Prometheus 6

A Win-Win Decision for Black Students
Wednesday, January 7, 2009; B01

Now that the First Kids have started classes at Sidwell Friends in Washington, they are likely to face this decision in the years to come: Whether to join the school's Black Student Union. Or not.

Will their choice matter either way? Sure, it will, unfair as that might be.

With the election of their father, Barack Obama, as the nation's first black president, many are celebrating the dawn of a long-awaited "post-racial" America. And debates over the relevance of black groups and institutions, from BSUs to historically black colleges, are heating up once again.

In the case of the BSU at Sidwell, some post-racialists might wonder how Barack and Michelle can lead the nation toward a colorblind ideal if they don't steer their daughters away from black groups.

The Black Caucus is going through an identity crisis. In recent weeks, leaders of the caucus found themselves defending the need for their group, composed of 41 House Democrats. It also is in the midst of an uneasy generational shift, as the old lions of the civil rights era begin to give way to a younger generation of black politicians who do not want to be pigeonholed by race.

First, we have discussed the youngsters' concern for being pigeonholed by race.

When I asked Booker if he considered himself a leader of the black community, he seemed to freeze for a moment. “I’m Popeye,” he replied finally. “I am what I am.” He paused again, then tried to explain.

“I don’t want to be pigeonholed,” he said. “I don’t want people to expect me to speak about those issues.” By this, presumably, he meant issues that revolve around race: profiling by police, incarceration rates, flagging urban economies. “I want people to ask me about nonproliferation. I want them to run to me to speak about the situation in the Middle East.” Since the mayor of Newark is rarely called upon to discuss such topics, I got the feeling that Booker does not see himself staying in his current job for anything close to 20 years. “I don’t want to be the person that’s turned to when CNN talks about black leaders,” he said.

Mayor Booker, you ran for the position of New Black Leader of Newark just as surely as the Moses imagery in John McCain's ad harkens back to slave imagery in Southern minds. Your JOB is to speak about those issues. I understand ambition; I know you git in where you fit in. But I also know Mayor of Newark is a stepping stone for you. That this is not the job you want.

It's as bad concern to raise in connection with the CBC, who for the most part are elected by Black folk, as it is for the Mayor of a pretty Black city.

Now, let's talk about the need for the group. The need for the group is tied up in common interests, and the fact that they are elected by Black folk who, in general, cannot fund them the way some other politicians are by their constituencies. I'm pretty comfortable calling the CBC more of a networking organization as a political one.

A number of them have accrued seniority that requires they be given significant power. I mean they aren't going to challenge the status quo beyond insisting more Black folk get into the game, they aren't going to challenge the rationale or goals implied by our national decisions. I think Charlie Rangel has the most juice and he's seriously not a radical. But that all that power is concentrated in the CBC is nervous-making in some circles because it makes the organization a political force for the first time. I think this would have come to pass whoever was elected...you just may not have heard about it.

Finally, yes, "Obama's election was a sign the country [is] moving beyond it's racially troubled past." But it's not a transformation it's a process...one which knuckledraggers who think they don't have to learn because it changed without them doing a damn thing different can inhibit.

Congressional Black Caucus Assesses Its Role Under a Black President
By DAVID M. HERSZENHORN

On Wednesday, Mr. Obama plans to name a chief performance officer with the task of finding government efficiencies. The Congressional Budget Office will also release its latest budget estimates, providing the first official predictions of the shortfalls tied to the economic slowdown and the fallen financial markets.

Oh, that's a new idea...

It's getting harder to hold my tongue until Mr. Obama assumes the office.

Obama Warns About Years of Trillion-Dollar Deficits
By JEFF ZELENY and EDMUND L. ANDREWS

WASHINGTON — President-elect Barack Obama on Tuesday braced Americans for the unparalleled prospect of “trillion-dollar deficits for years to come,” a stark assessment of the budgetary outlook that he said would force his administration to impose tighter fiscal discipline on the government.

Burris, Blocked From Taking Seat, Gains New Support
By CARL HULSE and DAVID STOUT

WASHINGTON — Roland W. Burris, the would-be junior senator from Illinois, picked up the support of a key Democrat late Tuesday afternoon in his bid to occupy the seat vacated by President-elect Barack Obama.

Mr. Burris, who was rebuffed by the Senate clerk earlier in the day, gained the support of Senator Dianne Feinstein of California, the chairman of the Rules Committee, who broke with many of her Democratic colleagues and said that Mr. Burris should be seated despite having been appointed by Gov. Rod R. Blagojevich, who is facing corruption charges.

Regardless of the charges against him, the governor still has the right to fill the Senate vacancy, Ms. Feinstein said, and keeping Mr. Burris from taking his seat could have implications for appointments by other governors.

Toyota is also struggling in its home market, which has been stagnant for years.

Toyota to suspend production for 11 days in Japan
By SHINO YUASA Associated Press Writer
Posted: 01/05/2009 11:05:47 PM PST

TOKYO—Toyota is suspending production at all 12 of its Japan plants for 11 days over February and March, a stoppage of unprecedented scale for the nation's top automaker as it grapples with shrinking global demand.

The last time Toyota Motor Corp. halted production at all its Japan plants was in August 1993, when demand plunged because of a rising yen, and that was for only one day, according to the company.

A global economic downturn has hammered the auto industry in Japan and elsewhere, forcing carmakers to cut staff, lower production and delay new models. Major automakers in the U.S. had teetered on the brink of collapse until securing a multibillion dollar government lifeline.

The Confidence War
By DAVID BROOKS
Published: January 5, 2009

This new game isn’t a war of attrition. It’s a struggle for confidence, a series of psychological exchanges designed to shift the balance of morale. The material destroyed in an episode can be replaced, but the psychological effects are more lasting. What is really important is how each episode ends, because the ending defines the meaning — who mastered events and who was mastered by them.

Yeah, all those dead people's morale is really crushed.

How the hell do you reduce missiles and ground invasions to a struggle for confidence? Is human life really that trivial to this guy?

ubstu34 spotted this at the Huffington Post.

Obama brings firsts for black press
By: Nia-Malika Henderson
January 4, 2009 04:18 PM EST

Barack Obama’s election as president is prompting major changes in the nation’s black press, ushering in a series of firsts that editors say will reshape print, Internet, radio and television coverage aimed at African-American audiences.

Essence, the top-selling magazine among black women, will have a full-time White House reporter for the first time. Ebony magazine will add a White House reporter, either full time or as needed. Its sister publication, Jet magazine, will have a weekly two-page Washington report in every issue.

Tough. You get the bad news first...and there's a bag of it to spread around.

If Reid seats Franken (and Al started the public backlash against the RepublicanFantasy-Based Community, so I like  the idea of him being in the Senate...not to mention that comedy requires a peculiar sort of intelligence Congress could really use. Hell, Congress can use any sort of intelligence) he'll have to seat Burress. Which, after his strong stance against anyone Blago appointed, will be a humiliation.

Which means Burress will have to watch his back. As will Bobby Rush. They will not want any indication that Rush's (frankly speaking) race-based threat succeeded. I advise both gentlemen to keep two words in mind: Cynthia McKinney.

And now the good news.

MN-Senate: Franken Claims Victory

UPDATED, 5:00 p.m. ET: Al Franken declared himself the winner of the Minnesota Senate race moments ago just hours after the state's canvassing board certified a final vote tally that put him 225 votes ahead of Sen. Norm Coleman.

"After 62 days, after the careful and painstaking hand inspection of nearly 3 million ballots, after hours and hours of hard work by elections officials and volunteers across the state, I am proud and humbled to stand before you as the next Senator from Minnesota," Franken told supporters today.

He added that the win was "incredibly humbling" and offered an olive branch -- of sorts -- to Coleman. "Norm has worked hard for this state and this country," said Franken before adding (although not saying directly) that he hoped Coleman would bow out of the race gracefully in order that "Minnesotans can continue to count on receiving excellent constituent services from their two Senators without interruption."

Coleman, as expected, will file a formal election contest within the next 24 hours.

"This process isn't at the end; it is now just at the beginning," said Coleman counsel Tony Trimble in a statement following the state canvassing board meeting. "We will contest the results of the Canvassing Board -- otherwise, literally millions of Minnesotans will be disenfranchised."

Now only cash is allowed.

No Mugs, but What About Those Fees?

New pharmaceutical industry guidelines should stop most drug companies from distributing a wide range of trinkets and office supplies designed to keep their brand names before doctors as a subliminal inducement to prescribe high-priced drugs.

The new code, which kicked in on New Year’s Day, bars the free distribution of everything from pens to coffee mugs and staplers by some 40 drug companies that have agreed to the restrictions. That may seem like small potatoes, but in the aggregate the promotional products probably cost about $1 billion a year, as Natasha Singer reported in The Times.

New code? It's all voluntary. Haven't we learned yet? Voluntary "regulation" isn't regulation, it's marketing.

None of the steps yet contemplated by industry or professional groups would completely sever the medical profession and many individual doctors from their far more disturbing financial ties to the drug industry.

See?

Meanwhile, legally, Obama can't say anything else. And politically he doesn't want to.

For Israel, Chance to Strike Before an Ally Departs
By SCOTT SHANE

For nine days, as European and United Nations officials have called urgently for a cease-fire in Gaza, the Bush administration has squarely blamed the rocket attacks of the Palestinian militant group Hamas for Israel’s assault, maintaining to the end its eight-year record of stalwart support for Israel.

Mr. Bush, in his weekly radio address on Saturday, said the United States did not want a “one-way cease-fire” that allowed Hamas to keep up its rocket fire, and Vice President Dick Cheney on Sunday echoed the point, declaring that only a “sustainable, durable” peace would be acceptable.

Many Middle East experts say Israel timed its move against Hamas, which began with airstrikes on Dec. 27, 24 days before Mr. Bush leaves office, with the expectation of such backing in Washington. Israeli officials could not be certain that President-elect Barack Obama, despite past statements of sympathy for Israel’s right of self-defense, would match the Bush administration’s unconditional endorsement.

“In this one, you can die as much as you like, but in real war it’s not possible,” he said. “The reality of military service is beyond what you think. Here you can go back and replay, but in real life if you get shot you get shot. So it’s an entertainment, but it makes you think.”

He turned back to the combat on the screen. In the cocoon of the headphones, he did not hear the sound of prices hitting the floor.

Urban Tool in Recruiting by the Army: An Arcade
By JOHN LELAND

PHILADELPHIA — Amid the last-minute shopping bustle, the voice in the Black Hawk helicopter simulator shouted with an urgency that exceeded even the holiday mall frenzy.

“Enemy right! Enemy right!”

Triggers squeezed. Pixels exploded. Shopping waited.

At the Franklin Mills mall here, past the Gap Outlet and the China Buddha Express, is a $13 million video arcade that the Army hopes will become a model for recruitment in urban areas, where the armed services typically have a hard time attracting recruits.

One possible future for your daughter.

Two new studies by reproductive-health providers suggest that improper use of such drugs is one of myriad methods, including questionable homemade potions, frequently employed in attempts to end pregnancies by women from fervently anti-abortion cultures despite the widespread availability of safe, legal and inexpensive abortions in clinics andhospitals.

For Privacy’s Sake, Taking Risks to End Pregnancy
By JENNIFER 8. LEE and CARA BUCKLEY

Amalia Dominguez was 18 and desperate and knew exactly what to ask for at the small, family-run pharmacy in the heart of Washington Heights, the thriving Dominican enclave in northern Manhattan. “I need to bring down my period,” she recalled saying in Spanish, using a euphemism that the pharmacist understood instantly.

Michael Lewis and David Einhorn had two op-eds in the New York Times: one was long and the other is lo-o-o-ong. The lo-o-o-ong one is titled The End of the Financial World as We Know It, and it explains why greed is the least of the causes for this collapse. The long one is How to Repair a Broken Financial World, which sets forth some well-considered suggestions.

I think you should read them both. But if you don't, here are the suggestions I'm particularly fond of.

Obama Taps Kaine to Lead D.N.C.
By ADAM NAGOURNEY

WASHINGTON — Tim Kaine, the Virginia governor who was a top contender to be president-elect Barack Obama’s running mate, has been tapped by Mr. Obama to become the next head of the Democratic National Committee, Democrats familiar with the decision said Sunday.

Mr. Kaine will succeed Howard Dean as the party chair when the party elects officers at its meeting here later this month. By tradition, the committee defers to the choice of a sitting president.

Mr. Kaine was elected governor in 2005, but is barred by Virginia state law from serving more than one term. His term expires at the end of 2009. Mr. Obama’s associates said Mr. Kaine will serve as party chairman while finishing his last year as governor, with an executive director running day-to-day-operations, which is not an unusual arrangement. At the end of his term, Mr. Kaine will work full-time in his new position.

The decision by Mr. Obama was first reported by the Washington Post on its Web site on Sunday afternoon.

Richardson Withdraws as Commerce Nominee
By BRIAN KNOWLTON

WASHINGTON — Governor Bill Richardson of New Mexico, one of the country’s most prominent Hispanic politicians and President-elect Barack Obama’s choice to be commerce secretary, on Sunday dropped out of consideration for that post. He attributed his decision to the ongoing investigation of a company that has done business with New Mexico.

Mr. Richardson said that he would continue as governor, and he added, “Let me say unequivocally that I and my administration have acted properly in all matters and that this investigation will bear out that fact.”

His decision came, he said, after he had concluded “that the ongoing investigation also would have forced an untenable delay in the confirmation process.” Mr. Richardson said in a statement, released by the Obama campaign, that the investigation might last weeks or months.

Israeli Troops Launch Attack on Gaza
By ISABEL KERSHNER and TAGHREED EL-KHODARY

JERUSALEM — Israeli tanks and troops swept across the border into Gaza on Saturday night, opening a ground war against the militant group Hamas after a week of intense airstrikes.

The Israeli military said in a statement that the objective of the ground campaign was “to destroy the terrorist infrastructure of Hamas,” the militant Islamic group that controls the area, “while taking control of some of the rocket launching sites” that Hamas uses to fire at southern Israel.

“This will not be short. this will not be easy. I do not wish to delude anyone,” Israel’s defense minister, Ehud Barak, said in a televised statement, adding that the coming days will be difficult for the residents of southern Israel.

The United Nations Security Council called a special meeting for 7 p.m. Saturday in New York to discuss the Middle East crisis.

Beyond Publicity, What Is Rhee Producing?
By Colbert I. King
Saturday, January 3, 2009; A13

"Most educators have given up on inner-city schools," Thomas said. "But right here in Washington, D.C., there's a lady named Michelle Rhee who is trying to actually win this battle, but she's trying to break the union to do it." Thomas called it "an epic struggle."

"Rarely have the lines been so clearly drawn," he said.

Breaking the teachers union may or may not be Rhee's ultimate goal. But Thomas is on to something....

Rhee's "epic struggle" with the teachers union bears watching. Remember the old African proverb: "When elephants fight, the grass gets trampled." If a Rhee-union war paralyzes the school system, children may be the ones who suffer.

The struggle has already reduced the children to pawns, since what's really at stake are political interests.

I'm not sure who you blame for this.

We're doomed...

Climate scientists: it's time for 'Plan B'
Poll of international experts by The Independent reveals consensus that CO2 cuts have failed – and their growing support for technological intervention
By Steve Connor, Science Editor and Chris Green
Friday, 2 January 2009

An emergency "Plan B" using the latest technology is needed to save the world from dangerous climate change, according to a poll of leading scientists carried out by The Independent. The collective international failure to curb the growing emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere has meant that an alternative to merely curbing emissions may become necessary.

rikyrah dropped a link to her latest at Jack and Jill Politics.

According to the Chicago Sun-Times:

Reid pressured Blagojevich not to appoint Jackson Jr. to Obama’s U.S. Senate seat
January 2, 2009
BY NATASHA KORECKI, CHRIS FUSCO AND LYNN SWEET

Days before Gov. Blagojevich was charged with trying to sell President-elect Barack Obama’s U.S. Senate seat to the highest bidder, top Senate Democrat Harry Reid made it clear who he didn’t want in the post: Jesse Jackson, Jr., Danny Davis or Emil Jones.

Rather, Reid called Blagojevich to argue he appoint either state Veterans Affairs chief Tammy Duckworth or Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan, sources told the Chicago Sun-Times.

Sources say the Senate majority leader pushed against Jackson and Davis — both democratic congressmen from Illinois — and against Jones — the Illinois Senate president who is the political godfather of President-elect Barack Obama — because he did not believe the three men were electable. He feared losing the seat to a Republican in a future election.

Read rest of the article at link above.

First of all, this isn’t about Davis or Jones, who would have been nothing but caretakers anyway. Actually, scratch Davis. Nobody thinking who actually follows Danny Davis, thought that he was SINCERELY considering leaving his SAFE Congressional seat, and the ability to pad that federal pension for another easy decade for something that would be OVER in 2010.

Jones, who had retired from the Illinois Senate, would have been a caretaker. Period. He’s in his 70’s, and this would have been the capper for a long public service career.

No. This was all about Jesse Jackson, Jr.

Deciding from ‘ on high’, that Jesse Jackson, Jr. couldn’t win.

Given the recent discussions in Unfair and Nicely done, Prof. Levitt (which conversation continues and need not be shifted here), I'd like to see if a discussion seeded with this op-ed can be fruitful.

Losing Youths to Homicide
A comprehensive approach is needed to a crime trend that resists solutions.
Friday, January 2, 2009; A14

Bigger Than Bush
By PAUL KRUGMAN

In 1981 Lee Atwater, the famed Republican political consultant, explained the evolution of the G.O.P.’s “Southern strategy,” which originally focused on opposition to the Voting Rights Act but eventually took a more coded form: “You’re getting so abstract now you’re talking about cutting taxes, and all these things you’re talking about are totally economic things and a byproduct of them is blacks get hurt worse than whites.” In other words, government is the problem because it takes your money and gives it to Those People.

Oh, and the racial element isn’t all that abstract, even now: Chip Saltsman, currently a candidate for the chairmanship of the Republican National Committee, sent committee members a CD including a song titled “Barack the Magic Negro” — and according to some reports, the controversy over his action has actually helped his chances.

So the reign of George W. Bush, the first true Southern Republican president since Reconstruction, was the culmination of a long process. And despite the claims of some on the right that Mr. Bush betrayed conservatism, the truth is that he faithfully carried out both his party’s divisive tactics — long before Sarah Palin, Mr. Bush declared that he visited his ranch to “stay in touch with real Americans” — and its governing philosophy.

That’s why the soon-to-be-gone administration’s failure is bigger than Mr. Bush himself: it represents the end of the line for a political strategy that dominated the scene for more than a generation.

Notice how no one is bailing out GM with this move...GMAC is a separate, if captive, corporation.

"GM has had all the benefits that Ford Motor Credit provides to the Ford Motor Company," he said. "If GMAC does all that, fine. If it doesn't, GM will have to create another GMAC of its own. It's just the way it is."

For Bailout Money, GMAC Agrees to End Deal With GM
By Kendra Marr
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, January 3, 2009; D02

The auto financing giant GMAC relinquished its exclusive right to provide financing to people buying General Motors vehicles in exchange for up to $6 billion in federal aid.

The deal abruptly ends an 10-year contract between GM and GMAC, according the lender's filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission yesterday. In the past, whenever GM offered vehicle financing and leasing specials, such as below-market interest rates, it did so through GMAC. The lender paid an annual fee to GM for the exclusivity and was required to meet sales targets.

General news networks are still formulating their coverage plans. It's unclear whether reporters will be assigned specifically to cover the black perspective on that day, but it obviously will be a big part of the story, said Paul Friedman, CBS News senior vice president.

"I don't know how you don't cover that story virtually all the way through," he said.

BET and TV One Make Big Plans for Inauguration
Associated Press
Thursday, January 1, 2009; C02

NEW YORK -- BET and TV One, two television networks aimed primarily at black audiences, haven't paid much attention to presidential inaugurations before. This time will be different.

Both networks are planning extensive coverage for Jan. 20, when Barack Obama is sworn in as the nation's 44th president. While the inauguration will be followed as a news event, network executives said the installation of the first black president will be as much a celebration as a story.

Microsoft's Zune music player had a serious problem today. The 30 gig models all stopped working today. Microsoft says the problem is they weren't prepared for 2008 to be a leap year, so as far as the little beasts are concerned today doesn't exist.

The company said the internal clock on the players should automatically reset by noon Greenwich Mean Time on Thursday (7 a.m. Eastern time). Microsoft is advising Zune owners to allow the player’s battery to fully drain and then turn the devices back on on Thursday.

I think they misprogrammed the warranty chip.

Back when I was working in the operations side of the financial services industry, I noticed most office equipment had Critical Need Detectors (CDNs) installed. These devices had heuristics to determine how important it was to you to get their output and when that need exceeded a critical level they would break down. You'd call the service company and they'd bill you and the economy continued to prosper.