Another media giant wakes up... Niall Ferguson of the LA Times even admits the Dem resolution won't change history, nor help the future.
Interesting twist. Ferguson calls this Congress "irresponsible". I guess the honeymoon is over.
I suspect Ferguson and I disagree on Iraq in general. And I also would guess he fails to view this Congress as one that is not trying to prevent an Iraqi genocide, but instigating one by demanding withdrawals without consideration for events on the ground.
But for once, there is a bipartisan spirit. For Ferguson and I actually agree on the end result, despite the nuances.
As both left and right media slowly wakes up to the stealth "slow bleed" legislation the Dems are trying to pull - aka the Turkey-Armenia genocide resolution - it's interesting to examine history.
Now it's flashback time - to prior attempts for a similar resolution, and 2005-06 Democrat campaign promises.
Pelosi, taking the gavel as majority Speaker of the House following the mid term elections
Okay. Lofty words and promises.
Flashback a little further.... to Oct 20th, 2000. It's a Republican dominated House with Hassert as Speaker.
Take careful note. The Republican Congress cooperated with a Democratic Commander in Chief by acquiescing to the obvious, despite a mutual dislike and an embattled political history. They put America first over partisan hatred by not muddy'ing the waters with Turkish relations.
Someone should point Pelosi's nose in the right direction and show her history. For that, folks, is genuine "spirit of partnership". Not the phony baloney spewed by this irresponsible and corrupt Congress.
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10/16/07 UPDATE: To demonstrate further disingenuous campaign promises, Pelosi has again shown her colors, excluding not only Republicans, but her own peer, John Dingall (chair of House Energy and Commerce Committ) from writing a new energy bill. And the Detroit News editorial page is wasting no time in pointing out Pelosi is treading on dangerous ground.
US auto makes say if the proposed legislation passes as planned, it will cost them $85 billion, and drive factory production out of the country. Again, Congress does the two face whine... lamenting outsourcing while continuing the same practices of over regulation that result in the need to outsource... or fold.
The absurdity is that the genocide of 1915 was not perpetrated by today's Turkish Republic, established in 1923, but by the Ottoman Empire, which collapsed at the end of World War I. You might as well blame the United States for the deportation of Acadians from Nova Scotia during the French and Indian Wars.
"If we hope to stop future genocides, we need to admit to those horrific acts of the past," argued Rep. Brad Sherman, a California Democrat and a sponsor of the resolution. Really? My sense is that all the resolutions in the world about past genocides will do precisely nothing to stop the next one.
And if -- let's just suppose -- the next genocide happens in Iraq, and the United States finds itself impotent to prevent it, the blame will lie as much with this posturing and irresponsible Congress as with anyone.
Interesting twist. Ferguson calls this Congress "irresponsible". I guess the honeymoon is over.
I suspect Ferguson and I disagree on Iraq in general. And I also would guess he fails to view this Congress as one that is not trying to prevent an Iraqi genocide, but instigating one by demanding withdrawals without consideration for events on the ground.
But for once, there is a bipartisan spirit. For Ferguson and I actually agree on the end result, despite the nuances.
As both left and right media slowly wakes up to the stealth "slow bleed" legislation the Dems are trying to pull - aka the Turkey-Armenia genocide resolution - it's interesting to examine history.
Now it's flashback time - to prior attempts for a similar resolution, and 2005-06 Democrat campaign promises.
Pelosi, taking the gavel as majority Speaker of the House following the mid term elections
“I accept this gavel in the spirit of partnership, not partisanship.”
Okay. Lofty words and promises.
Flashback a little further.... to Oct 20th, 2000. It's a Republican dominated House with Hassert as Speaker.
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The U.S. House of Representatives on Thursday canceled a vote on a controversial resolution that would have recognized as genocide the mass killings of Armenians in what is now Turkey approximately 80 years ago.
House Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Illinois, said the resolution had been pulled after President Bill Clinton said he was "deeply concerned" about the language in the document. Clinton and Hastert talked by telephone on Wednesday night about the legislation.
Hastert said Clinton had warned of "possible far-reaching negative consequences for the United States" if the House voted on the legislation.
snip
The resolution was shelved amid heightened tensions in the Middle East over the terrorist bombing in Yemen of the USS Cole, which killed 17 Navy sailors, and weeks of violent clashes recently between Israelis and Palestinians.
In a letter to Hastert, Clinton said, "We have significant interests in this troubled region of the world: containing the threat posed by East and Central Asia; stabilizing the Balkans; and developing new sources of energy.
"Consideration of the resolution at this sensitive time will negatively affect those interests and could undermine efforts to encourage improved relations between Armenia and Turkey."
Take careful note. The Republican Congress cooperated with a Democratic Commander in Chief by acquiescing to the obvious, despite a mutual dislike and an embattled political history. They put America first over partisan hatred by not muddy'ing the waters with Turkish relations.
Someone should point Pelosi's nose in the right direction and show her history. For that, folks, is genuine "spirit of partnership". Not the phony baloney spewed by this irresponsible and corrupt Congress.
_______________________________________
10/16/07 UPDATE: To demonstrate further disingenuous campaign promises, Pelosi has again shown her colors, excluding not only Republicans, but her own peer, John Dingall (chair of House Energy and Commerce Committ) from writing a new energy bill. And the Detroit News editorial page is wasting no time in pointing out Pelosi is treading on dangerous ground.
The California Democrat is determined to place the burden of climate change solely on the shoulders of the auto industry. She can't do that with Dingell in the way, so she's breaking with congressional practice and has handpicked a group of like-minded Democratic legislators to write an energy bill independent of Dingell's committee.
She is also shutting out Republicans from the process, a move worth noting since Pelosi promised Congress would be much more inclusive once Democrats gained control.
Instead of thoughtful and reasonable legislation worked out in a bipartisan session, Pelosi will likely deliver a bill that targets manufacturing, particularly the auto industry, and pleases her constituents at the expense of the rest of the country. .
Pelosi backs a bill that combines fuel economy standards for cars and trucks and increases the miles per gallon ratings by 40 percent, mandates that are unattainable for the automakers without enormous investment.
US auto makes say if the proposed legislation passes as planned, it will cost them $85 billion, and drive factory production out of the country. Again, Congress does the two face whine... lamenting outsourcing while continuing the same practices of over regulation that result in the need to outsource... or fold.
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