September 10th, 2010 by John Feehery
We live in a fine print world.
The devil is in the details, as the saying goes, and boy, the devil is having a field day these days.
You leave your phone on while you travel into a foreign country, and the next thing you know you are facing bankruptcy because of excessive roaming charges. When you complain, hey, you should know better. It’s in the fine print.
You pay a day late on your credit card; the bank slaps you with a huge late payment fee. When you complain, hey, you should know better. It’s in the fine print.
You have to change your flight because of a family emergency, but the airline makes you pay through the nose for privilege. When you complain, hey, you should have known better. It’s in the fine print.
You use a social networking site for fun, and all of sudden, you get deluged with all kinds of crazy advertisers. When you complain, hey, you should have known better. It’s in the fine print. Read more...
Tags: credit cards, government healthcare, rip offs, Social Media, the fine print
Posted in Government, Liberal Media, Media, Politics, Social Media, Theory, health care, spending | No Comments »
September 9th, 2010 by John Feehery
The Colombian Ambassador Carolina Barco held a reception in honor of my old boss, former House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert. Barco was effusive in her praise of Denny, who in the mid-1990’s took a keen interest her country.
Back then, Colombia was teetering on the edge of complete chaos. Drug cartels and then narco-terrorists, had the upper hand in their battle for control. Brutal murders, kidnapping, and overall mayhem constantly terrorized Colombian citizens. Because the drug merchants had so much money, they were well equipped and well armed, and they gave the Colombian military a run for its money. Because the cartels had so much money, they were also able to buy off many in the justice system and in the police force.
Hastert initially started looking into Colombia from his perch as Chairman of a Government Oversight Committee that focused on the war on drugs. He saw that what happened in Colombia had a direct impact on the national security of the American people. He saw that drugs from Colombia were making their way to street corners in the big cities, the suburbs, and in rural America. He saw that kids were being killed in drug conflicts because of drugs that were being produced in Colombia. Read more...
Tags: Barack Obama, Drugs, Government, Mexico, Plan Colombia
Posted in Drugs in America, Foreign Relations, Government, Politics, Theory | No Comments »
September 7th, 2010 by John Feehery
When Mayor Daley announced that he was resigning, it made Washington liberals very happy. It should have also put a smile on Republican Presidential candidates too.
Let me explain.
For most of his career, Daley has been a pretty effective mayor for the city of Big Shoulders. He was able to pick up the pieces after the Harold Washington debacle and move the city past the racial political war that typified Washington’s epic battles against the City Counsel.
For a decade or so, he made Chicago work again. He made peace with the business community, he worked hard on beautifying the city, and found ways to reach out to every different neighborhood in a way that brought the city together. He transformed his father’s political machine, making it more acceptable for the modern era.
But Daley was dogged by federal corruption investigations that ultimately took out many of his closest allies. He refused to back the police force when cops were charged with police brutality and racism (even when the cops were black). That led to the shooting gallery that is currently Chicago.
He pushed liberal (and ineffective) causes like gun control, making a name for himself, but taking away freedom from citizens who wanted to protect themselves from the bad guys. Read more...
Tags: Barack Obama, Chicago, Congress, DC mayor, election, mayor, Presidential election, White House
Posted in Government, Politics, Theory, election | No Comments »
September 7th, 2010 by John Feehery
“April is the cruelest month, breeding lilacs out of the dead land, mixing memory and desire, stirring dull roots with spring rain.” – T.S. Eliot–The Wasteland
Had T.S. Elliot just witnessed the August endured by the Obama Administration, he might have changed his opinion of the cruelest month. Because, politically, for Democrats, this August has been nothing, but a wasteland.
From the moment Michelle Obama set foot in Spain, to the moment her husband decided to wade into the New York City mosque mess, it has been nothing, but bad news for Congressional Democrats.
As the President’s popularity ratings have sunk, so have the fortunes of his close allies in Capitol Hill. According to Gallup, Republicans now enjoy the biggest advantage to the following question in the history of the poll: “Will you vote for the Republican candidate or the Democratic candidate this coming November?”
And in race after race, the polling is not getting any better for the Democrats. It was widely reported that Democratic operatives have already thrown in the towel on the House, and are now turning their attention to saving the Senate majority, a concern that was deemed unthinkable only four months ago. Read more...
Tags: Barack Obama, Congress, Conservatives, Democrats, Economy, election, George W Bush, Government, health care, Iraq, McCain, November elections, Presidential election, Republicans, White House
Posted in Economy, Government, Politics, Theory, election, health care, war | No Comments »
September 3rd, 2010 by John Feehery
Only in America could gang-bangers have a press conference and complain about police harassment.
That is exactly what several members of some of Chicago’s most violent gangs did yesterday.
On the same day that President Obama’s Justice Department sued an Arizona Sheriff for harassing illegal immigrants, gang kingpins met with the press to say that the cops don’t give them enough respect.
Here is what CBS news reported on the subject:
Self-identified gang leaders hold a news conference in Chicago, Sept. 2. 2010. (CBS)
“At a news conference organized by self-identified gang members Thursday morning, several speakers complained that police and city officials do not respect them, and that the only way to curb violence is to provide jobs and improve their community. The self-described current and former gang members held a news conference at the Columbus Park Refectory, at 5701 W. Jackson Blvd. on the city’s West Side. “You say it’s gangs, drugs and guns. We say we need jobs, opportunities and contracts,” said Reginald Akeem Berry Sr., who identified himself as a former gang member. “That’s the resolution.”
But is that really the resolution? How can jobs be created in parts of Chicago that are more violent that Baghdad or Kabul? Read more...
Tags: Barack Obama, Chicago, Democrats, Drugs, Obama, Politics
Posted in Drugs in America, Government, Media, Politics, Theory | No Comments »
September 2nd, 2010 by John Feehery
Christina Romer, chair of the president's Council of Economic Advisers
Just about every Monday night over the last several years, I have tried to recapture my youth by playing basketball with a bunch of other guys who are similarly trying to recapture their youths. It is fun way to exercise, as long as you don’t snap your Achilles or anything like that.
One of the guys I have been playing with is Jared Bernstein. Before he became famous, Jared was an economist with a labor-affiliated think tank. Jared is a very good athlete, a tough defender, but (and I think he would admit this himself) his jumpshot leaves a lot to be desired.
Jared and I have a friendly rivalry on the court and off the court, and now that he is Joe Biden’s top economic advisor, we talk about what the Obama White House is up to and what the Republican response is likely to be.
Earlier this week, Jared pointed me to Christina Romer’s farewell address, telling me that it had some good stuff in it.
Jared and I disagree philosophically (for obvious reasons) but I am glad that he pointed me to this speech. Read more...
Tags: Barack Obama, Christina Romer, Economics, Jared Bernstein, White House
Posted in Government, Politics | No Comments »
August 13th, 2010 by John Feehery
Dan Rostenkowski, former Chairman of the Ways and Means Committee
This has been a bad year for old school politicians.
This week, in particular, has been devastating for those of us who have great affection for the political professionals of the past.
Ted Stevens died in a plane crash and a day later, Dan Rostenkowski, the former Chairman of the Ways and Means Committee, died of natural causes.
Stevens and Rostenkowski were mirror images of one another. Both were gruff, both were powerful, both were effective advocates for their constituents, and both counted close friends on either side of the political chasm.
And, of course, both ran afoul of a changing ethics landscape.
Stevens and Rostenkowski are only the latest of the old guard to die this year. Robert Byrd, Jack Murtha, and Ted Kennedy, all legendary figures of the Congress also passed on to their greater reward.
These old school politicians not only represented a different era in the Congress. They represented a different era of the country. Read more...
Tags: Congress, Dan Rostenkowski, Jack Murtha, Robert Byrd, Ted Kennedy, Ted Stevens
Posted in Government, Politics, Theory | No Comments »
August 12th, 2010 by John Feehery
Three teachers helped spark something in me that made my education worth something.
I wasn’t a very studious student in grade school or high school. I didn’t have much in the way of study habits. But I got lucky because I had three teachers – one in grade school, one in middle school and one in high school – who helped me become very interested in the one subject that would help me get a decent paying job once I left college.
Mr. Sweeney was the first one to make history interesting to me. It was in his class that I found out that I could compete with the smartest students in the class. Mr. Freidli was my eighth grade social studies teacher. It was in his class that I found out that I could actually do better than my classmates in the field. Mr. Keller was my teacher junior year, and Killer Keller taught me that I didn’t really know much about history at all, which at the time, was useful knowledge, because it inspired me to learn more. I eventually got a Master’s Degree in history, which has served me well in my career. Read more...
Tags: Inner city schools, John Boehner, No Child Left Behind, Republicans, Teachers
Posted in Education, Government, Politics | No Comments »
August 11th, 2010 by John Feehery
Ted Stevens
The last line in the New York Times obituary is classic: “I didn’t lose my temper. I know right where it is.” That was all you really needed to know about Ted Stevens, who at times could be very unpleasant.
He was unpleasant with a purpose. And that purpose was to drag Alaska into the 20th century.
If Alaska is the last American frontier, then Ted Stevens was the last frontiersman. It should surprise no one that he died in a plane crash going on a fishing trip at age 86. He himself called his own shot when he told his colleague Mo Udall that he was going to die in a plane crash.
The only other way for Ted Stevens to die was with his boots on in the Senate chamber, getting more money for his beloved home state.
I played poker once with Ted Stevens, and it was a great experience. He wasn’t unpleasant at all when you played poker with him, or drank a glass of his favorite red wine with him.
That Stevens on occasion liked some of the finer things in life is no crime. If anybody deserved a fine glass of wine, it was Ted Stevens. Read more...
Tags: Alaska, Mark Begich, plane crash, Senator, Ted Stevens, World War II
Posted in Government, Politics | No Comments »
August 5th, 2010 by John Feehery
Tags: Barack Obama, business, Congress, Debt, Democrats, Republicans, socialist, spending
Posted in Government, Politics, Theory | No Comments »
We live in a fine print world.
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