The Liberal Curmudgeon

The Liberal Curmudgeon Takes A Two-Week Hiatus

2013-05-12T02:20:00.000-04:00

Valued Readers:

During this and the following weekend, my wife and I will celebrate our daughters’ graduations from college and law school. (In that regard, my last post on student loans is quite relevant.) This is a happy yet busy time for our family, and I’ve decided to take a break from the blog during this period. I’ll be back on Saturday, May 25, with more posts. See you then!

Jeff, aka The Liberal Curmudgeon

Sen. Warren: Students Should Get Same Discount Loan Rate As Big Banks

2013-05-09T23:52:00.000-04:00

The federal student loan interest rate is set to double by July 1 from 3.4% to 6.8%. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) introduced her Bank on Students Loan Fairness Act to reduce the rate students pay on federally subsidized loans for one year while giving Congress a chance to resolve rising student debt. Warren decried the fact that "...the federal government is going to charge students interest rates that are nine times higher than the rates for the biggest banks–the same banks that destroyed millions of jobs and nearly broke this economy." She called on the Federal Reserve to give students a loan, through the Department of Education, at the same discount 0.75% interest rate that a big bank would get. Watch Warren deliver her statement:

You can also read the transcript of Warren's speech.

Report: More US Babies Die On First Day Than In 68 Countries

2013-05-09T22:55:00.000-04:00

A recent UNICEF study ranked the United States 34th out of 35 developed countries in terms of child poverty. Now a Save the Children report finds that more U.S. babies die on their first day than in 68 other countries. In addition, more die on their first day than in any other industrialized country. This certainly casts doubt on the conservative argument that we have "the best health care in the world." Save the Children states that politics and culture contribute to this poor record:

The U.S. is a worse place for newborns than 68 other countries, including Egypt, Turkey and Peru, according to a report released Tuesday by Save the Children.

...[From the report:] “The United States has the highest first-day death rate in the industrialized world. An estimated 11,300 newborn babies die each year in the United States on the day they are born. This is 50 percent more first-day deaths than all other industrialized countries combined.”

...Save the Children says it’s not precisely clear why the United States does so poorly in protecting newborns, but says politics and culture both play a role.

...“Poverty, racism and stress are likely to be important contributing factors to first-day deaths in the United States and other industrialized countries.”

...“High-quality care before, during and after pregnancy (including home visits by nurses or community health workers if appropriate) and access to the appropriate level of care at the time of delivery can result in healthier mothers giving birth to healthier babies,” the report says. Such home visits are common in Europe, but very unusual in the United States.

The report also strongly links a country’s politics to its newborn death rate. “Women hold only 18 percent of seats in the United States Congress,” the report says. “Sixteen countries have more than double this percentage of seats occupied by women. In Finland and Sweden, for example, women hold 43 and 45 percent of parliamentary seats, respectively.”

Finland and Sweden have the lowest rates of newborn deaths in the world.

Image: Mother with a newborn baby in Ethiopia, NBC News.

NRA Ends Convention Pushing Guns On Kids At "Youth Day"

2013-05-08T00:21:00.000-04:00

The NRA ended its convention in Houston on Sunday with "Youth Day," in which young kids were enticed to fire airsoft guns and offered free six-month memberships. One 9-year-old taking part in what the NRA billed as a family-fun outing said, "I like guns because guns are fun":

...Some of the attendees were the age of the Newtown massacre victims, others too young to know the difference between a toy gun and a real one.

“Spend the day exploring 400,000 square feet of exhibit hall containing over 550 exhibitors from across the country. Share the excitement with spectacular displays and fun-filled events for the entire family,” the NRA wrote on its website.

The event was staged a day after the NRA welcomed its youngest lifetime member, 3-year-old Elaih Wagan, whose grandfather purchased the membership.

...In the convention center, pint-sized gun enthusiasts, some taught about the Second Amendment before they learned to read, perused the latest makes and models of firearms.

...The convention floor was packed with little girls and boys with guns in their hands.

One blond girl in camouflage tights and pink skirt, who appeared to be about 7, gripped an air pistol as an instructor gave her tips on her aim.

Another young girl, with help from an adult, practiced aiming a rifle nearly as tall as she was. It was only an air gun that shoots pellets, but was made to look like an menacing AR-15 assault rifle — similar to one used by Adam Lanza at Sandy Hook.

Image: A child holding up an assault rifle that's almost bigger than him. David Handschuh, New York Daily News

Robertson: Gays Can Change Just Like Murderers And Rapists

2013-05-07T23:31:00.000-04:00

We're now witnessing the legalization of marriage equality in a series of states, the latest being Rhode Island, Delaware and, quite possibly, Minnesota. We can contrast this positive change with the "change" espoused by Pat Robertson. Referring to a case in Ecuador where a politician violated that country's electoral code ban on discrimination with anti-gay remarks, Robertson said that gays can "change their sexual preference" just like murderers, rapists and thieves can change. As the religious right realizes that they're fighting a losing battle against marriage equality, expect them to ratchet up the hatred and looniness in their rhetoric. Watch Robertson as a case in point:

Rhode Island Becomes 10th State To Legalize Marriage Equality

2013-05-05T16:05:00.000-04:00

Congratulations to Rhode Island, which became the 10th state to legalize marriage equality this past Thursday. Just before the House vote, Rep. Frank Ferri (D) advocated for the bill, which passed 56-15. Governor Lincoln Chafee (I) then signed it during a joyous ceremony on the steps of the State House. The governor praised the legislation as exemplifying the national and state ideals of liberty. Watch:

New NRA President Calls Obama "Fake," Civil War "War Of Northern Aggression"

2013-05-05T14:43:00.001-04:00

Meet Jim Porter, the new NRA president. Speaking to gun enthusiasts in upstate New York last summer, Porter, a lawyer from Birmingham, Alabama, referred to the Civil War as the "War of Northern Aggression," counted among the NRA's purposes the readiness "to fight tyranny" and called Obama a "fake president" and Attorney General Eric Holder "rabidly anti-gun, rabidly un-American." Watch:

Republicans Plan 37th Obamacare Repeal Vote

2013-05-05T13:43:00.001-04:00

This must be the Republicans' version of doing the people's business. House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (left) announced that, once again, the GOP will soon vote on repealing Obamacare. What happened to their supposed emphasis on jobs? Instead, they're conducting more wasteful political theater to excite their base–and give their freshmen the chance to take part in this futile ritual:

House Republicans are planning what is likely to be the 37th symbolic vote to repeal Obamacare, according to a memo sent out to House Republicans Friday by House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.).

"While we have not locked in the timing, I expect that the House will vote on full repeal of ObamaCare in the near future," Cantor said in the memo.

The House voted 36 times to repeal Obamacare in 2011 and 2012, according to TPM. None of the measures passed the Democratic-controlled Senate, let alone reached the president for his signature.

In April at the Heritage Foundation, Rep. Mick Mulvaney (R-S.C.) explained the rationale for holding a repeal vote again. "If you're a freshman, the guys who've been up here the last year -- we can go home and say, 'Listen, we voted 36 different times to repeal or replace Obamacare.' -- tell me what the new guys are supposed to say," he said. "We haven't had a repeal or replace vote this year."

Andy Borowitz: "NRA Leader Warns Of The Rising Cost Of Senators"

2013-05-05T12:58:00.000-04:00

Andy Borowitz writes in The New Yorker that Wayne LaPierre, NRA CEO, warned at a convention about "the rising cost of senators" to do the group's bidding against "the wishes of ninety percent of the American people"–a reference to percentage that favors universal background checks, which the Senate failed to pass. Through the following satirical piece, Borowitz points out the corruption of our political system, in which politicians are bribed–under the rubric of "contributions"–to favor special interests such as the mass murder lobby, the NRA:

HOUSTON (The Borowitz Report)—National Rifle Association C.E.O. Wayne LaPierre used his opening speech at the N.R.A.’s national convention today to highlight several challenges facing the organization, including what he called “the rising cost of Senators.”

“Over the past few years, we’ve seen the price of purchasing a Senator surge astronomically,” he told the N.R.A. faithful. “Unless something is done to make Senators more affordable, the ability of a tiny lobbying group to overrule the wishes of ninety per cent of the American people will be in jeopardy.”

The days are over, he said, when “you could buy a Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) for little more than pocket change.”

“Now it costs thousands to purchase a marginally effective Senator like Kelly Ayotte (R-N.H.),” he said.

Mr. LaPierre was followed at the podium by the former Alaska governor Sarah Palin, the rock musician Ted Nugent, and several other people who would not pass background checks.

Occupy The Pipeline Video Protests Fracked Gas In NYC

2013-05-05T11:45:00.000-04:00

A gas pipeline exploded in San Bruno, California, in September 2010, killing eight people and destroying 38 homes. Now Spectra Energy, a company with a poor safety record, is nearing completion of its high-pressure gas pipeline for Manhattan's West Village. It will deliver 800 million barrels a day of hydrofracked gas, with the risk of explosions and carcinogenic radon exposure in this densely populated neighborhood. Occupy The Pipeline produced the following video warning of the risks and ways to respond:

See Upworthy for other activist responses, including funding the legal fight.

Saturday Night At The Liberal Curmudgeon: Tosh & Jagger

2013-05-04T23:58:00.000-04:00

Peter Tosh and Mick Jagger sang "Don't Look Back" on Saturday Night Live, December 16, 1978. The song, written by Smokey Robinson and Ronald White of the Miracles, was recorded by The Temptations in 1965.

GOP Mocks Obama Using Photo Of Him Comforting Sandy Hook Mom

2013-05-02T23:53:00.000-04:00

The Republican National Committee produced a fundraising video ridiculing President Obama for his "string of defeats in Congress," according to a voiceover, during the first 100 days of his second term. To brag about the defeat of gun regulations, including universal background checks favored by 90 percent of the country, the video features the image above of the president comforting a woman in the White House Rose Garden. Who is this woman? She's Nicole Hockley, grieving mother of 6-year-old Newtown shooting victim Dylan Hockley.

Stay classy, Republicans. We see how well your rebranding effort is going. May it all come back to haunt you in 2014.

Larry Flynt Endorses "Sex Pioneer" Mark Sanford

2013-05-01T00:07:00.000-04:00

Hustler publisher Larry Flynt has endorsed former South Carolina Republican Gov. Mark Sanford, who is running in a Congressional race against Democrat Elizabeth Colbert Busch, sister of Stephen Colbert. Flynt called Sanford, who abandoned his duties in 2009 for a rendezvous with his mistress, “America’s great sex pioneer,” praised him for exposing the “sexual hypocrisy of traditional values in America today,” contributed $2,600 and offered to meet him for a photo opportunity. Watch Flynt's endorsement:

FLYNT: I am endorsing Mark Sanford for U.S. Congress because no one has done more to expose the sexual hypocrisy of traditional values in America today. Mark Sanford has demonstrated by his words and deeds that traditional values are shameful and that he will not live by such rules. His open embrace of his mistress in the name of love, breaking his sacred marriage vows, was an act of bravery that has drawn my support. My endorsement has not been an easy decision for me. Even though Mark Sanford has emerged as a sexual leader, he is a liar. He lied to his family. He lied to his wife. He lied to his children, and he lied to the people of South Carolina. Despite his journey down this Appalachian Trail of deceit, I support him for exposing the hypocrisy of traditional values. The liar has exposed the greater lie.

Exxon Impeded Pipeline Spill Coverage In Arkansas

2013-04-30T23:03:00.000-04:00

Counterspin reports that, following the Exxon tar sands oil pipeline rupture in Arkansas, federal and local law enforcement blocked media access to the site because the company didn't want journalists there. Noting that this is not the first time such censorship on the part of Exxon and BP has prevailed, Counterspin concludes, "One has to wonder...why this particular category of perpetrator is allowed to control access to its own crime scene." Listen:

See also the Mother Jones article, "Reporters Say Exxon Is Impeding Spill Coverage in Arkansas."

(h/t: Best of the Left Podcast)

Iraqi Prime Minister Acts More And More Like A Dictator

2013-04-28T21:22:00.000-04:00

Not only does sectarian strife continue in Iraq, but Prime Minister Nouri Al-Maliki is looking more and more like a dictator as he consolidates power. So much for the "nation building" and "spreading democracy" rationales for invading Iraq:

Al Jazeera and 9 other stations have lost their licenses to broadcast in Iraq. The Maliki government indicates the recent spate in sectarian violence, and the media's perceived stoking of such violence, as their reason for revoking the licenses.

...Maliki's aggressive political steps date back to his initial move toward power in 2006. He's staffed the higher positions of government with Shia loyalists, and distanced his government from Sunni and Kurdish leaders.

He's also created "extra-constitutional security bodies" — so-called by Marissa Meyer at the Institute for the Study of War — bodies designed to give him a direct chain of command over security forces, a command that conveniently side-steps the Ministries of Defence and Interior.

Such consolidations allowed him to take an unprecedented move: what Maliki claims was an arrest, but what many call an assassination attempt on Iraq's former finance minister. Luckily, and predictably, Rafi Issawi was under the protection of the powerful Abu Risha clan and avoided his fate, whatever it might have been.

...Abdulrahman Al-Rashed, general manager of Al Arabiya, wrote on April 14 that Maliki was another Saddam, except for one key detail: Iran's support.

"Maliki is practically another Saddam. But Maliki surpasses Saddam because he is protected by Iran and he has double the funds of Saddam, who was besieged during most of his years in power," Al-Rashed wrote.

Ellison Challenges King On Profiling Muslims

2013-04-28T17:56:00.000-04:00

Last week, Sen. Dianne Feinstein countered Rep. Peter King’s call to profile the Muslim community following the Boston bombings. Today on Meet the Press, Rep. Keith Ellison (D-MN), referred to such blanket tactics as ineffective and wasteful law enforcement. Instead, Ellison said that terrorism investigations should focus on individual behavior and actionable intelligence. He also warned against policies that resemble those used against Japanese Americans during World War II. Watch:

Obama Pledges Support For Planned Parenthood

2013-04-28T16:49:00.000-04:00

Here's an important reason to be glad–and relieved–that President Obama won the election. We recall Mitt Romney's vow to "get rid of" Planned Parenthood. Speaking at a gala in Washington on Friday, Obama spoke about the benefits of his health care law (which Romney also wanted to eliminate) and pledged his support for Planned Parenthood: "Planned Parenthood is not going anywhere. It's not going anywhere today; it's not going anywhere tomorrow. As long as we've got a fight to make sure women have access to quality, affordable health care, and as long as we've got to fight to protect a woman's right to make her own choices about her own health, I want you to know that you've also got a president who's going to be right there with you, fighting every step of the way." Watch:

Gohmert: Administration’s Muslim Brotherhood Members Guide Bombing Probe

2013-04-28T13:09:00.000-04:00

Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-TX), who has spoken about a terror baby plot and Obama’s support for an Al-Qaeda/Muslim Brotherhood takeover of Libya, claimed on the conservative World Net Daily radio show that the administration “bungled” the Boston bombing investigation because it “has so many Muslim Brotherhood members that have influence that they just are making wrong decisions for America.” According to Gohmert, Attorney General Eric Holder, who has "spent more time...trying to help terrorists than to corral them," read Dzhokar Tsarnaev his Miranda rights to “get him to stop talking" about "the threat against America." Listen:

Q: Some people are wondering whether or not the fact that it looks like radical Islam is once again a factor here is potentially a narrative that some folks don’t want publicly out there. Do you think that’s playing into this at all?

GOHMERT: I think it is… It’s very clear to everybody but this administration that radical Islam is at war against us… Thank God for the moderates that don’t approve of what’s being done. But this administration has so many Muslim Brotherhood members that have influence that they just are making wrong decisions for America.

Jon Stewart: Fox Ready To Shred Constitution, Except For Guns

2013-04-28T09:30:00.000-04:00

In considering Fox News commentators' response to the Boston bombings, Jon Stewart points out a huge contradiction between their pose as defenders of the Constitution and their willingness to shred its amendments. There's only one exception: the Second Amendment. In that case, as Sean Hannity puts it, "There’s no ambiguity." Watch:

STEWART: Yes, it turns out there’s only one amendment in our Constitution’s pantheon that is exempt from statistical analysis or emotional freak-out-itude, and it is the Second. So God help us if the Muslims ever decide to form a well-regulated militia. We’ll have no way to stop them.

Barbara Bush On Jeb Run: "We've Had Enough Bushes"

2013-04-28T01:48:00.000-04:00

I previously noted that on the very day of the dedication of the George W. Bush Library, new fighting in Iraq claimed the lives of at least 41–a grim reminder of the Bush legacy. Eugene Robinson cited torture, Iraq and the financial crisis in a commentary, "Bush's Legacy Keeps Getting Worse." Robinson might have also mentioned Katrina, but perhaps there's not enough space in one column for every Bush disaster. In any event, Barbara Bush provided a succinct assessment when considering a possible presidential run by her son Jeb:

Appearing in an interview from Dallas on NBC's "Today" show, Mrs. Bush was asked if she thought that Jeb, the former governor of Florida, should seek the presidency.

"He's by far the best qualified man," Mrs. Bush said, "but no."

"We've had enough Bushes," she said, saying "it's not just four families, or whatever."

Saturday Night At The Liberal Curmudgeon: Remembering Richie Havens

2013-04-28T00:14:00.000-04:00

I was saddened to learn of the passing of Richie Havens, one of my generation’s iconic folk singers and guitarists. The photo shows me meeting him after a performance a few years ago at the Towne Crier Café in Pawling, NY, 67 miles north of NYC. Richie was an outstanding performer, perceptive and witty commentator and warm individual, as well as an environmental and peace activist. Listen to his famous improvised medley of "Motherless Child" and "Freedom" at Woodstock, where I first heard him perform and, like thousands of others, was amazed:

Listen to a tribute to Richie Havens on the St. James Infirmary music show, hosted by my good friend Michael Mand.

On Bush Library Dedication Day, At Least 41 Die In Iraq

2013-04-25T23:08:00.001-04:00

On the day of the dedication of the George W. Bush Presidential Library, new fighting in Iraq provided a grim reminder of the Bush legacy. A decade after "Shock and Awe" and Bush's "Mission Accomplished" speech, the divisions opened up by the invasion of Iraq persist with at least 41 dead today in renewed ethnic strife:

At least 41 people died Thursday on the third straight day of pitched fighting between Iraqi security forces and Sunni Arabs, as Prime Minister Nouri Maliki warned the country was in crisis.

The national police battled back Sunni fighters in the northern city of Mosul, long a bastion of the insurgency, where individuals took up arms after security forces opened fire early Tuesday on an encampment of Sunni protesters in the city of Hawija in Kirkuk province.

The violence this week ended four months of largely peaceful Sunni protests centered on the group’s alleged mistreatment by Iraq’s Shiite Muslim-led government. Confrontations occurred across Sunni regions of Iraq.

At least 31 Sunni gunmen were killed in Mosul on Thursday, said Mehdi Sabah Gharrawi, a national police commander. Ten police officers also were killed, military sources said. The sides had been fighting for control of four neighborhoods in east Mosul for three days, and gunmen held a police station before being repelled.

The death toll around the country reached as high as 179 by some accounts, with authorities saying 50 people died in Hawija and other parts of Kirkuk province Tuesday.

Image: Residents carry a coffin during the funeral of an Iraqi soldier in Hawija.

Cartoonists Demand Action To End Gun Violence

2013-04-23T20:39:00.001-04:00

Some of America's most prominent cartoonists have joined together in support of the Mayors Against Illegal Guns campaign, "Demand Action To End Gun Violence." Watch this moving video:

One of the participating cartoonists, Ruben Bolling, wrote an eloquent essay, "The Jester's Hat Is Off," on the project.

David Cay Johnston: NRA Impeded Boston Bombing Investigation

2013-04-21T20:06:00.000-04:00

David Cay Johnston writes that the NRA impeded the Boston bombing investigation due to its opposition to the tracing of gunpowder. It does not, however, oppose the tracing of plastic explosives like Semtex since the companies that manufacture the latter do not fund the NRA, whose ultimate aim is profits. In Johnston's view, the NRA should be known as "the mass murder lobby":

The inability to quickly track the gunpowders in the Boston bombs is due to government policy designed and promoted by the NRA, which has found a way to transform every massacre associated with weapons into an opportunity for the munitions companies that sustain it to sell more guns, gunpowder and bullets.

...But for the NRA-backed policy of not putting identifiers known as taggants in gunpowder, law enforcement could have quickly identified the explosives used to make the bombs, tracking them from manufacture to retail sale. That could well have saved the life of Sean Collier, the 26-year-old MIT police officer who was gunned down Thursday night by the fleeing bomb suspects.

...Had the Boston bombers used a plastic explosive, it would have included identifiers that would have allowed a quick trace. Those taggants exist because the NRA does not oppose them.

Why is that? Why this breach in the NRA’s Maginot Line of defense against reasonable regulation of guns and ammunition?

The answer appears to lie in who makes plastic explosives like Semtex, which was used to bring down Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, in 1988. The world’s main supplier was not a company that finances the NRA, but Libya under Moammar Khadafy.

That this one breach in NRA policy traces directly to the economic interests of the American munitions industry provides powerful evidence of what motivates the NRA – profits.

That the gun makers have managed to turn each massacre into a spike in sales of both expensive rapid-fire weapons and ammunition adds to the evidence that the NRA should be viewed as the mass-murder lobby.

Dianne Feinstein Counters Peter King's Islamophobia

2013-04-21T17:47:00.000-04:00

Speaking today to Fox's Chris Wallace, Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) criticized Rep. Peter King (R-NY) for trying to associate, without evidence, alleged Boston bombers Tamerlan and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev to "the Muslim community" in the U.S. Feinstein commented, "I don’t think all of this is very helpful. I think the important thing is to get the facts. ...I don’t think we need to go and develop some real disdain and hatred on television about it." Watch:

KING: Listen, the threat is coming from within the Muslim community in these cases. In New York. that’s why Commissioner Kelly has 1,000 police officers out in the community. Unfortunately, he gets smeared by the New York Times and the Associated Press, but the fact is we’ve stopped 16 plots in New York because we know that al-Qaeda is shifting its tactics…If you know a certain threat is coming from a certain community, that’s where you have to look.
WALLACE: Senator Feinstein, your reaction to this?
FEINSTEIN: That’s exactly where they will look. I don’t think all of this is very helpful. I think the important thing is to get the facts. Let the investigation proceed. The FBI has very good interrogators. They know what they are doing. I believe that they will put a case together that will be very strong. With respect to whether we are doing enough in the Muslim community, I think we should take a look at that, but I don’t think we need to go and develop some real disdain and hatred on television about it.
WALLACE: I must say, I don’t think that’s what Congressman King was saying. He was saying, that’s where the threat is coming from, we have to address the threat.
FEINSTEIN: Well, this came at this point from two individuals. That’s what we really do know. We do not know what their connections are. So, I think we ought to find out before we begin to charge them with all kinds of associations.

In 2011, King conducted show trials against American Muslims.