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American empire built on economic sand?

Empires come and go. Some, like Alexander's, last less than a generation. This, among history's lessons, is third in importance only to the consistency of human nature and the fact that the past actually never repeats itself. When George Santayana (1863-1952) said "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it," the subject is "Those," not history or "the past." History doesn't repeat itself; but--true enough--human beings often fail to learn from the stories of other people and other tribes, including those who have come before. Jonathan Marcus' six-part "Age of Empire" series on BBC World Service online is a must-read. In the final installment, Marcus wonders if debt will do in the American empire.

[Excerpt] But economist Will Hutton told me [Marcus] of what he calls "the dark underside of the United States economy" - the condition of its international accounts.

Put bluntly it owes the rest of the world $3trn dollars, and that is debt which is increasing by $500bn a year.

This is, I suppose, perfectly fine if the debt is a smart investment, if it is buying infrastructure and appreciable assets. But is it? What if it's buying all terribly short-term things?

The debt's also not an issue as long as no one comes collecting. A world divided between Communist-leaning and Capitalist-leaning prevented that. However,

Veteran diplomat Henry Kissinger told me [Marcus] that anti-Americanism was not new, but he said he was deeply troubled by the extent and intensity of the contemporary phenomenon. This, he feared, was leading to a decline in America's legitimacy.

Commentator Fareed Zakaria shared some of these concerns. His worry was that if things continue as they are, then America could end up being, as he put it, "not only the most powerful country in the world but also the most distrusted country in the world".

Are we, largely due to the Bush regime's unilateralism, at risk of uniting the rest of the world against us? I don't evoke here armed conflict, but economic conflict that forces America to a more equal status with a united Europe and other economic entities.

Here's some news. For the first time in history, the European Union has hit us with sanctions.

Marching for Lt. Kerry

I walked with about 100 West Side Democrats for Kerry this afternoon. Joining the foot soilders: John Kerry's sister, and his adorable neice (maybe 7 or 8 years old). They got her to say "Please vote for my uncle!" into the megaphone once. Signs in hand, the group, including veterans, walked up Broadway from 72nd Street to 96th Street. Below is a pic of some of the group passing by Fairway, one of New York's famous gourmet markets. The gorgeous Ansonia hotel is in the background.

Several people I spoke to at the march agreed Kerry had not done well in today's debate. Someone else confided to me today that they think Kerry is suffering from foot-in-mouth problems lately.

Another pic for extra credit...Larry Hirsch, a former Democratic District Leader, and Marc Landis, a current DL, both of Community Free Democrats (CFD), stumping for Kerry in front of Barnes & Noble. Note the poster for Brinkley's book about Kerry's Vietnam years in the window behind them. Back in January, Larry flew to Iowa to do phone banking for Kerry the night of the caucus. Now that's dedication!

It was a train wreck of a debate--Kucinich won; Kerry did horribly

The Democratic Presidential debate this morning was a mess. It was ruined in large part by Elizabeth Bumiller, one of the "moderators," who writes what one fellow blogger moments ago called "treacly Bush valentines" under the title "White House Letter."

The winner of the debate: Dennis Kucinich
*When the candidates were asked if we're safer under Bush, Kucinich was clear and direct: no--Iraq didn't make us safer; we're not going after Al Qaeda...then Bumiller cut him off. *He managed to give the most direct answers pretty much every time. He set himself apart sharply from the rest on NAFTA and Iraq especially.
*He was generous in coming to John Edwards' defense, yet
*he was always able to muscle his answers in to the poorly-moderated melee, but never was rude.
*He was able to call Edwards' bluff about NAFTA by citing a recent New York Times interview in which Edwards said he supports NAFTA.

Kerry badly bungled the gay marriage question (which was essentially "just exactly what is WRONG with gay marriage?" / "Why NOT allow it?" Instead of answering "nothing" and "no good reason" (which as front-runner he won't say...and arguably shouldn't), he said that he just didn't believe in it. He alone referred to gay and lesbian Americans as "they" in his answer. No other candidate did that in reference to any minority. He said he's been to a gay wedding. To me, that sounded a bit like the ol' suspect, "Some of my best friends are Jewish" line.

Sharpton then called Kerry and Edwards on the disingenuous nature of their "states rights" answer to gay marriage. Aren't civil rights a federal issue? he asked. (Of course they are.)

There's a meme I see emerging among Democrats out in blogland, and it was said best on DailyKos: Under fire in Vietnam, Kerry was fearless. But rarely if ever has he shown comparable bravery on the political battlefields at home.

I think that's harsh. But, memes are memes, and they sometimes take on lives of their own.

We've got to remember that this is about beating Bush. And I think Kerry can beat him. A Kucinich world is the one I'd like most, but it's not an option yet. Working hard for John Kerry will help us get there though. (Thank you, Hank Honig, for the wise words on that score this afternoon!)

To show my Kerry support, I'm going to create a Kerry for President portal on Isebrand.com, to replace the Clark one I used to have.

Fine, dandy and diddly for Tony...until that darn Clare Short spoke up again

[Excerpt from Simon Hoggart sketch in The Guardian]

And as for [Short's] allegations? [Tony Blair] would not deny them because he would have to deny everything. But the security services always worked within the law, national and international.

So that was a denial? No, he denied it was a denial. But Kofi Annan was a good friend. The implication was that he would probably have sent anything they'd picked up from the bug (which may or may not exist) on his Christmas card.

Kucinich: Greenspan should resign for urging Social Security cuts

Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-OH), also a candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination, has joined a small but growing choir calling for Fed Reserve Chair, Alan Greenspan, to resign. Kucinich's call came after Greenspan on the 25th told the House Budget Committee that Social Security benefits should be cut to deal with the deficit.

Kucinich said in a statement:

It is a disgrace that the chairman of the Federal Reserve would advocate making tomorrow's old, infirm and disabled pay for today's tax cuts to millionaires. That is exactly the effect of his testimony to the Budget Committee, and if it ever became law, it would have highly prejudicial effects.

Horn-tootin'

As of tonight, I'm a Vice-president (one of three) of Community Free Democrats (CFD), probably the largest Democratic club in Manhattan and the best in The Big Apple, if I do say so myself. CFD's Web site will be up in about 7 to 10 working days. Rest assured that I'll link to it when it's finally live.

Viacom refuses to allow Democratic ad

by IseFire - Fri 02/27/04; 7:17 am EST

Viacom, which owns CBS, refused to air MoveOn.org's political ad during the Super Bowl's half-time show. Now they've squelched another hard-hitting but perfectly fair anti-Republican ad--this time, a billboard campaign in Missouri.

State Democratic Party Chairwoman May Scheve Reardon said the ad was set to run for a month along I-70 in predominantly black sections of St. Louis and Kansas City. The ad, featuring a black man's face against an American flag, states: "Missouri Republicans have a plan. You are not a part of it."

Annan & UN bugged by UK intel

Tony Blair's has a problem on his hands now. A big one. Legal or not, it's distasteful that the UK bugged the office of UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, and the British people are not going to be pleased w/ Mr. Blair.

(Not So) Poor Mary Cheney

Here's a site worth checking out: DearMary.com. Poor Mary Cheney. I guess she got the "Silence equals consent" thing and "Silence is golden" thing confused. She's silent on gay issues while aiding an enemy of civil rights. (Love how Dicky voted against Mandela's call for a US boycott of the white South African gov't.) You go [somewhere else], girl!

Codifying discrimination

George W. Bush's onerous speech today in favor of Constitutionally codifying discrimination against a section of the American citizenry was an irrevocably unacceptable display of sheer animus. Mischievous, divisive, and disingenuous, his ridiculous attempt to realign the debate over gay marriage as one not of equal rights and civil law but of religion and changing "the meaning of marriage...forever" cannot be allowed to stand. Terry McAuliffe, the Chair of the Democratic National Committee, has condemned Bush. Give to the DNC now! We must send Bush a signal in the wake of his vile rhetoric. Bush has nearly a half-billion dollars to spend against the Democratic nominee. Give now if you care at all.