Grade This! - June 19, 2006
The latest news wrap-up: Bush sneaking around, ambassadors dressing down, North Korea blowing up.
Monday June 19, 2006
POTUS Has Left the Building
On Monday night, National Intelligence Director aka super-spy extraordinaire John Negroponte lost track of a major player on the world stage. This guy’s kind of a big deal; he controls an organization with agents stationed all over the world, this VIP reportedly does not hesitate to use force to accomplish goals he deems “morally right.” I’m of course referring to President George W. Bush and his surprise trip Baghdad. Negroponte was part of a group of close Bush advisors kept in the dark about the President’s trip. Sure, the volatile security situation necessitated discretion in revealing the President’s globe hopping plans but Negroponte is the head secret-keeper. He was hired to synthesize and report intelligence of the most sensitive kind to President Bush. Good thing he’s so competent that he can’t be trusted with the president’s travel plans. I feel safer already.
The intelligence community’s efforts to track really, really important people: F
White House ignoring the intelligence (community): F
Impromptu vacations to the desert: A in January, C- in June.
Submitted by Julie Brinn Siegel, University of Pennsylvania
Sticks and Stones May Break My Bones, But…
Andrew Sullivan, the gay, conservative (?) intellectual, took a break this weekend from name-dropping Burke, Hobbes and Kafka to condemn Maryland Governor Rob Ehrlich for firing a heterosexist Washington Metro Board member. Robert Smith, the former Board member, called gays “persons of sexual deviancy” on a Montgomery County cable show. Ehrlich, a Republican who is running for re-election in a center-left state, is clearly posturing to position himself as a centrist. Still, whatever his motives, his decision to fire Smith was completely justified. Sullivan’s oh-so-lame defense is this: “words hurt no one.” Are you serious, Andrew? You’re 43 years old; that’s something my seven year-old cousin would say. Why is Sullivan, a “deviant” himself, standing-up for Smith? Well, Smith is, like Sullivan, Catholic. And Sullivan insists that we leave “orthodox Catholics alone in their expression of their own faith, and their politics.” Well that sounds perfectly lovely, Andrew, but Smith is an appointee and appointees serve at the leisure of the Governor. If Ehrlich feels that Smith’s comment undermines his “commitment to inclusiveness, tolerance and opportunity,” then he is within his rights to fire the jerk.
Heterosexism: F
Andrew Sullivan defending heretosexism: D-
Ehrlich’s decision: A (if principled), C (if pandering)
Submitted by Alex Halpern Levy, Wesleyan University
Democrats: Eth(n)ically Challenged?
House Democrats finally got Louisiana Congressman William Jefferson off of the Ways and Means Committee. They had to force a vote in their caucus when Jefferson wouldn’t step down. The vote, which came out 99-58 in favor, was opposed by most of the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC), who thought it unfair for Jefferson to step down while Alan Mollohan, a West Virginia Congressman also alleged to have violated ethics rules, hasn’t been forced to leave his committee post. Mollohan’s corruption allegations, involving shared ownership of a farm with a government contractor and funneling money to non-profits he is connected to, so far lack the smoking gun that seems to be present in Jefferson’s case. He who was allegedly recorded receiving a $100,000 bribe, $90,000 of which (in marked bills) was later found by the FBI in Jefferson’s freezer.
Rep. Melvin Watt, head of the CBC, said that black voters might think the decision might represent "a different standard … based on race." Everybody in this story is getting it wrong, though: Members of Congress ought to remove people from key committee posts where authorities are engaged in serious investigations of corruption and, given the allegations in the press about Jefferson, the CBC shouldn’t waste their time or credibility defending him. If allegations against Mollohan pan out, then his colleagues should act there, too. And no, the slew of ethics problems on the Republican side are not an excuse to give Jefferson a free pass.
House Democrats: C+
CBC, for playing the race card: D
Corruption: F
Submitted by Tim Fernholz, Georgetown University
Taepodong 2: No, It’s Not As Funny As it Sounds
U.S. Intelligence is reporting that North Korea has finished fueling a three-stage ballistic missile called the Taepodong 2. Guess how many stages it takes to hit the United States? Yes, it’s three. First reported in The New Republic over a week ago, the news signals a precipitous plunge in the quality of U.S.-North Korean relations and has left the U.S. scrambling for a way to prevent the test. The last time Korea tested a three-stage missile, in 1998, the third stage exploded prematurely and the Clinton administration was able to secure a moratorium on all launches. The U.S. is currently stuck in stagnant six-party talks with North Korea, and has rebuffed that country’s offers for direct negotiations. Boy, it sure is lucky for us we have an administration that’s so good at dealing with nuclear proliferation. Oh, wait.
Kim Jong Il Getting a Nuclear Missle: F
U.S. Non-Proliferation Policy ( Iran, North Korea, Pakistan, Russia …): D-
The Word Taepodong: B- (Okay, it’s a little funny…)
Submitted by Tim Fernholz, Georgetown University
They Don’t Let Us Wear Shorts at CAP, Either
The Washington Post has obtained a "sensitive" diplomatic cable from the American Embassy in Iraq. Some highlights: "Iraqi staff in the Public Affairs section have complained that Islamist and/or militia groups have been negatively affecting their daily routine. Harassment over proper dress and habits has been increasingly pervasive. …some groups are pushing women to cover even their face, a step not taken in Iran even at its most conservative. …Some ministries, notable the Sadrist contolled Ministry of Transportation, have been forcing females to wear the hijab at work." Men and children are also harassed for wearing jeans or shorts. Clearly, freedom is on the march. (When will that joke ever get old? Oh, when we finally have a strategy in Iraq…)
The Failures of the Iraqi State: F
"Holding the Course": F
Shorts (especially in the summer): A
Submitted by Tim Fernholz, Georgetown University
Pumping Iron Scratches Backs
The disease is spreading! Even consumer-rights obsessed California has been overtaken by the conservative mantra “deregulate, deregulate, deregulate.” The Los Angeles Times reports Governor Schwarzenegger has decided to terminate some of the post-Enron accounting regulations instituted to make sure that Arthur Anderson’s shenanigans didn’t have a Hollywood sequel. The Board of Accountancy is relaxing regulations requiring out of state accounting firms to get licensed in state. The Board also used to require companies to maintain detailed records of materials removed from audits. Not anymore! This wouldn’t have anything to do with the $119,000 campaign contribution Schwarzenegger received from PricewaterhouseCoopers, the over $90,000 from KPMG, or Ernst & Young’s $79,000 investment in Governor Schwarzenegger, would it? Let the shredders roll!
Conservative mantras: D
Cheesy “Terminator” jokes at Schwarzenegger’s expense: B-
Crooked accountants: F
Submitted by Julie Brinn Siegel, University of Pennsylvania
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I find Tim Fernholz’s labeling of the Congressional Black Caucus’s protests (around Mollohan’s removal) more than a bit oblivious. The idea that the group is ‘playing the race card’ by pointing out a discrepancy in treatment is a joke; it’s practically their job to deal with issues of race in government! I appluad the CBC for calling the facts as they see them.
— Vanessa Prell - Jun 26, 07:55 PM - #