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Apr

16

Violent Radicalization! It’s not just for the left-wing anymore!

Filed Under Congress, conservatives, Culture, democracy, George Bush, Government, intolerance, Media, Politics, Research, Results, Social Issues, war | 4 Comments

You know, isn’t it amazing how folks seem to have completely forgotten about this little bill, the Violent Radicalization and Homegrown Terrorism Prevention Act of 2007, which House Minority Leader John Boehner voted for (but which never became law and still is not law), along with more than 400 of his 110th Congress colleagues, even as they gyrate over a new report from the Department of Homeland Security that has flagged some members of our society as rightwing extremists about whom we should be concerned?

I know – crazy.  I thought it was pretty crazy in 2007 too.

Boehner demanded that the Department of Homeland Security apologize to veterans because its report found that “returning military veterans who have difficulties assimilating back into their home communities could be susceptible to extremist recruiters or might engage in lone acts of violence.”  NPR has a good piece about how Janet Napolitano actually did offer an apology – but why (I agree – why?).

But let’s back up for a second. Why’d I think, in 2007, that the bill was crazy? Here’s what the bill was about:

[California Democratic Rep., Jane] Harman’s bill would convene a 10-member national commission to study “violent radicalization” (defined as “the process of adopting or promoting an extremist belief system for the purpose of facilitating ideologically based violence to advance political, religious, or social change”) and “homegrown terrorism” (defined as “the use, planned use, or threatened use, of force or violence by a group or individual born, raised, or based and operating primarily within the United States […] to intimidate or coerce the United States government, the civilian population of the United States, or any segment thereof, in furtherance of political or social objectives”).

The bill also directs the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to designate a “center of excellence,” a university-based research center where academics, policy-makers, members of the private sector and other stakeholders can collaborate to better understand and prevent radicalization and homegrown terrorism. [my emphasis above]

You can read the overview of the bill here.

Notice how that language is ideology-neutral – you could be from the left or the right.  And yet aren’t you thinkin’ now – darn it if Boehner and the other Republicans who voted for the legislation didn’t think that only people on the left would ever meet whatever definitions they could cook up.  Especially since George Bush requested that DHS do a study and reveal just which elements of our society they thought might be priming for violent radicalization and homegrown terror.  The results just released are from that request, as are previously released results that talked about…leftwing fringe.

John -  every rose has it’s thorn, and every political ideology has its fringe.  You just really did not anticipate this report, did you?

BONUS: This AP story on what’s happened since this morning catalogues the DHS reviews of the past that ID both left and right-wing groups as potential problems.  But the best part? Quotes from…Jane Harman – the Rep. from California who sponsored that bill I mention at the top of this post:

The latest report has turned into a “political football,” said Rep. Jane Harman, D-Calif. Harman, who chairs a House subcommittee on intelligence and information sharing, said the report could have been written more artfully, but added that “it was a well-intended effort to describe to law enforcement what things to look for.”

“If the result is to dumb down intelligence products that could prevent the next attack to the homeland, we will all lose,” she said.

Thank you, Congresswoman.

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By Jill Miller Zimon at 9:09 pm April 16th, 2009 in Congress, conservatives, Culture, democracy, George Bush, Government, intolerance, Media, Politics, Research, Results, Social Issues, war | 4 Comments 

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Apr

16

Yeah Winston Ford: law school classmate becomes Ohio stimulus overseer

Filed Under Economy, Government, Law, leadership, Ohio | Comments Off

From the Plain Dealer blog:

Winston Ford, formerly general counsel for the Ohio Department of Health, will now monitor how the state manages its billions in federal stimulus dollars.

Ford began work this week as a deputy general inspector. He will oversee and monitor how state agencies distribute the funds, review contracts for projects and investigate any allegations of wrongdoing, said Inspector General Thomas Charles.

…

Ford was raised in New York and earned his law degree in 1991 from Case Western Reserve University. He has worked for the state since 1996, when he joined the Ohio Attorney General’s office. He has been at the Ohio Department of Health since 2004 and has been general counsel for that agency since October, 2007. Charles said he will earn $89,000 a year. 

That is a real public interest law salary, for better or worse.  Good luck to you, Winston.  I remember him as a very even-tempered, cool as a cucumber kind of student, always had a smile on.

Think there’s been hanky-panky or just something you don’t like going on with the federal stimulus money in Ohio? You can file a complaint here.

And by the way – you all read that? He was raised in NY, earned his law degree here and basically just stayed.  Like me and like many others who come to Ohio for the higher education.  And trust me, the year we graduated? It was a terrible year to find a job in the legal profession.

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By Jill Miller Zimon at 3:04 pm April 16th, 2009 in Economy, Government, Law, leadership, Ohio | Comments Off 

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Apr

16

Maria Shriver seeks to define “A Woman’s Nation”

Filed Under Culture, democracy, Economy, employment, Gender, leadership, Media, Research, Social Issues, Whitehouse09, Women | 4 Comments

Big kudos to Chris Cillizza’s Cheat Sheet today for mentioning Maria Shriver’s effort, A Woman’s Nation:

A Woman’s Nation: Maria Shriver, California’s first lady and scion to the Kennedy political legacy, is lending her name to a nationwide effort to document the state of women in society — the first such major project since the Eleanor Roosevelt led a similar project for President John F. Kennedy. A Woman’s Nation, as the effort will be known, will combine the forces of the Center for American Progress, a liberal think tank, the Annenberg Center on Communication Leadership and Policy at the University of Southern California and Shriver’s California Women’s Conference. The goal of the endeavor will be to produce a full report to Congress and the president, according to a release announcing the group’s founding.

For the formal read-it-for-yourself-and-decide stuff (and they definitely provide more details on the goal):

Press Release (pdf)

Center for American Progress announcement

And a blog entry by Shriver at The Huffington Post.  Salient parts:

“A Woman’s Nation” will be a multi-year, action-oriented project, focused on capturing an accurate and up-to-date portrait of the American woman and developing next steps to remove barriers to her success. A journalist by trade, I look forward to taking “A Woman’s Nation” on the road – We will host a series of roundtables with men and women on the front lines of this economic and cultural shift, and conduct frank and factual interviews with cultural icons and women leaders about their experiences and recommendations. In an effort to give people all over the country an opportunity to participate in this remarkable discussion, we will hold online town-halls to field and answer any questions about the project.

This on-the-ground reporting, combined with research data from a national poll, will result in a fresh and thorough initial report to be published in the fall of 2009. The report will be followed by a book, and we will then examine regulatory, legislative, business and cultural change that needs to take place to keep pace with the current needs of American women and families.

I don’t know that Shriver would be a candidate for appointment to the proposed President’s Commission on Women, though the primary sponsor, U.S. Rep. Jackie Speier is from California, like Shriver (wife of CA Governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger).   And I’m not sure whether what she’s proposing to do is in competition with, complimentary or supplementary to the Commission.

But as far as I’m concerned, the more efforts out there doing this kind of intel gathering in this area, the better.  I wish her luck and I hope to keep an eye out for how I might be able to get involved, even if just at a netroots level.  My main concern from the start? Please, please, please – be sure to include plenty of women of color and very reliable proportions of women who reflect as many varieties of women in the U.S. as possible – along the entire spectrum of every metric to be covered.

Please.

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By Jill Miller Zimon at 2:37 pm April 16th, 2009 in Culture, democracy, Economy, employment, Gender, leadership, Media, Research, Social Issues, Whitehouse09, Women | 4 Comments 

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Apr

16

Beachwood Mall (Ohio) declares bankruptcy

Filed Under Business, Cleveland+, Economy, employment, Gender, leadership, Ohio | 9 Comments

Not like no one besides me wondered why Beachwood Mall was expanding three years ago in the first place – Legacy Village had just been completed, LaPlace had stores and restaurants coming and going, the new Cedar Center sprawl was completed – and we have a shrinking demographic.

So here’s the fairly predictable news, from the Plain Dealer  blog:

General Growth Properties Inc., the major mall company that owns Beachwood Place, filed for bankruptcy protection early Thursday after it failed to reach agreements with its lenders to refinance more than $27 billion in debt.

The company’s Chapter 11 filing, in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in New York, had been a topic of speculation for months. It marks the collapse of a real estate titan and is a major indicator of the industry’s struggles to manage debt and find cash during a credit crisis. General Growth, based in Chicago, owns and manages more than 200 shopping centers, including the Beachwood Place mall in Beachwood.

General Growth listed $29.5 billion in assets and roughly $27.3 billion in debts in its filing. A large part of that debt relates to the company’s acquisition of developer Rouse Co. in 2004. Rouse and other company units and properties are included in the bankruptcy filing; however, General Growth’s decision to file for bankruptcy protection does not necessarily mean there will be changes at Beachwood Place and the company’s other malls.

Who is General Growth Properties? You can check for names you recognize here.  I can tell you a few things: it took several clicks just to find those names and when I finished reading the fairly short list, I’d just finished saying, “Man.Man.Man.Man.Man.Man.”

Even though who is it again who makes more than half of all spending decisions, of nearly all kinds?

Yeah.

Here’s the bankruptcy corporate restructuring notice.  Love how the credit markets are being blamed for everything. No way, no how seven to eight months since the first bailouts in late Sept. that that’s the case with these malls – nuh-uh.

Does anyone know – do the NEO leaders who embrace regionalism figure this kind of crap into their analysis? Because if these mall makers had ever heard of the word “regionalism,” wouldn’t you have thought that have stopped building stores that can’t be supported by our economy?

No – and the reason is because they sell, sell, sell that they’re providing jobs – and that no one else will do anything else for the area. And other so-called leaders buy this line – over and over and over. 

Okay – I’m getting to cynical. That third grader eating my lunch this afternoon on the field trip I chaperoned really got to me – that and my completely missing voice and wildly sore throat.

Feh.

Hattip NEO Biz Blog.

Update: WCPN’s coverage:

…The company has been wrestling with a massive amount of debt that it has been unable to refinance or find investors for because of the credit crunch. In Ohio, General Growth Properties owns Beachwood Place, Toledo’s The Shops at Fallen Timbers, Zanesville’s Colony Squares Mall and Cincinnati’s Kenwood Towne Center. However Kenwood Town Center mall is the only Ohio property that did not file for Chapt.11 individually. A company spokeswoman says that’s because Kenwood is jointly owned with another firm. Beachwood Place’s management office says the mall’s stores are open for business as usual. In February, General Growth Properties reported over $5 billion in debt that creditors could call due.  

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By Jill Miller Zimon at 2:05 pm April 16th, 2009 in Business, Cleveland+, Economy, employment, Gender, leadership, Ohio | 9 Comments 

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Apr

16

Mandel addresses Tea Party in Youngstown

Filed Under Cleveland+, conservatives, Economy, Government, Media, OH17, Ohio, Pepper Pike, Politics, Republicans, Statehouse, Taxes, Writing | Comments Off

It wasn’t in the Ohio House 17th District, but at least it was in the relative north and east of Ohio. From The Jambar:

Under the shadow of an ominous overcast, a group of over 200 students and citizens gathered on Wednesday afternoon in Federal Plaza to hold a rally protesting government spending and taxation. The event, inspired by a similar protest held in Cincinnati, was orchestrated by the Youngstown State University College Republicans.

“The Tea Party movement is pretty broad,” Donovan O’Neil, executive director of the YSU College Republicans, said. He said the movement concerns “everything that has been going on in our country.” The primary focus, however, was on big government, overspending and purportedly outrageous taxation.

The rally was hosted by Jim Shaw, president of the YSU College Republicans, and included speeches by private citizens and prominent figures such as Mark Munroe, Chairman of the Mahoning County Republican Party, Josh Mandel, state representative from the 17th Ohio House District, Donald K. Allen, former presidential candidate in 2008 and Bill Johnson, a local business man proposing sales tax reform.

The Jambar is the student newspaper of Youngstown State University. I spoke on a panel at their Press Day two years ago and it was a great experience – there is a lot of journalism and interest in journalism going on there.

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By Jill Miller Zimon at 1:24 pm April 16th, 2009 in Cleveland+, conservatives, Economy, Government, Media, OH17, Ohio, Pepper Pike, Politics, Republicans, Statehouse, Taxes, Writing | Comments Off 

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