East Coast Pirate
East Coast Pirate's JournalOccasionally words must serve to veil the facts.
But let this happen in such a way that no one becomes aware of it; or, if it should be noticed, excuses must be at hand to be produced immediately. - Niccolò Machiavelli
Who's the Real Howard Dean?
(Discuss...)
By William C. Symonds
Bloomberg Businessweek Magazine
August 10, 2003
Howard Dean has fought his way to the front of the Democratic pack jostling for the 2004 Presidential nomination partly because he has won the hearts of so many liberals with his antiwar rhetoric and shoot-from-the-lip style. But who is the real Howard Dean? Is he the left-of-center insurgent being portrayed in the press or the business-friendly fiscal conservative and pragmatic moderate who governed Vermont for 11 years?
Many who worked with Dean are astonished at his current image and comparisons to liberal icons such as George McGovern. "The Howard Dean you are seeing on the national scene is not the Dean that we saw around here for the last decade," says John McClaughry, president of the Ethan Allen Institute, a conservative Vermont think tank. "He's moved sharply left."
-snip-
Still, Dean had a knack for positioning himself and never lost an election. Those who know him best believe Dean is moving to the left to boost his chances of winning the nomination. "But if he gets the nomination, he'll run back to the center and be more mainstream," predicts Stenger. Says Garrison Nelson, a political science professor at the University of Vermont: "Howard is not a liberal. He's a pro-business, Rockefeller Republican."
Indeed, virtually everyone who has worked with Dean believes he would be a demon at reducing the federal deficit. While balancing the budget and keeping defense expenditures intact, that would leave precious little room for new liberal programs. What it more likely would leave are a lot of dashed expectations among the crowd that so fervently wants the doctor to be in.
More: http://www.businessweek.com/stories/2003-08-10/whos-the-real-howard-dean
Obama: I'm Not Dick Cheney, and Syria Isn't Iraq
NSA leaker Edward Snowden summarized many people's feelings toward President Obama when he said he had “believed in Obama’s promises,” but after the election, "He continued with the policies of his predecessor.” In a 45-minute interview with Charlie Rose on Monday night, Obama challenged the idea that he's just "Bush-Cheney lite," as Rose put it. The president suggests the biggest difference is that he's more thoughtful than his predecessor; He's not charging into Syria on skimpy evidence, and he's added oversight to the NSA's spy programs to protect civil liberties. "Some people say, 'Well, you know, Obama was this raving liberal before. Now he’s, you know, Dick Cheney,' " Obama quipped. "Dick Cheney sometimes says, 'Yeah, you know? He took it all lock, stock, and barrel.' "
In his remarks on the NSA, most of which were leaked this afternoon, Obama argued that unlike Bush, he's ensured that all of the government spying on his watch was approved by Congress and the secret FISA court. "My concern has always been not that we shouldn’t do intelligence gathering to prevent terrorism, but rather are we setting up a system of checks and balances?" said Obama. He added, “I think it’s fair to say that there are going to be folks on the left – and what amuses me is now folks on the right who are fine when there’s a Republican president, but now, Obama’s coming in with the black helicopters.”
The first half of the interview was devoted to Syria, and President Obama's decision last week to arm the rebels for the first time, though he objected to the idea that this is a"new policy," and pointed out that he's only said he's "ramping up" military support (officials say that means sending weapons). Still, Obama shot down the idea that he's been too hesitant on Syria:
This argument that somehow we had gone in earlier or heavier in some fashion, that the tragedy and chaos taking place in Syria wouldn’t be taking place, I think is wrong. … The fact of the matter is, the way these situations get resolved is politically. And the people who are being suppressed inside of Syria who develop into a military opposition — these folks are carpenters and blacksmiths and dentists. These aren’t professional fighters. The notion that there was some professional military inside of Syria for us to immediately support a year ago or two years ago (is wrong).
More: http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2013/06/obama-im-not-dick-cheney-and-syria-isnt-iraq.html
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White House says 'scope and scale' of aid to Syrian rebels may grow
WASHINGTON —White House Chief of Staff Denis McDonough said Sunday that “the scope and scale” of assistance to Syrian rebels will expand, based on evidence that the Assad government is gaining ground in the protracted civil war and that it may have used chemical weapons in the conflict.
Speaking on CBS News’ “Face the Nation,” McDonough did not say whether arms shipments to Syrian rebels would include artillery and other heavy weaponry that could help reduce the military regimes advantage. In the shadow of Iraq and Afghanistan, the United States has to tread carefully, McDonough said.
“We have to be very discerning about what's in our interest and what outcome is best for us, and the prices that we're willing to pay to get to that place,” he said. “We've rushed to war in this region in the past; we're not going to do it here.”
Republicans such as Michigan Rep. Mike Rogers, chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, faulted the administration for not providing the kind of detailed plan needed to get congressional approval for the military aid to Syria.
More: http://www.latimes.com/news/politics/la-pn-us-aid-to-syrian-rebels-to-expand-says-white-house-chief-of-staff-20130616,0,5192962.story
Elizabeth Warren Hits 'Big Corporate Interests'For Putting Efforts 'Toward Influencing The Courts'
Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) ripped "corporate interests" that areputting "enormousresources toward influencing the courts" on Thursday, claiming "power is not balanced" in Washington.
“These big corporate interests are savvy,”Warren said while speaking at the American Constitution Society's 2013 National Convention, according to the ACS law blog. “They fight every day on Capitol Hill and in the agencies, devoting enormousresourcesto the task of bending legislationto benefit themselves. But they also devote enormousresourcestoward influencing the courts. Why? Because they know that influencing those who interpret thelaw is another extremely effective way to achieve their goals."
Warren warned of the"staggering" consequencesa "heavy pro-corporatetilt" on theSupreme Court, and urged pressureon President Barack Obama and others to speed up the judicial nominations process.
“Above all, we must makejudicial nominations a priority. It’stimefor a new generation of judges, judges whose life experience extends beyond big firms, federal prosecution, and white-collar defense,”Warrensaid. “We need sustained pressureto get those judgesin front of the Senate. Pressure-- pressure on our president, pressure onsenators, pressure in thepress."
More: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/06/15/elizabeth-warren-courts_n_3446914.html
North Korea Proposes Talks with US
Source: Voice of America
North Korea's authoritative National Defense Commission says there should be unconditional high level talks with the United States.
This comes following previous vows by Pyongyang to attack the United States and South Korea with nuclear weapons, threats not taken seriously during a period of escalated bellicose rhetoric from North Korea.
The North Korean proposal, released Sunday morning Korea time, was introduced by announcers on state broadcasting as an “important announcement.”
A North Korean television announcer said “if the United States has true intent on defusing tensions on the Korean peninsula and ensuring peace and stability on the U.S. mainland and the region, it should not raise preconditions for dialogue and contact.”
Read more: http://www.voanews.com/a/1682708.html
Tiger Woods and President Obama: Golf's most powerful pairing
Butch Harmon could hardly believe what he was seeing.
Two of the most recognizable faces on the planet were casually shooting the breeze as they swept down the fairway in Florida.
While the White House press pack fumed outside the gates, President Obama enjoyed a leisurely 18 holes with the world's number one golfer Tiger Woods.
If ever there was a powerhouse pairing, this was it.
"It was really amazing," renowned golf coach Harmon told CNN's Living Golf show about that momentous February day when he had a greenside view.
More: http://edition.cnn.com/2013/06/14/sport/golf/tiger-woods-obama-harmon-golf
US to start arming Syrian rebels, but will it make much difference?
Now that the White House says it has determined with “high certainty” that the Syrian regime has used chemical weapons against its people, the United States is planning to send small arms and ammunition to rebel groups there.
Analysts and high-ranking military officials within the Pentagon, however, are warning that this plan may have dangerous and unintended consequences, including drawing the United States into another war in the Middle East.
Arming rebels may also be of questionable strategic value, some senior US military officials argue, although they add that other military options – notably a no-fly zone –would come with serious concerns as well.
Chemical weapons 101: Six facts about sarin and Syria’s stockpile
Syria “is awash in weapons,” says one senior Pentagon official who spoke on condition of anonymity. “The main thing is, will it make a difference?”
More: http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Military/2013/0615/US-to-start-arming-Syrian-rebels-but-will-it-make-much-difference
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