Obama Happyworld Politics Thread!

by **dajafi** » Thu Nov 27, 2008 18:38:24

jerseyhoya wrote:You know what I can't wait for?

The Ethics Committee in Congress to come out and tear Rangel a new one, and for the CBC to flip out when Pelosi takes the Ways and Means gavel from him.

If she's brave enough to do that. Big if, IMO. Pelosi is an effective party leader but I don't see her as a real hero on ethics. (Who is?)

As a former fan of Rangel, I'm very disappointed in all this. But I guess it's a useful reminder that pretty much all of them, regardless of party or ideology or any other factor, will come to believe themselves bulletproof if they stay there long enough, and dabble in what any objective outsider likely would view as egregious corruption.

This is before your time, but there's also some precedent here in that Rostenkowski, the last old-pol Ways and Means chair, was busted for corruption right when Clinton came in. His not being there to make the trains run was part of what killed health care reform (probably a small part given all the other problems, but still). So I wonder if there might be some inclination to look the other way in hopes that Rangel can facilitate Obama's agenda as chair. Again, I hope not.

by **Wizlah** » Fri Nov 28, 2008 06:47:09

Anyone wanting a different perspective on the attacks on Mumbai would do well to read Sukutu Mehta's Maximum City. It's a great account of that city, and he manages to interview a lot of the people linked with the original bombings in 1993, which were seen as muslim reprisals to Hindu rioting. Here's an excerpt of a piece he wrote today:

But Muslims are poorer, and less educated, than other Indians. Urban Muslims have a poverty rate of 38% - much higher than any other segment of the population, including the lower castes. The 2002 anti-Muslim pogroms in Gujarat, just north of Bombay, made many Muslims think that if the state could not or would not protect them, they would have to take matters into their own hands.
....
I was interviewing a young Muslim man whose family had been attacked by Hindu rioters, and who had subsequently joined the Muslim underworld. He told me about the coming worldwide war of Islam against its enemies, and its local manifestation in Bombay. "This time we will be fully prepared. We have all the equipment. The bhais (dons) will send ships with containers full of weapons." I asked the gangster why he stayed in Bombay, if he thought it was so bad for Muslims. He peered out the one window at the grey and white walls of the Taj, and remarked: "The main thing in Bombay is money. There's lots of it."

Really reccommend the book - it's rare that you get such a complete picture of a city, it's mental makeup and it's political landscape. If, like me, you keep finding your attention wandering to places in asia to help build a more complex and informative picture of what it means when al-quaida or some other set of islamic militants are kicking off, books like this are invaluable.

by **jeff2sf** » Fri Nov 28, 2008 11:07:14

Wiz, admittedly I sometimes miss the subtleties of an Irishman such as yourself, but are you trying to say the Indians "had it coming?"

by **Wizlah** » Fri Nov 28, 2008 11:13:01

by **swishnicholson** » Fri Nov 28, 2008 11:26:38

jeff2sf wrote:Wiz, admittedly I sometimes miss the subtleties of an Irishman such as yourself, but are you trying to say the Indians "had it coming?"

Yeah, Wiz, here in America we like things simple-Madmen/Innocent Victims, that sort of thing. When you start talking about "understanding" something, that's appeasement, or worse. Meanwhile you're curiously silent on the Katie Couric issue. What are you trying to hide?

by **jeff2sf** » Fri Nov 28, 2008 12:49:34

I'm all for understanding the other side, after all I'm not a Republican.

But the day or so after a heinous tragedy, I like to focus on the fact that these were bad bad people. Maybe I'll try to understand them next week.

by **Monkeyboy** » Fri Nov 28, 2008 12:54:30

jeff2sf wrote:I'm all for understanding the other side, after all I'm not a Republican.

But the day or so after a heinous tragedy, I like to focus on the fact that these were bad bad people. Maybe I'll try to understand them next week.

By next week, most people's opinions will already be formed and difficult to change. I'm not saying you're one of those people -- in fact, I suspect you're not -- I'm just saying.

by **Monkeyboy** » Fri Nov 28, 2008 12:56:56

Rumor has it that Chris Matthews is hiring staff for a Senate run against Specter in 2010, as a democrat. I don't know anything about Matthews' politics, but I'd be happy to see Specter leave after watching him pretend to stand up to Bush about 50 times only to buckle when it came time to actually vote.

by **Wizlah** » Fri Nov 28, 2008 13:01:23

swishnicholson wrote: Meanwhile you're curiously silent on the Katie Couric issue. What are you trying to hide?

On the basis of televisual evidence, Katie C is hotter than Kirsty Wark and more intelligent than Sarah Palin. Without any further evidence, I'm (unusually) not prepared to comment.

by **TenuredVulture** » Fri Nov 28, 2008 13:03:13

Monkeyboy wrote:Rumor has it that Chris Matthews is hiring staff for a Senate run against Specter in 2010, as a democrat. I don't know anything about Matthews' politics, but I'd be happy to see Specter leave after watching him pretend to stand up to Bush about 50 times only to buckle when it came time to actually vote.

I think if Pennsylvania puts Chris Matthews in the Senate, we should make them become part of Thailand.

by **TenuredVulture** » Fri Nov 28, 2008 13:13:03

Wizlah wrote:
swishnicholson wrote: Meanwhile you're curiously silent on the Katie Couric issue. What are you trying to hide?

On the basis of televisual evidence, Katie C is hotter than [urlhttp://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/newsnight/3094315.stm]Kirsty Wark[/url] and more intelligent than Sarah Palin. Without any further evidence, I'm (unusually) not prepared to comment.

She's on CSPAN right now with some awesome cleavage.

by **Woody** » Fri Nov 28, 2008 13:21:16

Monkeyboy wrote:Rumor has it that Chris Matthews is hiring staff for a Senate run against Specter in 2010, as a democrat. I don't know anything about Matthews' politics, but I'd be happy to see Specter leave after watching him pretend to stand up to Bush about 50 times only to buckle when it came time to actually vote.

Are you sure it's not his brother Jim you're thinking of

by **jerseyhoya** » Fri Nov 28, 2008 13:25:10

No, Chris.

http://www.fivethirtyeight.com/2008/11/chris-matthews-running-for-pennsylvania.html

by **Woody** » Fri Nov 28, 2008 13:34:04

http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2008/1 ... ttack.html

by **jerseyhoya** » Fri Nov 28, 2008 13:52:34

Wizlah wrote:Anyone wanting a different perspective on the attacks on Mumbai would do well to read Sukutu Mehta's Maximum City. It's a great account of that city, and he manages to interview a lot of the people linked with the original bombings in 1993, which were seen as muslim reprisals to Hindu rioting. Here's an excerpt of a piece he wrote today:

But Muslims are poorer, and less educated, than other Indians. Urban Muslims have a poverty rate of 38% - much higher than any other segment of the population, including the lower castes. The 2002 anti-Muslim pogroms in Gujarat, just north of Bombay, made many Muslims think that if the state could not or would not protect them, they would have to take matters into their own hands.
....
I was interviewing a young Muslim man whose family had been attacked by Hindu rioters, and who had subsequently joined the Muslim underworld. He told me about the coming worldwide war of Islam against its enemies, and its local manifestation in Bombay. "This time we will be fully prepared. We have all the equipment. The bhais (dons) will send ships with containers full of weapons." I asked the gangster why he stayed in Bombay, if he thought it was so bad for Muslims. He peered out the one window at the grey and white walls of the Taj, and remarked: "The main thing in Bombay is money. There's lots of it."

Really reccommend the book - it's rare that you get such a complete picture of a city, it's mental makeup and it's political landscape. If, like me, you keep finding your attention wandering to places in asia to help build a more complex and informative picture of what it means when al-quaida or some other set of islamic militants are kicking off, books like this are invaluable.

And they attacked the Jewish Community Center in Bombay because of the Jews historic oppression of Muslims in India.

by **Wizlah** » Fri Nov 28, 2008 13:56:42

Really, I appreciate I managed to sound exceptionally fucking pompous and up my own arse there, but a) read THE FUCKING COLUMN, and b) I'M FUCKING STRUGGLING TO SEE WHERE THE FUCK THAT IT WAS OKAY TO SHOOT THE FUCK OUT OF PEOPLE. SO WHEN THE RIGHTOUS AS FUCK AMONGST US ARE FINISHED FUCKING WAILING ON MY ARSE, LETS ALL GET BACK TO FUCKING DISCUSSING NEWS ANCHORS THAT I'VE NEVER FUCKING SEEN.

by **Woody** » Fri Nov 28, 2008 14:05:57

wiz, how was your Thanksgiving?

by **jerseyhoya** » Fri Nov 28, 2008 14:07:01

Wizlah wrote:Really, I appreciate I managed to sound exceptionally $#@! pompous and up my own arse there, but a) read THE $#@! COLUMN, and b) I'M $#@! STRUGGLING TO SEE WHERE THE $#@! THAT IT WAS OKAY TO SHOOT THE $#@! OUT OF PEOPLE. SO WHEN THE RIGHTOUS AS $#@! AMONGST US ARE FINISHED $#@! WAILING ON MY ARSE, LETS ALL GET BACK TO $#@! DISCUSSING NEWS ANCHORS THAT I'VE NEVER $#@! SEEN.

I read the article.

by **Houshphandzadeh** » Fri Nov 28, 2008 14:07:38

Woody wrote:http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2008/11/mumbai_under_attack.html

In that first picture, I just get the feeling she'd be hot if she turned around.

by **Wizlah** » Fri Nov 28, 2008 14:09:19

jerseyhoya wrote:
Wizlah wrote:Really, I appreciate I managed to sound exceptionally $#@! pompous and up my own arse there, but a) read THE $#@! COLUMN, and b) I'M $#@! STRUGGLING TO SEE WHERE THE $#@! THAT IT WAS OKAY TO SHOOT THE $#@! OUT OF PEOPLE. SO WHEN THE RIGHTOUS AS $#@! AMONGST US ARE FINISHED $#@! WAILING ON MY ARSE, LETS ALL GET BACK TO $#@! DISCUSSING NEWS ANCHORS THAT I'VE NEVER $#@! SEEN.

I read the article.

right, so you're being an informed righteous prick rather than an uninformed one.

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