THE HEADLINES

A protester at John Brennan's Senate confirmation hearing. (Stephen Crowley/The New York Times)

SENATE INTELLIGENCE COMMITTEE HEARING THROWS A WHIFF OF TRANSPARENCY INTO TARGETED DRONE ASSASSINATIONS BY U.S. AGENCIES.

Hearings for John Brennan, current counter-intelligence chief and Obama’s nominee for director of C.I.A., show signs of restlessness of some Senators like the chair of the committee, Dianne Feinstein. Expressing frustration at the difficulty of the committee in obtaining government records on the killings, she says these operations are about as “covert” as they can go and proposes a review panel for oversight on decisions about targeted drone killings like the one for covert intelligence collection, even as she defends the relatively benign scope of “collateral” deaths associated with drone attacks.

(New York Times)

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RETIRED OFFICERS SYNDROME: PART 2

Continuing a theme from yesterday’s headlines, William Blum notes how both former Secretary of State George Schulz and former Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, after they left their respective offices, denounced the very militaristic American foreign policy that they had pursued while they were in office. This may recall the characterization of Jimmy Carter as “our best former President” as he also condemned aggressive policies he had pursued as President. The problem of this after-the-fact foreign policy “liberalism” is that they, like all those covered by the bipartisan Washington Consensus of embrace of an American Empire were, while in office or campaigning for same, unable to renounce the political allure of jingoistic announcements of the “bravery” of U.S. soldiers and our God and Country defense of the world against godless atheists.

(William Blum)

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WHO’S AFRAID OF THE BIG BAD “4″ OF “BLACK MISLEADERS?”

If the question refers to the heads of the 4 leading civil rights organizations in America, the answer according to Glen Ford, is—certainly not Barack Obama. As he prepares to deliver his next State of the Union address, these men might be placing some serious demands on Obama that he commit his administration to serious actions to redress the grievances of their people. Instead, they will as usual “bask in the glory” of having one of their own skin color in the White House and as usual make no demands on the President to which he will feel the need to respond.

(Black Agenda Report)

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“IF NOT NOW, WHEN?”

U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder. speaking in Georgia, touts Obama-supported legislation to ban assault weapons in the hands of civilians. He argues that the “carnage” like that in the recent Connecticut school shooting would be reduced if a would-be mass killer had to reload a gun before firing successive shots. Local sheriffs display their “local discretion” agenda by protesting that local law enforcement officials will be “forced” to do door-to-door operations to remove forbidden guns from people. Holder assures that local officials will not be required to enforce federal laws, effectively pulling the teeth from enforcement of the law. Meantime the local sheriffs push for an alternative form of gun control in arguing that known “criminals” are the main problem of gun abuse, and that more stringent laws which prevent putting guns in their hands will be more effective than any broad attack on the right of law-abiding citizens to “bear arms.”

(Atlanta Journal Constitution)

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WHAT IS THE FLORIDA HOUSE “CHOICE AND INNOVATION COMMITTEE” UP TO THESE DAYS?

To chagrin of state Democrats and public school advocates, the committee may be preparing to unleash into the Republican-dominated legislature measures which, with approval by a Republican Governor, encourage a huge increase in the number of charter schools in the state, eligible for public funding without the public controls associated with public schools. One especially controversial “innovation” being considered to increase school “choice” is that of allowing charters to move into buildings vacated by closed public schools and to pay only “maintenance” costs and no rent therefore. Critics denounce this as “land grab” by charter proponents.

(WFSU)

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Quote of the day…

I am confident of those figures until I am not confident of them.

Dianne Feinstein, chair of Senate Intelligence Committee, when questioned about being “confident” in accepting the C.I.A’s assessment that only a number of people in the “single digits” have been killed as collateral damage in terrorist-seeking drone attacks.

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