Clippings for 3 November 2008

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Paulson's Swindle Revealed
William Greider writes for The Nation: "The swindle of American taxpayers is proceeding more or less in broad daylight, as the unwitting voters are preoccupied with the national election. Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson agreed to invest $125 billion in the nine largest banks, including $10 billion for Goldman Sachs, his old firm. But, if you look more closely at Paulson's transaction, the taxpayers were taken for a ride - a very expensive ride. They paid $125 billion for bank stock that a private investor could purchase for $62.5 billion. That means half of the public's money was a straight-out gift to Wall Street, for which taxpayers got nothing in return."

McCain First, Second, and Always
Sahil Mahtani writes for The New Republic: "One day in early March 1986, John McCain, an Arizona congressman, sat down to write a letter. McCain had heard that a long-time friend and donor, Charles Keating, was upset for being listed as a member of McCain's campaign finance committee when a more prominent position would seem more appropriate. So McCain apologized. Needlessly it turned out, for 'Charlie,' as he signed his letter, would reply a few days later: 'John, don't be silly. You can call me anything ... I'm yours until death do us part.'"

Christopher Renner is (gasp!) Gay
The Salina Journal writes is a biting editorial: "A couple of supporters of Kathy Martin want to make sure you know that Christopher Renner is gay. Renner, Manhattan, a Democrat, is running against incumbent Martin, Republican, Clay Center, for her position as 6th District representative on the State Board of Education."

The Sounds of Voting
Bill Moyers and Michael Winship write for Truthout: "Our Manhattan offices are in a building that also houses the New York City Board of Elections. So this is the season when we hear above our heads the sounds of heavy objects rolling across the floor into freight elevators. The moving men have arrived - and what they're transporting are voting machines being carted off to polling places."

Thanks to Sarah Palin, We Get to See the Cruelness of the GOP as It Really Is
Larry Beinhart writes for Alternet.com that Palin has helped reveal to the public pit-bull snarl that rouses GOP supporters to cry out, "Traitor!" against Obama, and "Kill him!"

Reversal of Fortune
Joseph E. Stiglitz writes in Vanity Fair: "When the American economy enters a downturn, you often hear the experts debating whether it is likely to be V-shaped (short and sharp) or U-shaped (longer but milder). Today, the American economy may be entering a downturn that is best described as L-shaped. It is in a very low place indeed, and likely to remain there for some time to come."

The Ambition Condition: Women, Writing, and the Problem of Success
Anna Clark writes for Bitch Magazine: "Perhaps you know about Emily Gould's cover story, 'Exposed,' in The New York Times Magazine last May. Even if you didn't take in all 8,002 words on the former Gawker editor's gains and losses from blogging about her personal life, it would be hard to miss the criticism of the piece elsewhere. From The Huffington Post to the Philadelphia Weekly to an untold number of blogs and listservs, the backlash challenged the magazine for peddling narcissistic Dear-Diary diatribes as a worthy journalistic cover story."

Bush Administration Makes a Last Push to Deregulate
R. Jeffrey Smith reports for The Washington Post: "The White House is working to enact a wide array of federal regulations, many of which would weaken government rules aimed at protecting consumers and the environment, before President Bush leaves office in January."

Expanding War, Contracting Meaning: The Next President and the Global War on Terror
Andrew J. Bacevich writes for TomDispatch.com: "A week ago, I had a long conversation with a four-star US military officer who, until his recent retirement, had played a central role in directing the global war on terror. I asked him: What exactly is the strategy that guides the Bush administration's conduct of this war? His dismaying, if not exactly surprising, answer: There is none."

Homeland Security Pays Dividends for Alaska
G.W. Schulz of the Center for Investigative Reporting reports: "Despite its go-it-alone spirit, sparsely populated Alaska is one of the greatest per-capita beneficiaries of federal funding among the 50 states. A major portion of those U.S. taxpayer dollars in recent years has come from large infusions of homeland security grants and appropriations handed out to the state since the 9/11 attacks. Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin’s hometown of Wasilla, where she was mayor from 1996 to 2002, has benefited immensely from the anti-terrorism bonanza. Wasilla, with a population of 7,028, has acquired a surveillance system for its water wells, a 150-foot-tall communications tower that altered the city’s landscape, a half-million-dollar mobile command vehicle with off-road capabilities and more."

Hell to Pay
Elliot Cohen writes for Truthdig.com: "Sen. John McCain’s ideological ties to the Bush-Cheney administration have mostly passed beneath the radar of the mainstream media, but if McCain loses the presidential race to Barack Obama, his neoconservative legacy could erupt into the open with a force that should not be underestimated."

Bella Abzug: In Hard Times, Look to the Legacy of the Brilliant Feisty Bella, Not the Poser Sarah Palin
Dan Hazen writes for AlterNet.com: "In this political moment when Sarah Palin is the new conservative female leader archetype, the image and record of Bella Abzug stands out in profound contrast. Abzug was a one of a kind -- a brilliant, charismatic, caring, impossible, incorrigible, relentless leader, who made an indelible mark in politics in her colorful career as a lawyer, Congresswoman, and leader of myriad causes."