The Bishop and the Butterfly: Murder, Politics, and the End of the Jazz Age
    Barth's picture

    Inauguration Day 1933

    By Barth on Fri, 03/04/2011 - 3:20pm |

    From the second one in 1793, until 1933, the presidential inaugurals, at least those which followed an election, were held on March 4. The last one held on that date was the day the "only thing we have to fear is fear itself" speech was delivered by our greatest president, Franklin Delano Roosevelt.

    The speech is worth listening to and reading in its entirety.  Beyond the phrase that has resounded through the years, though, remain large segments which bear repetition today. Such as:

    Richard Day's picture

    A SAD SAD STATE OF AFFAIRS

    By Richard Day on Fri, 03/04/2011 - 11:19am |

    Battle of Gettysburg, by Currier and Ives.png
    American Civil War

    The 14th Amendment to the United States Constitution, Section 1:

    All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.

    The U.S. Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division has been evaluating the Huntsville, AL school system’s racial integration, and earlier this month released a report that “wasn’t promising.” The DOJ listed “several outstanding desegregation issues that the school district must address,” including “that predominantly black schools have too few advanced courses” and “that black children at predominantly white schools are punished and suspended at alarming rates.”

    But Hugh McInnish, a member of the Madison County Republican Executive Committee who also sits on the state Republican Executive Committee, set out to school the DOJ on the real reason racial disparities exist in Hunstville: “Life is unfair.” In a press conference at his gated community and a letter responding to the DOJ last week, McInnish offered a litany of bizarre “proof” that racial disparity isn’t “manmade,” claiming “blacks misbehave on average more frequently than whites do,” and that black students are unable to perform as well as white students. To McInnish, the only “manmade unfairness here” is that the DOJ wants to “correct a problem that is not of their making”:

    Feds Get Conviction in Oil Finance Scandal

    By NCD on Thu, 03/03/2011 - 8:40pm |

    It's not a conviction of BP, Transocean or Halliburton; none of the companies has even been indicted in the Macondo/Deepwater Horizon oil blowout that killed 11 workers, spilled a gazillion barrels of oil killing untold numbers of marine life and coating miles of coastline with oil and dead animals.

    Repeat after me "Unions protect workers"

    By Flavius on Thu, 03/03/2011 - 1:13pm |

    Polls seem to show that the unions are winning the PR war over collective bargaining by public service employees. No thanks to the media.

    Joe Lunchpail probably dislikes Obama and thinks the Government's spending too much  on Welfare. But he knows how things work on the shop floor. Where the boss says the day ends when he says it ends, And only pays as much as he's forced to by the law or the contract.

    As to the law, Joe may not follow politics that closely but he knows what the Republicans think about regulation. 

    Richard Day's picture

    THE NEW SATs

    By Richard Day on Thu, 03/03/2011 - 8:54am |

     

      

    THE FEMALE MOSES

    As for any political ambitions Angle may have for running for office in the next election cycle, according to the Leader…

    SleepinJeezus's picture

    Interesting fact found on the way to look for something else

    By SleepinJeezus on Thu, 03/03/2011 - 4:27am |

    Did you know that of the 100 largest economies in the world, 51 are corporations?

    The rest of them are countries. Including ours. At least it will be "ours" until the hostile takeover.

    See other interesting details about corporations here.

    The Decider's picture

    We Like Mike!: Huckabee Gets a Bad Rap

    By The Decider on Wed, 03/02/2011 - 10:07pm |
    So the Huckmeister is getting broiled in the liberal media for saying a few truthy things about Obama. It's not important that he confused Kenya and Indonesia. Heck, anyone would. They're both countries in Africa so what's the deal. The point is that growing up in a former British colony made him anti American cause he hates the Brits. The Brits are American allies. Any true American loves the Brits. Members of the first tea party in Boston back in 1492 through tea in the harbor because it was grown in Indonesia. Indonesians are anti Americans. Huck just spoke the truth.
    cmaukonen's picture

    It's a Gas !

    By cmaukonen on Wed, 03/02/2011 - 8:36pm |


    Ramona asks

    By Flavius on Wed, 03/02/2011 - 11:55am |


    But seriously, how bad are the regulations here in the U.S?  Does anybody really know?  Is it a case of any regulation being a bad regulation?

     

    Well yes as far as Industry is concerned. 

    Unless they're universal.

    Richard Day's picture

    THE BEST OF THE BEST?

    By Richard Day on Tue, 03/01/2011 - 5:43pm |

     

    OUR GREATEST PRESIDENT AT WORK

    Is it distinctly American to always ponder THE BEST?

    The Oscars set me off on this rant.

    Maybe it is not just an American phenomena.

    Pele was a God south of our borders. And he still is a god even though he has not played soccer since 1977!

    cmaukonen's picture

    Petrol

    By cmaukonen on Tue, 03/01/2011 - 5:09pm |

    For a long time it was wood and coal that provided the energy that was needed to keep one warm, light the world when dark, run the machines and move people from point A to point B.

    Union busting in Idaho.

    By kgb999 on Tue, 03/01/2011 - 5:42am |

    Well, like most of the states that posses a Republican governor, Idaho decided this was the year to break our teacher's unions as well. Basically, there are three bills. One strips collective bargaining rights (passed the senate), then there is the, "merit pay" one (also passed the senate). The bill that would have axed over 1000 teachers outright is back to committee. The teachers association page on the saga tells the basic tale.

    cmaukonen's picture

    On Obama

    By cmaukonen on Tue, 03/01/2011 - 12:04am |

    I feel I need to make something clear here. I do not dislike Obama at all. He is most likely a very nice person.

    But I do feel he is not a very good president.

    Then again we have had a very long list of lousy to mediocre presidents and I am kind of wondering if maybe that isn't the whole point.

    Federal TSA workers only acquired collective bargaining rights earlier this month

    By artappraiser on Mon, 02/28/2011 - 5:54pm |

    I just ran across this, and thought it might be of interest to some.

    The February 4 announcement is here:

    NTEU Welcomes TSA Bargaining Rights; Achieves Cornerstone of Five-Point Plan

    In the following Feb. 14 press release, they also say they "played a key role" in defeating a Republican Senate amendment that would have blocked them from doing so:

    "We've got a choice between manufacturing in Mexico - or America" Chairman of 3M.

    By Flavius on Mon, 02/28/2011 - 4:32pm |

    Here's a longer version. From today's Financial Times:

    There is a sense among companies that this is a difficult place to do business. It is about regulation,taxation,seemingly anti-business policies .... Politicians forget that business has choice. We're not indentured servants and we will do business where it's good and friendly. ..... We've got a real choice between manufacturing in Canada and Mexico - which tend to be pro-business - or America"

    Barth's picture

    Awakening from a deep sleep

    By Barth on Mon, 02/28/2011 - 12:08pm |

    With no time for a second post this weekend, your inveterate correspondent respectfully refers you to a surprisingly spot on New York Times editorial yesterday, the Goldman Sachs report to which it refers (as reported by Jonathan Karl of ABC News, but which, of course, all viewers of Rachel Maddow heard

    Brad delong provides some facts on health insurance.

    By Flavius on Mon, 02/28/2011 - 2:46am |


    From Donna Dubinsky in the NY Times on Feb 20

    Money Won’t Buy You Health Insurance: THIS isn’t the story of a poor family ,,,,,,,,,, Unlike many others, my family can afford medical care...... this is a story about how broken the market for health insurance is,.....................................

    jollyroger's picture

    From the King of the Visigoths to the Emperor of the Mongols

    By jollyroger on Sun, 02/27/2011 - 10:28pm |

    On behalf of the Visigoth Wrecking & Demolition Company (celebrating 14 centuries of deconstucting antiquity last August 24) in my capacity as pretender to the Visigoth throne, I am placing a socio/cutural/econo/political/ethical problem before Our Genial Host.

    First, let me point out, that it is evident, from the following wikipedia exerpt, that Our Genial Host did not take his name unadvisedly.:

    cmaukonen's picture

    Mickey Mouse

    By cmaukonen on Sun, 02/27/2011 - 9:39pm |


    Mickey Mouse

    adj (sometimes not capitals) Slang
    1. ineffective; trivial; insignificant he settled for a Mickey Mouse job instead of something challenging
    2. (Music, other) Chiefly US and Canadian (of music, esp that of dance bands) mechanical or spiritless
    [from the name of a cartoon character known for his simple-minded attitudes, created by Walt Disney (1901-66), the US film producer]
    coatesd's picture

    Diluting the Tea Party: The Importance of Supping With a Long Spoon

    By coatesd on Sun, 02/27/2011 - 6:18pm |

                Elections happen very quickly when they come, but they are not won, or indeed lost, simply in the moment of voting. Winning and losing elections is the business of the space between elections. We are in such a space now; and if we are not careful, the business we are now in will prove to be the business of losing.

    Richard Day's picture

    TAMING THE GREAT VAMPIRE SQUID

    By Richard Day on Sun, 02/27/2011 - 10:33am |

    Matt Taibbi Matt Taibbi.jpg

    Mr. Madoff, who is serving a 150-year sentence, seemed frail and a bit agitated compared with the stoic calm he maintained before his incarceration in 2009, perhaps burdened by sadness over the suicide of his son Mark in December…

    WISCONSIN: Pranked by the Governor!

    By Gregor Zap on Sun, 02/27/2011 - 2:38am |

    Much is made of the report of a discussion about sending thugs into the crowd in Wisconsin.  I don't think it is worthwhile to explore that further.  We would not be able to prove anything,  It would easily be said by the Governor that "others" brought it up and it was dismissed.  It is not logical given the explanation they achieved regarding this proposition.  I think it a probability that they would be weighing the proposition for more then a couple exchanges to decide it was not a worthy risk.  But let's put that aside.

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