Some possible topics…
Let’s have some REAL ethics reform — Will Folks, in this Tweet, reminds me of something I’ve been meaning to address since the weekend — the op-ed piece co-authored by Tom Davis and Vincent Sheheen, who are working for real ethics reform, something better than the bill they killed at the end of the session.
Sarkozy busted! — And under the Napoleonic Code, you’re guilty until proved innocent, right? I heard an interesting discussion on NPR this morning about how the judiciary isn’t quite as independent as it oughta be in France, so that it actually isn’t too tough to get a judge to take action against your political opponents. Which, given some of the questions raised about the judiciary here in SC, is interesting…
Japan Moves to Permit Greater Use of Its Military — Yeah, that’s some really good news. ‘Bout time they took up some of the slack for collective security in this world, and so forth and so on. At least, I think this is good news. I mean, uh, nobody’s uncomfortable about this… are they?
Or… whatever y’all want to talk about…
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We look forward to more legislators working on “real” ethics reform. To be real, the effort should extend throughout the legislative process rather than at the very end of the session, should focus on solutions that they are prepared to fight for rather than bills or amendments that they introduce and then abandon, should not consist of provisions so idealistic that they know they have no hope of passing (for example, disclosure of all income amounts, not even recommended by the McMaster-Medlock Commission) and should not be limited to partisan sound bytes.
I believe Sarkozymwas taken into custody, but not charged yet. They can hold him for 48 hours. I wonder if Carla will stand by her man.
Richard Engel with NBC News had an interesting take on ISIS. Here is a group that is universally hated by everyone: Syria’s Assad, the non-ISIS Syrian Rebels, Iran, Israel, Russia, The USA, Shiites, Kurds and even many Sunnis in Iraq. Doesn’t sound like an organization with much long-term potential. Even the Nazis had a few allies such as Finland. Our best strategy is to let this all play itself out and perhaps ISIS will serve to unite everyone in a common cause.
It’s even considered too extreme by al Qaeda.
However… on the ground, a lot of Sunnis who were sick of Maliki’s government don’t mind them so much. Last week I heard an interview on NPR with a guy who lives in one of the cities they control, and while he says he doesn’t SUPPORT ISIS exactly, he doesn’t much mind them. He hadn’t actually met any of the ISIS fighters, but according to what he’s seen and heard, they’re OK.
I wonder whether he’s had occasion to change his mind since then…
Remember my long comment about living in a multi-polar world of military influence? Japan upping it’s military is an example of this happening.
This is a bad thing, and it’s due to the US abdicating it’s role.
By the way, that’s excellent use of the “Rising Sun” flag image to make an entire point that would have taken you a paragraph or two.
Pictures, thousand words, and such.
Cool thing about that flag — if I scroll up, using the scroll wheel on my mouse, it looks like the rays of the sun are moving like the spokes on a bike.
It doesn’t work when I swipe up on my iPad, though…
I found today’s threatened delayed payment in Highway Trust Funds interesting. The Fund is about to run dry, and payments to states may be delayed. South Carolina is set to collect over $600 million in FY2014.
Bryan, “its role” as granted by what authority? Also find the choice of the word “abdicating” (as what kings, emperors, etc., do) interesting.
As for Japan, this has been brewing for years, really in one form or another since the end of the Second World War, though for most years pushed to the fringes (think Mishima). Japan, too, has its right-wingers and hawks and “exceptionalists,” (just as we do) and they have been pushing for years to throw off the yoke of some of the military limitations of their postwar constitution. Brad’s use of that flag is a good reminder that the Chinese (who have lately been more the subject of our fears) have living memory of being the hunted, so it’s worth remembering that that memory plays into some of their recent muscle-flexing in the region as well.
By what “authority?” History, I guess. History just led to this moment in which if the U.S. doesn’t act in support of its interests and principles, no one will.
And this is actually fortuitous for the world, that its first and largest liberal democracy is in that position, rather than, say, China. Or France under Napoleon. Or Rome. Or Hitler.
And it’s a state of affairs that we should do everything to preserve, for our sake and the sake of the world. And we can’t wait around for any “authority” to grant permission, because no such authority exists. We should simply embrace our responsibility as the strongest nation in the world.
Fascinating: “it’s fortuitous for the world” that we are in this position, but the crux is that “if the US doesn’t act in support of its interests and principles, no one will.” (Wouldn’t every country in the world feel that they must act in support of their interests and principles?) If the world is indeed lucky that it is the US in this position now, rather than some other nation, it has to be because as a liberal democracy with (professed, at least, if not always in the practice) beliefs in the rights of nations and peoples to self-determination, WE are going to be the ones to break the cycle of world history in which various powers in turn have made the claim for themselves that “history has led us to this point, the world is lucky we are the ones with the power, we must cling to that supremacy of power at all costs, and the only authority we need to claim power is that we say so ourselves.”
Oh, and speaking of Mishima, I may have asked this before, but what do you think of Phillip Glass’ “Mishima” theme? I like it.
I once had the weirdest juxtaposition occur (just as the United States’ role in the world just sort of happened). The screensaver on my desktop computer at home showed, without sound, a clip I took while riding around Carlisle, PA, after a heavy snow. The clip was exactly three minutes long. At the very second that it started, the “Mishima” theme started playing (on Pandora or something). It was also exactly three minutes long.
And the video and the music went amazingly well together…
I’ve never actually seen the film, but I like some of the music OK (I’m really more a fan of PG’s earlier, more-hardcore-minimalism from the 70s). He took a bunch of the music from the film and compiled it into one of his string quartets, the Third. Here is an extended clip of Brooklyn Rider playing some of it; BTW, Brooklyn Rider is coming back to Columbia (they played the Art Museum a couple of years ago) to open the Southern Exposure series this September, very good band.
I was using abdicate to mean “to fail to fulfill or undertake (a responsibility or duty)”, but I guess I could have said “shirking”. The use applicable to kings and royalty didn’t really cross my mind. I didn’t mean to imply that the USA had any sort of royal prerogative.
No one granted the USA any authority to be the world’s hegemon, but at present, we are. I’m not sure that’s up for debate. As Phillip has pointed out, China and Japan ain’t exactly historical pals. If Japan is increasing it’s military capability, that’s because they are not completely assured that the USA will be there to fulfill the role of protector of Japanese interests in any potential conflict with China.
We’re possibly looking at the potential dawn of an arms race between two countries that have hated each other throughout history. Now, maybe we can allow Japan to increase it’s military in a reasonable way that isn’t going to upset China and will allow Japan to substantially contribute to the costs of it’s own defense. Maybe that’s possible, but if it’s not handled right, misunderstandings will occur, and that’s when shooting starts. Our current foreign policy ain’t exactly filling me with confidence.
And having Japan and China shooting at each other is…sub-optimal.
“Now, maybe we can allow Japan to increase it’s military in a reasonable way…”
Do WE have the authority to ALLOW Japan to do anything?
Maybe WE can SUGGEST it.. but ALLOW?
You’re right. I meant allow in the sense that we can enable or help them to do it in a way that doesn’t scare the crap out of China.
I realize it is solely due to Fox News and the Koch brothers and not the President’s performance but a new poll now rates Obama as the worst President since World War II…
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/poll-obama-worst-modern-day-111329150.html
“President Barack Obama is the worst president since World War II, according to a plurality of voters in a new poll published Wednesday. The Quinnipiac University survey found 33% of American voters named Obama as the worst while 28% named his predecessor, George W. Bush. Richard Nixon, whose presidency ended in scandal, received only 13% of the vote and Jimmy Carter scored 8%. None of the remaining eight presidents received more than 3%.A sked about the 2012 presidential race, 45% of respondents said the country would be better off if the Republican nominee, Mitt Romney, had won. Slightly less — 38% — said the country would be worse off under a President Romney.”
My own opinion: Bush was worse than Obama. I’d put the worst to first list of my lifetime as: Bush Jr., Nixon, Reagan, Obama, Ford, Carter, Clinton, Bush Sr., Johnson, Kennedy.
I think you reversed Carter and Reagan.
I didn’t. Maybe you would rank them differently but I was no fan of Reagan — especially second term Reagan who was likely experiencing the effects of Alzheimers for most of that period. He was a figurehead who was very good at acting like a President.
We’ve had this presidential ranking discussion before. Anyway mine (for today at least) from best to worst:
Clinton (booming economy, no war)
Ike (got us out of Korea, finished strong with military industrial complex warning)
Obama (ended great recession, killed OBL, no radical military incursions, ACA)
Kennedy (set the tone for future civil rights legislation, Cuban missile crisis success)
Bush Sr. (actually did raise taxes when necessary, pragmatic restraint in Iraq)
Carter (started discussion of energy issues, Camp David Accords, did not inspire folks – not lighting Christmas tree was dumb)
Truman (Korea)
Johnson (great on domestic policy overshadowed by Nam)
Ford (unforgivable pardon of Nixon, wanted to go back into Nam!)
Reagan (Most over-rated POTUS in history, greatly increased deficit, Iran-Contra among his many scandals, Beirut catastrophe, started downward spiral of the middle class)
Nixon (some good policies, EPA for example, but was just such a crook)
Bush Jr. (worst economy since the 30s, allowed 3000 Americans to die through negligence, not just negligent but downright callous after Katrina, flagrant disregard for Constitution, smug, unlikeable, poor judge of character, lied us into war)