tickles their evangelical fancy, and become citizens of the newest Island Nation. Needless to say, they would have to renounce their U.S. citizenship and yeah,they would have to survive on whale meat and rock fungus, but heck, they are hardy "make-do" kind of folks.

Poll

62 votes Show Results

How will I wash away Palin from my consciousness?

62 votes Vote Now!

How will I wash away Palin from my consciousness?

Exile Sarah Palin to the farthest reach of the Aleutian Islands.

9 votes

Name my new puppy Sarah so as to create a positive association.

0 votes

Teach my parrot to yell "Go-Bama" everytime some nitwit talkinhead on tv mentions her name.

6 votes

Pray to god that Sarah gets the calling and decides to do missionary work deep in the Congo.

30 votes

Electro-convulsive therapy.

17 votes

The Last Gasp of the Southern Strategy

cafecito

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Monday November 03, 2008 · 2:20 PM PST

2008/11/03 · 14:20

The 2008 presidential campaign will go down in history for accomplishing a great many things, not the least of which may be the death of the so-called Southern strategy. The Southern strategy was basically a conscious policy of polarizing the electorate by playing on the fears, actually the racism, of Southern white voters and later of white voters in general. It was first used in 1968 by Richard Nixon and continued to be utilized, in some iteration or another, by Republicans ever since. This election may well mark the death of this strategy, not because it is morally repugnant, but because it no longer effective.

Newer
Older

RSS

Dianne Feinstein: An Impediment to President Obama's Agenda?

Samuel Huntington, a bigot and chauvanist, has died

Blago Bling Gone: Time to move on to the Depression

Blago Schmago: It's still the economy stupid!

Facebook Investor, Peter Thiel Donates $1 million to anti-immigrant group

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton: Pat Moynihan Redux

No bailout for G.M., Ford or Chrysler!

Simple Decency: Pres. Obama Should Stop the harassment by ICE

NPR Daniel Schorr - Country is not moving left

The media begins pressure to move Obama to the right

Independence to Commander Island in Alaska for Palin

The Last Gasp of the Southern Strategy