Month: October 2009

A reader writes:

I'm an ER veterinarian who has experienced the wonders of chocolate vomit hundreds of times over the years, but has yet to slide into it headfirst. I'm writing because you mentioned giving salt to induce vomiting. While this has been a commonly advocated method in the past, it is no longer recommended. The salt can cause an increase in blood sodium levels, which can cause significant problems for the dog. A trip to the vet for a safer emetic is recommended, but if that is not possible due to distance or time frame, hydrogen peroxide can be given by mouth to dogs only. The amount administered is small and varies based on the weight of the dog, so call your local veterinarian or the always-helpful ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center for advice before administering.

In some ways, Obama's fealty to the big gay lobby rather than to the real gay community is testimony to why Democratic party politics remain repulsive to me. HRC has achieved nothing substantive for gay equality on a federal level in the twenty years I've been observing them. But they sure know how to milk donors at swanky black tie affairs. They are the Rotary Club for affluent gays, and their prime job is to explain to the gay community why it is never in the Democratic party's interest to do anything for gay people that might actually resemble equality. Oh, yes, we'll get a lovely Obama speech. Like that costs him anything or proves anything.

There is nothing Obama can say at this self-satisfied, well-heeled Rotary Club dinner that he hasn't said before. And the idea that simply showing up is something we should all be ecstatic over and grateful for is another sign of the low self-esteem and lack of self-respect among the leaders of that organization who did all they could to defeat Obama in the primaries last spring. I won't be there and haven't been there for more than a decade. It is not a forum to advance gay rights; it is a fundraising session designed to make people feel better for backing an organization incapable of passing laws supported by overwhelming majorities of the American people. Oh, and fawning over B-list Hollywood celebrities.

If Obama wants to support gay equality, he knows what to do. If Pelosi and Reid want to support gay equality, they know what to do. If HRC believes in gay equality, they also know what to do.

So spare us the schmoozing and the sweet-talking and do it. Until then, Mr president, why don't you have a nice steaming cup of shut-the-fuck-up?

Here's something that Bill Kristol can truly celebrate about Iraq. Liberation has unleashed Shiite death squads against gay men in that country, perpetrating horrible torture, violence and murder. Now that's a liberation the theocons can get behind. Of course, I know of no Obama administration statement of concern or plan of action on this either, and perhaps there is nothing to be done.

But it remains the case that a country still occupied by 130,000 US troops is cleansing its society of a beleaguered minority and the US military and government are silent and standing by. If this pogrom were taking place against any other minority, it would be front-page news. But gays are expendable; and in the view of the current GOP base, they are reaping what they sow.

Mercifully, some people are doing something to save those living in terror. Here's a moving story of how hard they are fighting and who they are helping.

This was the guy who was on her campaign, remember:

Marc Lynch wants to know what the Obama administration was thinking:

There seems to be little question that Abbas's decision to go along with American pressure will have a significant impact on the popularity and legitimacy of the PA.  He is already backpedaling in the face of the intense public backlash, announcing the formation of a committee to look into the "circumstances surrounding the issue" (gee, wonder what he'll find when he investigates his own decision?), but it's probably too late.

[…]

I can understand the decision to sacrifice the Goldstone inquiry into the Gaza war to tactical or strategic considerations, whether or not I agree with the call.  It wouldn't be the first time.  But I would hope that such a decision would have seriously anticipated the implications for the legitimacy and efficacy of the Palestinian Authority, for Obama's credibility among Arab and Muslim audiences, or for how to leverage it into real gains with the Israeli public. 

It appears at times that Obama does not have the final say over US foreign policy in the Middle East. Israel does. At some point, it is not unreasonable to ask for a little help from our alleged friends.

(My first version of this sentence was intemperate and over-wrought. I apologize. My point is strong enough without stupid exaggerations.)

I try to explain:

Split, Croatia, 12 pm

Doug Holtz-Eakin, former McCain economic adviser and former director of the CBO, wants the the $8,000 first-time homebuyers tax credit ended (it expires in November but there has been talk of extending it):

I’m not sure if it is worse if the policy “works” or if it doesn’t, but it likely won’t.  The $8,000 first-time homebuyers tax credit is straight out of the same pool of bad ideas that gave us the misbegotten “cash for clunkers” program.  The latter produced essentially no environmental or energy-security benefits (not too surprising when you could get $3,500 for simply raising your mileage by only four miles-per-gallon) – just as a homeownership push has no real benefits.

Cash for clunkers was a superficial “success” from a sales point of view; we saw all those cars driven off the dealers’ lots powered by taxpayer subsidies.  Similarly, a check from Uncle Sam has sweetened home sales.  But most of the cash for clunkers sales would likely have taken place anyway, albeit later in 2009 or in 2010.  All the program did was steal sales from the future and provide a midsummer bump that will soon fade.  Similarly, more cash for homeowners will not represent real recovery in the housing market; it will just mean that next year and the year after will see less sales.

Greg Sargent:

The White House is refusing to offer comment or clarification on the suggestion yesterday by Obama national security adviser James Jones that Obama may not be able to repeal the ban on gays and the military in the short term because he “has a lot on his desk” and will deal with repeal “at the right time.”

According to Mark Kleiman, I owe Obama an apology for not trusting that the President will follow through. Aravosis has a good take:

Apparently, General Jones would have us believe that President Obama wasn’t aware that we were fighting wars in Iraq and Afghanistan when he promised to lift the gay ban during the campaign in exchange for our votes. So, Jones tells us today, Obama can’t get to that particular promise right now because he’s busy fighting wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Uh huh.

So when exactly are both of those wars going to be over? I’m guessing some time after Obama leaves office. And that of course assumes that we don’t have more wars to “distract” the president. Jones just set us back. Again. He just gave the Republicans, and conservative Dems, the perfect talking point.

I think the expression that comes to mind is: don’t piss on my leg and tell me it’s raining.

Maybe I spoke too soon in trying to be fair. The Ahmadinejad-Is-Jewish argument is hotly disputed here:

Upon closer inspection, a completely different interpretation of "Sabourjian" emerges. According to Robert Tait, a Guardian correspondent who travelled to Ahmadinejad's native village in 2005, the name "derives from thread painter – sabor in Farsi – a once common and humble occupation in the carpet industry in Semnan province, where Aradan is situated". This is confirmed by Kasra Naji, who also wrote a biography of Ahmadinejad and met his family in his native village. Carpet weaving or colouring carpet threads are not professions associated with Jews in Iran.

According to both Naji and Tait, Ahmadinejad's father Ahmad was in fact a religious Shia, who taught the Quran before and after Ahmadinejad's

birth and their move to Tehran.

So religious was Ahmad Sabourjian that he bought a house near a Hosseinieh, a religious club that he frequented during the holy month of Moharram to mourn the martyrdom of Imam Hossein.

Moreover, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's mother is a Seyyede. This is a title given to women whose family are believed to be direct bloodline descendants of Prophet Muhammad. Male members are given the title of Seyyed, and include prominent figures such as Iran's supreme leader Ali Khamenei. In Judaism, this is equivalent to the Cohens, who are direct descendants of Aaron, the brother of Moses. One has to be born into a Seyyed family: the title is never given to Muslims by birth, let alone converts. This makes it impossible for Ahmadinejad's mother to have been a Jew. In fact, she was so proud of her lineage that everyone in her native village of Aradan referred to her by her Islamic title, Seyyede.The reason that Ahmadinejad's father changed his surname has more to do with the class struggle in Iran.