REWIND - A Week of Quotes and Cartoons
SUNDAY
Quote of the Day
November 3, 2013
'When Ban Ki-moon, the United Nations secretary
general, sat down with President Obama at the
White House in April to discuss Syrian chemical
weapons, Israeli-Palestinian peace talks and climate
change, it was a cordial, routine exchange.
'The National Security Agency nonetheless went to
work in advance and intercepted Mr. Ban's talking
points for the meeting, a feat the agency later
reported as an "operational highlight" in a weekly
internal brag sheet. It is hard to imagine what edge
this could have given Mr. Obama in a friendly chat,
if he even saw the N.S.A.'s modest scoop. (The White
House won't say.)'
New York Times
November 3, 2013
Toon of the Day
Exceptionalism
Matt Wuerker
MONDAY
Quote of the Day
'[New York mayoralty candidate Bill] De Blasio and
the fiscally conservative New York State Governor
Andrew Cuomo* are on something of a collision
course. While de Blasio wants to raise taxes on the
rich, Cuomo wants to run for re-election in 2014 as
a tax-cutting moderate. (In fact, he's already
installed Republican former Governor George Pataki
to help lead a commission on tax reform-a bad sign
indeed, as Pataki dramatically shifted the tax
burden from the wealthy to the middle class in his
years in office).
'Both de Blasio and Cuomo are Democrats. And
indeed, the Democratic Party is quite a big tent and
seems to have room for both progressives and mini-
austerians. But voting on the Working Families
Party line is about as good a way as we have to
communicate which side we're on. A strong vote on
the Working Families Party line could measurably
strengthen de Blasio's hand in his Albany
negotiations with Republicans and Democrats alike.
'And if enough of us stand together and vote on the
WFP line, New York City voters will have a chance to
say "no" to the gilded city and "yes" to a city that, as
WFP Executive Director Dan Cantor tirelessly
repeats, "works for everyone, not just the wealthy
and well-connected." Vote de Blasio, vote WFP.'
Katrina vanden Heuvel,
editor of The Nation
The Nation
October 4, 2013
Toon of the Day
Our Protection
Nick Anderson
Washington Post
TUESDAY
Quote of the Day
'The situation for seniors is only going to get worse,
because the assault on pensions and wages is
making it more and more difficult for a worker to
save for the future. Why are we having a debate over
how much we are going to hurt seniors? The debate
should be over how we should structure a pension
for seniors that will help them. Why would we play
on their playing field? Democrats need to play
offense here. Force Republicans to say what it is
they really want to do. Republicans just don’t like
social insurance.'
Senator Sherrod Brown (D. Ohio)
Washington Post
Novembr 5, 2013
Toon of the Day
Crossfire
Mike Luckovich
WEDNESDAY
Quote of the Day
'Unless something surprising happens, Terry
McAuliffe will win Virginia's governor's race, Bill De
Blasio will become New York City's mayor, and
Governor Chris Christie will win an easy reelection
in New Jersey.
'Here's another prediction: De Blasio's victory will be
dismissed by most pundits, while Christie's and
especially McAuliffe's will be touted as a vindication
of "centrist" politics. We'll hear new calls for
something called "bipartisanship," a term applied to
policies which are opposed by most of the electorate
but have the support of corporate-backed officials
from both parties. "Bipartisan" policies include
unpopular cuts to Medicare and Social Security, a
reluctance to invest in jobs and growth, and
unseemly and harmful tax breaks for corporations.'
Richard Eskow
Campaign for America's Future
November 5, 2013
Toon of the Day
Grand Compromise
Tom Toles
Washington Post
THURSDAY
Quote of the Day
'The potential bankruptcy in Detroit is not solely a
Detroit crisis; it is an American crisis. Financially
devastated cities all across our nation are now
struggling for their survival. The outcome in Detroit
affects all of us and that's why the American
Federation of State, County and Municipal
Employees (AFSCME) is calling for an urban agenda
to strengthen our great cities. AFSCME will not give
up on Detroit or the workers who built the city-and
neither should you.'
Lee Saunders, president, American Federation of
State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME)
AFL-CIO Now
November 6, 2013
Toon of the Day
The Committee
Steve Greenberg
FRIDAY
Quote of the Day
'I try to get most of the things my daughter eats
because I can hold the hunger - I'm an adult - but
she cannot. They don't understand when there's no
food in the fridge.'
Ingrid Mock, 46, a former supermarket
cashier who is disabled, at a Bronx
food pantry Monday stocking up on
canned green beans, pasta, ground
beef and apples, about cuts in food
stamps that she uses to help feed her
12-year-old daughter
New York Times
November 8, 2013
Toon of the Day
Moderation
Rob Rogers
SATURDAY
Quote of the Day
'So De Blasio, having won the Democratic primary,
swept to victory with every demographic of voters. It
turned out that New Yorkers - black, white,
Hispanic middle, class or poor - were ready to hear
a message about the unacceptable inequality in the
city and the need for the rich to pay their share. And
he won by a landslide.
'Rightwing Democrats and the Republicans are
already prophesying Armageddon. The platform De
Blasio ran on was contrary to every piece of
accepted political wisdom of both the Democratic
political elite in America and its Labour equivalent
on this side of the Atlantic. But the right wing of the
Labour party has prided itself on learning from the
Democrats, since the earliest days of Tony Blair and
New Labour. Will they be so keen to learn from Bill
de Blasio?'
Diane Abbot, Labour Party member
of Parliament for Hackney North
and Stoke Newington, East London,
UK
The Guardian
November 7, 2013
Toon of the Day
Criminal Profiles
Jeff Danziger
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