It is difficult to convey to people here in the United States the severity of the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Somalia. When the average American hears that there are people starving to death somewhere in Africa it comes as no surprise. We have heard this so many times throughout our lives that we have come to expect it and sadly, to even accept it as an inevitability. It is for this reason that we here at the Liberal Mob have blogged about the situation taking place on the Horn of Africa a couple of times in recent weeks. First about the Failed State status of Somalia and how it compounds and worsens the ecological and humanitarian crises taking place there, and later why the United Nations & the International community had trouble responding quickly and decisively declaring a famine.
The Liberal Mob is a politically oriented blog with an obvious liberal slant and a vaguely irreverent attitude. We would like to promote common sense progressive approaches to the problems facing America and the world today. We reserve the right to blog about additional topics, especially on slow news days.
Showing posts with label Scott. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Scott. Show all posts
Monday, August 15, 2011
Keep On Rockin' in the Third World!
It is difficult to convey to people here in the United States the severity of the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Somalia. When the average American hears that there are people starving to death somewhere in Africa it comes as no surprise. We have heard this so many times throughout our lives that we have come to expect it and sadly, to even accept it as an inevitability. It is for this reason that we here at the Liberal Mob have blogged about the situation taking place on the Horn of Africa a couple of times in recent weeks. First about the Failed State status of Somalia and how it compounds and worsens the ecological and humanitarian crises taking place there, and later why the United Nations & the International community had trouble responding quickly and decisively declaring a famine.
Monday, August 1, 2011
House Undivided
Nearly seven months after being brutally shot in an assassination attempt, Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords returned the floor of the United States House of representatives to vote "aye" on the bi-partisan agreement to raise the nation's debt limit. The seeming unwillingness of the political parties to come together and the bitter vitriol surrounding the debt limit debate has diminished the confidence of the American people in the political process in Washington D.C., perhaps to an all-time low.
Thursday, July 28, 2011
I Don't Want to Set the World on Fire: Part 1
It is not uncommon to hear Americans complain about the United Nations (UN) and the participation of the U.S within it. These critics, very often, simply don’t get it. They don’t understand the reasons why the UN was created and what the goals of the institution are, and it is vital to understand those reasons in order to understand the United Nations.
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
Why I Talk About Politics All The Time
It is no secret to those who know me personally that I am a political junkie. When people see me, they will literally walk to other direction in fear that If they don’t, I will start talking to them about the debt ceiling or corporate influence on campaign finance or some other infernal thing that I‘d recently made me “cause of the week”. (Im that guy). This is not something that I am embarrassed or ashamed about. It may not be normal. It may not even be healthy. But there are so many complex issues facing our nation (and our planet) that it is literally impossible for me not to spend most of my waking hours thinking about them or studying them. As a matter of fact, I am completely baffled that most people do not spend as much time worrying about, studying and thinking about these problems too.
Monday, July 25, 2011
Twenty-Five Reasons Why I’m Not in the Tea Party
1. I enjoy roads.
2. I know how to read and write because a public school taught me.
3. I can spell.
4. I want the government to inspect my food so it doesn’t kill me, make me sick, or turn me into a zombie.
5. When I’m old, I’d like to be able to afford to go to the doctor, and I want other elderly people to be able to do the same.
25 Reasons Why I Call Myself a Liberal
It is possible to debate quite extensively exactly what the definition of liberal is. This is because of the long history of definitions of the word as well as the many different uses for the word today. There is a rather “interesting” definition of liberal on Conservapedia.com that some of you may find entertaining/offensive (especially when you compare it to Conservapedia’s definition of conservative). But rather than get bogged down in semantics about what Liberal means, I have decided to prepare a list of what Liberal means to me and why I call myself one.
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
Famine On the Horn of Africa and Why It Took the UN So Long to Declare It
The United Nations (UN) declared a famine in the southern Bakool and Lower Shabelle regions of Somalia early Wednesday morning. The UN is appealing for $300 million from the international community in the next 2 months, according to this report, as it tries to assist the Horn of Africa region in mitigating its worst drought in decades. Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon reiterated this point to reporters in New York. “We need donor support to address current needs and prevent a further deterioration of the crisis,” he said, after addressing the Security Council on the impact of climate change on international peace and security. “If funding is not made available for humanitarian interventions now, the famine is likely to continue and spread.”
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
Don't "Just Say No", Ask "Why?" - America's War On Drugs Series Part II
Welcome to part II of America’s War on Drugs Series at the Liberal Mob. In Part I of this series, I talked about the word ‘schema’ and gave my definition of it based on a speech from Professor Harris-Perry that I recently read.
It seems like the slogan “Just Say No” was everywhere when I was growing up. Having been born in the early 80’s, I literally learned how to talk during the years when the “Just Say No” campaign was becoming a permanent part of the American consciousness.
Monday, July 18, 2011
Not Your Dad's Republican Party.
It is completely mystifying that policy positions that would have seemed conservative a generation ago are now considered too far left for many Republicans to even consider supporting. The Tea Party has forced the GOP establishment to move its goal posts. And quite frankly, they've put them on a conveyer belt. In this deeply polarized era in Washington, the Tea Party's idea of negotiations is simply restating policy positions with little or no intention to actually bargain.
What’s your schema? America’s War On Drugs Series Part I
In a recent speech, Tulane Professor Melissa Harris-Perry used the word schema to identify the words, symbols, images, and feelings that come to mind when we visualize something. According to changingminds.org, “a schema is a mental structure that we use to organize and simplify our knowledge of the world around us”. We have schemas about ourselves, other people, mechanical devices, food, and in fact almost everything. For example, we all have a schema for apples. When we visualize an apple we may picture a certain size color, or texture. Our apple may or may not have a stem. The stem may have a small leaf at the tip. The apple itself may or may not have a little green worm living in a hole on the side.
Sunday, July 17, 2011
Protect Borrowers, Not Predatory Lenders
President Obama will appoint former Ohio Attorney General Richard Cordray to head the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Created by the Dodd-Frank financial regulation law, the bureau will begin monitoring the 111 largest banks in the U.S. on July 21st, 2011. The goal of this agency will be to eliminate the predatory lending practices that contributed greatly to the mortgage crisis and ultimately the recession. Under the Bureau, the largest banks in the country (those with assets over $100 billion) will be subject to full-time supervision. Banks with assets between $10 billion and $100 Billion will face “audits” by the bureau every two years. Banks with less than $10 billion will not be subject to supervision.
The idea behind the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau came from Harvard professor & Obama appointee Elizabeth Warren, 62. Warren is a top national expert in bankruptcy law and has long been an outspoken critic of banks and financial lenders for engaging in predatory practices that are damaging to consumers and ultimately the economy. Back in 2007, Warren was meeting regularly with the nation’s largest credit card companies in an effort to convince them to adhere to self-imposed practices that would reduced confusing fine print and encourage clearly articulating any risks to potential borrowers. Her idea was to create credit card accounts that were not designed to trap borrowers into as much long-term debt as possible. In exchange for their good practices, the company would receive a “seal-of-approval” from the government labeling their credit card a “clean card”. She quickly realized however that her idea of a new “clean-card” was not something credit card companies would impose on themselves. After one of these aforementioned meetings Ms. Warren says she was told flat out by a banker “We recognize that we have an unsustainable model, and it cannot work forever. If we told people how much these things cost, they wouldn’t use them.”
In essence, Card Company “A” would not and could not to take up Warren’s idea of a “clean-card” if credit card companies “B” “C” and “D” did not. If credit card company “A” came out and admitted that his card was actually a 15% interest rate while competitors “B” “C” and “D” still advertised and mascaraed that theirs were only 3%, Company “A” would quickly see its borrowers abandon it for the seemingly cheaper options. If regulation of the lending industry was to happen it could only happen if it were industry wide. And the only way to get an entire industry to reform itself is through law, Federal Law.
The creation of the bureau is of course subject to the the age-old arguments about the role of our government, the size of our government, and the effects of our government's regulation on the economy. As we now know, the largest banks and financial institutions caused the lending crisis that led to one of the worst economic crises in U.S. and World history. Then, they accepted public money so that they could stay in business while they were simultaneously raising interest rates on our credit cards & loans and foreclosing on our houses. Oh, and by they way, the financial sector made record profits in 2010. I urge everyone to remember that the big scary government created this agency for a reason. Banks and financial institutions have become so big, powerful, and influential that it is no longer in their best financial interests to care about the economic well being of their borrowers. For anyone critical of the creation of this bureau: don’t be mad at the public sector for trying to defend the American People, be mad at the private sector for ripping us off. Not only are they ripping us off, but they're breaking the law to do it. It would be nice if we lived in a world were mega banks didn’t engage in every possible legal loop-hole, tax loop-hole, accounting gimmick and lobbying technique they can to maximize and protect their profits (at our expense). But we don’t. In essence, the government wouldn’t have to police the financial industry if it wasn’t more concerned with making a profit than ripping off consumers and tanking the economy. If we can spend $700 billion protecting banks from failing due to their own poor business practices, it's high time we gave them some stricter rules to follow.
Friday, July 15, 2011
Musings on Regime Change
In light of the recent recognition of the Libyan transitional government by the United States and others, we are presented with an excellent opportunity to reflect on the Arab Spring and United States policy towards the Middle East-Northern Africa region. The last six months have seen perhaps the most widespread and significant political change in the entire Middle East-Northern Africa region since the fall of the Ottoman Empire. The world has seen successful, non-violent democratic movements take hold in Egypt and Tunisia, popular uprisings in Libya and Syria, and protests of various sorts all across the region from Algeria to Bahrain to even Jordan.
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
Supreme Failure
The Head Shake
Barack Obama’s 2010 State of the Union speech provided a moment for political junkies that amounted to the equivalent of bare-knuckle boxing. That moment came when the President condemned the Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission ruling, stating, "Last week, the Supreme Court reversed a century of law that I believe will open the floodgates for special interests - including foreign corporations - to spend without limit in our elections." Associate Justice Samuel Alito was clearly visible mouthing the words "not true" and shaking his head while Obama criticized the Supreme Court’s ruling.
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
I Don't Want Uncle Sam to be My Best Man
As the token “Black Guy” of this blog, I have been informed that it is my responsibility to be against all things “gay”…including same-sex marriage. However, being the token gay guy of this blog I am also inclined to be pro gay rights. So I think I have found a way to split the difference. Please feel free to leave a comment telling me if you think I have failed to live up to either of these stereotypical roles that have been laid out for me. Worst case scenario: Even If I fail I will still be a gay black guy which increases the chances I will get a scholarship for graduate school, right? If only I were an impoverished, blind, Jewish, Native American, lesbian in a wheelchair with a learning disability. The scholarship money would be rolling right on in!!! But alas, nobody is perfect.
DISCLAIMER: If you are either easily offended or do not have a sense of humor you should not have read that introduction. Moving on!
Odor In The Court
Odor in the Court: Why Clarence Thomas Should Resign
Precedent
The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is all about precedent. Not just when it comes to rulings that the court makes, but also constitutional interpretations, and even appropriate ethical behavior of its justices. It surprised me to learn that while state, federal, and appellate judges have codes of ethical behavior that they must adhere to the Supreme Court Justices do not.In what amounts to an amazing irony considering the nature of the institution they serve on, Supreme Court Justices may decide upon and abide by the rules that they see fit for themselves. This amount of limitless unchecked power is so utterly senseless that it would be like allowing campaigns for the other two branches of government to be funded by unlimited amounts of money from organizations that don’t have to identify themselves.Oh, wait…(see Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission). We’ll come back to Citizens United another day.But for today, back to precedent.
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