February 2009 archive

The Gang Of Four

This Pony Party is an open thread.  Do not rec.

There are many on the Dog’s side of the political spectrum who want to end our war in Afghanistan right away. They are not cold or heartless; in fact they make their arguments from good, sound humanitarian principals. They will tell you that we have, through our neglect of Afghanistan gone too far down the road to ever get back. They will ask, and to the Dog’s point of view, really want to know what it is we can “win” there if we can indeed win. They will point to the fact that we are broke as a country and that these foreign wars are taking money that could be spent in places where Americans are suffering, in Detroit, in Florida, in California and Nevada.  

In this post at Democratic Underground, EFerrari asks How much of economic meltdown is Iran Contra, continued?  The writer mentioned two reports that haven’t received a lot of press:  (emphasis mine)

First, there’s this from a post dated Feb. 20, 09 on Rep. Kucinich’s website Kucinich:  Who told SEC to “Stand Down” on Sanford Probe?

Chairman of the Domestic Policy Subcommittee, Congressman Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) today sent a letter to Ms. Mary Schapiro, Chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) requesting documents that could reveal which government agency told the SEC to “stand down” rather than take enforcement action against the Stanford Group in October 2006 as has been reported by the New York Times.

Recent media reports have indicated that the SEC was aware of improprieties at Stanford Financial Group as early as October 2006, but withheld action at the request of another government agency.

More….

1. The LA Times reports Taxing pot could alleviate California’s budget crisis. Assemblyman Tom Ammiano from San Francisco announced legislation Monday to “make California the first state in the nation to tax and regulate recreational marijuana in the same manner as alcohol.”

   “By some estimates, California’s pot crop is a $14-billion industry, putting it above vegetables ($5.7 billion) and grapes ($2.6 billion). If so, that could mean upward of $1 billion in tax revenue for the state each year.”

2. The NY Times reports U.S. soldiers were attacked by Iraqis in uniforms. “American forces were attacked by Iraqi insurgents wearing police uniforms in Mosul on Tuesday, making it at least the third attack in the restive city in the past two months by Iraqis wearing the uniforms of security officers. At least two soldiers were wounded and an Iraqi interpreter was killed, according to a statement from the United States military.”

   The CS Monitor reports Iraq’s waning insurgency scrambles for new sanctuary. “Ongoing violence in outlying provinces such as Diyala and Nineveh indicates that although violence has fallen and some normalcy is returning to Baghdad, the fringes of Iraq – the rural towns, farming villages, and desert outposts – have become the new fronts in the fight against the insurgent threat as extremists have fled cities and are hiding in the country’s remote corners.”

   Meanwhile, in Britain The Guardian reports Blair cabinet Iraq war minutes are kept secret by veto.

   Jack Straw today said he would take the unprecedented step of vetoing the release of cabinet minutes relating to the decision to invade Iraq.

   The justice secretary made his announcement in response to a decision from the information tribunal, which last month ordered the publication of the minutes of two cabinet meetings, held on 13 and 17 March 2003.

   It is the first time the government has used its power to veto the release of documents under the Freedom of Information (FoI) Act.

Four at Four continues with voting rights for D.C. and the mountains of Antarctica.

Compare the two leadership styles and learn, because this relationship will guide the world:

“Observe calmly; secure our position; cope with affairs calmly; hide our capacities and bide our time; be good at maintaining a low profile; and never claim leadership.” — China’s former Communist Party Leader, Deng Xiaoping.

“But I can say that the president of the United States said during his campaign and in the debates that if there is an actionable target, of a high-level Al Qaeda personnel, that he would not hesitate to use action to deal with that” — Vice President Joseph Biden.