The Hollywood Liberal

The Real Battle With China: Goldman Sachs versus American Workers
When China’s President Hu Jintao came for his state visit last week the White House press corps completely ignored almost all the substantive issues raised by Mr. Hu’s visit. The domestic policy issues raised by this trip were altogether invisible…

Tea Party Forever
I think Michael is absolutely correct in connecting the Tea Party to a raft of unpleasant political movements of the past. This is not to say that everybody in the somewhat diffuse movement is identical; for example, about a third…

Persecution Politics: How Glenn Beck Rationalizes Bigotry
I’d like to thank Michael, Michael, and Michelle for their excellent articles. We actually had a fourth Michael slated for the book club, but he had to cancel due to personal circumstances. In the meantime, I’d like to use these…

How The U.S. Chamber Of Commerce?s Egyptian Affiliate Went To Bat For The Egyptian Dictatorship

As Egyptian protests continue to rage and thousands of people in that country continue to demand democratic reforms, many commentators are rightly calling upon the international community to show solidarity with the demonstrators and join them in battling the Mubarak regime.

However, there is at least one powerful, multinational entity that has continually stood by Mubarak and the Egyptian elite and has continually fought efforts to democratize the country. As ThinkProgress previously reported, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce maintains a network of foreign affiliates known as Amchams, “which are foreign chambers of the Chamber composed of American and foreign companies.” In Egypt, this foreign affiliate is known as the American Chamber of Commerce in Egypt, known in short as AmCham Egypt.

AmCham Egypt’s relation to the Mubarak dictatorship stretches back decades. In fact, the Egyptian dictator even personally intervened to create the organization. In 1981, Mubarak issued an order to allow for the creation of the AmCham by large Western multinational corporations, like Coca Cola and BP. The Chamber’s member companies account for nearly 20 percent of Egypt’s GDP.

When a powerful corporate-backed entity like the AmCham Egypt gains favorable treatment, it is natural for it to try to protect its patron. So last year, when a group of U.S. Senators — lead by Russ Feingold (D-WI) — introduced legislation that called on the government of Egypt to end crackdowns on pro-democracy activists and hold free and fair elections, AmCham Egypt, at the behest of the Egyptian dictatorship, sprung into action.

As Al Masra Al Youm, a major Egyptian paper, reports, the Mubarak regime tapped AmCham Egypt President Shafik Gabr to do its bidding. Gabr was “dispatched expressly” for the purpose of scuttling the bill:

American Chamber of Commerce (AmCham) in Egypt President Shafik Gabr arrived in Washington on Wednesday to meet with members of US Congress in an effort to persuade them to refrain from issuing a resolution demanding that Egypt “hold fair elections, allow international monitoring of elections, and respect democracy and human rights.”

Informed sources told Al-Masry Al-Youm that Gabr, who is also a leading member of the ruling National Democratic Party of President Hosni Mubarak, had been dispatched expressly for this purpose by the Egyptian government.

By asking a non-American who technically worked for a nongovernmental organization to do their advocacy for them, the Mubarak regime successfully skirted numerous laws dealing with lobbying disclosure, making it easier to hide its role. But thanks to the intervention of AmCham Egypt as well as a died a quiet death as it wasn’t brought to the floor before the Senate’s recess.

And stunningly, just days before massive protests erupted all over Egypt demanding democracy — protests which were widely expected given events in neighboring Tunisia and the upcoming anniversary of a police massacre at the hands of British colonizers — AmCham Egypt hosted former U.S. Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte, who blamed the media for its “sensational coverage” of the Tunisian revolution and said it was in American interests to “continue to support ‘our friends’ in the region, such as Egypt, Jordan and Gulf countries.” “Chaos is in no one’s interest,” he concluded, disparaging the protests:

Negroponte said it will be crucial for US interests to continue to support “our friends” in the region, such as Egypt, Jordan and Gulf countries. […]

During a brief question-and-answer session at the conclusion of his address, Negroponte said he was surprised by the unrest in Tunisia that ended the 23-year presidency of Zine El Abidine Ben Ali. He said that what happened in Tunisia is “not necessarily transferable” to other countries. He blamed the news media for sensational coverage of self-immolation protests in Egypt, Algeria and Mauritania, and urged “a little bit of patience.” “Let’s hope the country doesn’t descend into chaos,” he said. “Chaos is in no one’s interest.”

While backing dictatorships is nothing new for Negroponte, it should be noted that he has financial interests at stake in Egypt as well. He is on the board of Agility DGS, a defense company that has major operations in Egypt.

In 2006, AmCham Egypt, in a particularly outlandish move, put out a statement in its Business Monthly that bragged that President Mubarak “became Egypt’s first president to be directly elected in a multiparty contest” in 2005 — a reference to an election where almost all the independent opposition was banned and Mubarak won 88 percent of the vote. For years, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce has been using its massive amounts of corporate money to distort American democracy. Let the record show that its foreign affiliates appear to be dead set on doing much worse in foreign countries, even if it means backing a brutal dictator like Mubarak.

As Arabs protest, Obama administration offers assertive support
The Obama administration is openly supporting the anti-government demonstrations shaking the Arab Middle East, a stance that is far less tempered than the one the president has taken during past unrest in the region.

ComPost: Sarah Palin on the ‘Race to Space,’ Sputnik and Spudnut
Dear Sarah Palin, Based on your comments to Greta van Susteren on Fox News last night about the State of the Union address, I think there has been a slight misunderstanding. Or, possibly, several large misunderstandings. I liked your coinage of “WTF moments” from President Obama’s phrase, “winnin…

Senate leaders agree on filibuster changes
Senate leaders announced a bipartisan deal Thursday to speed up the chamber’s work by limiting the use of the filibuster and dropping the confirmation process for about 400 federal agency nominees.

Stephen Stromberg: The debt is ballooning. Now can we think clearly?
The Congressional Budget Office reports that the budget deficit this year will be the highest ever — $1.5 trillion — and that the national debt will equal 77 percent of Gross Domestic Product by 2021. And the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget reports that the CBO’s long-term estimates …

Bill Targets Public Funds for Presidential Elections

The President as Micromanager
Megan McArdle, The Atlantic
Megan McArdle – Megan McArdle is the business and economics editor for The Atlantic. She has worked at three start-ups, a consulting firm, an investment bank, a disaster recovery firm at Ground Zero, and the Economist. Jan 25 2011, 10:45 PM ET By Megan…

Obama, Cabinet Hit Road to Sell SOTU
Josh Gerstein, Politico
President Barack Obama and his top aides launched a roadshow Wednesday aimed at putting some momentum behind his State of the Union proposals to beef up American competitiveness and spur job creation.Just hours after delivering his address to the joint session of Congress, Obama visited three Wisconsin manufacturing companies, including firms that make energy-efficiency technology, solar power cells, and wind turbines to create electricity.

Conservative Democrats Mend Fences Over Health Care

Russia’s Bold Missile Defense Gambit
Andrew Weiss, Moscow Times
A year ago, General Staff chief Nikolai Makarov railed against the revamped European missile defense plan proposed by the administration of U.S. President Barack Obama. Makarov claimed that “the development and deployment of missile defenses is aimed against the Russian Federation” and “without question weakens our potential nuclear deterrent.” Yet on Wednesday, Makarov visited NATO headquarters in Brussels for Russian-initiated discussions on the development of joint NATO-Russian missile defenses.

Late Late Night FDL: 15 Step
Amazingly good fan footage of the enigmatic Radiohead, Live in Prague, August 23rd, 2009

Amazingly good fan footage of the enigmatic Radiohead,
Live in Prague, August 23rd, 2009

What’s on your mind?

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Your No. 1 Choice for Hypocrisy
American’s love the idea of Democracy for other people, as long as it doesn’t involve regimes we’ve underwritten to protect us from our phobias.

pic via Sarah Carr at flickr.com

In the wake of  Tunisia, and events in Egypt, the President said this in his State of the Union message:

“We saw that same desire to be free in Tunisia, where the will of the people proved more powerful than the writ of a dictator. And tonight, let us be clear: the United States of America stands with the people of Tunisia, and supports the democratic aspirations of all people.”

Meanwhile:

Activists trying to oust Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak played cat-and-mouse with police on the streets into the early hours of Thursday, as unprecedented protests against his 30-year rule entered a third day.

Siun posted last night about what is happening in Egypt but to me the most poignant portion was this:

It is 12:50 AM CLT now and our friends in Al Tahrir square are currently under huge attack from the security forces that are firing cannons of tear gas…these tear gas grenades are made in the USA

Husni Mubarek is liked by American policy makers. He placates our fears about the alternative (“Scary Extremists Muslims“) and he says the occasional non-hateful thing about Israel. Both Parties elites fall for it every time.

Of course, there’s also the bit particularly attractive to Republicans. He’s ruled by “emergency decree” for nearly thirty years after taking advantage of a national trauma and he’s grooming his son to replace him. How could a Bush, a Cheney, a Romney, a Kristol, a Podhoretz, a Goldberg, a Forbes, or a McCain quit him?

If he falls, look for the entire GOP-media complex to roll out the 1949 game plan, “Who lost China Egypt?”. After all a possible successor is the guy who said the Bush II Administration’s drive for wars in Iraq and Iran were dubious. Might as well be Chairman Mao.

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9 Out of 10 Viewers Approve of Obama’s Proposals
If these CBS News poll numbers are to be believed, the president had a very big night. According to the network, “91 percent of those who watched the speech approved of the proposals Mr. Obama put forth during his remarks. Only nine percent disapproved.” The poll found that Obama did better than last year, when a mere 83 percent were on board. Of course the numbers could be skewed by any number of factors. For instance, people who can’t stand the president were less likely to watch and, therefore, be counted.  —PZS CBS News: An overwhelming majority of Americans approved of the overall message in President Obama’s State of the Union speech on Tuesday night, according to a CBS News poll of speech watchers. According to the poll, which was conducted online by Knowledge Networks immediately after the president’s address, 91 percent of those who watched the speech approved of the proposals Mr. Obama put forth during his remarks. Only nine percent disapproved. Last year, 83 percent of viewers approved of Mr. Obama’s State of the Union remarks. Read more

If these CBS News poll numbers are to be believed, the president had a very big night. According to the network, “91 percent of those who watched the speech approved of the proposals Mr. Obama put forth during his remarks. Only nine percent disapproved.”

The poll found that Obama did better than last year, when a mere 83 percent were on board.

Of course the numbers could be skewed by any number of factors. For instance, people who can’t stand the president were less likely to watch and, therefore, be counted.? —PZS

CBS News:

An overwhelming majority of Americans approved of the overall message in President Obama’s State of the Union speech on Tuesday night, according to a CBS News poll of speech watchers.

According to the poll, which was conducted online by Knowledge Networks immediately after the president’s address, 91 percent of those who watched the speech approved of the proposals Mr. Obama put forth during his remarks. Only nine percent disapproved.

Last year, 83 percent of viewers approved of Mr. Obama’s State of the Union remarks.

Read more

Related Entries

• January 27, 2011 No More Orange Alerts
• January 26, 2011 Obama Changes the Narrative

Bachmann Eyeing White House Run?
Here are two words that ought to strike fear into the hearts of many Americans: President Bachmann. Although it’s definitely a long shot, and she’d be up against none other than Sarah Palin, Rep. Michele Bachmann could have been positioning herself to represent the tea party movement in a bigger way than just her response to Obama’s State of the Union address on Tuesday night. John Nichols faces this alarming prospect, and critiques Bachmann’s speech, in his column for The Nation on Wednesday. John Nichols in The Nation: On style points and substance, Bachmann was shaky. At times, she seemed to be struggling to figure out which camera she was talking to. (Memo to SNL writers: Bachmann’s bumbles beat Palin’s anyday.) Nothing about her ramble through the standard talking points of the Republican right was going to appeal to wavering independents. And Democrats who tuned in for laughs and shock appeal. But the Tea Party base, which is a real force in the Republican Party now, got just what it wanted: wild ruminations about assaults on the Constitution, “Obamacare” and “job-killing” weatherization programs. Bachmann didn’t suggest that Obama was born in Indonesia, or that the president might be turning the White House into a Marxist reeducation camp. She didn’t need to. She was the champion of the edgy activists who actually show up at Iowa precinct caucuses on mid-winter nights, and she was sharing the national platform on State of the Union night. At NPR’s website, the headline read: “Transcripts And Audio: Obama, Ryan, Bachmann.” Obama, Ryan and not Sarah Palin. Obama, Ryan and Michelle Bachmann. With Palin’s star tarnished, Bachmann was exactly where she wanted—and needed—to be on the night that in so many senses the 2012 presidential race was beginning. Read more

Here are two words that ought to strike fear into the hearts of many Americans: President Bachmann. Although it’s definitely a long shot, and she’d be up against none other than Sarah Palin, Rep. Michele Bachmann could have been positioning herself to represent the tea party movement in a bigger way than just her response to Obama’s State of the Union address on Tuesday night. John Nichols faces this alarming prospect, and critiques Bachmann’s speech, in his column for The Nation on Wednesday.

John Nichols in The Nation:

On style points and substance, Bachmann was shaky. At times, she seemed to be struggling to figure out which camera she was talking to. (Memo to SNL writers: Bachmann’s bumbles beat Palin’s anyday.) Nothing about her ramble through the standard talking points of the Republican right was going to appeal to wavering independents. And Democrats who tuned in for laughs and shock appeal. But the Tea Party base, which is a real force in the Republican Party now, got just what it wanted: wild ruminations about assaults on the Constitution, “Obamacare” and “job-killing” weatherization programs.

Bachmann didn’t suggest that Obama was born in Indonesia, or that the president might be turning the White House into a Marxist reeducation camp. She didn’t need to. She was the champion of the edgy activists who actually show up at Iowa precinct caucuses on mid-winter nights, and she was sharing the national platform on State of the Union night. At NPR’s website, the headline read: “Transcripts And Audio: Obama, Ryan, Bachmann.”

Obama, Ryan and not Sarah Palin.

Obama, Ryan and Michelle Bachmann.

With Palin’s star tarnished, Bachmann was exactly where she wanted—and needed—to be on the night that in so many senses the 2012 presidential race was beginning.

Read more

Related Entries

• January 27, 2011 No More Orange Alerts
• January 26, 2011 Obama Changes the Narrative

Mark Sanford, Mistress Hit Uruguay Resort
BUENOS AIRES, Argentina — A week after divorced South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford left office, he and his Argentine lover he called his “soul mate”…

Richard (RJ) Eskow: Breaking the Silence: FCIC Report Brings the Focus Back to Wall Street
At a time when the nation’s capital is convinced that CEOs need appeasing rather than policing, the FCIC report is a badly needed return to reality.

Tavis Smiley: My Conversation With Charlie Crist
I spoke with former Florida Governor Charlie Crist to get his reaction to the State of the Union and how the speech played with Independents like himself.

Predictable: Right-Wing Media Find SOTU “Boring”

Following President Obama’s State of the Union address, right-wing media predictably declared his speech speech “boring,” “dull,” and “flat” — terms they have consistently used to describe most speeches Obama has given in the past two years.

Right-Wing Media Declare Obama’s SOTU “Boring,” Dull,” “Flat”

Krauthammer: SOTU “Flat,” “Uninspired.” During Fox News’ live coverage of the State of the Union, Fox News contributor Charles Krauthammer said that although “this is a president who can give great speeches and has, this was not one of them. This, I think, was one of his weakest speeches. He tried hard, but it was a flat, I thought, uninspired [speech].” [Fox News’ live SOTU coverage, 1/25/11, via Mediaite]

Powers: “It Was Somewhat Flat.” During Fox News’ live coverage following the speech, Fox News contributor Kirsten Powers referred to the “soaring oratory” of past State of the Union addresses and went on to agree with Krauthammer, referring to the speech as “somewhat flat.” [Fox News’ live SOTU coverage, 1/25/11, via Mediaite]

Power Line: “President Obama’s Speech Tonight” Was “Boring And Pedestrian.” Following Obama’s address, Power Line’s John Hinderaker called the speech “boring and pedestrian, the kind of State of the Union checklist that causes television sets to go off all across America. I thought the speech never developed any real momentum or consistency of theme.” [Power Line, 1/25/11]

Fox Nation Declares Obama’s Speech “Flat.” A January 26 post on the Fox Nation titled, “Flat,” included video of one of Republican pollster Frank Luntz’s “focus groups” and declared:

“Flat.” That was the verdict of some Fox News Channel analysts and Frank Luntz’s less-than-impressed focus group on “Hannity” on President Obama’s State of the Union Address. [Fox Nation, 1/26/11]

Hoft: “What A DEAD SPEECH.” In addition to posting multiple links to the Fox Nation story calling Obama’s speech “flat,” conservative blogger Jim Hoft wrote, “DATE NIGHT FAIL- Diluting the Democrats Drowned Out the Applause. What a DEAD SPEECH. Good grief.” [Gateway Pundit, 1/25/11, 1/25/11, 1/26/11]

Doocy: “I Thought It Was Dull … [And] Kind Of Rambling And Boring As Well.” While discussing the president’s State of the Union speech during the January 26 edition of Fox News’ Fox & Friends, co-host Gretchen Carlson said, “We were saying yesterday, why don’t they just say something bold in this speech, because otherwise people start nodding off and it’s just sort of the same sort of thing year after year.” Co-host Steve Doocy responded by saying, “I’ll be honest — I thought it was dull. I thought it was kind of rambling and boring as well.” [Fox News’ Fox & Friends, 1/26/11]

Buchanan: “I Think It Was Very Flat. … There Was Just Nothing That Was Very Memorable To Me.” On the January 26 edition of MSNBC’s Morning Joe, MSNBC contributor Pat Buchanan said that he thought the president’s speech was “very flat” and said there was “nothing that was very memorable to me.” From the broadcast:

BUCHANAN: Well, I think it was very flat, quite frankly. … Even at Tucson with those kids, started responding, you can see this president responds to an audience. He draws from it, energy, but there seemed to be no energy, no inspiration. Frankly, I thought, is it me watching this thing? But you know, what came to mind was that phrase about Harding’s speech, the army of pompous phrases marching across the landscape in search of an idea. I mean, really, there was just nothing much that was very memorable to me. Except, I’ll tell you what was terrific, was at the end when he talked about that fellow with that business up there that got together and built that thing, and sent it down to Chile, and then came out of there without taking any credit. That was very American. But you know, I expected it to be much more uplifting, and it simply wasn’t. It seemed endless. [MSNBC’s Morning Joe, 1/26/11]

Rove: “President Obama [Was] Diffused, Flat, Sort Of Wandered Around.” On the January 26 edition of Fox News’ America’s Newsroom, co-host Bill Hemmer invited Fox News contributor Karl Rove to comment on Rep. Paul Ryan’s (R-WI) response to Obama’s speech. Rove claimed that Ryan had “a candid, adult-like conversation with the American people” while Obama was “diffused, flat, [and] sort of wandered around.” From the broadcast:

HEMMER: If you listened to Ryan’s speech, he really said one thing, and that was if we do not save ourselves now, this debt’s going to drown us. How did you view his response?

ROVE: Yeah. Well, I thought it was an effective response. His speech was one-quarter the length of President Obama’s, and yet Paul Ryan devoted half again as many words to the deficit and debt and spending then did President Obama, and I thought it was — you’re right, he had a singular message. He had to say, you know, introduce himself, he had to — he made very gracious comments about Congresswoman Giffords — but the vast bulk of the speech, 55 percent of the speech, was devoted to one subject and one subject only. And I thought it was a tale of two speeches; President Obama diffused, flat, sort of wandered around, and Ryan, in a candid, adult-like conversation with the American people, focused on one issue — what this deficit and debt and spending is going to do to our country. [Fox News, America’s Newsroom, 1/26/11]

Right-Wing Media Have A History Of Claiming Obama’s Speeches Are “Boring”

O’Reilly Complains That Obama Was A “Boring Professor” During Iraq Speech. On the August 31, 2010, edition of his Fox News show, Bill O’Reilly complained that Obama was “the boring professor” during his speech in which he declared the end of combat operations in Iraq. [The O’Reilly Factor, 8/31/10]

Right-Wing Media Declare Health Care Summit Was “Boring.” Following Obama’s February 2010 health care summit with congressional leaders, numerous right-wing media figures and outlets declared that the summit was “staggeringly boring,” “boring as sand,” and a “snorefest.” [Media Matters, 2/25/10]

LA Times Blogger Malcolm: “Professor Barack Obama” Gave “Anticlimactic,” “Droning,” “Somber” Speech On Stimulus. Following Obama’s second nationally televised news conference, Los Angeles Times blogger Andrew Malcolm declared in a post on March 25, 2009:

Tuesday morning The Ticket examined the White House’s current political strategy and asked the question of who would show up at Barack Obama’s second nationally televised news conference that evening: the president or the senator?

The answer: Neither.

Professor Barack Obama showed up.

And if you remember one of those required college lecture courses in the large auditorium at 8:10 a.m., listening to a droning don, and how it felt, slumped in the cushy seats having skipped breakfast for an extra 13 minutes of ZZZZs.

[…]

True, Obama created real problems in his first national news conference by promising Geithner would deliver too much the next day. And when the inarticulate bureaucrat didn’t, the markets plummeted.

But this news conference seemed anticlimactic. (See video below.) At times the president appeared to be mailing in his delivery.

[…]

The result for anyone who stayed for the entire presentation was another lengthy, somber less-than-animated sales pitch on the need to spend trillions to jump-start the economy, which he sees promising signs of already at least with one Pennsylvania company (though still not yet Caterpillar), and how we’re going to somehow move from an era of spending and greed to an era of savings by spending so much we’re gonna double or maybe triple the national debt by the time a two-term Obama would be two years into improving his retirement bowling at Sun City. [Top of the Ticket, latimes.com, 3/25/09]

Presented By:

Report: Loughner Researched Lethal Injection, Solitary Confinement Before Shooting
Jared Loughner, the suspected shooter in the Jan. 8 attack on Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, researched lethal injection, solitary confinement and political assassins in the weeks before the shooting.

Obama Doesn’t Mention Gun Control In State Of The Union
To the dismay of groups hoping the White House would take the lead on proposed legislation to ban high-capacity extended magazines in the wake of the shooting of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ), President Barack Obama did not mention gun control in his State of the Union address on Tuesday night.

Absurd Republican Response to Obama’s SOTU