Hopping on the J Street Bandwagon

The liberal blogosphere and assorted liberal media outlets have been abuzz over the launch of J Street this week. J Street describes itself as a pro-Israel, pro-peace group. Obviously, J Street has a liberal bend and the group is implicity an alternative to groups like AIPAC (American-Israeli Public Affairs Committee) and CUFI (Christians United for Israel). There have been some great articles out there about J Street including this one from Spencer Ackerman, this one from Ezra Klein, and this one from Gershom Gorenberg. While all three articles deal with similar subject matter, they each approach the topic with their own unique narrative so I recommend that you take some time and read each one. I could take the time to explain my views on the Israeli issue but I think that Ackerman, Klein, and Gorenberg all do a much better job of it than I possibly could, so I will outsource the job to them and let the articles speak for themselves. On the other hand, I will say that you should definately check these guys out and sign up for their mailing list. Alternative views on achieving security and prosperity for Israel and her people are badly needed, so these guys deserve your report.

It's Been Awhile

Apologies for the lack of blogging this past week. I was in Philadelphia for a day so that kind of cut into things; however, that is no excuse for the lack of posts prior to that. I have some ideas for posts today and I'm hoping to have a normal blogging schedule next week. Hang in there!

The Obama Fuck Up

I'm sure that you've heard what Barack Obama said in San Francisco by now, but if you haven't , here is what he said, "It’s not surprising then that they get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren’t like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations.” Obama said this to explain the supposed "bitterness" among the white working class community. All I can say is...ouch. This could be huge. It's not a good sign that Bill Kristol is already comparing this statement with the writings of Karl Marx in the New York Times [Note: In no way do I think this is a bad thing, however, most people don't understand Marx and equate him with the likes of Stalin, Mao, and Castro]. Hillary has of course jumped all over this, but you can't really blame her, she has to.

Look, the truth of it is, Obama's explanation of working class disenfranchisement is actually pretty much spot-on. Nevertheless, it was an extremely stupid thing to say. Moreover, Obama said this in San Fran-fucking-cisco which makes it that much worse. The charges of liberal elitism and San Francisco values will be flying around for months now. I can't really make a judgement on whether this will sink Obama's candidacy; only time will tell on that front. However, needless to say, this was a major blunder on Obama's part, and it pretty much dwarfs the Wright controversy.

In conclusion...damn!

Hats Off

Tim Brown has a well written and touching column over at Yahoo! Sports about Doug Davis. Davis has a cancerous thyroid that he is having removed that will sideline him for at least six weeks. Despite this Davis pitched effectively in his last start before surgery and led Arizona to a 10-5 victory over the Dodgers. Not only did Davis get the job done on the mound he also produced at the plate and drove in a run. That's the way you want to go out before facing major surgery.

I remember Doug Davis from his years with the Brewers. I'll be honest the guy used to give me fits with all the walks, but he was always a classy guy and a good team player. According to Brown, Davis's mother is a thyroid cancer survivor and the cancer has a 97% cure rate. One can only hope that the surgery goes well and that he will be able to return this season to contribute more for his team.

Good luck Doug!

Surged

As most of you probably know, Gen. David Petraeus and Ambassodor Ryan Crocker are giving an update this week before Congress on the progress (or, in truth, lack thereof) in post-surge Iraq. Considering the fact that I'm at work, I have not been able to pay very close attention to the testimony so far. However, I have been checking in from time to time with Dana Goldstein over at TAPPED and Spencer Ackerman over at the Independent Streak (the Washington Independent's blog) who are both liveblogging the events. Based off what I've read thus far, both Petraeus and Crocker are, for the most part, saying conditions in Iraq are much improved from the pre-surge era. Interestingly enough (however, unsurprising) both Petraeus and Crocker are referring to al-Qaeda in Iraq as simply al-Qaeda, despite the fact that these are two disparate groups. You think that's good, just wait 'til they get more into the Iran stuff! You should also check out Matt Yglesias's article, which is up on the American Prospect site about the testimony. It provides crucial context and has great suggestions for where the Democrats should go from here.

Obama's Gift of Dignity

This great article by Spencer Ackerman has been up on the American Prospect site for a week or so now, but I just read it last night in the print addition. Ackerman takes an in-depth look at Barack Obama's team of foreign policy advisers and their views. Obama has some great names (or in the case of Samantha Powers, has had) including Susan Rice, Tony Lake, Ben Rhodes, Sarah Sewall, and Gen. Scott Gration. Rice and Lake are veterans of the Clinton administration, Rhodes advised Lee Hamilton, Sewall is a human rights activist and counterinsurgency authority, and Gration is a retired Air Force General and Iraq War veteran. The focus of Ackerman's article is the revelation that this team of advisers represents a coherent visioin of American foreign policy that is a significant departure from the CW of the past 30 years. In other words, Obama came along and realized the ship was sinking and instead of repairing the ship, he built a new one. This group of advisers advocates the promotion of basic human dignity over democracy. They argue that democracy is meaningless if you can not live with dignity. In order for one to live with dignity they need to be well fed, have access to quality and affordable health care, have a plentiful supply of safe drinking water, etc. If the United States can provide a leadership role in alleviating the suffering of those in the developing world (particularly the Middle East and Africa) it will go a long way towards removing the conditions that al-Qaeda and other terrorist groups thrive on when seeking new recruits. I've already said too much about the article, read it for yourself, I assure you that you will come away impressed!

Time for more McCain Bashing

I've realized that perhaps my loathing for St. McCain is getting a bit self-righteous. Then I remembered that McCain is a dangerous man that supports endless war and violence and decided that it's ok. Anyways, on a non foreign policy front, the indispensible Paul Krugman's column today is a nice take down of the saint's health plan. Basically, like most conservatives (which John McCain is, no matter what the MSM tells you) McCain believes that radical free-market ideology will solve our healthcare crisis. He won't even acknowledge there is a crisis, but just in case, the market will save us. Also, humorist Allison Kilkenny has a crude but funny piece at the Huffington Post likening John McCain to a whore a la Randi Rhodes suspension for calling Hillary Clinton a "big fucking whore." Kilkenny has the money quote from Matt Welch's McCain: The Myth of a Maverick:

The fundamental question is: What is the United States' interest in Lebanon?" It is said we are there to keep the peace. I ask, what peace? It is said we are there to aid the government. I ask, what government? It is said we are there to stabilize the region. I ask, who can the U.S. presence stabilize the region? ... What can we expect if we withdraw from Lebanon? The same as will happen if we stay. I acknowledge that the level of fighting will increase if we leave. I regretfully acknowledge that many innocent civilians will be hurt. But I firmly believe this will happen in any event.

That's McCain making sense! The Lebanon situation seems oddly parallel to a war were fighting currently that McCain wants to go on for another 100 years. However, now he's too mavericky to think in such logical terms. That would be politics as usual, now he fights against special interests, like the elite hippie anti-war crowd. Woo hoo!