Eugene Robinson: The end of the ‘war on terror’ “We must define the nature and scope of this struggle, or else it will define us,” Obama said. “We must make decisions based not on fear, but on hard-earned wisdom. And that begins with understanding the current threat that we face.” Osama bin Laden’s al-Qaeda, the organization that flew airliners into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, is decimated and on the run. But franchise groups, some bearing the al-Qaeda name, in Yemen, Somalia, Iraq and Mali pose a lesser but real threat to the United States. Meanwhile, the Arab Spring empowered — and armed to the teeth — ad hoc groups across the region that share al-Qaeda’s zeal for Islamist jihad and can mount deadly local attacks, such as in Benghazi. “Lethal yet less capable al-Qaeda affiliates.
This attempt to enumerate real and potential enemies was the heart of Obama’s speech, in my view. He could have gone further in talking about the nature of the threat from “radicalized” individuals. Genetically Modified Democracy: Monsanto and Congress Move to Stomp on States' Rights. Reliable sources in Washington D.C. have informed the Organic Consumers Association (OCA) that Monsanto has begun secretly lobbying its Congressional allies to attach one or more “Monsanto Riders” or amendments to the 2013 Farm Bill that would preempt or prohibit states from requiring labels on genetically engineered (GE) foods. In response to this blatant violation of states’ rights to legislate, and consumers’ right to know, the OCA and a nationwide alliance have launched a petition to put every member of Congress on notice: If you support any Farm Bill amendment that would nullify states’ rights to label genetically modified organisms (GMOs), we’ll vote – or throw – you out of office.
On Wednesday, May 15, an amendment to the House version of the Farm Bill, inserted under the guise of protecting interstate commerce, passed out of the House Agricultural Committee. Will the King Amendment survive the Senate? No one can be sure, say analysts. Trouble in Monsanto Nation. GOP’s biggest obstacle on Benghazi/IRS/AP: Americans’ attention spans. To watch the news coverage this week, you'd think the Obama administration was on its last legs. The good news for the Obama administration is that relatively few people are watching the news coverage. According to a new Gallup poll, interest in the IRS scandal and the controversy over Benghazi remains below average when it comes to major news stories. While 60 percent of Americans are generally following a story at least "somewhat closely," just 53 percent are following the Benghazi news and 54 percent are following the IRS scandal.
The findings mirror a poll we looked at Wednesday from the Pew Research Center, which showed relatively few people following the Benghazi controversy closely. Put simply: Americans' lack of attention span remains a -- if not the -- major hurdle in the GOP's effort to turn these issues into ones that will help them win elections. A sex scandal is cut and dry, as is an economic downturn or a failed response to a natural disaster.
GIUDICE DENUNCIA BILDERBERG GROUP!!! CREW and Brave New Foundation Release New Report and Film on Pentagon Revolving Door. The Pentagon’s Revolving Door with Defense Contractors…Some Shocking Statistics. High ranking generals and admirals earn their stars. They earn their stripes. Then, they earn their cash. New research by Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) found 70% of the 108 three-and-four star generals and admirals who retired between 2009 and 2011 took jobs with defense contractor or consultants. In at least a few cases, the retirees have continued to advise the Department of Defense while on the payroll of defense contractors, suggesting the Pentagon may not always be receiving unbiased counsel.
A Boston Globe investigation revealed the number of retired three-and-four star generals and admirals moving into lucrative defense industry jobs rose from less than 50% between 1994 and 1998 to a stratospheric 80% between 2004 and 2008. - From Strategic Maneuvers: The Revolving Door from the Pentagon to the Private Sector, a report by CREW One of the prime examples of the dangers of this activity outlined in the report revolves around Lt. Absolutely incredible. The Pentagon’s Revolving Door with Defense Contractors…Some Shocking Statistics. By Michael Krieger of LibertyBlitzkrieg.com - From , a report by CREW Read the rest here . Afghan revolving door: 5 US generals, 5 years - Richmond Times-Dispatch: National & World News: Posted: Wednesday, November 21, 2012 12:00 am Afghan revolving door: 5 US generals, 5 years Associated Press | KABUL, Afghanistan For former CIA Director David Petraeus, it was a one-year stint as top U.S. commander in Afghanistan. His replacement is scheduled to leave next year after 18 months in the job.
And now the sex scandal that draws them together — Petraeus’ career toppled and Marine Gen. John Allen’s possibly on hold — also has placed greater attention to the quick turnover of American battlefield chiefs in the 11-year war. An online service is needed to view this article in its entirety. Login Or, use your linked account: Choose an online service. The following services are print only and offer no digital access Existing Subscribers$9.90 Need an account? “The learning curve is pretty steep,” said retired Lt. Iraq also had regular command changes, including Petraeus. “Rotating top commanders on an annual basis makes no management sense,” Thomas E. Gen. McChrystal’s predecessor, Gen.
Petraeus fallout shows diminishing separation between think tanks and government. In contrast to their European counterparts, think tanks in the United States tend to pride themselves on independence from government. There is, of course, the revolving door phenomenon of policy wonks oscillating between government appointments and think tank life, but that’s not the case for the vast majority of think tankers — and even then, it’s understood that think tankers are not doing the work of the government, even if they are trying to influence it. However, that thin line of separation may have just gotten a little thinner. Alex Wong/Getty Images Following up on a report from The Washington Post that said several prominent think tankers held permanent office space at Gen. “General Petraeus liked to talk about ‘directed telescopes’ to describe people who go down to lower echelons and see what’s going on and go back and help the commander get a better sense of that,” says Kagan, who added that he has been going on such trips since 2007.
Lots of questions come out of this. BBC staff battle with revolving doors at new £1 billion HQ. The Shocking Statistics Behind The Pentagon's Revolving Door 'Policy' | Military. (Before It's News) Via Mike Krieger of Liberty Blitzkrieg blog, ZeroHedge High ranking generals and admirals earn their stars. They earn their stripes. Then, they earn their cash. New research by Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) found 70% of the 108 three-and-four star generals and admirals who retired between 2009 and 2011 took jobs with defense contractor or consultants.
. - From Strategic Maneuvers: The Revolving Door from the Pentagon to the Private Sector, a report by CREW Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) has just released a fantastic new report on the revolving door between the Pentagon and the private sector, which raises serious concerns not only about ethics and corruption within the defense sector, but also raises issues of national security if retired generals are merely acting as mercenaries once they retire.
One of the prime examples of the dangers of this activity outlined in the report revolves around Lt. And the Doors Go 'Round. By Kate Ackley Roll Call Staff Dec. 4, 2012, 7:34 p.m. Ivan Adler made his way into a Hill office that was in a shambles: naked walls, Dumpster-style trash bins, piles of boxes, jeans-clad workers carting out the contents of what had recently been the stately domain of a sitting member of Congress. The lawmaker, whom Adler won’t name, is trying to line up a private sector gig after voters sent him packing.
And though he still has a job for a few more weeks, there were obvious signs of his need to hang out a new shingle. “We’re sitting there talking about this member’s future, and employees from the Architect of the Capitol literally come in and are taking furniture out of the office,” Adler said. Down the hall in another one of six recent meetings with Election Day losers, Adler said he couldn’t even find a place to sit. This is what the revolving door looks like. It’s messy. So it’s no surprise that an industry exists to help grease the transition. Headhunting can be a lucrative business. Editorial laments Florida Legislature's revolving door. November 27, 2012 Florida legislators make $29,687 a year — not bad for a part-time job, but not exactly king's wages. Their real chance to cash in comes after they leave the state Senate or House.
Then, as history shows, they can capitalize on their relationships and know-how in Tallahassee — assets they've acquired at public expense — to land lucrative jobs as lobbyists. State law bars ex-legislators from lobbying their former colleagues in the Capitol, but only for two years. As the Sentinel reported this week, former Speaker Dean Cannon, the Winter Park Republican whose two-year term as the state House's presiding officer ended this month, wasted no time in hanging out his shingle. Cannon, a lobbyist before he was first elected to the House in 2004, says he followed all the rules about legislating and lobbying and got the blessing of the state ethics commission.
Washington’s revolving door: Congressman Shuler turns lobbyist | Best US Online Casinos For USA Players. The revolving door claims another willing public official turned lobbyist | Thom Hartmann - News & info from the #1 progressive radio show. As Politico reported on Tuesday, the architect of Obamacare, Senator Max Baucus’ health policy counsel Liz Fowler, has accepted a job as a lobbyist for the pharmaceutical industry. Not only did Fowler basically create Obamacare, but she was also put in charge by the White House of overseeing the law’s implementation after it was passed.
Before her gig on Capitol Hill and at the White House, Fowler was a lobbyist for health insurance giant Wellpoint. And despite a lot of good things in Obamacare like protection for Americans with pre-existing conditions, there’s no doubt about it that the individual mandate, absent a public option, is a giant stimulus for the for-profit private health insurance industry. Obamacare was also a big giveaway to the big pharmaceutical industry, which defeated the importation of cheap drugs from Canada. “The architect of Obamacare basically lives in the revolving door of sleaze”
By Steve Hynd, on December 6th, 2012 The headline is a direct quote from Glenn Greenwald as he tweeted a must-read link to Trudy Lieberman’s piece on one Liz Fowler. Essentially, Fowler first worked for the Senate Finance Committee, where she ensured that the 2003 Medicare prescription drug law prohibited government from negotiating drug prices down, having to pay what the drug companies charged. Then she moved to WellPoint as a vice president overseeing the giant insurer’s lobbying activities.
Fowler then returned to Senate Finance in 2008 to work for Sen. Max Baucus, who chaired the committee, which was becoming Action Central for health reform. That same prohibition against the government negotiating drug prices with pharmaceutical makers got transcribed into the Affordable Care Act, something sure to make Fowler’s new employer a whole shit-ton of money. Ten Miles Square - Jim DeMint and The Revolving Door. December 07, 2012 11:58 AMJim DeMint and The Revolving Door By John Sides It’s already been noted that Jim DeMint’s departure to head up the Heritage Foundation brings with it much greener pastures: as president, he will likely make upwards of $1 million.
And though DeMint will likely not register as a lobbyist, there is no doubt that much of his work will involve influencing public policy. In that spirit, it seems relevant to ask: how many lobbyists are former members of Congress? James Madison political scientist Tim LaPira tells me: 1%. Are lobbyists who have worked in the federal government different than other lobbyists? In this paper we identify how many lobbyists have previously worked in the federal government — and in which venue — to investigate whether their previous public service affects their subsequent lobbying behavior.
Nobody knows. How large is the revolving door? Stay tuned. Congress’s revolving door. GONE — LONG GONE — are the days when members of Congress scrupled to become lobbyists upon their departure from office. Now, representatives and senators spin like dervishes through the revolving door. Some 163 former members were registered lobbyists in 2009, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. Occasionally, those who’ve lost reelection bids don’t even wait to finish out their terms before lighting out for K Street.
In 2008, Rep. Albert R. Wynn of Maryland’s 4th District lost a Democratic primary and hired on at a law firm with seven months remaining in his term. At the time, we took Mr. Less than a month after coasting to a ninth term with 72 percent of the vote in her rural district, Ms. She and the NRECA are well acquainted, since the latter has contributed about $72,000 to Ms. An advocate of interpartisan civility and a relative moderate in the increasingly conservative Republican caucus, Ms. Ms. Revolving door for government staffers questioned. Right now Rick Abbruzzese works at a desk a few feet from Gov. Martin O'Malley's office in the State House.
In two weeks, he'll report a few blocks away to the Annapolis law firm Rifkin, Livingston, Levitan and Silver LLC, where he will likely lobby his soon-to-be former boss. Ditto for Joseph C. Bryce, a State House staffer for nearly two decades and O'Malley's influential chief legislative officer for the past six years. Last month he announced his departure and has moved into a new office at Manis, Canning and Associates where he'll cajole, pressure and maneuver on behalf of corporate clients.
Elected officials in Maryland must wait up to one year as a "cooling off" period after leaving office before they can lobby their colleagues. Not so for paid staff who can jump from public sector jobs to the world of influence peddling with nary a weekend break — an inconsistency that some in the state believe should be remedied. Abbruzzese and Bryce declined to comment, though Elizabeth F. Congress’ revolving door. Bankster-Treasury Revolving Door. Susan Rice’s Revolving-Door Problem. The revolving door and business-politics links. Revolving Door Spins Often For Former Missouri Lawmakers | Beyond November.
Editorial: Congress’ revolving door - Sunlight Foundation in the News. 360-degree revolving door - Opinion - Citizens' Voice.