Category: Congress

Academia, Columns, Congress, Justice, Media, Politics, Society, Things That Tick Me Off

Is the American Left Ineffective in Economics?

Submitted by Mike Spindell, guest blogger                                      

“Ian Fletcher is Senior Economist of the Coalition for a Prosperous America, nationwide  grass-roots organization dedicated to fixing America’s trade policies and comprising representatives from business, agriculture, and labor.” http://www.prosperousamerica.org/2011/02/23/ian_fletcher/

Mr. Fletcher wrote an article in HuffPost this week titled ” Why Is the American Left So Ineffective in Economics?” http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ian-fletcher/why-is-the-american-left-_b_1142615.html?ref=politics&ir=Politics . On my first reading of this article, I sped through it cursorily, with general agreement and approval, book marking the link for further reference. As the day went on the article remained stuck in the back of my mind, for there was something about it that disturbed me, but I couldn’t quite figure out why. I looked up Mr. Fletcher’s credentials and they seemed good and certainly not one of being a Corporatist economist. The Coalition for a Prosperous America appears a worthwhile middle-of-road organization, whose supporters include labor unions, as well as medium and small businesses. They look askance at current US trade policies and that is a view with which I agree. Mr. Fletcher has a book titled: “Free Trade Doesn’t Work” http://www.freetradedoesntwork.com/  which people I respect like Fritz Hollings and Thom Hartmann have praised. In it he discusses how there is a free-trade hegemony of both Democrats and Republicans representing the Washington establishment and marginalizing all the voices who disagree with free trade policies. This hegemony is what I describe as the Feudalist Corporatocracy. This is a man with who I’m in general agreement, why then my discomfort with his thesis in this article?

This article opens up with the following paragraph: “Anyone who’s still in a state of denial about the thesis implied by the title of this article can stop reading right here. I’ll just assume it’s obvious enough that we can take it as a given.” He’s right, the thesis implied in the title is indisputable. The Left has been ineffective in combatting the economic policies started by Ronald Reagan’s election and has been in constant retreat from the onslaught of right-wing economic policies. This has been true to such an extent that Bill Clinton reaffirmed Alan Greenspan as the head of The Federal Reserve and Barack Obama reaffirmed  G.W. Bush’s choice of Ben Bernake. Both of these men are little more than philosophical minions/co-dependents of Wall Street and the Big Banks. Where I take issue with Mr. Fletcher is in why he believes the Left’s economic weakness has come about. To me his view of the origins of this Left Wing retreat is shortsighted and ignores the 800 pound gorilla in the room. If we don’t understand the causes of problems we face, then no matter how prescient the analysis of their nature, we are almost powerless to combat them. Since the article in question is rather brief, I’m going to dispute it point by point.   Continue reading “Is the American Left Ineffective in Economics?” →

Congress, Courts, Justice, Politics, Supreme Court, Things That Tick Me Off

Filibusters Gone Wild

Respectfully Submitted by Lawrence Rafferty(rafflaw)-Guest Blogger

Now that I have gotten over the Bears overtime loss to the Bronco’s, it is time for the Night Shift to get to work.  I imagine that most of us remember the so-called “Gang of Fourteen” that came to prominence during the George W. Bush Administration.  This group of Senators actually decided that the Senate should give all Judicial nominees an up or down vote in the full Senate except in some very extreme circumstances. “In 2005, a group of senators known as the “Gang of 14” determined that all judicial nominees should receive an up-or-down vote absent “extraordinary circumstances.”  As Senator Lindsey Graham explained the agreement at the time,’ “ideological attacks are not an ‘extraordinary circumstance.’ To me, it would have to be a character problem, an ethics problem, some allegation about the qualifications of a person, not an ideological bent.” ‘ American Constitution Society  It is a shame that the Gang of Fourteen, or at least the survivors of that group have decided that politics is more important than fairness! Continue reading “Filibusters Gone Wild” →

Columns, Congress, Environment, International, Media, Politics, Society, Things That Tick Me Off, Uncategorized

The US Chamber of Commerce, the Enemy Within?

Submitted by: Mike Spindell, guest blogger.

During the Cold War a phrase “The Enemy Within” became popular. It was a reference at first to Communist subversion exemplified by Senator Joseph McCarthy’s witch-hunt.  Later it was used with other issues such as in Robert F. Kennedy’s book “The Enemy Within” which dealt with corruption in the Labor Movement, specifically Jimmy Hoffa and his teamsters. Recently, Michael Savage, right wing talk show host, wrote a book using that same title, though in this case referring to liberals and progressives as being seditious. The connotation of this phrase is that the group so labeled represents an internal movement that is so dangerous to the interests of the United States, that it can be seen as subversive.

Some may be shocked then by the title of this post. Almost all of us have grown up thinking of the Chamber of Commerce as a uniquely American Institution. Throughout the US whether in cities or in hamlets, the business community has banded together to promote local commerce and build interrelated networks. When we think of this, we think mainly of local small businesses, which are the backbone of this nation’s economy. To be honest until this week I’ve never give much thought to the Chamber of Commerce until as a MoveOn.com member I received a petition from an affiliated new organization called SumOfUs.

“SumOfUs is a brand-new global movement of consumers, investors and workers using our collective economic power for good. Together, we will work to hold the world’s corporations accountable to the public interest and move our global economic system towards social equity, democratic principles, and long-term sustainability.” http://googlequitthechamber.org/about/

The purpose of the petition was to get Google to follow the lead of other large corporations and quit the US Chamber of Commerce. The petition made various claims regarding the US Chamber of Commerce which I’ll deal with in this post.

However, I wouldn’t present this post without doing some research on the “Chamber” and its’ activity to look into the validity of the claims being made by the SumOfUs organization. In doing this research I came to realize that in my opinion the United States Chamber of Commerce is an organization that does not act in the best interests of this country and that one can call it subversive, even though it is not treasonous. These are my reasons for this belief. Continue reading “The US Chamber of Commerce, the Enemy Within?” →

Bizarre, Congress, Politics, Torts

Did Pelosi Violate House Rules or Commit Defamation In Claiming Dirt On Gingrich?

This week, we witnessed an extraordinary appearance from House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi who told reporters that she has dirt on Newt Gingrich and would reveal at some later date — suggesting that the embarrassing disclosure would come from her service on an ethics review of Gingrich when he was House Speaker. I have been a long critic of Gingrich for some of his statements and policies, but I find Pelosi’s statements to be reprehensible and unethical. What concerns me, again, is the relative absence of criticism from Democrats who should show more principle in denouncing this type of politics.
Continue reading “Did Pelosi Violate House Rules or Commit Defamation In Claiming Dirt On Gingrich?” →

Congress, Constitutional Law, Courts, Criminal law, Free Speech, International, Justice, Lawyering, Military, Politics, Society, Supreme Court

Senate Votes Overwhelmingly To Allow Indefinite Detention of Citizens

In one of the greatest attacks on civil liberties in this country’s history, Democratic and Republican Senators voted yesterday to approve a measure as part of the $662 billion defense bill that would allow for the military to hold both citizens and non-citizens indefinitely without trial — even those arrested on U.S. soil. In a welcomed change, President Obama has committed his Administration to fighting the measure as inimical to the rule of law. The measure was pushed by Carl Levin (D – Michigan) and John McCain (R – Arizona). While some members of Congress like Ron Paul (R., Texas) have denounced the bill, the measure passed at the same time that Administration lawyers publicly declared that the military and intelligence agencies alone should decide whether a citizen should be killed without a charge or hearing (including killing citizens on U.S. soil) — a position supported by President Obama who has ordered the killing of U.S. citizens under his claim of inherent authority.

Continue reading “Senate Votes Overwhelmingly To Allow Indefinite Detention of Citizens” →

Congress, Politics, Things That Tick Me Off, Uncategorized

The Stimulus is Still Stimulating

Respectfully submitted by Lawrence Rafferty(rafflaw)-Guest Blogger

Now that I have digested some wonderful Thanksgiving food and celebrated my grandson’s first birthday, it is time to get back to work.  In light of the recent calls by Rep. Paul Ryan, Rep. Eric Cantor and former Speaker and current GOP Presidential Candidate Newt Gingrich to terminate the non-partisan Congressional Budge Office (CBO), I couldn’t help but wonder why the Republicans have a problem with the CBO?  The CBO has been critical of both parties legislation in the past when the numbers just didn’t add up.  Could this latest announcement by the CBO that the Obama Stimulus package of 2009 is still stimulating the economy be the last straw for the Republicans in their support of the Congressional Budget Office? Continue reading “The Stimulus is Still Stimulating” →

Congress, Criminal law, Free Speech, Justice, Politics, Society

The Smell of Corporatist Fear, Smells Just Like . . . a Lobbyist Memo

Submitted by Gene Howington, Guest Blogger

UPDATED: Newton’s Third Law of Motion is commonly expressed by the phrase “for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction”.  The action in question is the Occupy Wall Street Movement.  The reaction in question is fear.

Huffington Post obtained a copy of a memo being sent by high-powered Washington lobbying firm Clark, Lytle, Geduldig, Cranford to one of its major Wall Street clients over Thanksgiving.  Previously unnamed, it has been revealed that the major Wall Street client in question is the American Bankers Association.   The four page memo was first revealed by MSNBC’s Chris Hayes, host of the show “Up with Chris Hayes“.  The first two paragraphs of the memo are indicative of the mood and probably sets the tone for what many in the lobbying industry are having to admit as an inconvenient truth.   Namely the truth that the OWS Movement is gaining traction for their cause and doing so in such a way that politicians are eventually going to be forced to put on the appearance of action in bringing the criminals on Wall Street to justice if not actually bring them to justice.  The fear on behalf of the lobbyists and their Wall Street clients is palpable.

The first two paragraphs of the Thanksgiving Memo read as follows:

Continue reading “The Smell of Corporatist Fear, Smells Just Like . . . a Lobbyist Memo” →

Congress, Politics, Society

Thirteen Percent: Congress Is Now More Unpopular Than A Communist Takeover

Well, Congress still beats out intestinal blockages in popularity. The latest Gallup monthly survey shows that Congress is now only viewed favorable by 13 percent of American. Other polls show it as 9 percent. This makes it less popular (as shown in the chart in the article below) than Hugo Chavez and communism taking over the United States. Hell, even Paris Hilton is more popular than Congress.
Continue reading “Thirteen Percent: Congress Is Now More Unpopular Than A Communist Takeover” →

Congress, Politics, Society, Supreme Court

How Not To Pass A National Health Care Program: New Poll Shows Almost Half of Americans Want The Repeal of the Health Care Law

One of the most interesting aspects of the litigation over health care has been the Obama Administration’s push for review in the Supreme Court. Rather than slow walking the case, the Administration facilitated a review that will result in a ruling before the election. As on many other decisions by this White House, the political calculation seems counterintuitive. I have said in interviews that I do not know which will be worse politically: for the Administration to lose before the Court or to win. Now a poll suggests it might be the latter. Gallop found this week that 47 percent of Americans want to see the law repealed. Only 43 percent favor the law. Fifty-six percent still prefer the use of private insurance over a federal insurance program. This poll joins the sobering fact that a majority of states are now in court in an unprecedented opposition to the federal law. Regardless of how you feel about health care, this is not how you pass a major new program and is the result of the decision by the White House and Democratic leaders to muscle through this vote on the thinnest of margins.
Continue reading “How Not To Pass A National Health Care Program: New Poll Shows Almost Half of Americans Want The Repeal of the Health Care Law” →

Congress, Constitutional Law, Courts, Politics, Supreme Court

Conservative Take on Obamacare

Respectfully submitted by Lawrence Rafferty(rafflaw)-Guest Blogger

Ever since the legal challenges to the Affordable Care Act, or as it is better known, Obamacare began, the pundits have kept a scoreboard on which courts have approved of the individual mandate to buy insurance, and which courts have disapproved of the constitutionality of the mandate.  The latest Appellate Court to come down with its decision was the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia.  It may not surprise anyone that the court came down in favor of the legislation approving the individual mandate, but it may surprise you just who comprised that appellate panel. Continue reading “Conservative Take on Obamacare” →

Congress, Constitutional Law, Courts, Criminal law, Politics, Society, Supreme Court

How Much Privacy Do You Expect? The Death of Privacy In America

Below is my column today in The Washington Post. The article explores the famed Katz test and whether, in trying to save privacy in America, the Supreme Court may have laid the seeds for its destruction. The test ties our privacy protections to our privacy expectations. Thus, as our expectations falls, warrantless surveillance rises — causing our expectations again fall and in turn allowing warrantless surveillance to rise further. It becomes a face to the bottom of privacy. The terrible truth is that the death of privacy in America will not be accompanied by thunderous applause, but a collective yawn from an indifferent people. Here is the column.
Continue reading “How Much Privacy Do You Expect? The Death of Privacy In America” →

Bizarre, Congress, Constitutional Law, Criminal law, Politics, Society

Obama Administration Argues For “Orwellian” New Powers To Track U.S. Citizens

As discussed in a prior column, many civil libertarians view President Barack Obama as betraying core civil liberties in expanding on Bush-era surveillance programs, secrecy orders, and other measures. Now, even conservative justices are questioning the Administration’s demand to be able to engage in round-the-clock surveillance of citizens without a warrant using GPS technology. The sweeping new claim would gut the protections of the Fourth Amendment in the latest attack on civil liberties by Barack Obama.

Continue reading “Obama Administration Argues For “Orwellian” New Powers To Track U.S. Citizens” →

Congress, Constitutional Law, Courts, Criminal law, Free Speech, Justice, Media, Politics, Society

The Right of Citizens To Videotape Police

Below is my column today in The Los Angeles Times where I discuss the continuing trend of arrests of citizens videotaping police. We have followed many more cases but a couple are mentioned in the column. What is most disturbing is that prosecutors and police are continuing to fight court rulings upholding the right of citizens to videotape police.

Continue reading “The Right of Citizens To Videotape Police” →