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Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Reminder: Moving to new location
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Just a reminder that starting Thursday all new posts and comments will appear at the blog’s new site at http://blogs.ajc.com/jay-bookman-blog/
See y’all there.
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Jindal to deliver GOP response to Obama
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
“Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal is getting another prominent role in the national Republican Party. He’ll deliver the GOP response to President Barack Obama’s first speech to Congress, in two weeks.
Obama plans to speak to a joint session of the House and Senate on Feb. 24.
Jindal will give the national Republican response from Baton Rouge immediately following the speech, according to a news release from House and Senate Republican leaders.
“I’m looking forward to hearing President Obama’s address and I’m honored to be delivering the Republican response after him,” Jindal said in a statement.”
Stimulus deal announced … pretty quickly, actually
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
from the NYT….
“WASHINGTON — Congressional negotiators announced Wednesday afternoon that they had reached agreement on a $789 billion economic stimulus bill, clearing the way for final action and President Obama’s signature.
“The differences between the House and Senate versions, we’ve resolved,” Senator Harry Reid of Nevada, the Democratic majority leader, said in a Capitol news conference. The differences were resolved by a lot of intense “give and take,” Mr. Reid said, “and if you don’t mind my saying so, that’s an understatement.”
Negotiations had been going on all day, following extensive talks on Tuesday night, to close the gap between the Senate and House versions. In the end, the agreed-upon package will pare back Democrats’ proposed spending on education and health programs in favor of tax cuts that were needed to win Republican votes in the Senate.
Senator Susan Collins of Maine, a centrist Republican whose support was crucial to the outcome, said the final package includes $150 billion in spending on infrastructure, including transportation facilities, and considerable tax relief. Moreover, she said, it includes significant money to aid state governments.
Despite intense lobbying by governors, the final deal slashed $35 billion from a proposed state fiscal stabilization fund, eliminated $16 billion in aid for school construction and sharply curtailed health care subsidies for the unemployed.
In driving down the total cost of the stimulus bill — from $838 billion approved by the Senate and $820 by the House — legislators also sharply reduced proposed tax incentives for buyers of homes and cars that held huge public appeal.
Ladies and gentlemen, an announcement:
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
As of tomorrow, we’ll be moving this blog to new digs and new software. This URL will go silent. The new URL will be http://blogs.ajc.com/jay-bookman-blog/
I’ve walked around in the new place; it definitely looks spiffier, offering more flexibility from my end. I hope it will solve some issues from your end as well, but let me know about that. So drop by tomorrow for the housewarming party.
— Jay
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Hamas, Israeli right feed off each other
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The outcome of the Israeli election — with the right-wing, more confrontational parties emerging as apparent victors — confirms the dangerous dynamic at play in the Middle East.
“The rightward tilt is a blow to President Obama’s hopes that a new Israeli government might be willing to make peace with the Palestinians and various Arab neighbors. Netanyahu and Lieberman are pushing for the expansion of Jewish settlements in the West Bank, which Palestinians say is a main obstacle to peace, and are adamant that Israel should hang onto the Golan Heights seized from Syria in the 1967 war. Both Netanyahu and Lieberman also say that the army ought to return to Gaza and wipe out Hamas.”
All of those policies will strengthen the grip of extremists among the Palestinians. And as extremist groups such as Hamas become stronger and more aggressive, the appeal of more aggressive politicians such as Netanyahu and Lieberman becomes stronger among Israelis.
Which in turn further strengthens Hamas. The extremists on both sides are locked in a strange sort of alliance, strengthening each other at the expense of those still willing to risk negotiation.
It does not bode well for peace in the region, or for success in any initiative by Obama.
