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Rubio Is The Neocons' New Anti-Paul
Posted by Christopher Manion on April 26, 2012 08:46 AM
As usual, the European media get it right, while the U.S. lapdogs whine.
xxx
Neoconservative Marco Rubio wants to rule the world
By Tim Stanley
Last updated: April 26th, 2012
Nobody usually cares when a Senator gives a speech on foreign policy to the Brookings Institute, but the US media was all over Marco Rubio's Wednesday effort. It mattered because Rubio is top of Romney's list to be the Vice Presidential nominee -- and the press was struck by its statesmanlike tone and attempt to bridge the partisan divide. But while the sound of the talk was moderate, its content was not. This was the most hawkish speech since John Wayne told that Mexican lady in The Alamo what he was fighting for: "There's right and there's wrong. You gotta do one or the other. You do the one and you're living. You do the other and you maybe walking around, but you're dead as a beaver hat…"
While Rubio did list some Democrats that he likes (Roosevelt, Truman, Scoop Jackson), he really seemed to want to send a message to the Republicans that he dislikes. This is the relevant section:
"Until very recently, the general perception was that American Conservatism believed in a robust and muscular foreign policy … But when I arrived in the Senate last year I found that some of the traditional sides in the foreign policy debate had shifted. On the one hand, I found liberal Democrats and conservative Republicans working together to advocate our withdrawal from Afghanistan, and staying out of Libya. On the other hand I found myself partnering with Democrats … on a more forceful foreign policy … I recently joked that today, in the US Senate, on foreign policy, if you go far enough to the right, you wind up on the left."
Rubio's target is obvious: Ron Paul, Rand Paul, and those elements of the Tea Party Right that dissented on Libya. Given that it barely scraped 20 percent in most primaries, it's amazing how much the Paulite revolt seems to have upset the Republican establishment. In fact, Rubio's entire speech (and it's a long one) reads like a step-by-step rebuttal of the Paulite critique of neoconservative foreign policy -- the belief that America has a moral duty and a strategic interest to promote global democracy.
Rubio is a Cuban American, which may have shaped his views on the subject. For many years, the US was the only consistent world power critic of a communist dictatorship that effectively drove the Rubios from their own country. There are certainly a lot of anticommunist memories informing contemporary neocon policies.
Nevertheless, it's hard not to be troubled by Rubio's all-encompassing vision of American hegemony. Especially if you're not American. Another quote: "What happens all over the world is our business. Every aspect of [our] lives is directly impacted by global events. The security of our cities is connected to the security of small hamlets in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Yemen and Somalia."
Apparently, if some goatherd in the mountains of Afghanistan loses one of his flock to a landmine, the consequences for Topeka, Kansas could be terrible. The absurdity of the theory that literally every security problem in the world is a direct threat to the United States is but one example of Rubio's naïveté. In his vision, America never makes mistakes and everyone loves it. Small nations regard the US as their protector against bigger nations, whose wickedness is irrational: "Other countries look apprehensively on the growing influence of newly emerging powers in their midst, and look to the U.S. to counterbalance them."
Of course, there's plenty that's right in Rubio's talk. He highlights the importance of alliances and free trade, as well as engaging constructively with Latin America. Europeans will rejoice that he sees a "U.S.-EU partnership" that is critical to balancing the rise of China or the intrigues of Moscow.
But the Senator does insist on pursuing Iran as if it were a latter-day USSR – again, the influence of those old Kremlinologists is obvious. Nobody likes the Iranian dictatorship and nobody (outside a small body of cranks) wants to see it get a nuclear weapon. But these are issues of containment. Rubio deals with Iran as if it were an existential threat: "Iran's dangerous nuclear ambitions are about more than just weapons. Iran wants to become the most dominant power in the Middle East … The prospect of a nuclear capable Iran is so unacceptable that we must be prepared to act with or without [the consent of others]." Rubio doesn't just raise the possibility of war; he practically sets a timetable for it.
The shallowness of Rubio's speech is best demonstrated by his brief, almost innocent mention of the anti-Kony video campaign run by Invisible Children: "All around us we see the human face of America's influence in the world. It actually begins with not just our government, but our people … The atrocities of Joseph Kony would still be largely unknown. But in fact, millions now know because an American filmmaker made a short film about it and then distributed it on another American invention YouTube."
Where to begin? The people of Africa certainly knew about Kony before the Kony 2012 video was released. So did the President: he sent Special Forces to Uganda to deal with the warlord back in October 2011 (and was attacked by Republicans for doing so). Perhaps a few well-meaning kids in the US suburbs didn't know, but what has Invisible Children actually contributed towards resolution of that conflict (especially given that Kony might not even be in Uganda anymore)? And is Rubio suggesting that US foreign policy be guided by whatever video has the most hits on YouTube? If Kim Jong Un makes a sex tape, will America invade North Korea?
Finally, who should be our target in Uganda? Kony, certainly. But also successive Ugandan governments that have stolen from and terrorised their own people. Do we deal with them all at once? And if we do, who shall replace them? The Earth is not divided between good and evil, as Rubio seems to suggest. Rather, it is an amoral mess governed by flawed souls – many of them found within the US State Department. People have tried to bring order to the world before and they've all failed. So will Marco Rubio.
http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/timstanley/100153539/neoconservative-marco-rubio-wants-to-rule-the-world/
May Day Directory: Occupy General Strike In Over 125 Cities
While American corporate media has focused on yet another stale
election between Wall Street-financed candidates, Occupy has been
organizing something extraordinary: the first truly nationwide General
Strike in U.S. history. Building on the international celebration of
May Day, past General Strikes in U.S. cities like Seattle and Oakland,
the recent May 1st Day Without An Immigrant demonstrations, the
national general strikes in Spain this year, and the on-going student
strike in Quebec, the Occupy Movement has called for A Day Without the
99% on May 1st, 2012. This in and of itself is a tremendous victory.
For the first time, workers, students, immigrants, and the unemployed
from over 125 U.S. cities will stand together for economic justice.
See below for what we believe to be the most comprehensive list yet
compiled of cities where Occupy May Day events are being planned, as
well as other resources. Note: This is a living document. Check back
for updates! If you have any additional events, please let us know in
the comment section of this article. You are encouraged to share this
page in as many ways as possible!
General Resources
6 Ways to Get Ready for the May 1st GENERAL STRIKE
Why And How To Strike On May Day
Global Facebook Event
Follow on Twitter: @OWSMayDay | @OccupyGenStrk | @StrikeEverywher |
@OccupyGenStrike | #M1GS | #GeneralStrike | #MayDay
MayDaySolidarity2012
StrikeEverywhere.net
May Day Legal Fund
May Day Fund NYC
WhyIStrike.tumblr.com
HowIStrike.tumblr.com
MayDayGallery.tumblr.com
Key City-wide May Day Sites
New York City - MayDayNYC.org
Bay Area, California - StrikeMay1st.com
Chicago - ChicagoSpring.org/May1
Southern California - OccupyMay1st.org
Seattle - May1stSeattle.org
Find a nearby city with planned actions:
http://occupywallst.org/article/may-day/
--
Together, we can change the world, one mind at a time.
Have a great day,
Tommy
--
Together, we can change the world, one mind at a time.
Have a great day,
Tommy
--
Thanks for being part of "PoliticalForum" at Google Groups.
For options & help see http://groups.google.com/group/PoliticalForum
* Visit our other community at http://www.PoliticalForum.com/
* It's active and moderated. Register and vote in our polls.
* Read the latest breaking news, and more.
While American corporate media has focused on yet another stale
election between Wall Street-financed candidates, Occupy has been
organizing something extraordinary: the first truly nationwide General
Strike in U.S. history. Building on the international celebration of
May Day, past General Strikes in U.S. cities like Seattle and Oakland,
the recent May 1st Day Without An Immigrant demonstrations, the
national general strikes in Spain this year, and the on-going student
strike in Quebec, the Occupy Movement has called for A Day Without the
99% on May 1st, 2012. This in and of itself is a tremendous victory.
For the first time, workers, students, immigrants, and the unemployed
from over 125 U.S. cities will stand together for economic justice.
See below for what we believe to be the most comprehensive list yet
compiled of cities where Occupy May Day events are being planned, as
well as other resources. Note: This is a living document. Check back
for updates! If you have any additional events, please let us know in
the comment section of this article. You are encouraged to share this
page in as many ways as possible!
General Resources
6 Ways to Get Ready for the May 1st GENERAL STRIKE
Why And How To Strike On May Day
Global Facebook Event
Follow on Twitter: @OWSMayDay | @OccupyGenStrk | @StrikeEverywher |
@OccupyGenStrike | #M1GS | #GeneralStrike | #MayDay
MayDaySolidarity2012
StrikeEverywhere.net
May Day Legal Fund
May Day Fund NYC
WhyIStrike.tumblr.com
HowIStrike.tumblr.com
MayDayGallery.tumblr.com
Key City-wide May Day Sites
New York City - MayDayNYC.org
Bay Area, California - StrikeMay1st.com
Chicago - ChicagoSpring.org/May1
Southern California - OccupyMay1st.org
Seattle - May1stSeattle.org
Find a nearby city with planned actions:
http://occupywallst.org/article/may-day/
--
Together, we can change the world, one mind at a time.
Have a great day,
Tommy
--
Together, we can change the world, one mind at a time.
Have a great day,
Tommy
--
Thanks for being part of "PoliticalForum" at Google Groups.
For options & help see http://groups.google.com/group/PoliticalForum
* Visit our other community at http://www.PoliticalForum.com/
* It's active and moderated. Register and vote in our polls.
* Read the latest breaking news, and more.
The 6 Hottest Tech Careers of 2012
By Jessica Harper
There will be more than one million openings for the tech careers on our list
JewishWorldReview.com | (USNWR) As our reliance on computers and Web applications grows, so does the demand for technology professionals. The surge will create more than one million new technical positions by 2020, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) projects. The U.S. News Best Technology Jobs list includes software and Web developers, database administrators (DBAs), and computer systems analysts. Several of those jobs also wove their way onto this year's list of the top 25 jobs.
If you're interested in entering this profession, here's more information about the six best tech careers:
1. Software Developer. Tasked with writing code and designing or customizing computer applications, software developers top this year's list of best technology jobs. The U.S. Labor Department reports that software developers earned a median salary of $87,790 in 2010.
2. Database Administrator. DBAs create security mechanisms to protect company data and also ensure that databases run efficiently. This occupation is on track to experience 30.6 percent employment growth in the next decade, the BLS reports.
3. Web Developer. Web developers spend much of their days designing and maintaining websites. The BLS predicts a 21.7 percent employment increase for this profession over the next decade.
4. Computer Systems Analyst. These professionals are tasked with configuring hardware and software as well as designing and developing computer systems. Employment growth for computer systems analysts is expected to reach 22.1 percent by 2020, the BLS projects.
5. Computer Programmer. Computer programmers, who rely on languages like C ++ and Python to write software applications, earned a median annual wage of $71,380 in 2010, according to the BLS.
6. Civil Engineer. The average civil engineerdoesn't earn as much as our No. 1 job, software developer, but this profession earns a spot on the roster of Best Technology Jobs. Civil engineers raked in an impressive median salary of $77,560 in 2010, according to the BLS.
Here are tips for those interested in working in the technology field:
Hit the books. Whether it is a bachelor's, master's, or certificate in a computer science-related field, some form of post-secondary education benefits those interested in breaking into a technical field. Some of the most commonly earned bachelor's degrees include management information and information technology. Continuing education courses in Web or information systems (for which some employers are willing to foot the bill) are also encouraged. Available through universities and community colleges, these classes provide technology workers with a meatier understanding of the equipment and platforms they work with daily.
Build an online presence. Nelly Yusupova, the chief technology officer for Webgrrls International (an international online and offline community for women interested in new media) and founder of DigitalWoman.com, says building an online profile like a JavaScript-crafted or html-encoded personal Website is the first crucial step to applying for a technology job. By maintaining an online portfolio, applicants can differentiate themselves from their competitors and gain an edge in the application process.
Showcase your digital skills. If you're a JavaScript developer, Yusupova suggests you "build a cool, little app" written completely in that language to demonstrate what you can do. "Or if you're an html or Web developer, build some websites and showcase your expertise," she says. "That way you can actually point to something you've built and talk about it in the interview."
Get the training. Eileen Hasson, president of Connecticut-based information technology solutions firm The Computer Company, Inc., urges those interested in pursuing a career in technology to match book knowledge with hands-on training. "Until you actually touch it, feel it, go through all the nuances, you don't know the experience," she says.
Get certified. Even if you earn a computer science-focused certification at the most basic level, some training is better than none at all. The credential is not required as experience trumps all (even age), Hasson says. But earning certification can still help.
Enhance troubleshooting prowess. Hasson says viruses aren't the only dangers that threaten computer system productivity. Internet connectivity hiccups and other factors play a role, too, and technicians should know the difference.
Cultivate customer-service skills. Some might not realize it, but personality is a major component in the information technology (IT) field. "Most people think of IT as people sitting in a corner," Hasson says. "Don't be afraid or so shy to use those customer-service skills. To explain to other people what's going on in layman's terms helps as well."
Embrace the challenge. Finally, breaking ground quickly can provide tech workers with a sense of satisfaction and excitement. This is certainly the case for Stephanie M. Cockerl, a computer programmer and Web developer for 15 years, and the founder and principal of Web consultation company nextSTEPH. "The exciting thing about what I do is how relatively quickly everything is built," she says. "I studied architecture in college. However, my work-study job was in a computer lab. It's relatively faster to build a website than a building. That explains it all."
Thanks for being part of "PoliticalForum" at Google Groups.
For options & help see http://groups.google.com/group/PoliticalForum
* Visit our other community at http://www.PoliticalForum.com/
* It's active and moderated. Register and vote in our polls.
* Read the latest breaking news, and more.
The Most Expensive Etch-A-Sketch
The infamous ultrasound law for women considering an abortion might be
the best example of how Governor Bob McDonnell has imposed radical,
right-wing policies on the citizens of Virginia -- but it's not the
only one.
Now he's spending hundreds of thousands of dollars to rehabilitate his
poll numbers.
Why the sudden concern? Because McDonnell is now one of the
front-runners for Mitt Romney's vice presidential pick. He and Romney
both know their positions are too extreme for the American people. So
they're launching slick, high-priced ad campaigns, and hoping folks
will forget come November.
Not so fast. Democrats will be out there reminding as many voters as
we can what these guys actually stand for.
A critical fundraising deadline is coming up this Monday, April 30th.
With each donation, we can reach more voters, and every vote is going
to count -- so please pitch in $5 or more today.
McDonnell should be best remembered for pushing through one of the
most anti-woman abortion laws in the country -- initially mandating a
radically invasive ultrasound, McDonnell "moderated" the bill by
allowing surface ultrasounds instead (and only after massive public
outrage).
He'd make a great pair with Mitt Romney's well-documented political
gymnastics. Most recently, Romney tried to distance himself from
Arizona's draconian, anti-immigrant law -- which he has embraced and
called a model.
Romney and the Republicans are going to spend over $800 million to
mislead the American people and try to wipe away the past three years
-- the most expensive Etch A Sketch ever. We need to push back hard,
on the ground and on the air.
Can you pitch in $5 today, before our April 30th FEC fundraising
deadline, to help tell voters the truth?
https://my.democrats.org/April-Deadline
Thanks,
Brad
Brad Woodhouse
Communications Director
Democratic National Committee
--
Together, we can change the world, one mind at a time.
Have a great day,
Tommy
--
Together, we can change the world, one mind at a time.
Have a great day,
Tommy
--
Thanks for being part of "PoliticalForum" at Google Groups.
For options & help see http://groups.google.com/group/PoliticalForum
* Visit our other community at http://www.PoliticalForum.com/
* It's active and moderated. Register and vote in our polls.
* Read the latest breaking news, and more.
The infamous ultrasound law for women considering an abortion might be
the best example of how Governor Bob McDonnell has imposed radical,
right-wing policies on the citizens of Virginia -- but it's not the
only one.
Now he's spending hundreds of thousands of dollars to rehabilitate his
poll numbers.
Why the sudden concern? Because McDonnell is now one of the
front-runners for Mitt Romney's vice presidential pick. He and Romney
both know their positions are too extreme for the American people. So
they're launching slick, high-priced ad campaigns, and hoping folks
will forget come November.
Not so fast. Democrats will be out there reminding as many voters as
we can what these guys actually stand for.
A critical fundraising deadline is coming up this Monday, April 30th.
With each donation, we can reach more voters, and every vote is going
to count -- so please pitch in $5 or more today.
McDonnell should be best remembered for pushing through one of the
most anti-woman abortion laws in the country -- initially mandating a
radically invasive ultrasound, McDonnell "moderated" the bill by
allowing surface ultrasounds instead (and only after massive public
outrage).
He'd make a great pair with Mitt Romney's well-documented political
gymnastics. Most recently, Romney tried to distance himself from
Arizona's draconian, anti-immigrant law -- which he has embraced and
called a model.
Romney and the Republicans are going to spend over $800 million to
mislead the American people and try to wipe away the past three years
-- the most expensive Etch A Sketch ever. We need to push back hard,
on the ground and on the air.
Can you pitch in $5 today, before our April 30th FEC fundraising
deadline, to help tell voters the truth?
https://my.democrats.org/April-Deadline
Thanks,
Brad
Brad Woodhouse
Communications Director
Democratic National Committee
--
Together, we can change the world, one mind at a time.
Have a great day,
Tommy
--
Together, we can change the world, one mind at a time.
Have a great day,
Tommy
--
Thanks for being part of "PoliticalForum" at Google Groups.
For options & help see http://groups.google.com/group/PoliticalForum
* Visit our other community at http://www.PoliticalForum.com/
* It's active and moderated. Register and vote in our polls.
* Read the latest breaking news, and more.
--
Thanks for being part of "PoliticalForum" at Google Groups.
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* Visit our other community at http://www.PoliticalForum.com/
* It's active and moderated. Register and vote in our polls.
* Read the latest breaking news, and more.
Thanks for being part of "PoliticalForum" at Google Groups.
For options & help see http://groups.google.com/group/PoliticalForum
* Visit our other community at http://www.PoliticalForum.com/
* It's active and moderated. Register and vote in our polls.
* Read the latest breaking news, and more.
An Echo, Not a Choice
by Sheldon Richman, April 26, 2012
With Mitt Romney's sweep of Tuesday's primaries, he will almost certainly be President Barack Obama's Republican opponent in November. Romney has vowed to make the economy the chief issue against Obama, and he is sure to portray the president as an enemy of free enterprise in order to draw a contrast with himself. How fit is Romney's claim to be a champion of economic freedom?
The former Massachusetts governor and private-equity capitalist speaks often about free enterprise and the need for government to let entrepreneurship pull the economy out of its current doldrums. This sort of rhetoric is common for Republicans, who then proceed to violate economic freedom.
President George W. Bush, in a weird Orwellian manner, took this contradiction to its final stage of absurdity when he said during the 2008 financial debacle, "I've abandoned free market principles to save the free market system." For Bush, the free-market system apparently is not constituted by free-market principles. But if that's the case, what is the system constituted by?
Republicans may not typically speak so bluntly, but to most of them "the free-market system" isn't a set of principles; rather it is an emotional slogan to be spoken, especially as an election approaches. It's a way of saying, "Vote for us because the other guys aren't good Americans like we are."
Romney likes to say, "We are only inches away from ceasing to be a free market economy." But that must mean we now have -- and have had -- a free-market economy. Does he really mean that? If so, does he agree with Bush that free-market principles were "abandoned" with the bank bailouts like TARP (which Romney favored) and the GM and Chrysler rescues?
Another implication of his position is that the free market was responsible for the housing and financial debacle. We're not likely to hear Romney say this -- it would concede too much to Obama -- but it's logically implied by Romney's remarks.
This position diverges from what free-market advocates think happened. The essential story is this: Low-interest-rate money from the Federal Reserve, aggressive government policies to increase homeownership -- even among people with bad credit histories or low incomes (or both) -- and additional government intervention combined to create an unsustainable bubble in the housing industry, which in turn helped increase the fragility of the financial sector. Dubious mortgages became the foundation of widely held securities and derivatives, facilitated by government-sponsored enterprises -- Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac -- and a government-licensed rating cartel. Then the bubble burst.
Does Romney give even a hint that he understands this? If so, he wouldn't be talking as though the free market currently exists and as though we still have it to lose.
Beyond that, Romney expresses his orientation toward political economy when he says, "Washington has to become an ally of business, not the opposition of business." A free-market advocate would know this doesn't exhaust the alternatives. Government should be neither an ally nor an opponent of business, because both imply interference with private property and free exchange.
This may be harder to see in the case of a business-government alliance. One need only remember that we live in a world of scarcity. If government helps one industry or firm, it must do so by channeling scarce resources away from other uses. This disables the process by which entrepreneurs attempt to devote resources to purposes most favored by consumers. It's a form of government privilege, which many businessmen are all too happy to receive -- at the expense of others. There is a world of difference between being pro-market and being pro-business -- a distinction that apparently escapes Romney.
Of course, Obama could honestly say he agrees with Romney's statement about business and government. He too believes government should be business's ally. Just ask Jeffrey Immelt of General Electric, who chairs his Council on Jobs and Competitiveness, and Jim McNerney of Boeing (and formerly of GE), who chairs the President's Export Council. Romney and Obama's differences over the precise mix of government and business decision-making power should not fool anyone into thinking they have a fundamental disagreement.
Once again, the presidential election will present an echo, not a choice.
http://www.fff.org/comment/com1204r.asp
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