this is not a sibling that you just aren’t having a good time with

Frank Gaffney has been cited by Mike Huckabee as one of the two guys he gets foreign policy advice from, the other being The New York Times' Thomas Friedman.  Here's my exchange with Gaffney on yesterday's show ( transcript here):

HH: Since you're one of the unofficial advisors to Mike Huckabee, I want to play for you a little Huckabee quote from, concerning Iran. Cut number five. He made this in a speech earlier this year. 

MH: We haven't had diplomatic relationships with Iran in almost thirty years, most of my entire adult life. And a lot of good it's done. Putting this in human terms, all of us know that when we stop talking to a parent or a sibling, or even a friend, it's impossible to resolve the difference to move that relationship forward. Well, the same is true for countries.   

HH: What do you think, Frank Gaffney? 

FG: Well, for the purposes of setting the record straight, Hugh, I want you and your audience to recall that the other guy he mentioned in this New York Times Sunday Magazine interview as advising him was Tom Friedman of the New York Times. And that sounds a lot more like Tom's advice than my advice. I think that's cockamamie, and in fact, I had an hour and a half, I think, conversation with Governor Huckabee a couple of months ago over breakfast, and this was one of the main points on which I tried to educate him, that this is not a sibling that you just aren't having a good time with. This is a country run by megalomaniacs bent on an apocalyptic outcome, who believe that bringing about a world without America is their god-given obligation. And you know, just talking with them, you know, can't we all get along, Rodney King style, is not a prescription for a serious foreign policy, I'm afraid. 

ARKANSAS' PRIMARY DRUG OF CONCERN

"ARKANSAS' PRIMARY

DRUG OF CONCERN"

As Meth Became A Crisis In Arkansas, Gov. Huckabee

Reduced Sentences For Makers Of The Drug 

"It's not our goal to just lock people up. ... It is our goal to unlock their hearts, minds and souls so while they're here they can learn the skills that most of us take for granted." – Gov. Mike Huckabee (Traci Shurley, "Work Starts On Site For Parole Violators," Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, 8/9/03)

AP: "Huckabee Criticized For Meth Bill":

The Associated Press: "Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee can find plenty of parallels between his native Arkansas and Iowa when it comes to methamphetamine: Both are small states battling increased use of the drug through stricter laws. But Republican presidential rivals Mitt Romney and Fred Thompson are tagging Huckabee as soft on crime because of a 2005 Arkansas law he signed as governor that gave some meth offenders more credit for good behavior. Instead of serving only 70 percent of their sentences, they'd only have to serve at least half if they behaved." (Andrew DeMillo, "Huckabee Criticized For Meth Bill," The Associated Press, 12/20/07)

Meth Became A Crisis In Arkansas When Huckabee Was Governor:

DEA: In The Last Ten Years, Meth Has Become Arkansas' "Primary Drug Of Concern." "Methamphetamine: In less than ten years, methamphetamine has grown from a problem limited to the Southwest and Pacific regions of the United States to Arkansas' primary drug of concern. The state is encountering locally produced methamphetamine as well as the importation of methamphetamine produced in Mexico. Not only does the state's rural landscape provide an ideal setting for illicit manufacturing, but the wide availability of precursor chemicals also contributes to the ease of manufacturing methamphetamine. Criminal groups are acquiring thousands of cases of pseudoephedrine via wholesalers and use sophisticated schemes to illegally ship, at a considerable profit, pseudoephedrine to methamphetamine producers." (DEA Website, "Arkansas 2007," http://www.usdoj.gov/, Accessed 12/2/07)

At The Same Time, Gov. Huckabee Signed Legislation Reducing Sentences For The Makers Of Meth:

Huckabee Supported A Measure To Reduce Mandatory Minimums For Methamphetamine Makers. "Methamphetamine makers could shorten their mandatory time in prison with good behavior under legislation approved Tuesday by the Arkansas House. The bill, by Sen. Jim Luker, D-Wynne, is part of a legislative package intended to help control the state's burgeoning prison population and is supported by state prison officials, the state prosecutors' association and Gov. Mike Huckabee." (Melissa Nelson, "Arkansas House Approves Bill To Reduce Mandatory Prison Time Of Meth Offenders," The Associated Press, 3/8/05)

The Bill Lowered Mandatory Minimums For Meth Manufacturers From 70 Percent Of A Sentence To Only 50 Percent Of A Sentence. "Senate Bill 387 repeals a 1997 law requiring those convicted of manufacturing methamphetamine, among other crimes, to serve at least 70 percent of their sentence. Approved by a unanimous vote in the Senate and by a 56-32 vote in the House, SB 387 allows those inmates to serve half of their sentence if they've earned 'good time' for good behavior." (Arkansas House Of Representatives, "Prison Crowding And Saving Teachers' Insurance Plans Gain House Approval," Press Release, http://www.arkansas.gov/, 3/11/05)

- In 2005, Gov. Huckabee Signed The Sentence Reductions Into Law. "Also Monday, Gov. Mike Huckabee signed into law legislation allowing imprisoned methamphetamine abusers serving time under the state's mandatory 70-percent rule to shorten their sentences with good behavior." (Melissa Nelson, "Senate OKs Higher Ed Funding Formulas," The Associated Press, 3/21/05)

Huckabee Was Recently Confronted By His Support For Weaker Sentences:

Huckabee Said He Was Against "Putting People In Unnecessarily Long Sentences When There Really Was No Call For It." STEPHANOPOULOS: "Why did you sign a bill that your local paper called a relief bill for meth manufacturers?" HUCKABEE: "Well, they called it that but it was actually making sure that we had reasonable, responsible policies and prison terms. We were hard on drug offenders and drug dealers. But here's what we also tried to do. To balance being tough on drug dealers, tough on crime, but also being a little bit kinder to the taxpayers and not putting people in unnecessarily long sentences when there really was no call for it. Our prison director, I think said it best. He said, we lock up a lot of people we're mad at not just the people we're afraid of. So, we didn't coddle criminals. But what we did do, in many cases of non-violent drug offenders was create drug courts which created a different pathway so that people who had not committed a violent crime, who were drug users, who didn't have previous offenses, went into rehab and that cost w about $4 a day versus incarceration of some $43 a day." (ABC's "This Week," 12/2/07; www.youtube.com/watch?v=wv648uLzKyo)

Huckabee Admitted He Supported Weakening Penalties For Criminals Caught Running Meth Labs. STEPHANOPOULOS: "I understand not the drug users, but these were drug dealers here." HUCKABEE: "Well, and we didn't make this -- what you have to understand is that the significant difference was some of the penalties for these people could be up to life, and they still had that potential if they continued to manufacture drugs, but it was an adjustment in what had been an overreaching law that had previously passed." (ABC's "This Week," 12/2/07; www.youtube.com/watch?v=wv648uLzKyo)

The Arkansas Democrat Gazette Attacked Lower Sentences For Meth Makers:

The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette: "Call It The Relief Bill For Meth Manufacturers." (Editorial, "A Perk For Drug Dealers," Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, 3/16/05)

The Bill Was Criticized Because It Reduced Sentencing For Meth Manufacturers Sentences, Not Meth Users. "This was a bad idea two years ago when the Department of Correction pressured the Ledge to back away from the 70 percent rule. It still is. Because the rule isn't aimed at the poor souls who wind up in jail only because they've used meth and got caught. The prisoners who would benefit by the Ledge's favor are the dealers-the source of the plague, the ones who cook up the drug and spread it around. These are the folks who prey on addicts lower down the drug chain. These are the manufacturers and merchants of so much misery in Arkansas." (Editorial, "A Perk For Drug Dealers," Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, 3/16/05)

Although The Bill Cited Overcrowding As Reason For Its Passage, Meth Manufacturers Represented Only A Small Percentage Of The Prison Population. "There's no big economy to be achieved by passing SB 387. That's because these dealers represent only a tiny fraction of the prison population. The big growth in the number of prisoners results from having to jail all those drug addicts who violate their paroles, or the terms of their probations, by falling back into their old habits. Now there's a problem that needs fixing. But the Ledge won't adequately fund probation and parole departments, leaving the drug-addicted poorly supervised-and prime candidates for a return to prison." (Editorial, "A Perk For Drug Dealers," Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, 3/16/05)

The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette Said That It Created A Prison "Revolving Door." "It made no sense two years ago to spin the prisons' revolving door even faster, and it makes no sense today. The Ledge needs to think about all this again, if it thought about any of this the first time, and be given a chance to change its mind." (Editorial, "A Perk For Drug Dealers," Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, 3/16/05)

from the Bard

Oh! What do we need in a president?

With so many options some think the task tough

To figure out which in the crowd measure up

It's not mine to say which of those we see here

Will stand straight and tall or fall on their ear

But one thing I think is quite obviously clear

The leader we want works in honorable ways

who clearly can see by the night or by day

And chart a fixed course and never will stray

From doing each tiniest thing they did say

His or her character never will be

Put up for bids on the highest paid fee

But will endeavor with all honesty

To act in all ways to keep our land free

Who do I think it should be?

I admit it is easy to think I'd be stuck

With the slinging of mud and the rottenest muck

To know which to keep and which we could chuck

But I think with much prayer and a little good luck

The people will know the saint from the schmuck

And at least they will say " let's chuck Huck!"

‘Vanity Fair’ Makes New Giuliani Ad Seem Even Nuttier

'Vanity Fair' Makes New Giuliani Ad Seem Even Nuttier

It's not all Spitzer for Vanity Fair: The current issue also contains a towering Rudy profile, "A Tale of Two Giulianis," by Michael Shnayerson (whose sister Maggie is now the longest-serving editor at Gawker). In a lower-key fashion than last week's dueling Newsweek and Village Voice features on Rudy's supposed terror ties, Vanity Fair delivers a series of excellent mini-scoops on the man's business practices. Case after well-researched case shows Giuliani peddling bits of his 9/11 reputation to just about any taker, from foreign governments to "typical denizens of the penny-stock world — dreamers and the occasional scam artist." Shnayerson follows Giuliani's paid-up crusade for the makers of OxyContin, first as a lobbyist, then a lawyer; his shilling for Nextel; etc. More disturbingly, he then catches Rudy putting plugs for his clients into his political speeches, which are then reported as legitimate news. The choicest tidbit, however, is the one where the author quickly settles a personal score.

Giuliani also failed to disclose his consulting contract with a Florida entrepreneur named Hank Asher when in 2004 he talked about him to a magazine writer who was profiling Asher. In fact, the writer was this writer, and the magazine was Vanity Fair.

Not only is the profile more coolly damaging than VF's summertime hatchet job on Judith Nathan — its cumulative effect is devastating. Newsweek and the Voice focused on Rudy's sinister-sounding but ultimately murky connection to a world of which few voters have a clear picture (and we are all tainted: Got a Citicard? A Saudi prince is the biggest shareholder in Citigroup). Shnayerson, by contrast, methodically builds a portrait of a fundamentally flawed and avaricious character, a man happy to sell his perceived integrity not just to the highest bidder, but to every bidder. The newest Giuliani TV ad (above) promising to "stand up" to "dictators" and "tyrants" might not have the same ring coming from someone who's been paid by Qatar, China, Venezuela, and countless machers in need of a cred boost. —Michael Idov

A Tale of Two Giulianis [VF]

Related: Rudy Has Seen the Enemy and He Is … Us [NYM]

From Kyle

I had so many comments on my Fair Tax post that I wanted to respond to some of the points made:

First, several people made the point that Europe has a Value Added Tax (VAT) that is more than the 10% figure that I quoted. All of the research that I read made a distinction between the VAT and a national retail sales tax like the Fair Tax. This distinction is based on the mechanics of the tax. The value added tax looks at what a firm adds to the value of a product where a national sales tax is an excise tax levied at the point of sale. The end result looks similar because the VAT is passed on to the consumer. However, the VAT requires firms to report the value added at each stage of production. A national retail sales tax does not require any such reporting other than that the national rate has been applied. The figure I used looked just at those countries using a national retail sales tax and did not include those countries using a VAT.

Second, several readers expressed frustration at the current tax system and argued that we are essentially paying the same rate as what the Fair Tax would impose. That may be true, but I don't understand how that merits scrapping the current system. If the Fair Tax does the exact same thing, why should switch? The tie goes toward stability, does it not? People have planned, not just in the short term, but in the long term for the tax benefits of the current system. Revolutionizing the way we tax would upset the expectations of a millions of Americans and businesses. Thus, doing something that drastic requires not just generalized frustration, but serious injustice. Generally, I think that frustration with the current tax system has made people over-eager to do something else. I don't deny that the current system has its flaws. Indeed, it should be flatter and simpler. However, taking the extreme position of overhauling what we have and disturbing the expectations of those who are paying taxes seems unwise to me.

More rebuttals to come

re: "Rod Dreher"

I agree with Rod Dreher, to a point 

 

But Rod needs to understand a lot of us were freaking out...

 

I thought we were doing "Rudycide", after all our complaining about BIll Clinton's ethics...

 

Rudy would have made Clinton look like Romney, in comparison.

 

The part that I agree with Rod Dreher about is how surprising it was (I know I'm going to sound like Mike Huckabee) that the New York/ Washington DC republicans embraced Rudy!

 

I think I agree with Rod Dreher...

 

But two wrongs don't make a right... Just because the economic conservatives didn't freak out, when some threw the social conservatives under the buss, doesn't mean we should throw the economic conservatives under the buss now...