bustardblog

Racism at T.N.R.

So Dr. Black sent me to Mr. Digby who led me to Mr. Greenwald, Esq, to find clearly written, undeniable proof of the despicable, pervasive anti-Arab bigotry of Marty Peretz. It's pretty disgusting stuff.

Unfortunately, I recently received a print subscription to The New Republic as a gift, and the anti-black bigotry displayed in it may be more subtle than what Peretz shows at his blog,  but it is also undeniable.

After receiving the first issue, I wrote about a racist article by Jason Lee Steorts. Steorts was essentially writing about Ronald Reagan's black, Cadillac driving, welfare queen, but this time with a Spanish accent. He had sublet a room in an apartment in a part of the city dominated by immigrants from the Dominican Republic. (In all probability it was an illegal sublet.) He happily assisted the legal tenant in a scam against a program to proved milk to the poor. And then his "whole soul rebels" when he finds out that his landlord is also gaming the Home Energy Assistance Program.  But the piece is not just garden variety Republican hypocrisy about abusing the welfare system. Here's how he chose to describe the milieu where this abuse was happening:

I doubt there is any Manhattan neighborhood where you can find more trash on the street of a Monday morning, or where you must endure louder blasting's of reggaeton "music" in those nigrescent hours before the cock crows."

The picture he's trying to paint couldn't be much clearer.

In the next edition, January's, Mr. Jonah Goldberg demonstrates his own talent for stereotyping. His young daughter received a Barbie Doll for Christmas. It was from their "My Scene" collection, and Goldberg was outraged that the Doll was wearing clothes  he thought more appropriate for a prostitute than for a three year old. His description follows:

In short, this slattern effigy my daughter opened on Christmas morning, was a gum-snapping, six-inch-heeled, F*me-pump-wearing  ho. Fo sho.

"Ho. Fo Sho." -does any one doubt what race he's suggesting?

Racism is simply a significant part of what the TNR is.

Learning from Iraq

Bush is not capable of learning from Iraq, so we have to.

Tristero, over at Hullabaloo, clearly has a lot of admiration for Josh Marshall, as do I. But he speaks an absolutely essential truth when he insists that it is not sufficient to discuss the competency with which the war in Iraq was planned or fought. Whether or not more troops would have made a difference, whether the Army should have been disbanded, whether a larger coalition would have saved the day, etc., etc.,  - are entirely irrelevant arguments. The basic idea of invading Iraq was absolutely stupid and immoral.

After being so wrong on Bush/Iraq, a reluctant admission that if you want to be dogmatic about it then I side with the 'impossible' dogmatists, makes me fear that when Cheney and Bush start up in earnest over Iran, the same misjudgment will doom any attempt to oppose it. (Tristero)

And he gets full marks for saying "'when' Bush and Cheney start up in earnest over Iran."

As I tried to point out in a previous post, Bush will bomb Iran within the next two years. Those who argue that it will be done better this time, that there will be no occupation, that he has learned from his mistakes; are merely enablers for a mean old drunk.

There are some slight changes int he cast of characters: instead of Wolfowitz, this time it's Muravchich; the role played by Ahmed Chalabi, will now be taken by Amir Abbas Fakhavar. Featured players: Bush, Cheney, Richard Perle, Michael Ledeen, AIPAC, JINSA and the AEI remain the same.

Disciplined Democrats?

Glenn Greenwald is announcing that new polling shows that the American public is in favor of censure.  I certainly hope he is correct, and that other polls confirm this.

He also is quite pleased that Digby "decimates" those who are concerned that "Feingold's censure resolution might be politically harmful."

What neither of them manage to demolish is how this incident sheds light on the poor judgment and arrogance of Russ Feingold.  The Senator seems to have successfully learned his coaliton building skills from George W. Bush - go ahead and toss the bomb: who cares if you put potential allies in really awkward positions?

They both intimate that Feingold's failure to advise his colleagues before dropping his little bombshell was because he did not think they were brave enough to support him. Yesterday Glenn was very vocal on the need to act whether victory was assured or not. Todays he seems to approve of  Feingold's failure to caucus with his fellow Democrats - fearful that his effort might fail.

Digby can "see why they (fellow Dems) are angry about it.  They were caught short... Planning is great, but you can't always control events." But this wasn't an act of God; It wasn't one of those myriad of events Bush was unable to predict. Feingold carefully plotted out this scheme, and there was no excuse for treating his fellow Dem this way.

Whether or not the censure tactic is ultimately successful, we have learned another lesson in how we lose elections.  When the only strength the Republicans still seem to have in the perception of voters is their 'courage'; it's really helpful to have Democrats attacking Democrats, calling them spineless and cowardly.  The utter lack of discipline that allows Glenn to attack and defame fellow Democrats does not bode well for the mid-term elections.