It'll be hard for me to vote for Obama in 2012 because he's continuing a lot of the abuses of power I complained about under GWB (Illegal wars, Gitmo, etc)
And it'll be hard to vote for any of the current Repubs because of the usual reasons (God, Gays, Guns, Abortion, Tax Cuts and all-round dickishness).
Good politicians know all this. Their advisers know how to slice and dice the polling results in order to tweak their candidate's positions so he picks up more votes than he loses on any given issue.
So it's become a lot easier for me to understand the complete non sequitur of so many people simply rejecting the only thing that has any chance of fixing whatever they think is wrong. How do you justify participating in a system when you're convinced the system itself is broken?
But when the system is in such dire need of remedy, how do you justify withdrawing your support for it?
Jun 19, 2011
Jun 18, 2011
The Drought
Back in April, Gov Rick Perry called for Texans to pray because the drought was kinda bad. Here's what it's been like since then:
Drought Map
Something else I wonder about: Perry has been playing the Labor Arbitrage game, and he's done a good bit of bragging about the influx of people because there're so many new jobs in Texas. First, Texas leads the US in minimum-wage jobs. Second, the majority of new jobs in Texas are minimum wage or minimum plus 20% jobs. Third, a big increase in population only puts a greater strain on things like infrastructure and resources like clean water.
Just sayin'.
Drought Map
Something else I wonder about: Perry has been playing the Labor Arbitrage game, and he's done a good bit of bragging about the influx of people because there're so many new jobs in Texas. First, Texas leads the US in minimum-wage jobs. Second, the majority of new jobs in Texas are minimum wage or minimum plus 20% jobs. Third, a big increase in population only puts a greater strain on things like infrastructure and resources like clean water.
Just sayin'.
Voter Fraud
Repubs make a big noise about how the Dems try to steal elections, but some how there's never any evidence of it at the end of loud and distracting investigations.
And then, there's this.
And then, there's this.
Voters in Maryland started getting mysterious phone calls on election day last year, that told them to "relax" and not bother going to the polls because President Barack Obama and Gov. Martin O'Malley "have been successful."
"Everything is fine. The only thing left is to watch on TV tonight," the robocalls said.Some truth from The Brennan Center at NYU Law.
Jun 17, 2011
Today's Deep Thought
It's illegal in the US for any person to own another person - because people are people and not property.
If a corporation is a person, then why is it legal for anybody to own it?
If a corporation is a person, then why is it legal for anybody to own it?
Jun 16, 2011
Service To Their Country
This young man is a great example of who we want serving in a professional military, and a perfect example of what we stand to lose when we make stupid decisions on what we want those pros to do.
Jun 15, 2011
Col Wilkerson
When I piss and moan about 'honor', this is part of what I have in mind.
Larry Wilkerson is no hero owing to the simple fact that he didn't say any of this when he was in a position to make it stick, and to make a difference by coming out with it. It's possible that he was just too close to the problem at the time; or that he was living the nightmare scenario for any military pro, where you start to get the feeling that the people in charge are leading you off the cliff, but your training and experience are telling you just to keep your head down and do the work. "Theirs not to reason why" and all that shit.
In the end, though, every soldier has to make a judgement call as to whether or not his orders are inside the legal and ethical boundaries. You don't ever stop being responsible for your own actions.
Watch the whole series here.
Larry Wilkerson is no hero owing to the simple fact that he didn't say any of this when he was in a position to make it stick, and to make a difference by coming out with it. It's possible that he was just too close to the problem at the time; or that he was living the nightmare scenario for any military pro, where you start to get the feeling that the people in charge are leading you off the cliff, but your training and experience are telling you just to keep your head down and do the work. "Theirs not to reason why" and all that shit.
In the end, though, every soldier has to make a judgement call as to whether or not his orders are inside the legal and ethical boundaries. You don't ever stop being responsible for your own actions.
Watch the whole series here.
Jun 14, 2011
Ah Yes, I Get It Now
Today, Stan Collender is the smartest guy in the room.
Here's his lead-in to his blog post at Capital Gains and Games.
Here's his lead-in to his blog post at Capital Gains and Games.
On the one hand, many Congressional Republicans are insisting that they don’t have to vote for an increase in the debt ceiling because the presumed dire consequences of not acting won’t be that bad. On the other hand, they’re also insisting that not raising the debt ceiling will indeed be harmful and, therefore, the White House had better agree to do what they want.Spectacular.
Nice Try, Willard
Romney's new campaign ad takes a line from an Obama speech, and tries to do a turn-around. It fails badly, but I'm not sure anybody's gonna notice.
My question: In that one line - or anywhere in that whole speech - how exactly did Obama say unemployed people were bumps in the road?
This is typical Repub nonsense. They're so sure you have your head up your ass, they think that's how they need to talk to you. It's as if they're saying that there were so many people unemployed, it caused a recession.
If your premise is false, it's impossible for your conclusion to be true.
My question: In that one line - or anywhere in that whole speech - how exactly did Obama say unemployed people were bumps in the road?
This is typical Repub nonsense. They're so sure you have your head up your ass, they think that's how they need to talk to you. It's as if they're saying that there were so many people unemployed, it caused a recession.
If your premise is false, it's impossible for your conclusion to be true.
Jun 13, 2011
And Jesus Wept
Rick Santorum stakes his claim to the extreme. He says he wants criminal prosecution for a doctor who performs an abortion procedure, but he won't support penalties for a woman seeking the abortion. So there's the catch (and there's always a catch). These guys just want to look good for their wingnuts, and make it seem a little less than complete horseshit for the rest of us, while they push for laws that will turn out to be impossible to enforce, and overturned on the first challenge in any court.
I'm very glad the Dems are finally getting around to calling these dipwads out, even tho' the Press Poodles can't quite figure out how to ask these guys what exactly the law would require.
Scenario: You cross paths at the grocery store with a woman you're casually acquainted with. You chat, and she tells you she's pregnant for the 4th time, and you get the impression she's not too thrilled about it. You see her again 5 months later. She's obviously not pregnant now. She tells you she "lost the baby a few weeks ago", and she seems not only relieved, but kinda happy about it. Under Santorum's Law, are you obligated (as a good citizen) to report this to the local authorities so they can question her and decide whether or not there's been illegal activity?
I'm very glad the Dems are finally getting around to calling these dipwads out, even tho' the Press Poodles can't quite figure out how to ask these guys what exactly the law would require.
Scenario: You cross paths at the grocery store with a woman you're casually acquainted with. You chat, and she tells you she's pregnant for the 4th time, and you get the impression she's not too thrilled about it. You see her again 5 months later. She's obviously not pregnant now. She tells you she "lost the baby a few weeks ago", and she seems not only relieved, but kinda happy about it. Under Santorum's Law, are you obligated (as a good citizen) to report this to the local authorities so they can question her and decide whether or not there's been illegal activity?
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