Diplomatic Dance is Falling Short
Posted in Main Blog (All Posts) on May 22nd, 2010 4:31 am by HL
Diplomatic Dance is Falling Short
Steve Huntley, Chicago Sun-Times
It's hard to avoid a sinking feeling that the Obama administration's policy on Iran is essentially one of going through the motions, working on an ever-weaker formula of sanctions in a diplomatic dance for show while, in effect, all but conceding Tehran will develop a nuclear weapon.From the beginning of President Obama's engagement with Iran, critics warned that its mullahs and Revolutionary Guards would string the United States along, seeming to grant a concession here or there, only to stretch out negotiations while its atom bomb work forged ahead. The record so far…
Padded Pensions Add to New York Fiscal Woes
Walsh & Schoenfeld, NYT
In Yonkers, more than 100 retired police officers and firefighters are collecting pensions greater than their pay when they were working. One of the youngest, Hugo Tassone, retired at 44 with a base pay of about $74,000 a year. His pension is now $101,333 a year. Edward A. Stolzenberg collects $222,143 a year, one of the biggest New York State pensions. Articles in this series will examine the consequences of, and attempts to deal with, growing public and private debts. How can states get beyond the outrage and fix their public pensions? WORKING OVERTIME Yonkers…
Climate Change is New Natl Security Challenge
Sen. John Kerry, The Hill
On August 6, 2001, President George W. Bush famously received an intelligence briefing titled, "Bin Laden Determined to Strike in U.S." Thirty-six days later, al Qaeda terrorists tragically turned threat into reality.Today, scientists tell us we have a 10-year window "” if even that "” before catastrophic climate change becomes inevitable and irreversible. This is our intelligence briefing "” it tells us the threat is real and time is not on our side. If Vice…
Dems Can’t Wait to Use Rand Paul Against GOP
John Dickerson, Slate
Rand PaulThis is an anti-establishment year, and no one personifies that sentiment better than Rand Paul. He trounced his establishment-backed opponent in the Kentucky Republican Senate primary by railing against Washington and GOP leaders who did not support him. It turns out, however, that the establishment isn't completely useless. The establishment would have advised, for example, that it was a bad idea for a conservative with wide-ranging views to go back on The Rachel Maddow Show on MSNBC so soon after his victory.Maddow spent about 20 minutes last night quizzing Paul about his…
