The Other McCain

"One should either write ruthlessly what one believes to be the truth, or else shut up." — Arthur Koestler

Ed Koch Writes Around The Topic Of Corruption With A Neurosurgeon’s Skill

Posted on | October 31, 2011 | 11 Comments

by Smitty

One must admit, it’s quite a well done piece by Ed Koch in the Puffington Host to talk about corruption in the U.S. while mentioning no more than Dick Durbin in terms of Democrat corruption.

What this country needs is a Congress and a president who will investigate the corruption that Americans feel is rampant. The Occupy Wall Street crew, unfocused and inarticulate, unwashed and motley, nevertheless has captured support because of the uneasiness of Americans, conservative and liberal, that our lawmakers at every level of government have been compromised, if not purchased and that money not only talks, money rules, and the average American feels used and powerless.

Yeah, the Tea Party thanks you, man.

We look around us and see corporate America — particularly the banks and Wall Street securities firms — that were responsible for bringing us to our knees as a result of the Great Recession which they brought on, now richer, bigger and more powerful than ever. This, while 15 million Americans remain unemployed and many in their 60s and 70s knowing they will never work again.

But Having Only Blinded, Hubristic Ocular Bits Helps Only Boorish, Hateful #Occupiers.

Read the whole thing. Koch very carefully bemoans the overgrowth of the government at all levels, and the problems that breeds, and managest to recommend fertilizer in the form of more investigations to address the issue. As if Eric Holder and the Department of Injustice could ever do the right thing, except by pure accident.

Wake up, Koch, and realize that the people causing the problem are not a likely source for a remedy.

Or do you already know that?

Category: New York

#OccupyGreece

Posted on | October 31, 2011 | 14 Comments

by Smitty

Tyler Cowen at Marginal Revolution points to something a little more important than a Herman Cain allegation. Greece was not supposed to have a confidence vote so soon, but:

Mr. Papandreou also said that he would seek a parliamentary vote of confidence in his administration, just four months after seeking, and winning, a similar vote to bolster his government before pushing an earlier batch of austerity measures into law.
Government sources said that the confidence vote was expected by the end of the week, with the referendum much later, in December or even January. Exactly what voters would be asked was not clear.

So, if I’m understanding this correctly, the Greek government is getting hit with the second confidence vote in 5 months, and has to get the Greeks to eat their end of the 50% haircut within a month or two.

In late October, after a series of delays, European leaders reached agreement on portions of a three-part plan to save the common currency.
They obtained an agreement from banks to take a 50 percent loss on the face value of their Greek debt. That would bring Greek debt down by 2020 to 120 percent of that nation’s gross domestic product, a figure still enormous but more sustainable for an economy driven into recession by austerity measures.

‘Reached agreement on portions’ was, according to Cowen, quoting FT, the verbal equivalent of a wardrobe malfunction:

the specific elements of the deal, that is to say the structure of the new claim on Greece, remains to be negotiated

In other words, any agreement purportedly reached by the EUrocrats is worth as much as Barack Obama’s college transcripts: you’d better see the deal in writing.

Is this the end of things? The Unreliable Smith Prediction is that the Greek people treat the German bailout with all the respect the Palestinians treated the Oslo Accords; Greece melts down; the Greeks start using their police cars for commodes by, say, January.

Category: Greece

In Single Guy News, Slightly Tarnished Armenian Gal With A 72-Day Definition Of ‘Forever’ May Be Available

Posted on | October 31, 2011 | 42 Comments

by Smitty

Just a Conservative Girl quotes Her Kimness:

After careful consideration, I have decided to end my marriage. I hope everyone understands this was not an easy decision. I had hoped this marriage was forever, but sometimes things don’t work out as planned. We remain friends and wish each other the best.

In all seriousness, I hope she and the husband repent. The institution of marriage will outlive any individual idiocy, but that should not be an occasion to behave like an idiot.
So, if you’re loaded, have a two-dimensional, present tense view of what matters in life, and better hair than I do. . .no, pursue happiness instead.

Kris Humphries was reportedly blindsided, and not keen on being just another video tape in her collection.

I wish him the best in saving the marriage, and I thank the Lord that destiny did not put me in similar shoes.

Update: linked at the POH Diaries.

Category: Celebrities, Culture, Family, Farce, Rule 5, Uncategorized

Shocker: UNESCO Thumbs Its Nose At American Interests

Posted on | October 31, 2011 | 9 Comments

by Smitty (via Atlas Shrugs)

The ‘Stache reports:

UNESCO, true to form, has voted today to admit the Palestinian Authority as a member. So ineffective was Obama administration diplomacy that France voted in favor of Palestinian membership, and Britain and Japan abstained. U.S. statutes, dating from 1990, now require a full cutoff of U.S. funding, which Congress should insist occur immediately. Should the administration seek changes in the applicable statutory provisions that would eliminate or weaken the funding cutoff, Congress should reject them.

I expect Boehner to be all over that and really turn the screws on the Administration. . .real soon now.

Category: United Nations

Scott Ott Skewers The News

Posted on | October 31, 2011 | 4 Comments

by Smitty

His Herman Cain opener is very well played. Click the image for a family-friendly chuckle:

Update: linked at The Conservative Hideout 2.0

Category: humor, PJTV

Walter Russell Mead Talks Around The Decay Of Political Parties

Posted on | October 31, 2011 | 2 Comments

by Smitty

Mead is always interesting, but apparently he hasn’t read Army of Davids. He sees the decay of our two Ruling Class parties

American political parties are increasingly being reduced to flags of convenience; party organizations and party institutions have little influence over events. That didn’t use to be true. Party leaders and officials once exercised significant power over the choice of nominees, over the careers of aspiring pols, and over patronage. These days, outside Chicago and a handful of other places, we no longer think of party “bosses”.

but nowhere does he seem to grasp why this occurs: information control. With the traditional media going the way of Borders Books, people are turning to outlets such as this blog both to figure out what’s important now, and to fill in the blanks on what public education left out. History, Economics, &c.

Previously, a Herman Cain may have gone under the bus and stayed there, because there was no way to get a word in edgewise and ask for, you know, facts, to back up the finger pointing. A Ted Kennedy can have his Chappaquiddick  and still have a political career. John Edwards’ scandal takes him down.

Our weak party structures also contribute to one of the worst features of contemporary American politics: the rise of political dynasties. While these were not unknown in the country’s past, ever since the Kennedy clan made its bid for permanent political power, we have seen more sons and daughters of politicians try to carry on the family trade. In general, organized political parties try to fight that trend; advancement in politics is given to the loyal as a reward for long service, not to glamorous upstarts as a reward for their genes.

This explains Jeb Bush’s preeminence in the 2012 field. Oh, wait: we’re sick of dynasties. Because, as a result of the information revolution, we don’t have to accept the big party dynasty. Not to say that Bush isn’t well qualified; he has supporters. But for 300 million+ people, come on. No ball hogging.

Historically, the common sense of the American people and the public spirit of American wealth have helped keep our politics on a relatively even keel. We still have plenty of patriotic and generous, spirited rich people, and the American people continue to have a healthy respect for laws and the limits of democracy.

Yes, but #OWS really points out that Progressivism is to our politics what osteoporosis is to the elderly. And even the likelier candidates for 2012 seem strangely comfortable with the over-extended federal government.

Bringing coherence to the politics of a diverse country of 300 million is a difficult task. The answers to our problems are seldom obvious, and even when they are, the path to achieving them is not. And because the United States is on the cutting edge of world history, and our effort to build mass prosperity in a post-industrial era is something that has never really been tried before, we need political movements and leaders with the ability to imagine new ways forward and to inspire faith.

Not obvious? Federal over-reach is the general description of the problem. Admittedly, unwinding the last century is going to be tough. It will take inspired leadership to convince the people to re-assume their liberty, and discharge the debt. Greece is about what you expect from humans. We must again prove exceptional.

The reason there is even hope of arriving at an exceptional turn-about is the Information Age. Thus, I think Mead noted a positive symptom and talked his way around the effects.

Update: I’ll go with Daily Pundit on most of his ideas, but #3 really needs to understand that, for political purposes, “any aggregation of people, to include Unions” would be an improvement over “corporations”.

Via Instapundit

Category: Instapundit, Progressivism

Herman Cain At The National Press Club

Posted on | October 31, 2011 | 71 Comments

by Smitty

UPDATE 14:53 the bottom line on the allegation:

“In my over 40 years of running businesses and corporations, I have never sexually harassed anyone,” he told an audience at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C.
“I was accused — falsely, I might add. When the charges were brought, I recused myself, and allowed my general counsel and human-resources officer to deal with the matter.
“After a thorough investigation, it was determined there was no basis for the complaints,” Cain related.

UPDATE 3:41 PM ET (RSM): The media scrum waited around in the Press Club to catch Cain after his speech, but he eluded us, exiting via a back way down the garage. Then we all raced to the elevators and down to the street. I went around to the exit of the garage and spotted one of Cain’s advance men on lookout duty. Cain had evidently left by another route, but in a couple of minutes, chief of staff Mark Block walked out — smoking a cigarette, naturally. The advance man on lookout duty was giving me the Evil Eye, so I didn’t approach, but shouted out, “How’s it going, Mark?” He made a hand gesture: “call me.” And I shouted, “Hey, I been calling you all day.”

Block was ushered to a waiting Cadillac sedan and they paused briefly before pulling away from the curb, so I trotted up to the open rear window and said, “What’s going on, man?” Block answered: “Gotta got to the next thing.” And off they went.

I’d parked my car a block away at the Willard Intercontinental Hotel, and stopped in the ornate lobby to call Smitty and consult as to updates, etc. Then down to the car and out Constitution Avenue, across the river to Rosslyn and the offices of the American Spectator, where I’m now logged in on a borrowed computer. People have asked me how I thought Cain did today, and I answered — striking a John Travolta gesture — “Stayin’ alive.”

There’s a deadline looming, so I’ll update more tonight when I get home. As for now … Hit the freaking tip jar!





*** PREVIOUSLY (11:59 a.m.) ***

Stacy is in shoe leather mode at the National Press Club, standing by for remarks.

The luncheon will begin promptly at 12:30 p.m. Remarks will begin at 1:00 p.m., followed by a question-and-answer session.
Luncheons are webcast live on press.org. Follow the conversation on Twitter using the hashtag #NPCLunch, or on Facebook at (facebook.com/PressClubDC) and Twitter (@PressClubDC).
Submit questions for speakers during the live event by sending them to @QNPCLunch on Twitter. Or email a question in advance; type CAIN in the subject line and send to [email protected] before 10 a.m. on the day of event.

He has interviewed sources close to the campaign who said that the campaign had known for some time that Politico was pursuing the allegations of sexual harassment that are in circulation. During a conference call of Cain operatives on Sunday, the Politico story was discussed. The story had been expected within 24-48 hours as of yesterday afternoon, and was published sooner than the campaign had expected. However, there was ‘no sense of doom’ about the story, which is ‘not something that is going to derail the campaign’.

Stacy is seated in the balcony section with a sandwich and coffee, where Cain is expected shortly.

Via Beltway Confidential, we have Herman Cain responding to Jenna Lee on Fox discussing his National Restaurant Association settlement.

UPDATE 12:05 PM EST (RSM) Herman Cain just arrived at NPC. He evaded the sidewalk stakeout by coming in through the parking garage.

UPDATE 12:52 PM EST (RSM) There was a small press gaggle with Mark Block on his way into the luncheon. Have audio, video and photos but am currently poaching a computer in the NPC library and can’t access that now. Security is pretty heavy here.

However, Block denied any knowledge of whether the Politico story was the result of another campaign’s opposition research.

Right now, Politico is looking worse than Cain. Dana Loesch at Big Journalism writes: “Cain has a right to face his accusers and the American public has the right to know the details of a story and not be expected to rush to a judgment predicated on ‘unnamed sources.’” It’s a pretty heavy situation to be sourced so lightly.

UPDATE 13:11 PM EST Linked at Nice Deb and Haemet.

UPDATE 13:21 PM EST Welcome, Instapundit readers!

UPDATE 13:36 PM EST (RSM) In an impromptu press gaggle before the luncheon, Cain campaign chief of staff Mark Block was asked if he believed the Politico story came from another campaign. Block said,

“I would find it hard to believe that anybody with another campaign would do that. But then again, this is politics.”

UPDATE 13:42 PM EST CNN has some talking heads who are concern-milking the scandal cow in a desperate attempt to make cheese:

UPDATE 13:55 PM EST Found the C-Span live stream. We do not have a health care problem; we have a health care cost problem. His interest in running for president was piqued by BHO’s performance.

UPDATE 13:59 PM EST Singing a variation on “Amazing Grace” for a closer. Sans teleprompter.

UPDATE 14:19 PM EST (RSM) Stacy McCain on stakeout duty awaiting Cain’s departure.

UPDATE 14:21 PM EST Further linkage at:

UPDATE 14:45 PM EST (RSM) Cain evaded the press scrum in the parking garage.

UPDATE 16:38 PM EST (RSM) Linked at Maggie’s Notebook.


Category: Election 2012, Herman Cain

Hating Is Easier Than Understanding

Posted on | October 31, 2011 | 10 Comments

From my American Spectator column today:

Documented examples of anti-Semitism among the “Occupy” crowds were sufficiently numerous to prompt the Emergency Committee for Israel to release an online ad questioning support for the demonstrations voiced by Democratic Party leaders, including President Obama, who said the movement “expresses the frustrations that the American people feel.”
Obama’s invocation of “the American people” and their “frustrations” might permit some other conspiracy theorists to suggest — with far better evidence — that the protesters camped in Zuccotti Park are part of a deliberate effort by the president and his party to undermine the free enterprise system. Several conservative commentators have interpreted “Occupy Wall Street” in light of Saul Alinsky’s radical maxim: “Pick the target, freeze it, personalize it, polarize it.” Others see the anti-capitalist mobs in the context of the “Cloward-Piven Strategy” to foment a crisis that would bring about a socialist revolution. This suggestion cannot be lightly dismissed. One of the architects of that 1960s-era strategy, Professor Frances Fox Piven, is an active supporter of the movement and told a public-radio interviewer: “I think we desperately need a popular uprising in the United States.” Piven also denounced the financial industry at a Sept. 29 rally in New York where, in a bizarre call-and-response speech, she told the crowd: “You’ve heard people say they’re greedy, and they are greedy. You’ve heard people say that they are thieves, and they are thieves. But they’re also cannibals, because they are eating their own.” …

Please read the whole thing. By the time you read this, I’ll be en route to D.C. where Herman Cain speaks today at the National Press Club.

Category: American Spectator
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