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Throughout the past ten years, Democratic politicians have increasingly relied on the term "centrism" as a euphemism for "corporatism". As centrism has been replaced by adherence to corporatism, it has become difficult to identify any politician who advocates centrist views. Republican politicians are too afraid of offending their party's "base", whose opinions are shaped by the Trump/Fox News axis. By now, nearly all Democrats who identify as centrists are actually corporatists.
During the current campaign cycle, the Democratic National Committee (DNC) and most mainstream news outlets have advanced the cause of promoting a "centrist" presidential candidate as the best route for defeating Donald Trump in 2020. The chant, "Vote Blue no matter who" seems to mean "Shut up and vote for the corporatist, designated as your candidate by the DNC".
In a recent interview, Michael Moore explained that the majority of Americans agree with the progressive Democrats who support "Medicare for all", increased measures to limit climate change, increasing the minimum wage and reducing this nation's absurd incarceration levels. Moore emphasized that a significant majority of the American people hold views to the left of what mainstream news outlets define as "the center".
Moore's point is now reverberating through news reports, which acknowledge voters' increasing support for Bernie Sanders. On December 26, The New York Times ran a piece by Sydney Ember entitled, "Why Bernie Sanders Is Tough to Beat". At Newsweek, an article by James Crowley offered the following perspective about the Sanders campaign from President Obama's senior advisor, Dan Pfeiffer:
"He has a very good shot of winning Iowa, a very good shot of winning New Hampshire, and other than Joe Biden, the best shot of winning Nevada," said Pfeiffer, noting that these early odds improved Sanders' chances going forward. "He could build a real head of steam heading into South Carolina and Super Tuesday," …
Although the DNC and CNN have pushed hard to promote the candidacy of Joe Biden (Hillary 2.0) Biden's popularity waned as he began to prove himself worthy of Kim Jong-un's now-famous label, "dotard". At that point, former Republican Mike Bloomberg jumped into the race, offering Democratic voters a billionaire alternative to progressivists, such as Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren. Mainstream news outlets began to express excitement about the candidacy of Pete Buttigieg (Hillary 2.1) who could carry the corporatist banner. However, as political commentators demanded that Buttigieg identify the corporations for whom he did work as a consultant at McKinsey & Company, Buttigieg's polling numbers became stalled in the single digits. When the Ukrainegate scandal began to dominate the news, Biden's popularity experienced a rebound. Nevertheless, many commenters remained doubtful that Biden could maintain his leading position long enough to secure the Democratic nomination. As a result, several news sources attempted to boost support for the charisma-deficient corporatist, Amy Klobuchar (Hillary 2.2).
At this point, it is clear that the political center – which formerly embraced a balance of liberal and conservative views – has become irrelevant to the 2020 presidential campaign. Centrism died with the rise of Trumpism and the Democrats' insatiable quest for money from deep-pocketed corporate activists. Worse yet, a May 23, 2018, opinion piece by David Adler for The New York Times revealed that only 42 percent of people identifying as "centrists" considered Democracy as a very good political system. Adler's analysis of polling data revealed that in the United States, fewer than half of people in the political center viewed elections as essential. Adler reached this disturbing conclusion:
"As Western democracies descend into dysfunction, no group is immune to the allure of authoritarianism — least of all centrists, who seem to prefer strong and efficient government over messy democratic politics."
Regardless of the accuracy of David Adler's analysis, America's current appetite for "centrism" is restricted to those policies most beneficial for advancing a corporatist agenda.
2020 presidential campaign, Amy Klobuchar, Barack Obama, Bernie Sanders, centrism, CNN, corporatism, Dan Pfeiffer, David Adler, Dead Center, Democratic National Committee, Democratic Party, DNC, Donald Trump, Elizabeth Warren, Fox News, James Crowley, Joe Biden, John T Burke Jr, Michael Moore, Mike Bloomberg, New York Times, Newsweek, Pete Buttigieg, Sydney Ember, Ukrainegate
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The end of 2018 marks the demise of Donald Trump's "rubber stamp" Congress. To the surprise of many, the Democratic Party managed to regain control of the House of Representatives during the midterm elections. With the Democrats controlling the House, Trump might decide that the Presidency is no longer any fun – with too many obligations and duties, demanding such loathsome tasks as reading and listening to other people.
Meanwhile, the Democrats are scrambling to present a united front behind whomever might be their 2020 presidential nominee. The party's establishment seems terrified that a new generation of progressives – exemplified by Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez – might scare away the deep pockets of K Street lobbyists. On the other hand, progressive-minded voters have been conditioned to view Centrists as corporatists in the tradition of Hillary Clinton. Will a unifying candidate, with the backbone to advance a forward-looking agenda, gain enough traction to rise above a large pack of ambitious contenders?
January 2019 brings us the long-awaited release of American Cosmic, a book by Professor Diana Walsh Pasulka from the University of North Carolina at Wilmington. I discussed American Cosmic in my last posting. Although the book was originally scheduled for release in April of 2018, the publisher (Oxford University Press) found it necessary to "dumb-down" the book so that it would be accessible to a mainstream audience. (Oxford University Press is primarily involved in the production of academic textbooks.)
American Cosmic will offer information about the involvement of Silicon Valley entrepreneurs in the reverse-engineering of UFO technology and the assimilation of that technology into products manufactured by aerospace industry giants. This book could have a significant impact on the acceptability of the taboo subject of UFOs. (They are now referred to as unidentified aerial phenomena or UAPs to avoid the stigma of lunacy associated with UFOs.) A significant amount of rumbling from the rumor mill suggests that the Pentagon is poised to release some "dramatic" UAP videos in January or February.
Beyond the damage inflicted upon the environment by Donald Trump's deliberate efforts to sabotage the measures and mechanisms of environmental protection, 2018 brought us more bad news about the outlook for climate change. A rather bleak National Climate Assessment (NCA) report was released on Black Friday (the day after Thanksgiving). The NCA is a United States government interagency effort focused on climate change science. At the website for the Union of Concerned Scientists, senior climate scientist Rachel Licker discussed the sleazy handling of the report by the Trump Administration:
The Trump Administration tried to bury the report, which they were legally mandated to issue, over a holiday weekend. When that failed and the report drew wide coverage, President Trump, his press secretary, and two cabinet secretaries tried to discredit the assessment and disparage the work of more than 300 scientists and experts from federal, state, and local governments, tribes and Indigenous communities, national laboratories, universities, and the private sector who contributed to the report, many on a purely voluntary basis.
Hopes run high that 2019 might be the year when decisive action is taken by special counsel Robert Mueller and Congress to end the destructive, scandal-plagued Trump presidency.
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, American Cosmic, centrism, climate change, Congress, corporatism, Democratic Party, Diana Walsh Pasulka, Donald Trump, environment, Hillary Clinton, John T Burke Jr, K Street, lobbyists, National Climate Assessment, NCA, Pentagon, Rachel Licker, Robert Mueller, Trump Administration, UAP, UFO, Union of Concerned Scientists
Centrism Is Not Corporatism
September 8th, 2017 Posted in Uncategorized
Most politicians from the Democratic Party still don't get it. Hillary Clinton's unexpected 2016 defeat and the party's ever-decreasing ability to win elections has left it in a state of confusion. As Clare Malone pointed out for the FiveThirtyEight blog:
At the beginning of Obama's term, Democrats controlled 59 percent of state legislatures, while now they control only 31 percent, the lowest percentage for the party since the turn of the 20th century. They held 29 governor's offices and now have only 16, the party's lowest number since 1920.
Despite the party's efforts to win the hearts and minds of more voters, it has no real message. Clare Foran's recent article for The Atlantic analyzed the consequences of the Democrats' 2017 losing streak in the year's four special elections and the party's failure to develop an effective response strategy:
"The national brand is toxic," said Democratic Representative Tim Ryan of Ohio, who unsuccessfully challenged Pelosi for the title of House minority leader last year, in an interview. "There's just no doubt about it. We are not connecting with people the way we need to connect with them."
At the heart of the Democratic Party's troubles is its refusal to take a stand in favor of populism. Instead, it allows the forces of corporatism to direct the party's agenda. There has been a persistent infection afflicting the party since the days of the Democratic Leadership Council. Michael Corcoran explained how the DLC, which ascended with the success of Bill Clinton, became a tainted brand after revelations of sponsorship from such corporatist forces as the Koch brothers. Worse yet, the DLC agenda has been reincarnated through a "center-left" think tank known as Third Way. By late 2013, many astute commentators noted that Third Way's board was heavily populated by Wall Street executives and other investment bankers.
Donald Trump was able to win the 2016 election with a false portrayal of himself as a "populist", while Hillary Clinton's close ties to Goldman Sachs and her outright refusal to support single-payer healthcare cemented her reputation as a corporatist. Nevertheless, the Democratic Party has failed to learn anything from this experience. The party refuses to identify itself as a standard bearer for populism, leaving a void to be filled by those right-wing voices who recast the struggle as populism against the power of the federal government, rather than populism vs. corporatism. Instead, there is an ever-increasing effort by Third Way to keep the party tied to a corporatist agenda:
They are attempting to convince the party to shun its base and further embrace the so-called "vital center," and the corporatism that has long defined these groups.
According to an ABC News/Washington Post poll conducted on July 13, 2017, only 37% of respondents agreed that the Democratic Party actually stood for something beyond merely opposing Donald Trump. A national poll conducted by Bloomberg News from July 8-12, 2017, indicated that the net favorable rating of the Democratic Party has remained unchanged at 42% since before the 2016 election (specifically August of that year). The poll found the party's unfavorability rating at a more-significant 48%. Donald Trump's dismal approval ratings are obviously doing nothing to help the Democratic Party. On August 3, 2017, Quinnipiac University published results of a poll indicating 51% support for replacing the current health care system with a single payer system in which Medicare would cover every American citizen. Only 38% of the respondents opposed that idea.
Too many venal Democratic politicians hide behind the excuse of "tacking to the center" while betraying their constituents in service of their own masters on K Street. Centrism involves the flexibility to embrace either liberal or conservative ideas, depending on the circumstances of the particular situation. In contrast, the Independent Voter Network provided an interesting explanation of how corporatism works. Back in 2010, the IVN served-up Ron Paul's retort to the wingnut claim that President Obama was a socialist:
Corporatism is a system where businesses are nominally in private hands, but are in fact controlled by the government. In a corporatist state, government officials often act in collusion with their favored business interests to design polices that give those interests a monopoly position, to the detriment of both competitors and consumers.
Democrats would be wise to avoid the mistaken belief in supporting Republican objectives as the only route to victory in "red" states. For example, many conservative pundits argue that Democrat candidates would be foolish to support single-payer healthcare when seeking office in Republican strongholds. However, Trump's victory demonstrated that populist causes could resonate with Republican-leaning voters. The Democratic Party needs to develop the courage to become a champion of populism instead of corporatism.
centrism, corporatism, Democratic Leadership Council, Democratic Party, FiveThirtyEight, Independent Voter Network, John T Burke Jr, populism, Third Way, Tim Ryan
Crazy Time Returns
February 23rd, 2014 Posted in Uncategorized
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It's time once again for the politicians and other attention-seekers from the lunatic fringe to return to the spotlight. Politicians who intend on running for the Presidency in 2016 are already preparing to launch their primary campaigns. Because 2014 is a "midterm" year, the only voters who can be expected to vote in November will be the political zealots. Despite the fact that Congressional terms last only two years, the cretins in Congress are confident that the only people who will bother to vote in their gerrymandered districts will be the dependable hard core.
Unfortunately, we cannot assume that Americans will wise-up and respond to the recent plea from Dallas Federal Reserve President Richard Fisher, by going to their local polling places to address the problem.
Meanwhile, those intent on becoming the Republican Party's 2016 Presidential nominee are busy currying favor with the two men who dictate the party's agenda: Roger Ailes and Rush Limbaugh. As a result, there is no such thing as too extreme in crafting a campaign message to voters. With the midterms' bringing increased attention to the lunatic fringe voters, politicians who are posturing themselves as Presidential candidates are busy preaching to the crazy choir. This effort usually involves making personal appearances with the most polarizing, controversial individuals who haunt the airwaves with outrageous statements. The logical consequence of this practice brought the Republicans their "Ted Nugent Moment" this past week.
In their desperation to find a "rock star" who could serve as a dependable spokesperson for Republican political candidates, somebody came up with the idea of appointing Ted Nugent to that role. Nugent has "jammed" with fellow quasi-musician, Mike Huckabee and he has taken the stage with countless politicians from the far-right.
During the past week, a good deal of attention was focused on some choice remarks made by Nugent during a January 18 interview with guns.com. During the course of the interview, Nugent infamously said:
I have obviously failed to galvanize and prod, if not shame enough Americans to be ever-vigilant not to let a Chicago communist-raised, communist-educated, communist-nurtured subhuman mongrel like the Acorn community organizer – gangster Barack Hussein Obama – to weasel his way into the top office of authority in the United States of America.
Given the fact that Nugent himself bears a rather close physical resemblance to our simian ancestors, there was more than a little irony here.
After a number of news outlets seized upon Nugent's remarks, those Republicans who know that support from the lunatic fringe is no guaranteed ticket to the White House were quick to put some distance between themselves and Nugent.
Nevertheless, as I pointed out on October 16, because Roger Ailes has made it the mission of Fox News to promote the wingnuts of the GOP, is the party becoming marginalized? Will we soon hear from Nugent apologists who believe that there are elections to be won by speaking out in favor of some patriot who was forced to apologize for speaking his mind?
On the other hand, will the Republican Party's "Ted Nugent Moment" be the first in a series of such events which motivate would-be Republican Presidential candidates to distance themselves from extermists?
Meanwhile, the Democrats appear resigned to accepting Hillary Clinton as their 2016 Presidential nominee. We can assume that Hillary's sycophants in the news media will attempt to portray anyone who dares to oppose her as some sort of "extremist". The cult of people I referred to in 2008 as the Hillarologists – those who believe that Hillary Clinton offers them the only hope of seeing a woman in the White House during their lifetimes – will be ready for a fight.
Will another women rise up to challenge Hillary for the Democratic nomination? I hope so.
2016 Presidential election, Democratic Party, Hillarologists, Hillary Clinton, John T Burke Jr, midterm election, political extremism, Republican Party, Richard Fisher, Roger Ailes, Ted Nugent, wingnuts
Seeing Through Obama
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Obama is back giving Centrism a bad name. His budget proposal has drawn criticism because it incorporates a mechanism for reducing Social Security Cost-of-Living benefits called the "chained CPI", which ties those adjustments to the inflation rate. Obama's inclusion of the chained CPI has drawn harsh criticism from Progressives as well as the Liberal base of the Democratic Party. Although the President and his sycophants characterize this proposal as an example of "Centrist" politics, it is actually an example of the economic neoliberalism which the Disappointer-in-Chief has advanced since taking office in 2009.
Despite its liberal slant, the FiredogLake blog has been critical of Obama since the beginning of his first term. A recent article by Jon Walker at FDL presents an unvarnished look at Obama's motives for including the chained CPI in his budget:
Obama didn't put chained-CPI in for Republicans, regardless what he may claim. While Republicans like to talk a big game on entitlements they have shown no real interest in cutting benefits for current retirees, who are the most important part of their base.
The comments to Walker's piece give us a look at how a good number of liberals are finally seeing through the man who was advertised as an agent of Hope and Change. I was particularly impressed by the following comment from a reader identified as "coloradoblue":
Mass murderer
Crimes against the American people
Crimes against the constitution he swore to uphold
Failure to investigate, prosecute and punish the war criminals of the last administration
Failure to investigate, prosecute and punish the crimes of wall street
Destroyer of the legacy of FDR and LBJ and the dem party
Hell of legacy you've got there Barry. Hell of a legacy.
Oh, Snap!
Lest I repeat the entire batch of comments, I'll include just one more. Reading through them provides one with the opportunity to understand the extent of disappointment in Obama, as expressed by those who voted for him. This comment was from an individual using the name, "BearCountry":
o was never really the "capitulator in chief." He has worked to destroy the safety net since he became pres. When I voted for him in '08 I knew he was not going to be a savior for the nation, but I didn't realize how bad he would be. He is worse than w because he knows full well what he is doing. Those that defend him or blame the repugs are simply deluding themselves.
Progressive Democrats chose Obama over Hillary Clinton because they wanted to avoid electing a President who would advance the same neoliberalism we saw from Bill Clinton, the man who signed the Commodity Futures Modernization Act of 2000 into law. Bill Clinton's enactment of that legislation completely deregulated derivatives trading, eventually giving rise to such "financial weapons of mass destruction" as naked credit default swaps, which brought us the 2008 financial crisis.
When Hillary begins her run for the 2016 Democratic Nomination, it will be interesting to see whether any of her opponents exploit the photo of Bubba and Blankfein in Boca. On February 19 of 2012, The Business Insider published this photo of Bill Clinton having lunch with Goldman Sachs CEO, Lloyd Blankfein at the Boca Raton Resort and Country Club. Obama's function as a tool of the Wall Street megabanks will provide an ongoing reminder to anyone entertaining the thought of supporting Hillary, as to what they could expect from another Clinton administration.
Meanwhile Barry O. Tool is gonna' have some 'splianin' to do about his chained CPI proposal. His angry former supporters will want some answers.
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Barry O Tool, BearCountry, Bill Clinton, Bubba and Bill in Boca, Business Insider, centrism, centrist blog, chained consumer price index, chained CPI, coloradoblue, Cost-of-Living Adjustments, Democratic Party, Disappointer-In-Chief, FDL, Firedog Lake, Firedoglake, Hillary Clinton, inflation rate, John T Burke Jr, Jon Walker, Lloyd Blankfein, neoliberalism, Obama budget proposal, President Obama, progressive Democrats, progressives, Republicans, Social Security
Wisconsin Bogeyman Will Help Obama
August 13th, 2012 Posted in Uncategorized
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Mitt Romney's choice of Paul Ryan as his running mate will do more so solve President Obama's voter apathy problem than it will do to boost the enthusiasm of Republican voters. While the Tea Party branch of the Republican Party complains that "Massachusetts moderate" Romney is not a significant alternative to Barack Obama, the Democratic Party's base complains the bank-centric Obama administration is indistinguishable from a Romney administration. Criticism of the Obama administration's domestic surveillance program comes from across the political spectrum. One need look no further than the Business Insider to find disappointment resulting from the Obama administration's efforts to turn America into a police state.
As the Democratic Party struggled to resurrect a fraction of the voter enthusiasm seen during the 2008 campaign, Mitt Romney came along and gave the Democrats exactly what they needed: a bogeyman from the far-right wing of the Republican Party. The 2012 campaign suddenly changed from a battle against an outsourcing, horse ballet elitist to a battle against a blue-eyed devil who wants to take away Medicare. The Republican team of White and Whiter had suddenly solved the problem of Democratic voter apathy.
I recently expressed the opinion that the only logical candidate for Romney to select as his running mate would have been Ohio Senator Rob Portman. In the wake of Romney's selection of Paul Ryan, a number of commentators have emphasized that Portman would have been a smarter choice. Polling wiz Nate Silver recently voiced a similar opinion:
Politics 101 suggests that you play toward the center of the electorate. Although this rule has more frequently been violated when it comes to vice-presidential picks, there is evidence that presidential candidates who have more "extreme" ideologies (closer to the left wing or the right wing than the electoral center) underperform relative to the economic fundamentals.
Various statistical measures of Mr. Ryan peg him as being quite conservative. Based on his Congressional voting record, for instance, the statistical system DW-Nominate evaluates him as being roughly as conservative as Representative Michele Bachmann of Minnesota.
Because of these factors, a recent analysis I performed placed Mr. Ryan 10th from among 14 potential vice-presidential picks in terms of his immediate impact on the Electoral College. If Mr. Romney wanted to make the best pick by this criterion, he would have been better off to choose an alternative like Senator Rob Portman of Ohio, or Gov. Bob McDonnell of Virginia.
Nate Silver was not alone with his premise that Romney's choice of Ryan was made out of desperation. At the Right Condition blog, Arkady Kamenetsky not only emphasized that the Ryan candidacy will help galvanize Obama's liberal base – he went a step further to demonstrate that the Ryan budget is a "smoke and mirrors" pretext for preserving the status quo. After highlighting Ryan's support of TARP, Medicare Part D and No Child Left Behind, Arkady Kamenetsky performed a detailed comparison of the Ryan budget with the Obama budget to demonstrate a relatively insignificant difference between the two. Kamenetsky concluded the piece with these observations:
So this of course begs the question, why did Romney do this? Why select a VP that will provide such easy ammunition for the Left with virtually no reward? The answer is quite simple. Romney and Ryan represent exactly the same problem even if one appears to be a moderate and the other appears to be an epic fiscal warrior. The Republican party fights for and pushes through the status-quo. The images you see up above and the Ryan record is the status-quo. No doubt about it.
Yet Romney is counting on the ignorance of Republican base to run with the facade of Ryan's conservatism. If that illusion holds then Ryan's image will invariably boost Romney's own image as many will view Romney's decision as courageous and bold despite Obama's willingness to distort Ryan's budget. In other words, you are witnessing a most fantastic and glamorous circus. A bad Hollywood movie, except that ending will be quite real and not something you can pause or turn off.
Romney and Ryan will lose in November and the image of the heartless Conservative killing granny will resonate with America, the tragedy of course is that neither Ryan or Romney are willing to actually cut anything! The tragedy will become even more amusing as we will witness a nasty and partisan fight further dividing Americans as they fight and defend differing policies with the exact same results.
During the coming weeks, watch for efforts by the mainstream news media to portray this election as a close contest – in their own desperate attempts to retain an audience for what will probably turn out to be the least exciting Presidential campaign since Reagan vs. Carter.
2008 campaign, 2012 election, Arkady Kamenetsky, bank-centric, Barack Obama, blue-eyed devil, Business Insider, centrist blog, conservative, Democratic Party, Democrats, domestic surveillance, Electoral College, John T Burke Jr, mainstream news media, Massachusetts moderate, Medicare Part D, Michele Bachmann, Mitt Romney, Nate Silver, No Child Left Behind, Obama Administration, Ohio Senator, Paul Ryan, Politics 101, Reagan vs Carter, Republican Party, Republican voters, Right Condition, right-wing bogeyman, Rob Portman, Ryan budget, smoke and mirrors, status quo, TARP, Tea Party, voter apathy, White and Whiter
Now that Mitt Romney has secured the Republican presidential nomination, commentators are focusing on the question of whether the candidate can motivate the conservative Republican base to vote for the "Massachusetts moderate" in November.
Meanwhile, it is becoming obvious that after three years in the White House, Barack Obama has managed to alienate the liberal base of the Democratic Party. The Firedog Lake website has been among the most vocal, left-leaning blogs to regularly criticize the President. The site's publisher, Jane Hamsher, has picked up on Public Citizen's campaign against the Trans-Pacific Partnership, which Obama is attempting to sneak past the public before November. On April 27, Ms. Hamsher provided us with this warning:
The White House wants to fast track the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) "free trade" agreement with Australia, Brunei, Chile, Malaysia, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, and Vietnam. Japan is waiting in the wings, Canada and Mexico want in, Taiwan has announced its intention to meet membership requirements and China says it will "earnestly study" whether to seek entry into the agreement.
Basically, the TPP is NAFTA on steroids. The White House wants to reach a deal prior to the election because they know all the apparatchiks feeding on the $1 billion in Obama campaign money flowing through the system will launch tribalistic attacks on anyone organizing against it (activists, labor unions, workers) for "helping Mitt Romney win" – thus facilitating its easy passage.
At an April 4 press conference in the Rose Garden, President Obama said that TPP "could be a real model for the world." Earlier this month the US limited the ability of public interest groups to have input into the process. So much for the "most transparent administration ever."
At her Naked Capitalism blog, Yves Smith introduced a video clip of Matt Stoller's appearance on Cenk Uygur's television program with the following anecdote:
Matt Stoller, in this video clip from an interview last week with Cenk Uygur (hat tip Doug Smith), sets forth what should be widely accepted truths about Obama: that he's an aggressive proponent of policies that favor the 1%. Yet soi disant progressives continue to regard him as an advocate of their interests, when at best, all he does is pander to them.
It reminds me of a conversation I had with a black woman after an Occupy Wall Street Alternative Banking Group meeting. She was clearly active in New York City housing politics and knowledgeable about policy generally. I started criticizing Obama's role in the mortgage settlement. She said:
I have trouble with members of my community. I think Obama needs not to be President. I think he needs to be impeached. But no one in my community wants to hear that. I tell them it's like when your mother sees you going out with someone who is no good for you.
"Why don't you leave him? What does he do for you?"
"But Momma, I love him."
"He knocked you down the stairs, took your keys, drove your car to Florida, ran up big bills on your credit card, and Lord only knows what else he did when he was hiding from you."
"But Momma, I still love him."
Her story applies equally well to the oxymoron of the Establishment Left in America. Obama is not only not their friend, but he abuses them, yet they manage to forgive all and come back for more.
In an article published by The Nation, Naomi Klein pulled the rose-colored glasses off the faces of many Obama fans with this review of the President's performance so far:
After nine months in office, Obama has a clear track record as a global player. Again and again, US negotiators have chosen not to strengthen international laws and protocols but rather to weaken them, often leading other rich countries in a race to the bottom.
After discussing Obama's failure to take a leading role to promote global efforts to combat pollution, or to promote human rights, Ms. Klein moved on to highlight Obama's subservience to the financial oligarchy:
And then there are the G-20 summits, Obama's highest-profile multilateral engagements. When one was held in London in April, it seemed for a moment that there might be some kind of coordinated attempt to rein in transnational financial speculators and tax dodgers. Sarkozy even pledged to walk out of the summit if it failed to produce serious regulatory commitments. But the Obama administration had no interest in genuine multilateralism, advocating instead for countries to come up with their own plans (or not) and hope for the best – much like its reckless climate-change plan. Sarkozy, needless to say, did not walk anywhere but to the photo session to have his picture taken with Obama.
Of course, Obama has made some good moves on the world stage – not siding with the coup government in Honduras, supporting a UN Women's Agency… But a clear pattern has emerged: in areas where other wealthy nations were teetering between principled action and negligence, US interventions have tilted them toward negligence. If this is the new era of multilateralism, it is no prize.
While watching Saturday evening's White House Correspondents' Dinner, I was particularly impressed by Jimmy Kimmel's face-to-face confrontation with President Obama concerning the administration's crackdown on medical marijuana clinics. One of Obama's most outspoken critics from the left – Constitutional lawyer Glenn Greenwald – pulled no punches while upbraiding the President for yet another broken campaign promise:
President Obama gave an interview to Rolling Stone's Jann Wenner this week and was asked about his administration's aggressive crackdown on medical marijuana dispensaries, including ones located in states where medical marijuana is legal and which are licensed by the state; this policy is directly contrary to Obama's campaign pledge to not "use Justice Department resources to try and circumvent state laws about medical marijuana." Here's part of the President's answer:
I never made a commitment that somehow we were going to give carte blanche to large-scale producers and operators of marijuana – and the reason is, because it's against federal law. I can't nullify congressional law. I can't ask the Justice Department to say, "Ignore completely a federal law that's on the books" . . . .
The only tension that's come up – and this gets hyped up a lot – is a murky area where you have large-scale, commercial operations that may supply medical marijuana users, but in some cases may also be supplying recreational users. In that situation, we put the Justice Department in a very difficult place if we're telling them, "This is supposed to be against the law, but we want you to turn the other way." That's not something we're going to do.
Aside from the fact that Obama's claim about the law is outright false – as Jon Walker conclusively documents, the law vests the Executive Branch with precisely the discretion he falsely claims he does not have to decide how drugs are classified – it's just extraordinary that Obama is affirming the "principle" that he can't have the DOJ "turn the other way" in the face of lawbreaking.
The same person who directed the DOJ to shield torturers and illegal government eavesdroppers from criminal investigation, and who voted to retroactively immunize the nation's largest telecom giants when they got caught enabling criminal spying on Americans, and whose DOJ has failed to indict a single Wall Street executive in connection with the 2008 financial crisis or mortgage fraud scandal, suddenly discovers the imperatives of The Rule of Law when it comes to those, in accordance with state law, providing medical marijuana to sick people with a prescription.
It's becoming obvious that Mitt Romney is not the only candidate who will have to worry about whether his party's "base" will bother to stand in line at the polls in November, to vote for a candidate who does not find it necessary to accommodate the will of the voters who elect him.
2008 financial crisis, Barack Obama, Cenk Uygur, centrist blog, climate change, Democratic Party, DOJ, financial oligarchy, Firedog Lake, free trade agreement, G-20, Glenn Greenwald, Jane Hamsher, Jann Wenner, Jimmy Kimmel, John T Burke Jr, Justice Department, left-leaning blogs, liberal base, London G-20 summit, Massachusetts moderate, Matt Stoller, medical marijuana, Mitt Romney, mortgage fraud, mortgage settlement, multilateralism, NAFTA, Naked Capitalism, Naomi Klein, Obama Administration, Obama campaign money, Occupy Wall Street, progressives, Public Citizen, public interest groups, Republican base, Republican nomination, Rolling Stone, Rose Garden, rule of law, Sarkozy, The Nation, TPP, Trans-Pacific Partnership, transnational financial speculators, Wall Street, White House, White House Correspondents Dinner, Yves Smith
Buddy Roemer Struggles to Become Visible
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His crusade against corruption in politics has made him the invisible Presidential candidate. The mainstream news media have no interest in him. His anti-status quo message is probably the reason why. Andrew Kreig of Washington's Blog reported that Buddy Roemer appeared with reformed ex-convict / former lobbyist Jack Abramoff before a cozy, standing-room-only audience of 120, convened on March 22 by the non-partisan Committee for the Republic. For those unfamiliar with Buddy Roemer, Kreig provided this summary of the candidate's background and political perspective:
"I don't think the answer is the Republican Party," said the former two-term governor of Louisiana, who became a Republican in 1991 and returned to politics last year after a 16-year absence. Earlier, he served four terms as a Democratic congressman beginning in the 1980, running unopposed in his last three races.
"And," he continued, "I don't think the answer is the Democratic Party." He says both parties are controlled by special interests and political action committees (PACs), whose checks he has refused to take since his first race three decades ago.
The big knock on Roemer is that he lacks high poll numbers and name recognition, doubtless because GOP debate-organizers excluded him. Yet he was doing better in certain key criteria than some other candidates invited repeatedly for nationally broadcast debates. Roemer concluded that his basic problem was that GOP chieftains did not want him to describe his reform message.
Therefore, Roemer's campaign is now focused on winning the Americans Elect nomination to be on the November ballot in all 50 states. Then he wants 15% support in poll numbers so he will be included in debates with the Democratic and Republican nominees.
On December 12, I discussed some of the criticism directed at Americans Elect. Most notably, Richard Hansen, a professor at the University of California at Irvine Law School, wrote an essay for Politico, which was harshly critical of Americans Elect. Professor Hansen concluded the piece with these observations:
But the biggest problem with Americans Elect is neither its secrecy nor the security of its election. It is the problems with internal fairness and democracy. To begin with, according to its draft rules, only those who can provide sufficient voter identification that will satisfy the organization – and, of course, who have Internet access – will be allowed to choose the candidate. These will hardly be a cross section of American voters.
In addition, an unelected committee appointed by the board, the Candidates Certification Committee, will be able to veto a presidential/vice presidential ticket deemed not "balanced" – subject only to a two-thirds override by delegates.
It gets worse. Under the group's bylaws, that committee, along with the three other standing committees, serves at the pleasure of the board – and committee members can be removed without cause by the board. The board members were not elected by delegates; they chose themselves in the organization's articles of incorporation.
The bottom line: If Americans Elect is successful, millions of people will have united to provide ballot access not for a candidate they necessarily believe in – like a Ross Perot or Ralph Nader – but for a candidate whose choice could be shaped largely by a handful of self-appointed leaders.
Despite the veneer of democracy created by having "delegates" choose a presidential candidate through a series of Internet votes, the unelected, unaccountable board of Americans Elect, funded by secret money, will control the process for choosing a presidential and vice presidential candidate – who could well appear on the ballot in all 50 states.
Roemer's ability to survive this questionable nomination process is just the first hurdle. Even if he wins that nomination, he will be confronted by critics of Americans Elect to defend that organization's controversial nomination procedure. Nevertheless, if none of his opponents from that nomination campaign step up to oppose the result, Roemer might just breeze through any questions concerning that issue.
One interesting way to get a look at Buddy Romer is to read his Twitter feed – (@BuddyRoemer). Roemer's staff members occasionally post tweets about such subjects as the candidate's desire to restore the "Made in America" label so that consumers would have the choice to buy products from manufacturers who employ their neighbors. Here are some of Buddy's own tweets:
If Santorum and Gingrich don't get the GOP nomination, will they return to lobbying? Or keep their records clean for 2016?
"Few men have virtue to withstand the highest bidder." – George Washington
RT "@maximosis: The more people wake up from their tacit acceptance of the corporatocracy, the more apparent these abuses will become."
"The people do not control America, the big checks do."
From 1998-2010, the Financial, Insurance, Real Estate sectors spent $6.8 BILLION in lobbying & campaign donations.
Millions $$ in earmarks go to top Congressional campaign donors. Here are some striking examples >>http://thelobbyisteffect.com/2012/02/28/earmarks-are-a-microcosm-of-how-government-works/ #corruption
At his campaign website, supporters are encouraged to post tweets to Romer's Twitter feed in addition to making contributions within the self-imposed, $100 limit. At the "Blog" section, there are links to videos of the candidate's television appearances. A visit to the "Issues" section of his website will reveal Roemer's position on banking reform:
As a small business banker, Buddy Roemer is proud to have chosen smart investments that kept his bank on solid footing while others were taking bailouts from the government to remain solvent. Banking is too important to be left to the bankers, but Buddy recognizes that regulation of the industry must be a fine balance between too much and too little.
That sure sounds better than Romney's "regulations kill jobs" theme and Obama's track record of giving the banks everything they want, with revolving doors connecting the West Wing to Citigroup and Goldman Sachs.
The big question will be whether (as the Americans Elect nominee) Romer could accumulate the support from 15% of poll respondents so that he could participate in the Presidential debates with Obama and Romney. It sure would be interesting to see him on the stage with those two. The public might actually take interest in the process.
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Once Upon A Crisis
February 20th, 2012 Posted in Uncategorized
Comments Off on Once Upon A Crisis
As the 2012 Presidential election campaign heats up, there is plenty of historical revisionism taking place with respect to the 2008 financial / economic crisis. Economist Dean Baker wrote an article for The Guardian, wherein he debunked the Obama administration's oft-repeated claim that the newly-elected President saved us from a "Second Great Depression":
While the Obama administration, working alongside Ben Bernanke at the Fed, deserves credit for preventing a financial meltdown, a second great depression was never in the cards.
The attack on the second Great Depression myth is not simply an exercise in semantics. The Obama Administration and the political establishment more generally want the public to be grateful that we managed to avoid a second Great Depression. People should realize that this claim is sort of like keeping our kids safe from tiger attacks. It's true that almost no kids in the United States are ever attacked by tigers, but we don't typically give out political praise for this fact, since there is no reason to expect our kids to be attacked by tigers.
In the same vein, we all should be very happy we aren't in the middle of a second Great Depression; however, there was never any good reason for us to fear a second Great Depression. What we most had to fear was a prolonged period of weak growth and high unemployment. Unfortunately, this is exactly what we are seeing. The only question is how long it will drag on.
Joe Weisenthal of The Business Insider directed our attention to the interview with economist Paul Krugman appearing in the current issue of Playboy. Krugman, long considered a standard bearer for the Democratic Party's economic agenda, was immediately thrown under the bus as soon as Obama took office. I'll never forget reading about the "booby prize" roast beef dinner Obama held for Krugman and his fellow Nobel laureate, Joseph Stiglitz – when the two economists were informed that their free advice would be ignored. Fortunately, former Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel was able to make sure that pork wasn't the main course for that dinner. Throughout the Playboy interview, Krugman recalled his disappointment with the new President. Here's what Joe Weisenthal had to say about the piece:
There's a long interview with Paul Krugman in the new Playboy, and it's excellent.
We tend to write a lot about his economic commentary here, but he probably doesn't get enough credit for his commentary on politics, and his assessment of how things will play out.
Go back and read this column, from March 2009, and you'll see that he basically called things correctly, that the stimulus would be too small, and that the GOP would be emboldened and gain success arguing that the problem was that we had stimulus at all.
At least as Krugman sees it, the times called for a major boost in spending and so on, and Obama never had any intention to deliver.
What follows is the prescient excerpt from Krugman's March 9, 2009 essay, referenced by Joe Weisenthal:
The broader public, by contrast, favors strong action. According to a recent Newsweek poll, a majority of voters supports the stimulus, and, more surprising, a plurality believes that additional spending will be necessary. But will that support still be there, say, six months from now?
Also, an overwhelming majority believes that the government is spending too much to help large financial institutions. This suggests that the administration's money-for-nothing financial policy will eventually deplete its political capital.
So here's the picture that scares me: It's September 2009, the unemployment rate has passed 9 percent, and despite the early round of stimulus spending it's still headed up. Obama finally concedes that a bigger stimulus is needed. But he can't get his new plan through Congress because approval for his economic policies has plummeted, partly because his policies are seen to have failed, partly because job-creation policies are conflated in the public mind with deeply unpopular bank bailouts. And as a result, the recession rages on, unchecked.
In early July of 2009, I wrote a piece entitled, "The Second Stimulus", in which I observed that President Obama had already reached the milestone anticipated by Krugman for September of that year. I made a point of including a list of ignored warnings about the inadequacy of the stimulus program. Most notable among them was the point that there were fifty economists who shared the concerns voiced by Krugman, Stiglitz and Jamie Galbraith:
Despite all these warnings, as well as a Bloomberg survey conducted in early February, revealing the opinions of economists that the stimulus would be inadequate to avert a two-percent economic contraction in 2009, the President stuck with the $787 billion plan.
Mike Grabell of ProPublica has written a new book entitled, Money Well Spent? which provided an even-handed analysis of what the stimulus did – and did not – accomplish. As I pointed out on February 13, some of the criticisms voiced by Mike Grabell concerning the programs funded by the Economic Recovery Act had been previously expressed by Keith Hennessey (former director of the National Economic Council under President George W. Bush) in a June 3, 2009 posting at Hennessey's blog. I was particularly intrigued by this suggestion by Keith Hennessey from back in 2009:
Had the President instead insisted that a $787 B stimulus go directly into people's hands, where "people" includes those who pay income taxes and those who don't, we would now be seeing a stimulus that would be:
partially effective but still quite large – Because it would be a temporary change in people's incomes, only a fraction of the $787 B would be spent. But even 1/4 or 1/3 of $787 B is still a lot of money to dump out the door. The relative ineffectiveness of a temporary income change would be offset by the enormous amount of cash flowing.
efficient – People would be spending money on themselves. Some of them would be spending other people's money on themselves, but at least they would be spending on their own needs, rather than on multi-year water projects in the districts of powerful Members of Congress. You would have much less waste.
fast – The GDP boost would be concentrated in Q3 and Q4 of 2009, tapering off heavily in Q1 of 2010.
Why did the President not do this? Discussions with the Congress began in January before he took office, and he faced a strong Speaker who took control and gave a huge chuck of funding to House Appropriations Chairman Obey (D-WI). I can think of three plausible explanations:
The President and his team did not realize the analytical point that infrastructure spending has too slow of a GDP effect.
They were disorganized.
They did not want a confrontation with their new Congressional allies in their first few days.
Given the fact that the American economy is 70% consumer-driven, Keith Hennessey's proposed stimulus would have boosted that sorely-missing consumer demand as far back as two years ago. We can only wonder where our unemployment level and our Gross Domestic Product would be now if Hennessey's plan had been implemented – despite the fact that it would have been limited to the $787 billion amount.
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Robert Snodgrass Completes West Bromwich Albion Move
By: Tom Cunningham, Editor | January 8, 2021
Scotland winger Robert Snodgrass has officially completed his move from West Ham United to West Bromwich Albion. The winger becomes the first signing of the Sam Allardyce reign at the Hawthorns- leaving West Ham after four years.
The 33-year-old has signed an 18-month contract as he looks to help guide the Baggies away from the threat of relegation. His experience, alongside his ability, should make him a key asset for Allardyce who is looking to avoid the dreaded drop once more.
Snodgrass Completes West Bromwich Albion Move
Snodgrass is a Baggie 🔵⚪@MonsterEnergy | #WBA pic.twitter.com/Egwdfl9KEm
— West Bromwich Albion (@WBA) January 8, 2021
Experience of Snodgrass Key
The experience of Robert Snodgrass could provide West Bromwich Albion with the key to unlocking another season in the Premier League. The Scotland international has previously had relegation scraps with former clubs West Ham and Hull City- with the latter ending with failure.
Nonetheless, despite failing to survive with Hull, the fact Snodgrass has faced the battle several times before should help a young and inexperienced West Bromwich Albion side.
Allardyce will know the importance of this month's window, and will likely seek further additions. For now, though, it is Snodgrass who becomes the first to arrive under the former Sunderland manager.
West Brom in Perilous Position
As it stands, West Brom are 19th in the league, six points adrift of safety having conceded nine goals in their last two games. Allardyce has pulled off miracles in the past, but even he may not be able to save the Baggies from relegation this season.
Snodgrass will prove to be a good addition, yes, but he alone will not solve West Bromwich Albion's problems. They must invest in their Premier League status, or they will drop back down to the Championship just one season on from promotion.
Up next in the Premier League, they face Wolverhampton Wanderers in another game as underdogs, but another game they must come away having secured some points.
Posted in News, Premier League, Transfers, Uncategorized, West BromTagged 2020/2021 Premier League, Football News, Robert Snodgrass, Transfer News, West Brom, West Ham, World Football
Football Transfer News: Newcastle United Duo Dwight Gayle and Andy Carroll Attracting Interest From Fulham and West Bromwich Albion
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer Confirms Marcos Rojo and Sergio Romero Have No Future at Manchester United

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Global Dressage Festival & What To Look For Next Winter – Part 2 of 2
8 years ago StraightArrow Comments Off on Global Dressage Festival & What To Look For Next Winter – Part 2 of 2
Palm Bach International Equestrian Center's Global Dressage Festival grounds and grass jumper derby field. © 2013 Ken Brsddick/dressage-news.com
Thomas Baur plans to move to Wellington in December to immerse himself in the operations of the Global Dressage Festival that he will oversee and intends for the newly consolidated Florida winter circuit to be "absolutely professional."
"I am really excited about the idea of coming over here and supporting these shows," he said after visiting for a few days to familiarize himself with the schedule and the show grounds that are part of the Palm Beach International Equestrian Center. "I think it's a bit different world to what we have in Europe. We have a lot of very good shows, but every show is just a weekend.
"Here, the CDIs go every second weekend. That is really different."
No circuits in Europe can compare–neither the long established Sunshine Circuit in Spain nor the evolving winter series in Vidauban, France that can be a victim of chilly weather.
"I think they are aware in Europe and looking at what's going on here," he told dressage-news.com. "I think there are a lot more European riders coming over for two or three shows."
Most of America's leading riders welcome a prospective influx of Europeans for the winter schedule that includes three World Cup events, a Nations Cup, a CDI4* and a CDI5* plus the Palm Beach Dressage Derby in Loxahatchee that is also a World Cup event.
Under the leadership of U.S. Technical Advisor/Chef d'Equipe Robert Dover the United States sent about 20 combinations to Europe to train and compete against the best, a program he thinks is vital if America wants to be on medals podiums at Olympics as they were up until the 2008 Games and have not not been a factor in championship team competition since. Team USA finished third at the World Equestrian Festival in Aachen, Germany and won silver at Hickstead, England this summer as part of the new program.
Europeans in the U.S. will bring top sport to the United States rather than always having to look to European competitions as the sole measuring stick.
"I think it looks quite promising," Thomas said, "much better than two years ago."
The 2013 Global Dressage Festival's CDI5* victory gallop with the winner, Lars Petersen on Mariett and Steffen Peters on Legolas who placed second. © 2013 Ken Braddick/dressage-news.com
One change that could help jump start European participation would be a change in the rules for qualifying in the North American League of the World Cup, the only annual global dressage championship.
The United States and Canada insist on the average of the two best competitions to count toward qualifying for the final, as distinct from the Western European League that assigns points for order of finish.
Europeans such as Sweden's Tinne Vilhelmsson Silfvén may compete in three or four World Cup events in Florida but under current rules can keep full points from one event and half the points from a second event to count toward their qualification in the Western European League.
As the results for the Europeans do not impact the two places reserved for North American horses and riders, several riders and officials on both sides of the Atlantic ask why does the joint U.S.-Canada committee administering the North American League insist on a formula that could limit participation from Europe and other World Cup geographic leagues.
Canada, which has an equal vote with the United States on the committee, has not hosted a World Cup event in the past two seasons, but the two North American representatives at the Final in Sweden this year were Canadians.
No World Cup events are currently scheduled for Canada in 2014 though Desi Dillingham, the federation's Special Advisor, is looking at changes to the schedule.
"I have been working on changing the rules for some time now," Thomas said. "We have not been able to convince the committee for North American World Cup.
"I will continue to work for a change because I think it's absolutely essential to have a system in North America that is the same as Western Europe. If we want to upgrade the North American League there is no other way.
"In the end these two leagues should be more or less on the same level. It is a chance to upgrade North America, to bring it closer to the Western European League. It is not only good for North America but also for the World Cup and the FEI."
The World Cup scheduled for Las Vegas in 2015 "would be the right time to change."
Many top European judges are being signed up for Florida.
However, up and coming American judges are also being added to the ground juries because, he said, "it is important to bring them into the system. They need to get their chance, to sit with and exchange opinions with the top judges in the world because they won't be invited to Europe as that is usually only for five star judges."
Among the up and coming Americans to be on the GDF judging panels are Sandra Hotz of Longmont, Colorado; Michael Osinski of Lacey, Washington and Bill Warren of Stoughton, Massachusetts.
The confirmed schedule for Palm Beach CDI3*-plus events, including the Palm Beach Dressage Derby in Loxahatchee:
Wellington – The Stadium at PBIEC – Jan. 8-12 – [CDI-W], CDI1*, CDIJ, CDIP, CDIU25, CDIY
Wellington – The Stadium at PBIEC – Jan. 22-26 – [CDI-W], CDI1*, CDIJ, CDIP, CDIU25, CDIY
Wellington – The Stadium at PBIEC – Feb. 5-9 – CDI1*, CDI3*, CDI4*, CDIJ, CDIP, CDIU25, CDIY
Wellington – The Stadium at PBIEC – Feb. 18-23 – CDI1*, CDI3*, CDIJ, [CDIO3*], CDIP, CDIU25, CDIY
Loxahatchee – Equestrian Estates – Feb. 26-Mar. 2 – [CDI-W], CDIJ, CDIP, CDIU25, CDIY, CDIYH
Wellington – The Stadium at PBIEC – Mar. 12-16 – [CDI-W], CDI1*, CDIJ, CDIP, CDIU25, CDIY
Wellington – The Stadium at PBIEC Mar. 26-30 – CDI1*, CDI3*, CDI5*, CDIJ, CDIP, CDIU25, CDIY, CDIYH
Happy Birthday, Susan Dutta!
StraightArrow 10 years ago
WELLINGTON, Florida, Jan.9--Susan Dutta celebrated her birthday Monday but the present from her husband, Tim, is going to have to do for two birthdays and she won't get to... Read More
Central American & Caribbean Games Dressage Starts Sunday
VERACRUZ, Mexico, Nov. 15, 2014--The Central American & Caribbean Games dressage starts Sunday with five teams competing in the Nations Cup to earn one of three starting places at... Read More
Rolex Sponsors Palm Beach Dressage & Jumper Shows; Hotel, Retail Proposal for Show Grounds Clears Another Hurdle
WELLINGTON, Florida, Jan. 4--Rolex has become a sponsor of the 2012 Winter Equestrian Festival and the Global Dressage Festival, the premier dressage and jumper/hunter events at the Palm Beach... Read More
Totilas Back in World Rankings for 1st Time In 15 Months–at No. 400
Totilas ridden by Matthias Alxander Rath of Germany is back in the world rankings for the first time in 15 months, at No. 400 while the top three combinations... Read More


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Author's Note
The Inn at the Crossroad
C.V. and Credit List
Patrick Carroll | Works
blog,paged,paged-2,eltd-core-1.0.3,ajax_updown,page_not_loaded,,borderland-ver-1.5.1,vertical_menu_enabled, vertical_menu_left, vertical_menu_width_350, vertical_menu_with_scroll,smooth_scroll,side_menu_slide_from_right,wpb-js-composer js-comp-ver-5.1.1,vc_responsive
The Inn at the Crossroad – Ten – Requiescant In Pace
The following will be a survey of those hostelries recorded at one time or another as existing in Crewkerne, and which are now no more. Some have been gone for many years, or even centuries; but others are recent enough to be well-remembered by current Crewkerne residents and, indeed, five of the older houses were operating during my own time...
The Inn at the Crossroad – PART TWO – Nine – The Competition
The following are historical sketches of Crewkerne's other older inns, both those still in existence, and the ones that are no more. Since I first undertook these researches Crewkerne, like the rest of the country, has seen some dramatic attrition affecting the town's inns. When I last revised the list there were ten establishments that were at least 100 years...
The Inn at the Crossroad – Eight – In Living Memory
In looking back and revising the eighth chapter of this study I've been given pause as to retaining the title "In Living Memory". My reason for this - not surprisingly after a hiatus of nearly 20 years - is that at least three of my previous informants have since gone under the wire. However, I have reflected that those individuals...
Helstonia – The Rodney Inn, Meneage Street, Helston
The Rodney Inn is named for George Brydges Rodney, 1st Baron Rodney of Rodney Stoke, Somerset. Rodney was perhaps the most celebrated naval hero of the mid-18th century. Born in 1718 and baptised at Walton-on-Thames in February of that year, his family were well-connected but became comparatively impoverished following his father's loss of a substantial portion of his wealth through...
Helstonia – The Bell Inn, Meneage Street
Paul Corballis in his book Pub Signs (Lennard Publishing 1988) writes "…if you see a pub with this sign look around for a church. This ancient sign originated with pubs attached to or near early churches." It is possible that there was in pre-Reformation times an ecclesiastical establishment of some kind on or adjacent to the present Meneage Street site of the Bell...
The Shakespeare Tavern, Prince Street, Bristol
"After God, Shakespeare has created most" - Alexander Dumas Bristol boasts four inns named in honour of the Swan of Avon. The one now at 68 Prince Street owes its name to the proximity of the Theatre Royal, Britain's oldest purpose-built playhouse, in more or less continuous use since 1766. The present Shakespeare Tavern comprises half of a double-fronted, stone-built house dating from...
Helstonia – The Cornish Hotels of New York City
THE CORNISH HOTELS OF NEW YORK CITY PART ONE Some time ago, while researching in the Cornish Studies Library at Redruth into the history of an old Cornish public house, I encountered on microfilm copies of the West Briton newspaper's shipping columns dating from the 1890s a series of advertisements connecting the area of Lower Manhattan where I spent my childhood and...
Helstonia – Two More Coinagehall Street Hostelries
The Seven Stars Inn – AKA Fitzsimmons Arms From its inception until c.1982 the house was known as the Seven Stars Inn. For a 25 year period during the 1980s, '90s and into the present century the house was known by the sign of the Fitzsimmons Arms. In the middle ages the Seven Stars was a religious sign, representing the seven...
The Old Punter's Cautionary Tale of a Ditty
The Old Punter's Cautionary Tale of a Ditty - The History of "Dublin Lady" I might have followed the example of Noel Coward when he warned "Don't Put Your Daughter on the Stage, Mrs. Worthington" in advising my children against becoming songwriters. As it is, in the case of my eldest son, the counsel would have come too late. He's already...
Seamus Ennis, Sketch of a Master
My admiration for Seamus Ennis – always fairly idolatrous – reached its peak one night in March 1971 at Thurso Folk Club. Seamus, the Scotish folk singer/songwriter Archie Fisher and I had driven from Aberdeen; stopping only for a flat tyre in Dingwall, and making the last hundred miles in a slithery drizzle along a serpentine coast road, stretches of...
THE LAST DYE TRANSFER PRINTER IN CAPTIVITY
Ship Inn – Porthleven
The St. Ives & Queen's Hotels
The Cornish Hotels of New York City – Part Two
Helstonia – The New Inn – Church Street – Helston Circa 1750 – circa late 1920s
Carl Stoveland on THE LAST DYE TRANSFER PRINTER IN CAPTIVITY
Kerry ODonnell on Helstonia – The Cornish Hotels of New York City
James Wickham on Wolcott Revisited
Anne stroud on Helstonia – The Cornish Hotels of New York City
Alan Paggett on A Diamond on a Hilltop


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Clinton's lead over Trump shrinks as campaign enters final 2 weeks
US Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton's national lead over her Republican rival Donald Trump has shrunk to 5 points with the Election Day just two weeks away, a new poll shows.
The former secretary of state has the support of 59 percent of likely voters, while the billionaire businessman has 44 percent support, according to the CNN/ORC survey released on Monday.
Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson has 3 percent support among likely voters, while Green Party nominee Jill Stein has 2 percent support.
Only one day before the release of CNN/ORC survey, Clinton was holding a 12-point lead over Trump nationally in the ABC News 2016 tracking poll.
With all three presidential debates now in the rear view mirror, Trump looks closing in on Clinton despite the fact that he has again denounced the polls which show him trailing behind Clinton as ineffective and "rigged".
Trump accused the Democratic Party of manufacturing fake polls to damage his presidential campaign but said that he'll win regardless.
"Major story that the Dems are making up phony polls in order to suppress the Trump. We are going to WIN!" the real estate tycoon-turned-politician tweeted on Monday.
He also tweeted, "Media in the tank for Clinton but Trump will win!" and "We are winning and the press is refusing to report it."
US Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks during a campaign rally at the MidFlorida Credit Union Amphitheater on October 24, 2016 in Tampa, Florida. (Photo by AFP)
Meanwhile, Trump told a radio show on Monday that pollsters focused on likely Democratic voters when asking about who won the second and third presidential debates.
"All the fair polls have us winning. The oversampled polls, meaning they take it out of Democrats, that's a different story," he said.
"It was a poll of Democrats and watchers of CNN and it had her winning the debate," Trump said, referring to Clinton.
The latest CNN/ORC poll also showed Clinton has expanded her popularity among younger voters and non-whites, while Trump has increased his support among the whites who do not have college degrees.
Clinton now has support of 53 percent of likely voters who are under the age of 45 years, compared with 47 percent in the previous CNN/ORC poll. Among the age group from 50 years to 64, the former First Lady is trailing the billionaire by 4 points in this poll.
By Press TV
Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton, US Presidential Election 2016	October 25, 2016
Iran, Armenia discussing prospects for deepening financial cooperation
CBI chief meets Singaporean bankers
Reinsurance industry seeking Int'l ties
The Observer view on the EU's weakness on the world stage
Iran lost $350 billion overflight fees due plane crash
Photos: Islamic Revolution Leader in today's Friday prayers


I am having some issues with my GRC connector to AD. When provisioning to an existing user, the system keeps on confusing the AD group with the user ID. It is assigning the AD group to the AD group itself as if it is a user ID.
Double-check group parameter mapping regarding objectclasses and mapping for USERID and ROLE_NAME in group field mapping. Also you can test the 'Modify' operation in LDAP transaction. See Connecting SAP GRC AC 10.X to Microsoft Active Directory for further information.


Throw some clay on the wheel and get spinning at Core Clay with one of these great deals!
Today's Deal: Throw some clay on the wheel and get spinning at Core Clay with one of these great deals!
Throw some clay on the wheel and get spinning - join the Core Clay community and express yourself through physical art! Whether you've never worked with clay before or you're a season experienced ceramic artist, you'll enjoy guided classes at Core Clay, plus the use of their tool kits! Core Clay provides glazes, clays and all the tools you would want or need for creating amazing works of art with your hands!
Core Clay's mission isn't to be the prettiest or cleanest studio in the city, but to be the most encouraging of talent, creativity and marketing of artists' work. They do this by having experienced potters and sculptors work alongside beginners and intermediate artists to contribute to the atmosphere of learning and working together.
Studio space is also available for rent, as well as shelf rental for those who wish to access glazes and places to keep pottery. You can visit for a day, attend a class, get a one-on-one lesson and more!
You will receive: Choose one of two options for a unique gift at Core Clay!
Option 1: A certificate for a Date Night for two people to create a hand-built masterpiece, plus the use of a toolkit at Core Clay -- a $100 value on sale for $50!
Option 2: A certificate for six classes, plus the use of a toolkit at Core Clay -- a $180 value on sale for $90!
Throw some clay on the wheel and start spinning at Core Clay! Whether you're new to working with clay, or an experienced artist you'll have a great time expressing yourself through the guided classes. Core Clay provides everything you need, including a 25 lb. block of clay, glazes and a toolkit to help you bring your vision to life.
Choose the Date Night certificate for a unique night out you won't soon forget! Grab your significant other or a friend, and start creating your own hand-built masterpiece. After all, spending time together is often the best gift you can give. Or, show your creative side with six classes!
At Core Clay, no experience is required, so get started today with this deal!
Date Night option - A maximum of 1 certificate may be redeemed per 2 people, per visit. Please call Core Clay at 513-961-2728 to make reservation. Date Night classes are offered each Friday of every week and are subject to availability.
6 class option - A maximum of 1 certificate may be redeemed per person. 6 week classes at Core Clay are by appointment only upon registering online with certificate code listed on certificate under "redemption instruction."


text:
Transforming ambitious European companies into global players
« Thanks to our multi-local team composed of renowned experts, we benefit from unique sourcing capabilities. »
Philippe Poletti
CEO of Ardian France and Head of Ardian Buyout
Ardian's European-leading Buyout team invests in high-quality mid- and large-cap companies across Western Europe, applying transformational strategies which enable them to become global leaders in their niche market.
• Strong, experienced team with a global focus, deeply rooted in Europe
• Top quartile and stable track record across six generations of funds, investing in companies with EV between €300m & €2bn, 90% in Europe and up to 10% in North America
• Successful and proven investment model backed by unique sourcing ability which allows a strong flow of both primary and proprietary deals
• More than 80 investments and over 170 build-ups since 1997, with €800 to €1,200m invested or committed each year
• 43 team members, comprising 40% of Managing Directors with an average of 17 years of experience in PE
Ardian is a trusted partner thanks to the team's deep sector experience, extending across geographies. The team are committed to investment excellence and have a track record of exceptional and consistent performance, through economic cycles.
Approach to value creation. Ardian Buyout applies a strong investment framework to transforming companies and creating value:
• Strong governance and management reinforcement
• Operational support
• Buy & build
• Digital, IT transformation & Sustainability
Ardian's deep expertise and experience, along with its multi-local teams and strong brand, gives it an exceptional deal sourcing capability. More than half of its investments in the most recent fund were primary LBOs, and more than half were proprietary deals, a trend which has increased across each generation.
Ardian has a core capacity for creating value from complex situations. This ability resonates particularly in family buyout and carve-out deals where Ardian is a preferred partner.
Ardian invests across Western Europe and North America through 7 offices, focusing on eight business expertise (Healthcare, Insurance Services, Consumer Goods & Innovative Retail, Food Ingredient & Agrobusiness, Chemicals, Engineering, Aeronautics and TIC) combined with five long-term growth themes which account for 90% of all investments:
• Quality of life & health
• Natural products and the environment
• Consumer experience
• Value-add product processes
• Compliance and process efficiency
Case Study SIACI SAINT HONORE
Discover Ardian Activity Report 2018
All team members Our portfolio
800 to €1,200M invested or committed each year
>80 investments and more than 170 build-ups since 1997
>40 employees


THE cost of our debt could spiral out of control if we don't press on with swingeing cutbacks, Taoiseach Brian Cowen was warned last night.
The warning came as new figures raised fears the economy could be caught in a 'debt trap'.
Mr Cowen was given the stark warning by the largest international credit rating agency, Moody's, which lowered our status as a borrower. That will make it even more expensive for the Government to get loans to keep the economy afloat.
The latest blow came despite Exchequer returns for the first six months of the year showing the public finances broadly on target after April's emergency Budget.
The returns reveal total tax revenue amounted to €15.8bn in the year to June. That was 17pc down on the same period last year, but only 1.2pc below the target set in the Budget.
But more swingeing measures are essential over the next 18 months if we are to curb the escalating debt mountain, experts said.
Both Moody's and local analysts saw worrying signs of a 'debt trap' in the figures, where a shrinking economy widens the gap between income and spending despite higher taxes and cuts.
Last night, Finance Minister Brian Lenihan said the rate of decline in overall tax revenue had eased. "There are still substantial targets in the months ahead, so tax revenues will need to be carefully monitored as the year progresses," he said.
"Apart from corporation taxes, there has been no major improvement in tax revenues of late," Austin Hughes, chief economist at KBC Bank in Dublin, said. "This suggests the impact of various tax increases has broadly been offset by the adverse impact of a weaker economy and a pull-back in spending.
"Clearly an economy where taxes are declining faster than the economy, and public spending is increasing, is not on a sustainable path."
Moody's cut our credit worthiness by another notch to the third level, down from its top "AAA" grade.
The company's senior analyst Dietmar Hornung said Ireland's rating was likely to be cut again if the budgetary situation did not improve. They would be watching the 2010 budget carefully, he said. "It is envisaged that further fiscal consolidation will be considerable in size, although this has not been specified. That would be key for us -- that Ireland is fiscally able to adjust," he said.
The warning comes against a background of growing political tensions over the plan to cut another €4bn off the deficit next year -- most of it in spending. The Government has not decided whether to publish the spending cuts identified in the report of the cost-cutting review body known as "An Bord Snip Nua". There is already resistance to the idea of a property tax, even though the Exchequer returns suggest that higher income taxes are already producing lower returns, as falling incomes and higher unemployment reduce revenue.
"One area that we will be paying particular attention to in coming months is income tax, given the disappointing June return," according to Simon Barry, senior economist at Ulster Bank. The figures show that the levies imposed in the April Budget cost taxpayers €120m in June, compared with €50m a month from the levies in the October Budget. Moody's Hornung said that the adjustment under way here was already "quite considerable".
But Ireland's creditworthiness "has lost altitude to an extent that is no longer compatible with a 'AAA' rating".
"The strength of the economic recovery will depend on Ireland's capability to restore competitiveness -- particularly to reduce wages, which are currently among the highest in the eurozone," Mr Hornung said.


This oh-so British wedding has everything an English countryside wedding should be - historic 16th century venue, elegant tablescapes, croquet, fly fishing and a little bit of rain! Held at the stunning Bibury Court in Cotswold, this beautiful wedding was filled to the brim with chic decor and personal touches.
Pink and white stripes added the perfect touch of whimsy to the classic, vintage-inspired stationery and decor. Don't miss a single detail from this elegant English wedding by visiting the full gallery here, all fabulously photographed by Catherine Mead.
From the Bride:We chose the venue because it was where we got engaged the year before. To accentuate the fun feel we chose pink and white stripes for as many details as possible including the ties, the cake and the stationery. It was a perfect day.On the Venue: Bibury Court is a mansion that dates back to the late 16th Century and was turned into a hotel in the 1960s. Nestled away down a private driveway in the village, Bibury Court is a Jacobean Hidden Gem with stunning gardens, grounds and interiors, log burning fires for the winter season and a well situated patio overlooking our river Coln perfect for welcome drinks, canapés and BBQ's during Summer time. Plus, with the historic St. Mary's church right next door, you can have the traditional church ceremony of your dreams and walk through the church's gate directly into the hotel's gardens! How great is that?!
Rainy Day Wedding Tips If you live in a rainy part of the country like England, Portland or anywhere in the Pacific Northwest, here are a few of our best rainy day tips for your wedding.
Our English countryside wedding in the picturesque Cotswolds was a summer garden party with croquet on the lawn and fly fishing in the river for our guests. It was important to us to have personal touches so we made many things ourselves with the help of family and friends including the confetti, the monogrammed bunting and the sweetie bags.
To stay on budget this amazing couple did a lot of the decor and details themselves. The confetti that was thrown as they exited the ceremony they created by drying flower petals in the microwave, printed all of the stationery and made the bunting and bags for the candy bar using a custom stamp of their wedding logo. How clever! They also used a local cakemaker, Cake Sweet Cake, who created an absolutely beautiful cake.
Things the Bride would have done differently: 1. I do wish I had a different dress for the evening - it was hot and I did not realise how difficult it was to dance in a large heavy dress! It would have been great to have had a nice slinky Jenny Packham gown to change into. 2. Shoes - I spent far too much money on the shoes which was a real waste considering they got very dirty and were hardly seen. 3. Stationery - I did the stationery myself which was really stressful. The printer kept getting the colours wrong and we had to change the printer twice. We nearly didn't have menus on the day! If I could do things again I would have found a supplier for this.


text:
Q: How to hide drawer upon user click How do I hide the drawer when the user clicks on an item? Or when a button is clicked?

        Title
        <button class="mdl-button mdl-js-button mdl-button--fab mdl-button--mini-fab mdl-js-ripple-effect" id="clickme">
          add
        </button>

How do I do it that when the button is clicked, the drawer will be hidden as if I clicked outside of the drawer? I tried simulating a click event outside of the drawer but it still does not hide.

A: Based on GitHub discourse, I have a couple of working solutions to the (hopefully soon to be resolved) issue of having a MDL drawer close when link is clicked. At the moment I'm using:
function close() {
  var d = document.querySelector('.mdl-layout');
  d.MaterialLayout.toggleDrawer();
}

document.querySelector('.mdl-layout__drawer').addEventListener('click', close);

Other variations are:
1.
document.querySelector('.mdl-layout__drawer').addEventListener('click', function () {
  document.querySelector('.mdl-layout__obfuscator').classList.remove('is-visible');
  this.classList.remove('is-visible');
}, false);

2.
function close() {
  var d = document.querySelector('.mdl-layout');
  d.MaterialLayout.toggleDrawer();
}
var drawer_container = document.getElementsByClassName('mdl-layout')[0];
drawer_container.querySelector('.mdl-layout__drawer').addEventListener('click', 'close');

Someone in the discussion mentioned the idea of targeting the querySelector so as not to require looking through the entire document and I came up with the following two variations:
3.
var drawer_container = document.getElementsByClassName('mdl-layout')[0];
# no IDs in the html code.
drawer_container.querySelector('.mdl-layout__drawer').addEventListener('click', function () {
  var obfuscator = document.querySelector('.mdl-layout__obfuscator');
  if (obfuscator.classList.contains('is-visible')) {
    obfuscator.classList.remove('is-visible');
    this.classList.remove('is-visible');
  }
}, false);

4.
function close() {
  var d = document.getElementsByClassName('mdl-layout__container')[0].querySelector('.mdl-layout');
  d.MaterialLayout.toggleDrawer();
}
var drawer_container = document.getElementsByClassName('mdl-layout')[0];
drawer_container.querySelector('.mdl-layout__drawer').addEventListener('click', 'close');

In both of my versions the browser has to run document.getElementsByClassName as well as a targeted querySelector call.
In my first version there is also the check: classList.contains('is-visible') which someone had recommended, but which seems unnecessary as, the function is being called from an item that is only visible if classList.contains('is-visible') is true.
I added the following calls to each of my variations (#3 and 4), within the functions:
console.time("anonymous");
console.timeEnd("anonymous");
console.time("close function");
console.timeEnd("close function");

And the one with the if statement runs in .39ms. Without the if statement they both run in .19ms. But I'm also not measuring the getElementsByClassName and querySelector methods that, if I understand correctly, are running on page load.
When I ran console.time("first"); and console.timeEnd("first"); through the first, and to me, prettiest code, the time was 23ms.
Apparently ie8, which I want to support, doesn't support getElementsByClassName.
I'm hoping someone can provide and explain an optimal solution to this relatively simple problem.
Here's a CodePen (not mine).

A: For version 1.0.6, you have to remove the before mentioned class from two elements:
$( '.mdl-layout__drawer, .mdl-layout__obfuscator' ).removeClass( 'is-visible' );

A: I'm using this jquery command:
$( 'div[class^="mdl-layout__obfuscator"]' ).trigger( "click" );

A: toggleDrawer is now a public function since  @be54f78.
var layout = document.querySelector('.mdl-layout');
layout.MaterialLayout.toggleDrawer();

Not currently available with v1.0.6, so you will need to build from source (as of today).

A: I believe you can remove the is-visible class from .mdl-layout__drawer. I tried modifying a codepen example from their site: demo. My pure javascript event binding is rusty, but as I mentioned, you just need to remove the .is-visible class from the drawer.
Update
The code I provided was for v1.0.0 of mdl and is not actual anymore. Starting at v1.1.0 there is a public API provided for toggling the drawer, as described in Benjamin's answer. If you're between v1.0.6 and v1.1.0, have a look at idleherb's answer.

A: Showing and hiding the menu is as easy as adding and removing the .is-visible class as it can be seen in the source:
MaterialLayout.prototype.drawerToggleHandler_ = function() {
  'use strict';

  this.drawer_.classList.toggle(this.CssClasses_.IS_DRAWER_OPEN);
};

So you would have something like this:
function toggle_drawer() {
  var drawer = document.getElementsByClassName('mdl-layout__drawer')[0];
  drawer.classList.toggle("is-visible");
}

I was hoping for a more convenient method of the MaterialLayout widget, but the best that I came up with was:
var layout = document.getElementsByClassName('mdl-layout')[0];
layout.MaterialLayout.drawerToggleHandler_();

although this happens to be working, that _ at the end of the method name shows that this function is not supposed to be (mis)used as a public API method.

A: Do this:
HTML

    Whatever

          Home
          About

JS
    $('.mdl-navigation__link').on('click', function () {

        // close the drawer the button is clicked
        $('.mdl-layout__drawer').toggleClass('is-visible')
    });

CSS
/* prevent the dark transparent background over the page with the drawer is open */
.mdl-layout__obfuscator.is-visible{
    background-color: transparent;
}

A: Auto Hide the Navigation Drawer in Material Design Lite Framework.
Just include this code in the script tag of your web page
Must Include jQuery to get this run... :D

A: To close it you need to check that it is open first, as there is no "closeDrawer". This is helpful when you cannot assume it is already open, like if you have a logout button within the drawer, and also outside, or in some session timeout function. You just need it closed to show the log-back-in form.
closeDrawer() {
    let drawer = document.querySelector('.mdl-layout__drawer');
    if (drawer && drawer.className.indexOf("is-visible")>-1) {
        toggleDrawer();
    }
}
toggleDrawer() {
    let layout = document.querySelector('.mdl-layout');
    if (layout && layout.MaterialLayout) {
        layout.MaterialLayout.toggleDrawer();
    }
}

A: In Angular ^4.0.0 you can use this workaround instead of using toggleDrawer() if you are having some problems with having MaterialLayout undefined as I'm.
(
  document
    .querySelector('.mdl-layout__obfuscator') as HTMLDivElement
).click();

A: I have no idea how to get the "MaterialLayout" inside my Angular 6 project, but I took their prototype function and used it in my component:
  toggleDrawer = function () {
    var is_drawer_open = 'is-visible'
    var drawerButton = document.querySelector('.mdl-layout__drawer-button');
    var drawer_ = document.querySelector('.mdl-layout__drawer');
    var obfuscator_ = document.querySelector('.mdl-layout__obfuscator');
    drawer_.classList.toggle(is_drawer_open);
    obfuscator_.classList.toggle(is_drawer_open);
    // Set accessibility properties.
    if (drawer_.classList.contains(is_drawer_open)) {
      drawer_.setAttribute('aria-hidden', 'false');
      drawerButton.setAttribute('aria-expanded', 'true');
    } else {
      drawer_.setAttribute('aria-hidden', 'true');
      drawerButton.setAttribute('aria-expanded', 'false');
    }
  };

A: add this code to a custom button 'click' event
(tested on version 1.3.0)
$(".mdl-layout__drawer, .mdl-layout__obfuscator").toggleClass("is-visible");

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