VLaszlo's Blog

VLaszlo Commented on Hitler did not really want concentration camps by VLaszlo

2009-09-03T19:17:00Z

The problem is this. Our rhetoric is so debased that it is hard to go after a Nazi like Buchanan directly. We have to find ways to make concrete what his words mean.

VLaszlo recommended Hitler did not really want concentration camps by VLaszlo

2009-09-03T16:34:00Z

VLaszlo Commented on Grijalva: White House Telling Reformers It Will Cease Support for Public Option by Brian Beutler

2009-09-03T16:22:43Z

Lincoln famously said about the inactive General McClellan and his magnificent Army of the Potomac that if he wasn't going to use the army to fight he'd like to borrow it. I feel the same about the support that we have given passionately to this president and the Democratic Party: if you are not going to use it, we would like it back so some other leader more willing to fight might make use of it.

VLaszlo Commented on Grijalva: White House Telling Reformers It Will Cease Support for Public Option by Brian Beutler

2009-09-03T16:18:45Z

I agree entirely

VLaszlo Commented on Axelrod to Grassley, Enzi: Nice Knowin' Ya! by Brian Beutler

2009-09-03T15:52:18Z

"Wonder whether Obama now thinks that single payer would have been a harder sell than DEATH PANELS. "

Good point. If I understand Democratic strategy it runs something like this. Water down in advance any policy (health care, education reform, executive pay limitation, bailout policy, Afghanistan, torture, prosecution or even investigation of Bush-Cheney lawbreaking) in anticipation of Republican and blue dog opposition, then when faced with a fury of right wing distortion and hate eviscerate the policy further. Now here is the key part: run against the Republicans and right wing for the policy their incalcitrance and obstruction has FORCED the well-meaning Democratic leadership into; i.e., the Republican policies of the Democratic leadership. If only the Republicans would play by the rules. Support the Emergency appeal for volunteers and contributions to defeat Republicans and enact the wonderful Democratic agenda that we never try to enact because the opposition is terrible, uncivil, unfair, and much too strong.

VLaszlo recommended Honduran Congresswomen Elvia Valle and Silvia Ayala by neoboho

2009-09-02T22:48:08Z

VLaszlo recommended The Cost of War by miguelitoh2o

2009-09-02T20:27:02Z

VLaszlo Commented on Axelrod to Grassley, Enzi: Nice Knowin' Ya! by Brian Beutler

2009-09-02T21:29:25Z

Sure. So in the end we will have to wait and see what emerges. Obama and Rahm and the gang haven't exactly joined the fray so it is hard for anyone to know exactly what they believe and where they are on issues. This has the obvious advantage that they are hard to pin down and can always be defended right up to and maybe even after the event. I am sure you are well aware that such tactics have a serious downside in that the other side controls the debate and the discourse and the side favoring change lacks direction, leadership and intensity. It has always been my take that real change cannot be finessed, but has to be fought and won directly.

VLaszlo Commented on Axelrod to Grassley, Enzi: Nice Knowin' Ya! by Brian Beutler

2009-09-02T19:25:41Z

It's a difficult question you pose. I am not prescient; but after 8 months I am beginning to learn how to read the Obama "team". This puts me slightly ahead of the sticks of wood who have to wait for the hammer to fall on their head before they can tell they are being used. But I also think I have been an asshole, probably even garden variety, getting played by Obama and the Democrats one more time after a lifetime of watching them break promise after promise. I used not to vote at all because I thought the Democrats were as shitty as the Republicans; then I thought nobody could be as shitty as Republicans; now I am back to watching from the sidelines. The best part will be the stories of how great Obama would have been if the Republicans had just played by the rules.

VLaszlo Commented on Axelrod to Grassley, Enzi: Nice Knowin' Ya! by Brian Beutler

2009-09-02T16:14:29Z

Axelrod to progressives: Nice Knowin' Ya.

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2009/09/obama-to-clarify-health-care--still-no-demand-for-public-option.php

VLaszlo recommended An Open Letter to President Obama by Wattree

2009-09-02T00:44:31Z

VLaszlo Commented on The Apparent Unmotivated Idiocy of Labor Union Members, Especially Teachers by Nathan Newman

2009-09-01T23:55:40Z

I am thinking about your response and will probably reply at greater length but the thought that comes to my mind immediately is that I see this long history of teachers and public schools under attack going back to the mid-sixties at least. As soon as the teachers had a strong enough union to demand respectable salaries (not so generous, but respectable) a very concerted attack on them and other public employees union began. That has now been joined by a general attack (via the vouchers "idea" ) on public schools. In my opinion, the public schools (in NYC particularly) were one of America's greatest institution, the true melting pot where all us children of immigrants becam Americans, learned our great national achievements and our national narrative. But "breaking" the schools and the unions have increasingly become one of the major goals of the pro-corporate, anti-public sector; and with the growth in power of the gated communities for the more wealthy it has become a focus point for the class warfare waged against workers, the poor, minorities, disadvantaged, and the great middle class. Now I am not sure what PR role the unions might take; clearly having administrators and politicians decide who is effective and who is not does not work and is not fair. (I think the police unions for example will let OCCASSIONALLY a review board look at egregious police actions but no police review board that I know reviews how EFFECTIVE particular policemen are.) The same problem exists for teachers. Yes there are bad teachers; even egregiously bad. Most are not great; some are. So what. That is the norm in all professions. Students learn (maybe different things than the curriculum) by being exposed to poor teachers. Of course utterly incompetent and uncaring teachers are bad all around. If this were truly the target, I do not believe the issue would be so politicized. But the subtext is the real point. Are the reviews for constructive purposes or to break up teachers power and in particular to bring down cost. You seem like you relish the attacks by the phony, dishonest, self-promoting Arne Duncan. If you care about education then I think you are making a mistake. I am sure the unions have not been perfect in response to the threat, but I think the issue is harder than you make it appear.

VLaszlo recommended The Apparent Unmotivated Idiocy of Labor Union Members, Especially Teachers by Nathan Newman

2009-09-01T14:35:25Z

VLaszlo Commented on The Apparent Unmotivated Idiocy of Labor Union Members, Especially Teachers by Nathan Newman

2009-09-01T21:09:43Z

You must be referring to the party, fun and games that teaching in New York City public schools is. I am interested that the party is nearly over. I remember, as a student, all the wild times the teachers had instead of teaching. But now that you tell me that the great Obama and his still greater education secretary Duncan. Duncan, who has never been a teacher, was the creator of the Chicago miracle radically tranforming Chicago education with the aid of doctored statistics. With this he has gone whole hog into union-busting. I'll give the relevant links below. I still remember how John Lindsay tried unsuccessfully to crush the Transit Workers and the Teachers union using the cry of "local control" instead of providing the funds necessary to improve schools. Obama may find the Teachers union and their allies have something to say yet about his increasingly pro-corporate, anti-worker policies. He may find his and Duncan's "party" nearly over as more people see through their phony-ness. But artappraiser for the record, I have witnessed "local control", "vouchers" , no child left behind, and now the phony Duncan-Obama charter school "game" and it still takes work and money not ponzi schemes and doctored statistics to educate our youth. In fairness, artappraiser, I am sure you would want the performance effectiveness of the great Duncan independently evaluated, say by some of the educators and education specialists in the references below and not simply by the corporate, anti-public school lot that seem to love him so very much.
Here are a plethora of references to the brilliant Arne Duncan:

http://www.examiner.com/x-3865-Chicago-Public-Education-Examiner~y2009m8d17-The-horror-of-Chicago-school-reform

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/leonie-haimson/arne-duncan-has-become-a_b_260642.html

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/leonie-haimson/arne-duncan-has-become-an_b_255802.html

http://gapersblock.com/mechanics/2009/09/01/the-quick-inflation-of-the-edu/

http://www.examiner.com/x-3865-Chicago-Public-Education-Examiner~y2009m8d24-Take-Arne-Duncans-phony-school-reform-money-and-run-fast

http://www.examiner.com/x-3865-Chicago-Public-Education-Examiner~y2009m8d30-Chicago-Arne-Duncan-presided-over-a-schools-grade-changing-scandal

http://www.catalyst-chicago.org/notebook/index.php/entry/368

http://www.chicagonow.com/blogs/district-299/2009/08/federal-grand-jury-asks-whether-public-officials-clouted-students-into-chicagos-top-high-schools---.html

http://gapersblock.com/mechanics/2009/08/31/the-great-inflation/

http://gapersblock.com/mechanics/2009/08/24/obama-and-duncan-unanswered-qu/

http://michaelklonsky.blogspot.com/2009/09/inside-chicagos-school-renaissance.html

http://inthesenewtimes.com/2009/08/25/neoliberalism-charter-schools-and-the-chicago-model-obama-and-duncans-education-policy-like-bushs-only-worse/

http://www.sfschools.org/2009/08/critical-views-of-charter-schools-from.html

http://www.blacktino.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=3468&Itemid=1

http://dbellel.blogspot.com/2009/08/click-to-play.html

http://www.pdamerica.org/articles/news/2009-08-25-10-20-58-news.php

http://edjustice.blogspot.com/2009/07/arne-duncan-and-chicago-schools.html

VLaszlo Commented on Bartiromo Asks 44 y/o Congressman "If Medicare's So Good, Why Aren't You On It?!" by Brian Beutler

2009-09-01T20:19:58Z

She IS so smart. Otherwise she wouldn't be on TV.

VLaszlo recommended Being Winners by destor23

2009-08-31T18:24:34Z

VLaszlo Commented on Whose Cafe Is It, Anyway? by stillidealistic

2009-08-31T13:11:50Z

Bluebell, i think I've been here (although less active on this blog for the last year when mindless Obama adulation seemed all the rage). For my information could you spell out a little what academics you are referring to? I hadn't noticed so much of this.

VLaszlo recommended What is Josh Marshall Trying to Create at TPM Cafe? by Dan K

2009-08-30T22:55:31Z

VLaszlo Commented on Joe Republican by lizbensky

2009-08-30T21:18:19Z

Wingnuts are a little different breed than what we are trying to understand here. I heard the Barney Frank town hall (on C-Span?) and I was struck by the inchoate anger and in particular the conflating of suspicions with anger at the bailout. There were also wingnuts faithfully parroting a lot of right wing nonsensical propaganda, but I was trying to get a handle on some of the former. Like Unmitigated Authority, I share some of their anger at both parties, and in particular I share their anger at the bailout and ther Democrat's preserving (strengthening?) the most culpable part of the financial elite at public expense.

VLaszlo Commented on Joe Republican by lizbensky

2009-08-30T16:15:22Z

I wouldn't say I am sure of the following but I am beginning to think it's got validity. There are a lot of really angry working class people (a different constituency, but bear with me) who have seen their middle class world collapse and have seen Obama-Geithner-Summers giveaway to the corporate/finance sector billions in bailout to the most culpable parties of the elite.These people haven't seen that much (if any) improvement in their life from anything the Democrats or Obama has done or is doing and have clearly seen the pro-corporate tilt. This mighht explain why they might hate Obama and the Democrats. Why they should turn to the Republicans is a mystery to me. I was driving behind a truck yesterday of a clearly just-getting-by guy who removes junk and his truck was decorated with flag decals and one saying "I love everything liberals hate" but no religious decals. So it's not just the religious component driving middle and working class to the Republicans/