Daily Archives: February 27, 2012

I helped end the Bush tax cuts for the rich

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MoveOn sent me an email telling me that I helped end the Bush tax cuts for the rich.  This is what MoveOn wanted me to share on the web.

I joined over 250,000 MoveOn member and progressives calling for President Obama to veto any extension the Bush tax cuts for the richest Americans–and he just made a public commitment to do it! Share this victory for the 99% with your friends, family, and co-workers.

When I posted this to my Facebook page, I added the comment:

Unfortunately, didn’t Obama back out of that commitment the last time? I will breathe easier when he actually does the veto as promised.

After receiving some push back on that remark, I explained why I made it.

Fairly early in life I recognized a principle that I have stuck to. “Never make a threat that you won’t be willing to carry out if developments take you to the threshold you warned about.” There must be some equivalent idea in poker.

Once you have backed down from carrying out a threat, then no threat in the future will carry any weight. So, if you have any doubts about your ability to carry out the threat, do not make it.

If your opposition knows from past experience that you operate under that principle, they will take your words more seriously.

Otherwise, they know your spine is weak and they can walk all over you. I can’t count the number of times I have emailed the President about this, and how many times he has been walked all over because he won’t take any advice.

So am I supposed to pretend that this threat is serious? Should I be willing to look like a fool in front of the opposition, by pretending that I believe these threats?

This isn’t just about Obama’s credibility anymore. This is now about my credibility. That is why I take his failures personally.

I will now add a new law to this blog,  Greenberg’s Law Of Idle Threats.  “Never make a threat you don’t intend to carry out.  If you have any doubts about your ability to carry out the threat, do not make it.”

Corollary:

“If you never test the opposition about whether they make idle threats, then you enable them to ignore this law.”

How many people remember George Bush’s threat, “Read my lips, No New Taxes.”  Remember how he was ridiculed in and lost his bid for re-election because of his failure to carry out his threat?

Iran wins first Oscar with “A Separation”

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Reuters reports the story Iran wins first Oscar with “A Separation”.

Written and directed by Asghar Farhadi, the domestic drama focuses on a couple going through a divorce and touches on traditions, justice, and male-female relationships in modern Iran.

Quoting the director of the film, the article goes on to say:

“At this time, many Iranians all over the world are watching us and I imagine them to be very happy,” director Farhadi said while accepting the Oscar.

“At a time of talk of war, intimidation and aggression is exchanged between politicians, the name of their county (sic), Iran, is spoken here through her glorious culture, a rich and ancient culture that has been hidden under the heavy dust of politics.”

“I proudly offer this award to the people of my country, the people who respect all cultures and civilizations and despise hostility and resentment,” he added.

It is nice to know that amidst all the battling back and forth there are still voices of reason that speak out.

Above, I have included the Iran link from the Reuters article, so that you can go back to reading about demons if you must. After all, too much reason at one time might corrupt your mind.

Putin Says Iran Military Strike to Be ‘Truly Catastrophic’

This entry was posted in Greenberg’s Law of Inexplicable Behavior SteveG's Posts on by

Business Week has the story Putin Says Iran Military Strike to Be ‘Truly Catastrophic’

His remarks about Iran and North Korea were interesting, but I find his remarks about Syria worth quoting.

Syria has come under mounting international pressure as a result of President Bashar Al-Assad’s crackdown on protesters, which is nearing its one-year mark.

Putin said that the resolution would be possible if the UN demanded not only from Assad to withdraw his forces but also from opposition to take away militant units from towns. “Refusal to do so is cynical,” Putin said.

It is no so much whether I agree or disagree with what he says here.  The marvel is that this is the first time I have read what he was thinking when Russia vetoed the plan of the other countries to put more pressure on Assad.

Maybe I need to add another law – Greenberg’s Law of Inexplicable Behavior – “When the media report on the existence of some seemingly inexplicable behavior, they owe us a report on what are the reasons that the actor uses to justify this behavior. Until you are able to read such explanation, you have to realize that the media is not reporting the whole story.”