23 Years Of American Military Involvement In Iraq

Fortunately, there were no better uses for the money, oil prices plunged as a result, and there have been zero repercussions.

The 23 year long war

The 23 year long war by digby 1991: 1998: 2003: 2014: I'm getting some blowback for suggesting that this argument about congressional authorization is a dodge, but I honestly believe that it's i…

http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2014/09/the-23-year-long-war.html

Right?

Give That Man A Nobel Prize!

Via Greg Mitchell, Philip Gourevitch has a lengthy reaction to Obama's ISIS speech at the New Yorker.  At least he remembers Libya (beyond Benghazi!!1!) and how great that has turned out.

Obama Widens Endless War

The President never mentioned Libya. That was the last time he attempted to wage a war on the spur of the moment, getting into it, at first, as a rescue mission to prevent a predicted massacre, then escalating fast and hard—but remaining always in the air—in support of rebel ground forces whom we barely knew, and whom we understood even less, with no clear end but total regime change, and with no commitment whatever beyond the first rush of the revolution. That war then spilled over into Mali, and turned inward in Libya, so that today the country is an absolute catastrophe—far worse off than when NATO joined its troubles, with Tripoli in the hands of forces much like ISIS.

We never seem to be short of money for bombs or training killers.  Why are schools, trains, and sewers so hard to pay for?

OMG Bomb Syria 2.0

If at first you don't succeed, try try again. Last year it was dubious sarin attacks. This year ISIS is coming to kill us all in our beds. And once again the media is complicit in hyping a threat and amplifying the war drums. 

Unfortunately, this time Anericans seem to be buying it.  We never learn, do we?

"Let's Bomb Syria" Version 2 Is Working; Why Did Version 1 Fail?

Polls taken almost exactly one year apart show a remarkable reversal in US opinion regarding the prospect of air strikes on Syria. Last year, in a poll conducted September 6-8, (pdf) there were a number of questions regarding action in Syria. By a margin of 59% to 39%, Americans overwhelmingly said they thought Congress should not pass the then pending resolution authorizing "military action for 60 to 90 days" that also banned use of US troops in a combat role. Further, 55% of those polled stated that even if Congress passed the resolution, they opposed US air strikes in Syria while only 43% favored them. In the hypothetical of no Congressional authorization, opposition to the air strikes rose to 71% with only 27% favoring them. Just one year later, those numbers have reversed. In a poll conducted September 4-7, 65% of Americans now say they support expanding US air strikes against the Sunni insurgents into Syria, while only 28% oppose them. Checking the crosstabs, support for the strikes jumps to 74% for Republicans but still is 60% for Democrats.

http://www.emptywheel.net/2014/09/10/lets-bomb-syria-version-2-is-working-why-did-version-1-fail/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=lets-bomb-syria-version-2-is-working-why-did-version-1-fail

Jo Anne Simon Wins Assembly District 52 (That's Us) Primary

Congratulations to Jo Anne Simon (and campaign manager Paul Nelson) on last night's victory after a hard fought campaign.

Jo Anne will be a terrific advocate for our neighborhoods in Albany and continue to provide the sort of constituent attention we've come to expect from our retiring Assemblywoman Joan Millman and Eileen Dugan before her.

I also want to congratulate Pete Sikora for running a campaign on issues that are near to my heart like income inequality, early childhood education and livable streets.  This was a race where we had two excellent candidates to choose from.

At the state level, I'm glad we were able to send Governor Cuomo a message.  Teachout/Wu ran a shoestring campaign and still picked up more than 35% of the vote.  In AD52, Teachout trounced Governor Cuomo by 6,629 to 3,587 (hat tip to Gatemouth).

Primary season is now history.  I will gladly vote for Jo Anne Simon in November, and grudgingly cast a vote for Cuomo/Hochul as well.  Let's hope that Governor Cuomo takes the right lesson from this primary.

Democratic Primary Endorsements!

A reminder to vote today in the NY democratic primary! I'll be voting for Pete Sikora for Assembly and the Teachout/Wu ticket for statewide office. I hope you'll join me. See the link below for a longer version including links to candidate websites.


http://firstandcourt.blogspot.com/2014/09/democratic-primary-endorsements.html?m=1


Typos courtesy of my iPhone

Foreign Powers Buy Influence at Think Tanks - NYTimes.com

Here's a crazy thought. How about enforcing the law?

http://mobile.nytimes.com/2014/09/07/us/politics/foreign-powers-buy-influence-at-think-tanks.html?referrer=&_r=0

"The money is increasingly transforming the once-staid think-tank world into a muscular arm of foreign governments' lobbying in Washington. And it has set off troubling questions about intellectual freedom: Some scholars say they have been pressured to reach conclusions friendly to the government financing the research.The think tanks do not disclose the terms of the agreements they have reached with foreign governments. And they have not registered with the United States government as representatives of the donor countries, an omission that appears, in some cases, to be a violation of federal law, according to several legal specialists who examined the agreements at the request of The Times.As a result, policy makers who rely on think tanks are often unaware of the role of foreign governments in funding the research."

My favorite trick is when the hawks in Congress appropriate money to foreign groups, such as the Iraqi National Congress, or shady opposition groups in Iran, who then funnel the money back into lobbying the US government and propagandizing in the US.  Like a perpetual motion machine for foreign adventurism.

Clinton Street: New Paint Going In

Intersection of 1st Place and Clinton received highly visible crosswalks this morning.

I've read a lot of complaints about the slow pace or road re-striping after recent milling and paving operations.  Clinton Street of course is one of them, and today we saw evidence that the process is moving along.  New thermoplast at 1st and Clinton was installed sometime between 9:00 and 12:00 today.