Where is the accountability on Iraq?

I just finished watching Face The Nation. Peggy Noonan and Michael Gerson for the GOP. Dee Dee Myers and Todd Purdum for the Dems.

-No one on that program could offer a coherent reason for more troops in Iraq or any troops in Syria.

-No one could explain how $500 million aid to Syrian rebels would end that civil war.

-No one could explain the fact that the Assad Syrian government was bombing ISIS (our presumed enemy?)

-No one could or would say whose side we are on.

-No one explained how civil wars in the Middle East would impact the United States.

Actually Bob Schieffer did not ask the questions that might provide the answers to these questions. The discussion of these commentators told the viewer they have no answers.

Where is the accountability on Iraq?

KATRINA VANDEN HEUVEL

June 17,2014

Can someone explain to me why the media still solicit advice about the crisis in Iraq from Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.)? Or Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.)? How many times does the Beltway hawk caucus get to be wrong before we recognize that maybe, just maybe, its members don’t know what they’re talking about?

Certainly Politico could have found someone with more credibility than Douglas Feith, former undersecretary of defense for policy in the George W. Bush administration and one of the architects of the Iraq war, to comment on how the White House might react to the Iraq war, to the rapidly deteriorating political situation in Iraq today. Certainly New York Times columnist David Brooks knows what folly it is to equate President Obama’s 2011 troop removal with Bush’s 2003 invasion, as he did during a discussion with me last Friday on NPR?

Just a reminder of what that 2003 invasion led to: Joseph Stiglitz and Linda Bilmes authoritatively priced Bush’s war at more than $3 trillion. About 320,000 U.S. veterans suffer from brain injury as a result of their service. Between 500,000 and 655,000 Iraqis died, as well as more than 4,000 U.S. military members.

Yet as Brooks’s words reveal, the prevailing mindset in today’s media is to treat the 2003 invasion as if its prosecution were an act of God — like Hurricane Katrina, an inevitability that could not have been avoided. Seen this way, policymakers can ignore the idiocy of the decision to invade in the first place and can instead direct all of their critical attention to how to deal with the aftermath. It’s almost as though the mainstream media have demoted themselves from a corps of physicians, eager and able to diagnose, prognosticate and prescribe, to one of EMTs, charged instead with triaging, cleaning and cauterizing a catastrophe without investigating its underlying cause.

Since so many liberal hawks reached the same conclusion as did Bush et al., this notion of the 2003 invasion’s inevitability can falsely seem to have some credence (which is, perhaps why, as Frank Rich points out in New York magazine, so many erstwhile hawks, especially so-called liberal ones, feel no need to acknowledge their erroneous judgments of a decade ago).

But if so many were wrong about Iraq in 2003, why are they still being invited (and trotting themselves out) on Sunday morning talk shows and op-ed pages as authorities on U.S.-Iraq policy? Where is the accountability for the politicians’ and pundits’ warmongering of 11 years ago? James Fallows — who was “right” on Iraq in a 2002 Atlantic cover story — tweeted Friday, “Working hypothesis: no one who stumped for original Iraq invasion gets to give ‘advice’ about disaster now. Or should get listened to.” Amen.

In the current cacophony of Washington, we must remember that there is no equivalence to be drawn between Bush’s 2003 decision to invade Iraq and Obama’s 2011 decision to withdraw U.S. troops. Bush’s invasion, after all, was not just a mistake. At best a fool’s errand, at worst a criminal act, this great blunder helped set the stage for Iraq’s chaos today. The increased sectarian violence stems not from the 2011 withdrawal; rather, it is the fruit of the 2003 invasion, subsequent occupation and much-vaunted “surge” of 2007–08.

McCain and Graham insist that airstrikes are the only way forward in today’s Iraq. But what we need now are not armchair warriors calling for military strikes or sending weapons. (As an aside, I will say that, should members of the neoconservative movement feel so motivated, we would wholeheartedly respect their decision to enlist in the Iraqi army.) Obama, himself “right” on Iraq during the war’s run-up, is also right today to resist calls for direct U.S. military action — including airstrikes — in Iraq. The U.S. misadventure in Iraq ended in 2011; we do not need another. Experience and history have (clearly) taught us that there is no military solution in Iraq. Only a political reconciliation can quell the unrest, and this requires more than bellicose calls for violence from 5,000 miles away. To find a solution, we must commit to regional and international diplomacy.

We learned in 2003 that when we move in with guns blazing, we tend to spark a lot more fires than we extinguish. In 2014, we cannot afford to learn this same lesson. Regardless of how many are too blind (or proud or foolish) to realize it, we need to write a new scenario for 2014, so that 11 years from now, we can look back and ponder how, this time, we did things right.

Read more from Katrina vanden Heuvel’s archive or follow her on Twitter.

Why the Rich get much Richer

On My 28 I posted a commentary titled “Goodbye Middle Class.” On June 26 David Lazarus posted this column in the Los Angeles Times.

His column abridged, (underlined and bold not part of the Times editing) At CVS Caremark, it doesn’t pay to be really good at your job. The nation’s second-largest drugstore chain adjusts its annual raises to how much an employee makes. The higher your salary, the lower your raise. The top workers at CVS stores — those earning the highest hourly wage for their job classification — are “red lined” by the company and receive no raises at all. CVS, which gave its chief executive a 26% raise last year to almost $23 million in total compensation, isn’t alone in making sure its rank-and-file workers don’t make too much money.

And this is why, in any discussion of income inequality, we keep reaching the same point — the rich get richer, while everyone else gets table scraps. “It’s not personal. It’s business,” said Mike Lipis, a Los Angeles compensation consultant. “You’re trying to make the most of your limited compensation dollars.”

I wrote recently about a report showing that the head of CVS, Larry Merlo, enjoyed the widest gap in the country between a CEO’s salary and that of his less-worthy underlings. According to compensation researcher PayScale, Merlo’s $12.1-million salary last year was 422 times the size of the median CVS wage of $28,700.

A top-performing CVS pharmacy technician earning a base wage of $9.30 an hour will similarly merit a 4.75% raise. But a red-lined pharmacy technician earning $15.67 an hour will see no raise.

Politicians have an excellent issue for the coming elections. It’s a good bet that none of them will even address the pay discrepancy. The reason? The source of the contributions for their campaigns.

Don’t look for the media to emphasize the salary discrepancies. Those heading the media companies are some of the highest paid people.

Leslie Moonves, CEO of CBS Corp. $62,157,026 in 2012

Philippe P. Dauman, CEO of Vaicom Inc.$37,165,750 in 2013

Marissa A. Mayer, CEO of Yahoo Inc. $36,615,404 in 2012

Robert A. Iger, CEO of Disney Co. $34,321,055 in 2013

David M. Zaslav, CEO of Discover Communications $33,349,798 in 2013

THEY ARE CHILDREN

There is an ongoing humanitarian disaster happening at our border with Mexico. There are massive numbers of ‘children’ some as young as toddlers with older brothers and sisters crossing over the border. They have fled violence and poverty and many have no parents, and they have been not allowed to stop in any of the countries coming up toward our border. I would point out again that these are CHILDREN.

What kind of people and what kind of government would not take care of these children and offer them security and place to be? Well, that appears to be our country. They call them illegal and they say they have no business here- so they house them in squalid conditions and then they plan to send those without any family here, right back to where they came from. That is shameful. The comments of many people on the different sites…

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It Wasn’t a Hard Choice for Hillary Clinton

Despite my contention that Hillary Clinton is the wrong person to become the next president I am still interested in the attention she receives. One hour with Diane Sawyer on ABC and two hours with Christiane Amanpour on CNN is a great way to sell books and an even greater way to prepare for a run for the presidency without announcing she is a candidate.

Naturally Los Angeles would be a great place to start a book signing tour for Mrs. Clinton. This is a Democratic stronghold. Even better was the Barnes and Noble bookstore in The Grove shopping center. This is the heart of West Los Angeles and home of liberal Congressman Henry Waxman.

Los Angeles is a very spread out city. It took 50 minutes for me to reach this high priced and very popular shopping center. 22 miles of stop and go traffic. Despite the crowd that awaited me the parking was easy.

The back end of the line. Two blocks from the Barnes & Noble store

I expected the crowd to be significant and it was. Security in and around the mall was very prominent. The line was about two city blocks in length. I overheard a security person say that people were lining up at 4:30 in the morning. The book signing started at 11:30. First you waited in line to buy the book and then returned to the line to obtain her (Clinton’s) autograph. The total time for the entire process was reported to be eight hours. The book flap cover says the price for this masterpiece is $35.00 but on a visit to Costco I found the un-autographed hard cover copy for $20.00.

Hillary Clinton entering Barnes & Noble Bookstore at The Grove in Los Angeles

I did obtain a circular stick on badge that reads “I’m Ready for Hillary.” There is no rain in Los Angeles in June. It was a medium warm sunny day. That waiting line held many future campaign workers. If nothing else the turn out brought more visitors and business to The Grove, the adjoining Farmers Market and Canter’s Deli just up the street.

California set for more exports, strong manufacturing

Los Angeles Harbor

Click on above photo to see a full screen view of ship unloading operations

The outlook for growth in California is optimistic, according to a Beacon Economics report predicting expansion in manufacturing and exports and a job market recovery driven by more than low-wage work.

The report, conducted for City National Bank, notes that 56% of new jobs created in the state in the last year are in industries with average annual wages above $50,000. Most of those positions, according to the report, are full-time.

The findings seem to challenge other economists’ assertions that wages aren’t keeping pace with the job recovery. More low-wage positions will be created or opened by 2020 in Southern California than will mid-level or high-paying jobs, according to the Center for Continuing Study of the California Economy.

But according to Beacon, employers in the professional and business services field added 24,300 new jobs statewide since the fourth quarter. That’s more than half of the 44,200 net nonfarm job gains made in the state in the same period.

That’s more than half of the 44,200 net nonfarm job gains made in the state in the same period. The industry pays $29.11 an hour on average as of May, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The Beacon report also said that California’s 1.2% job growth in the first quarter trailed the 1.5% nationwide rate.

But Los Angeles and Orange counties each created 12,200 new jobs in the first quarter, helping pull the statewide unemployment rate down 0.3 percentage point from the fourth quarter to 8.1%.

And the Central Valley, often maligned as an economic dead zone, is showing surprising strength, according to Beacon.
The south San Joaquin Valley, which includes Fresno, Tulare and Kern counties, has boosted nonfarm employment by more than 50% in the last 25 years. The population has also swelled at nearly double the overall state rate.

The workforce participation rate in the state ticked up to 62.6% from 62.4% the previous quarter and the proportion of people working part-time due to economic reasons fell 0.6 percentage point to 6.8%, according to the report.

Beacon added that California’s growth slowed slightly in the first quarter due to the frigid, stormy weather bedeviling the rest of the country earlier this year.

Real gross state product, a metric of economic output, grew just 2.8% after surging 4.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the report. But manufacturing, thought by many experts to be a shriveling industry, continues to support a generous portion of the California economy.

The state is responsible for producing a quarter of the computers and electronics made in the country, according to the report. The products, which constitute nearly half of all California manufacturing output, are centered in Silicon Valley and, to a lesser degree, in the Los Angeles metropolitan area.

Beacon estimates that exports leaving California rose 2.8% in the first quarter from the fourth. The effects of a weak dollar, slower growth in China, Europe shaking off its recession and Japan emerging from a decade-long stagnancy will likely propel increasing outbound trade for the rest of the year.

Copyright © 2014, Los Angeles Times

Los Angeles Harbor

L.A. Versus N.Y.C. – The Payoff

City officials closed 7th Street in front of the MacArthur Park-area landmark as crowds lined up for what is known as the deli’s No. 19, its most popular sandwich. Normally, it sells for $15.20.

After the Kings took Game 5 Friday night in a thrilling double overtime win, after the New York Rangers went home, after the cup was kissed and the red carpet removed from the ice, there was still the matter of the pastrami sandwich.

LAPD Chief Charlie Beck and New York City Police Commissioner William J. Bratton (a former LAPD police chief) bet a pastrami sandwich that their home team would win the Stanley Cup. At stake was bragging rights over which city’s hockey team was better – and which city’s pastrami.

On Saturday morning, Bratton signaled his intent to honor the bet. He tweeted a photo of Katz’s Deli in New York and tagged Beck’s Twitter account.

“Do you take your pastrami sandwich with or without mustard? Congrats!” Bratton tweeted.

Beck’s response, after telling Bratton he was looking forward to having lunch again soon, was to tweet a picture of L.A.’s most-revered pastrami sandwich, the Number 19 at Langer’s Deli.

The sandwich – tender, hand-sliced pastrami, cool Russian dressing, crisp cole slaw and Swiss cheese between two slices of pillow-soft, crunchy-crusted twice-baked rye bread – is a favorite of the Los Angeles Police Department.

New York City loves it too – the New Yorker magazine once called Langer’s Number 19 “the finest hot pastrami sandwich in the world.” Even Bratton admitted the corned beef at Langer’s was better than any in New York.

“Hold the mustard please, slaw inside, just like @LangersDeli #19,” Beck tweeted along with the picture.

Bratton isn’t the only New York official who will have to make good on his bet. New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo has to send Gov. Jerry Brown a basket of buffalo wings, Italian sausage and oysters from Long Island. Brown had wagered a book of California history and lightly salted organic brown rice cakes.

New York City Mayor Bill De Blasio has agreed to sing Randy Newman’s “I Love LA” on “The Jimmy Kimmel Show,” a relief for those who hoped to avoid listening to Mayor Eric Garcetti sing “New York, New York” on the same show.

Copyright © 2014, Los Angeles Times

Hillary Clinton is the wrong candidate for President

Think words like hubris (Overbearing pride or presumption; arrogance; exaggerated pride or self-confidence) and narcissist (Excessive preoccupation with or admiration of oneself) and you have my impression of Hillary Clinton.

Between her new book (Hard Choices) and her appearances on ABC, Hillary Clinton is setting the stage for her presidential campaign. Pertaining to Benghazi, What does “I take responsibility” mean? Mrs. Clinton is not the first person to use those words. Every time there is an error made by government a politician steps forward and tells us he or she is responsible. Eric Shinseki, former secretary of the VA, was responsible for VA hospital care and did resign. The lose his job was the price he paid for his incompetence. Mrs. Clinton? No price was paid. Hillary Clinton is a polarizing figure who will do more harm than good to the Democratic Party. If she is elected president, Bill and Hillary would be a distracting element to managing America’s government. I am certain that there are many other Democrats who could successfully run for president in 2016 but have been warned away by the Clinton machine.

What do you think?

‘FUN Factoids’ of Olde Time Jewish Celebrities

* Who was the First Movie Star?

Maxwell Henry Aronson aka ‘Broncho Billy Anderson’ (March 21, 1880), had three minor roles in one of the first movies, the 10 minute 1903 ‘The Great Train Robbery. Soon Max began to write, direct and act in his own westerns. Founding his own studio in 1907, Anderson acted in over 300 short films but gained huge popularity as Broncho Billy in 148 silent western shorts.

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* Why Did ‘Jack Benny’ write his Autobiography in the 1960’s and then buy the rights back from his publisher and hide it?

His daughter Joan says she found the manuscript after her mother died in 1983¦the story she heard was that Jack’s wife Mary (Sadye Marks) Livingstone objected because Jack (born Feb. 14, 1894) had so many stories of his olde girlfriends in it! Joan published it.

***

* Who was a catcher for the Boston Red Sox, spoke 7 languages and a spy for the OSS?

‘Moe Berg’ (March 2, 1902) played 15 seasons in the majors mostly as a back-up catcher¦ In the off seasons he traveled extensively around the worldâ¦.including two trips to Japan. It turned out he had been working for the OSS as a spy for the U.S. on those trips. In 1943/44, and speaking German like a native he was touring Nazi occupied Europe, on a spy mission. He had to determine if the Germans were close to an ‘A’ bomb, in which case he was charged with murdering the Nazi scientists who were developing it!

***

* Who was BEST Ventriloquist ever and created the First Artificial Heart?

The most famous ventriloquist was Edgar Bergen he was also the worst. The Best was ‘Paul Winchell’ (Dec. 21, 1922) Paul Wilchinsky who as Paul Winchell with his wooden partner Jerry Mahoney had their own TV Shows in the 1950’s and made many appearances on all the popular variety shows of the time¦.Paul NEVER moved his lips! Paul was also an actor and inventor. He has many medical patents including the device which was exactly the same as the ‘Jarvik’ heart.

***

* Who was the FIRST ‘Method Actor’, the FIRST ‘Bad Boy’ Movie Actor & had the ‘Largest Funeral’ of any celebrity since Rudolf Valentino?

Jacob Julius Garfinkle aka ‘John Garfield’ (March 4, 1913) grew up in poverty on the Lower East Side. If I hadn’t been an actor I might have become Public Enemy #1’. ‘Cutting his teeth’ at the Group Theatre. Garfield on Broadway and in the Movies was an early great proponent of the ‘Method’ acting. He was the predecessor of the Monty Clift, Marlon Brando & James Dean school of acting. With a bad heart and the stress of possibly losing his career because of being named to the ‘Black List.’ John Garfield died of a massive heart attack at 39. Over 10,000 people crowded outside the cemetery at his funeral.

***

* What Famous Movie of 1942 cast 4 Jews, an Irishman & a German as California Mexicans?

Tortilla Flat, from the famous book by John Steinbeck, was a movie about a bunch of poor Monterrey, CA. Mexicans that just sit around and ‘kvetch’ all day. The cast consisted of 4 Jews: ‘Hedy Lamarr’ (Nov. 9, 1914) a Viennese Jew with a strong German accent, ‘John Garfield’ & ‘Sheldon Leonard’ (Feb. 22, 1907) both Jews with strong New York accents and ‘Akim Tamiroff ‘(Oct. 29, 1899) a Russian Jew with a strong Russian Accent. In addition the very Irish Spencer Tracy and the German American Frank Morgan!!!…. not a decent Mexican accent in the bunch.

***

* What Film played a N.Y.C. neighborhood theatre in the early 1950’s that put this up on it’s marquee: Starring ‘Bernard Schwartz and Rosetta Jacobs’?

‘The Prince who was a Thief starred ‘Tony Curtis’ (June 3, 1925) and ‘Piper Laurie’ (Jan. 22, 1932). Both were locals born on the lower Eastside of N.Y.

***

* What nice Jewish girl left Darren Aronofsky to marry ‘James Bond’???

‘Rachel Weisz’, born March 7, 1970 and now married to Daniel Craig.

***

* What Jewish girl at 19 hung out with Hitler & Mussolini, married a ‘semi-Nazi munitions dealer, made a ‘semi-porno film’ that got world wide release, ran off to Paris & London where she met Louis B. Meyer & became one of MGM’s biggest stars, was called ‘The Most Beautiful Woman in the World’, helped invent a process called ‘Frequency Hopping’ used in military code machines & cell phones AND sued ‘Blazing Saddles’ for making fun of her name?

Eva Maria Kiesler aka ‘Hedy Lamarr’ born November 9, 1914 in Austria.

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* What famous stand-up comic saw his first movie, ‘Shane’, as a little kid sitting in the lap of singer ‘Billie Holiday’ at the Lowe’s Commodore, N.Y.C.

‘Billy Crystal’ (March 14, 1948)

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* Who was the first & greatest Swashbuckling Movie Hero Known as the First King of Hollywood?

Thomas Ullman aka ‘Douglas Fairbanks, Sr.’ (May 23, 1883)

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* What two famous actors of the Yiddish Stage became Movie Super Stars playing Italian Gangsters?

Emanuel Goldenberg aka ‘Edward G. Robinson (Dec. 12, 1893) with ‘Little Caesar’ in 1931.

Muni Weisenfreund aka ‘Paul Muni’ (Sept. 22, 1895) with ‘Scarface’ in 1932.

***

* Who was the first ‘Professional’ Baseball Player?

‘Emanuel Lipman Pike’ (May 25, 1845) and in 1866 he accepted $20. a week to play.

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* What Famous Superstarâ¦as a kid in the 1930’s would pee off the roof of the N.Y.C. tenements on top of parading American Nazi’s?

Bernie Schwartz, aka ‘Tony Curtis’ (June 3, 1925).

***

* What famous Hollywood leading lady missed out on playing ‘Scarlett O’Hara’ in Gone with the Windâ¦.over her affair with Charlie Chaplin?

Marion Pauline Levy aka ‘Paulette Goddard’ (June 3, 1910). Producer David O. Selznick was afraid Paulette’s fooling around with Charlie would hurt the box office of the movie so decided against casting her.

***

* What famous TV star hung one of his young writers out an 18 story window until they agreed on whether a joke was funny?

Sid Caesar (Sept. 8, 1922) hung his writer Melvin Kaminsky ‘Mel Brooks’ (June 28, 1926) out the window until the other writers restrained Sid!

***

* What Famous Stand-up once asked Frank Sinatra to stop by his table (in Vegas) to help the comic impress a girlâ¦later when Sinatra stopped to say hello the comic said.. ‘Not Now Frank, Can’t You See I’m With Somebody’???

Only the impish Don Rickles (May 8, 1926) had the guts!

***

* What silent film star, known as ‘The Vamp’, was the first movie ‘Femme Fatale’?

Theodosia Burr Goodman aka ‘Theda Bara’ (July 29, 1885) and at her height she was ranked in popularity behind only Mary Pickford and Charlie Chaplain.

***

* What Famous Movie Star had ‘Two’ of the world’s largest and finest privately owned art collections in the world?

Edward G. Robinson (Dec. 12, 1893). In 1956 he was forced to sell his first art collection, as part of his divorce settlement. Missing his art more than his wife of 29 years he immediately began to build a second collection!

***

* What Famous Movie Star ‘Hunk’ wore dresses as a kid?

Issur Danielovitch aka ‘Kirk Douglas’ (Dec. 9, 1916) was the only boy among had 4 or 5 older sisters, they couldn’t afford toys so they treated him as their own private dress-up doll. As a teen he muscled up and become macho to prove his manhood… ‘I am Spartacus’!!!

***

What Current Famous Conductor is the grandson of the King & Queen of the Yiddish Theatre¦Boris & Bessie Thomashefsky?

Michael Tilson Thomas (Dec. 21, 1944)

I take full responsibility!

What does, “I take full responsibility” mean?

Politicians use those words when a government function does not operate as expected. Doesn’t taking responsibility mean facing a punishment?

As reported on AOL.COM General Motors CEO Mary Barra addressing employees at the automaker’s vehicle engineering center said that the company has fired 15 people associated with those failures and disciplined five others. Earlier documents had revealed that GM knew of the Chevrolet Cobalt ignition-switch problems for more than a decade, but had done nothing to fix the problem.

The Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill (aka BP Oil Spill) was one of the worst oil disasters in history. More than 200 million gallons of crude oil was pumped into the Gulf of Mexico for a total of 87 days. BP CEO Tony Hayward was transferred to another job but were any of those working on the oil derrick fired? The answer appears to be NO.

The Upper Big Branch Mine disaster occurred on April 5, 2010 roughly 1,000 feet (300 m) underground in Raleigh County, West Virginia at Massey Energy‘s Upper Big Branch coal mine located in Montcoal. Twenty-nine out of thirty-one miners at the site were killed. Was anyone charged with a crime?

Shoddy care in Veteran’s Administration hospitals goes back to at least 1945 when President Harry Truman accepted the resignation of VA Administrator Frank Hines after a series of news reports detailing shoddy care in VA-run hospitals, according to a 2010 history produced by the Independent Inspector General. The latest action was the Veteran’s secretary resigning. Who is responsible for the loss of life?

This is all about people in high places not being held accountable for their actions or inaction. Not in every instance but too frequently when lives are at stake.

Ship captains seem to be the rare exception. Most recently the captain of the ferry, Sewol, sinking off the coast of South Korea, the captain of the Costa Concordia off the coast of Italy, and the captain of the Exxon Valdez sinking off the Alaskan coast have all faced criminal charges.

Everyone who is connected with the loss of life should be held responsible. To me that means fines, penalties, and some jail time too!