A High-Toned Young Christian* Man**

Maureen Dowd's sister Peggy believed that Barack Obama, "the dazzling young newcomer, could change Washington."

The Constant Weader does not share Peggy's concern:

Can we all concede now that no one can "change Washington" as long as K Street is King & the sole project of nearly every elected official is self-aggrandizement, seeded with self-preservation? Let's get over it, people. And that includes you, Mr. President.

The "tone" in Washington may be of concern to your sister Peggy, but it isn't to me or to most other Americans. I don't much care if those smarmy little creeps we call "Senator" & "Congressman" tear at each other in the most vile of terms ever heard under the Capitol dome as long as they'll work together to put the country back to work & get us the heck out of Afghanistan.

Oh, sure, the level of decorum & gentility the late Sen. Robert Byrd demanded would be ever-so-sublime. But how much good does it do? The Justices of the Supreme Court are – or so they claim – supremely cordial to one another, yet cordiality & fellowship haven’t made, for instance, Justice Scalia less of an idiot. Maybe if Justice Stevens had throttled that pompous, thoughtless dope a few decades ago, the Constitution would have been better served.

In the Congress, most Republicans & quite a few Democrats have no plans whatsoever to do what is even close to right for the people who gave them their jobs & pay them their unearned wages. And they have learned to be very, very good at talking the Peggys of the nation into believing that what's good for their K Street benefactors & the Koch brothers is good for Peggy, too. Why, one day she might become super-rich & then she'll appreciate that tidy tax break they're reserving for the rich! And when she's super-rich, the fact that they've whacked the guts out of Social Security & Medicare won't mean so much to her! AND she'll be glad to know she saved us from socialism just in the nick of time.

I'd like to see President Obama, since he's already going down for the count, really take off the gloves, & you can tell Peggy I don't care if he does it on the White House lawn or in Peoria. I'd like to hear him say, "If redistributing the wealth from the super-rich to the middle class makes me a socialist, then -- yes, I am a socialist." He can elaborate: "If trying to see that everybody has affordable health care makes me a socialist, then -- yes, I am a socialist. If ensuring that women have a right to equal pay is socialistic, then you betcha, I’m a socialist. If raising the minimum wage – which does indeed redistribute the wealth – makes me a socialist, then I’m a socialist. And I’m proud of it.”

Then he might add, "Yes, folks, I am black. Take a look at this skin. Take a look at my census form. Right there next to 'race' it says 'black.' Now, get over it." Then, in a fit of super-candor, he might say, "No, I'm not a Muslim. But then I'm not much of a Christian, either. Since I know how to think for myself, organized religion doesn't do all much for me. Oh sure, I tried out Christianity to please the public & look where that got me -- Jeremiah Wright. (Hey, how did I know he was a nut job? I hardly went to church.)"

And then he could say, "You know, when I got this gig I tried getting along with Republicans, but they don't play well with others. Never have. Never will. They are not motivated to help you. They want government to fail. They don't care what happens to you. And they sure don't want me sending you a little more cash & a little better job & a lot better future for your children. Because every time I help you, it hurts their special interests. And that is all they care about it.

"So there you have it, my fellow Americans. I'm a black, halfhearted Christian socialist who believes his job is working for you. Your alternative is some white Christian guys who only work for themselves and want government to fail you. Take your pick."

Honesty may not be the best policy. But pandering has not worked out all that well for the President & real Democrats. Perhaps a shot of truthiness would set them free.

Huh. Frank Rich pretty much agrees with me. Except for the Christian bit.

AND/BUT, as Cenk Uygur notes, the Obama Administration's facile deals with the devil(s) will likely cause many of us "fucking retards" to stay home.

* Or not.

** With apologies to Wallace Stevens, & a hat-tip to my friend Ned.

The Commentariat -- September 12

No, this is not a war zone. It's San Bruno, California after the gas explosion that killed at least four & injured dozens of others. AP photo. CLICK TO SEE LARGER IMAGE.... The Huffington Post has more photos here. The San Francisco Chronicle lists aid groups you can contact.

What if [Obama] is so outside our comprehension, that only if you understand Kenyan, anti-colonial behavior, can you begin to piece together [his actions]? -- Newt Gingrich, proving he will tell any lie, spew any slur that he thinks will advance his agenda ...

... Gingrich ... is not a reasonable man.... He's just like the rest of them, with a worldview shaped by the most radical and fringe elements of the Republican Party, which are more dominant with each passing day. -- Hari Sevugan, DNC Press Secretary

Susan Saulny in the New York Times: Mayor Richard M. "Daley inherited a Chicago on a gritty decline, and he helped make it economically viable. He led an effort to resuscitate downtown.... He built new parks and refurbished old ones.... He gave incentives to developers who emphasized landscaping, art and environmentally friendly buildings. He was a stickler about trash.... But he was not always transparent in his decision-making. And critics say that downtown’s renaissance came at the expense of poor, far-flung neighborhoods. ...

... Chicago News Cooperative on the Daley legacy. "He is quick to anger, surprising, emotional; exceedingly loyal to some and ruthlessly business-like to others; parochial, yet overly sensitive when criticized for it. While he was in office, great strides were made."

Legal Corruption. Eric Lipton of the New York Times: House Minority Leader John Boehner "maintains especially tight ties with a circle of lobbyists and former aides representing some of the nation’s biggest businesses, including Goldman Sachs, Google, Citigroup, R. J. Reynolds, MillerCoors and UPS. They have contributed hundreds of thousands of dollars to his campaigns, provided him with rides on their corporate jets, socialized with him at luxury golf resorts and waterfront bashes and are now leading fund-raising efforts for his Boehner for Speaker campaign, which is soliciting checks of up to $37,800 each, the maximum allowed."

Michael Luo of the New York Times: "... from 2007 through 2009, the number of families in homeless shelters — households with at least one adult and one minor child — leapt to 170,000 from 131,000.... With long-term unemployment ballooning, those numbers could easily climb this year." ...

... Stephanie Armour of USA Today: "Anthony and April Soper of Lake Stevens, Wash., went on a trial plan that cut their monthly payment. But they didn't get a permanent modification, and they say they don't know why. Now, they're suing Bank of America, their mortgage servicer. BofA is seeking a dismissal of the case." CW: some of these cases are being rolled into a class action suit; at the very least, HUD should join as a plaintiff against the bank, but Secretary Donovan has been asleep at the wheel ever since he got the job, so be surprised if he suddenly wakes up. ...

... Gretchen Morgenson of the New York Times: big reason for all the foreclosures -- the powers-that-be in Washington were more interested in saving the banks than in saving the homeowners. (Think "TARP.") CW: evidently, they still are because nobody has stood up for homeowners. Nobody.

Rod Nordland of the New York Times: "Even as more American troops flow into the country, Afghanistan is more dangerous than it has ever been during this war, with security deteriorating in recent months, according to international organizations and humanitarian groups. Large parts of the country that were once completely safe, like most of the northern provinces, now have a substantial Taliban presence — even in areas where there are few Pashtuns, who previously were the Taliban’s only supporters." ...

... David Nakamura of the Washington Post: "Amid the warlords, ex-mujahideen fighters, hard-line clerics and shady businessmen running for a seat in the Afghan parliament, Robina Jalali, a 25-year-old candidate from Kabul, offers a more inspiring biography."

Glenn Greenwald points to another absurd example of U.S. double standards -- we don't allow (alleged) victims of U.S. torture to have their day in court under any circumstances, but we obtain hundreds of millions of dollars in "compensation" for Americans for alleged abuses by Saddam Hussein. CW: of course what this is really about is abuse of power; we do it because we can.

The Fuck Obama Xtravaganza (FOX) gives a sterling example of how to cover up breaking news AND simultaneously diss the President & First Lady. Neil Cavuto used the opportunity of Michelle Obama's Shanksville speech to, well, shut her up & remind the viewers where "that young lady... and her husband" were on September 11, 2001: "he was a nobody and she was married to a guy who wasn't that well-known." Video via Jeff Neumann at Gawker:

In the Washington Post, Wray Herbert reviews Delusions of Gender by Cordelia Fine. Fine details the way scientists, including the best-credentialed scientists, just "make stuff up" to suggest that men & women are "wired differently." Fine IDs what she calls "blobology" & "brain scams" & other phony science. ...

... "The Bad Science of Brain Sexism." In Salon, Thomas Rogers interviews Fine.

In Memoriam -- September 11

The President makes remarks at the Pentagon:

Vice President Biden at Ground Zero:

... C-SPAN has video of the Shanksville, Pennsylvania, memorial ceremony. Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell begins speaking at about t 29:30 min. in; First Lady Laura Bush speaks at about 42:30 min. in; & First Lady Michelle Obama begins at about 55 min. in.

Los Angeles Times: "President Obama plans to mark the ninth anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks by attending a memorial service at the Pentagon, the White House said Tuesday. In addition, Vice President Biden will attend services at ground zero in New York, while Michelle Obama will be joined by former First Lady Laura Bush at the Flight 93 memorial near Shanksville, Pa., Robert Gibbs announced at his daily press briefing." Update: see videos in right column.

Verena Dobnik of the AP: "Politics threatened to overshadow a day of mourning Saturday ... amid a polarizing national debate over a planned mosque blocks from the site where Islamic extremists attacked America. Chants of thousands of sign-waving protesters both for and against the planned Islamic center were expected after — and perhaps during — a ceremony normally known for somber church bells ringing and a sad litany of families reading their lost loved ones' names." ...

... Washington Post: "Hundreds of supporters of the proposed Islamic cultural center near Ground Zero gathered Friday evening near the site in Lower Manhattan, where they lit candles, sang and prayed on the eve of the anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks."

The New York Times has an excellent multimedia feature showing the plans & progress for Ground Zero. CLICK ON THE IMAGE TO GO TO THE TIMES INTERACTIVE SITE.

photo.     ... Here's the slideshow.

Ted Koppel, now of BBC News, in a Washington Post op-ed: "The goal of any organized terrorist attack is to goad a vastly more powerful enemy into an excessive response. And over the past nine years, the United States has blundered into the 9/11 snare with one overreaction after another.... Much of what [Osama bin Laden] has achieved we have done, and continue to do, to ourselves."

Secret Muslim Plot Exposed. Again. Jim Newell of Gawker: "A group led by the father of a Flight 93 victim will be running full-page ads this Friday and Saturday in a Shanksville-area newspaper ..." protesting that the Shanksville memorial, a work-in-progress, is really a Muslim crescent pointing at Mecca. Uh-huh. ...

    ... You know what else is going to be in the shape of the Islamic Crescent on 9/11? The Moon. -- Attaturk, Firedoglake

Meanwhile, at the Fuck Obama Xtravaganza (FOX) -- Media Matters: "Fox News is attacking President Obama's decision to attend a 9-11 memorial at the Pentagon rather than the World Trade Center site. However, former President George W. Bush routinely did not visit ground zero on past anniversaries of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, and Vice President Joe Biden is attending a memorial at the World Trade Center site...."