#occupylptj - new news thread

[jm]

If there's anything more annoying to me than the original video (which I haven't even bothered to watch all 30 minutes of) is the torrent of half-informed backlash its gotten - no matter how much I agree with your general thrust, I don't trust your "debunking" if you talk about the US toppling of the Syrian regime in Africa.

EDIT: this isn't at all in response to Anne's piece, just chiming in re: what GI said above.

[dieblucasdie]

You guys remember back in the fall when Limbaugh attacked Obama for approving tactical support against the LRA, because they were "Christians fighting Muslims"?  Good times.

[dieblucasdie]

I will say, though, Anne, that... if you want to write a piece railing against US imperialism, then write a piece railing against US imperialism. I would probably agree with a lot of it! But looking at central Africa's problems and seeing nothing but your own anti-imperialism reflected back at you is just as wrong-headed as the Kony 2012 boosters looking at central Africa's problems and seeing nothing but their own White Savior complexes reflected back at them.

[jm]

I will say, though, Anne, that... if you want to write a piece railing against US imperialism, then write a piece railing against US imperialism. I would probably agree with a lot of it! But looking at central Africa's problems and seeing nothing but your own anti-imperialism reflected back at you is just as wrong-headed as the Kony 2012 boosters looking at central Africa's problems and seeing nothing but their own White Savior complexes reflected back at them.

Yeah, this exactly.

[elpollodiablo]

I don't think the argument atbase--that US intervention in Uganda is a poor solution--is a bad one though.

[jm]

I don't think the argument atbase--that US intervention in Uganda is a poor solution--is a bad one though.

Neither do I!

[Babar]

and made it legal to imprison its own citizens without trial.

This is simply false, do you know what a signing statement is?

This is not false at all. Just saying "Yeah, there's some abhorrent shit in the legislation and all and I'm still gonna sign it but I PROMISE I want do any of the bad stuff it allows me to do. Seriously guys, pinky promise!" doesn't actually change the legislation. If Obama would actually care about civil liberties he would've vetoed the bill and addressed the nation about it's danger and what it entails.

As a fiery opinion piece, I liked the piece Anne. It definitely wasn't objective journalism, but it's pretty obvious from the offset that wasn't your objective. Just have in mind when you read Dave's criticism that he's actually on the exact opposite of your position of non-intervention when it comes to US foreign policy.

[jm]

Oh dear god

[elpollodiablo]

Yeah I also do not buy that the signing satement can completely mitigate the effects of a piece of legislation--and anyway it shouldn't. Honestly I can't believe people pull for the power of the unitary executive under this administration after two terms of GWB.

[dieblucasdie]

Fer real.

[dieblucasdie]

Though, to be fair, GWB abused the practice to a ridiculous extent that Obama hasn't. Dude didn't veto a single bill in his first six years as President, because he didn't want to make GOP congressional leadership look bad. If there was a provision in a bill he disagreed with, he'd just sign the bill and say, "Lol, we're not really doing that."

Not that I don't think it's lame cop-out at best and a naked power-grab at worst when Obama does it too, just pointing out that there's no equivalency there.

I was just thinking today in re: that pro-Santorum video with the "first time since we had Ronald Reagan" line how many people there are who spent 8 years relentlessly defending every little thing GWB did and are now like, "j/k we knew that guy was a dick, we just liked pissing off liberals."

[elpollodiablo]

Yeah I didn't really expect you to just baldly agree with anything I said.

Regardless, the use of the signing statement as a means to append legislation or else weasel out of using the veto is a symptom of a drift toward more executive power that's utterly un-democratic, the manner of that use notwithstanding.

[DCDave]

The legislature cannot constitutionally direct how the department of justice enforces the laws.

[Good Intentions]

If there's anything more annoying to me than the original video (which I haven't even bothered to watch all 30 minutes of) is the torrent of half-informed backlash its gotten - no matter how much I agree with your general thrust, I don't trust your "debunking" if you talk about the US toppling of the Syrian regime in Africa.

EDIT: this isn't at all in response to Anne's piece, just chiming in re: what GI said above.

Let me say one thing about Uganda - a lot of shit is happening there right now, against a backdrop of a recent history of turmoil. The government has been under strong international pressure on a number of points, including its attempts to impose harsh legal sanctions against homosexuals, complicated by the large amount of aid it receives from liberal democracies (who are threatening to stop giving aid in protest to the proposed legislation) and the strong influence and influx of extremely conservative and mostly American missionaries (who build up grassroot support for discrimination against homosexuality), and there has been long-running domestic protests against economic mismanagement, especially regarding the price of fuel. I'm not sure yet what the effects of the recent elections there have on these things - my Ugandan friend hasn't been giving me as many updates recently - but for a beleaguered and demagogic political class, like Uganda has, the type of distraction this anti-Kony campaign provides must be a godsend.

[Anne the Man]

Well Invisible Children does seem to want to work with that government, so maybe it's not just a godsend. The whole documentary, aside from being offensively sentimental and all, is bizarre in its off-baseness--I don't get their motivations for wanting to bring the issue up now, when the maker met that LRA kid in 2003.

Also judging by Facebook likes etc this has been my most popular article ever, and my smart internet friends haven't completely shredded it, so woo! Maybe I'm improving.

[dieblucasdie]

The legislature cannot constitutionally direct how the department of justice enforces the laws.

OK, but that doesn't make the president not-a-dick when he willfully misapplies the law just because he doesn't want to have to deal with the democratic process.

[FreddyKnuckles]

Yeah.. I'm with dave.

[elpollodiablo]

In that directing state agencies to enact policy that directly contradicts the meaning and intent of the legislation in question is part of the constitutional power of the executive?

[DCDave]

In that saying "What you are directing me to do violates separation of powers" is.

[Greg Nog]

Moebius died.

[Little Sixes Little Nines]

Er, I guess I've gotten over my thin-skinnedness a bit, cos here is a thing I wrote about the Kony thing. http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL1203/S00084/kony-2012-or-how-not-to-do-charity.htm. Say what you like except for "you get paid to write articles?!" I didn't have time to research the Ugandan economy as much as I would've liked, but oh well.

anne, you are internet famous! so many of my friends have reposted your article on facebook. i thought about saying "i know her!" but, you know, i don't.

[Anne the Man]

Woo! Yeah it got me friend requests from people I don't know

OT for bleak lolz: http://blogs.aljazeera.com/africa/2012/03/14/ugandans-react-anger-kony-video

[DCDave]

Bin Laden and his aides hoped for big terrorist operations to commemorate the 10th anniversary of Sept. 11, 2001. They also had elaborate media plans. Adam Gadahn, a U.S.-born media adviser, even discussed in a message to his boss what would be the best television outlets for a bin Laden anniversary video.

“It should be sent for example to ABC, CBS, NBC, and CNN and maybe PBS and VOA. As for Fox News let her die in her anger,” Gadahn wrote. At another point, he said of the networks: “From a professional point of view, they are all on one level — except (Fox News) channel, which falls into the abyss as you know, and lacks objectivity, too.”

http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/the-bin-laden-plot-to-kill-president-obama/2012/03/16/gIQAwN5RGS_story_1.html