Oct 20, 2011
It Takes A While
From prototype to market in less than 20 years - wow.
Introduced at a trade show in Chicago in 1961, this thing featured a flat screen (4 inches thick) and a programmable recorder.
(hat tip The Atlantic)
Sheesh
It would be so good to get back to where we could count on the reporter being as smart as the subject of the interview.
My only recollection of anything even remotely to do with SDS: When I was a sophomore in high school in the fall of 1968, some of the senior footballers declared a random Friday "Chuck Taylor Day". This being in the time of strict dress codes, it was considered quite the rebellion to be wearing your low-cut black Converse tennies outside of gym class. The school administration was so paranoid about this turning into some kind of "SDS-style demonstration" (their words), they became alarmed enough to call the "instigators" into the office and grill them about their motives; wanting desperately to avoid any kind of potentially violent clash.
I can understand being worried over safety issues, and it was 1968 after all, but you can't superimpose today's sensibilities on it. The simplest fact is that they were scared witless by the thought of a few dozen 17-year-olds wearing tennis shoes - that's how threatening the prospect of a little civil disobedience is to authoritarian power.
My only recollection of anything even remotely to do with SDS: When I was a sophomore in high school in the fall of 1968, some of the senior footballers declared a random Friday "Chuck Taylor Day". This being in the time of strict dress codes, it was considered quite the rebellion to be wearing your low-cut black Converse tennies outside of gym class. The school administration was so paranoid about this turning into some kind of "SDS-style demonstration" (their words), they became alarmed enough to call the "instigators" into the office and grill them about their motives; wanting desperately to avoid any kind of potentially violent clash.
I can understand being worried over safety issues, and it was 1968 after all, but you can't superimpose today's sensibilities on it. The simplest fact is that they were scared witless by the thought of a few dozen 17-year-olds wearing tennis shoes - that's how threatening the prospect of a little civil disobedience is to authoritarian power.
Oct 19, 2011
A Poll Of One
There are good reasons not to vote for Obama (Gitmo, Drones, Death Warrants, Torture, etc). But when I look at the alternatives, I can't justify voting against him.
He knows all that, btw. He also knows that the Hard-Left Hippies are finally getting a little traction; pulling the whole thing back towards the center - and he knows this is a good thing for him.
I think he's having an FDR moment. He's been constantly scolded for not doing "what we sent him up there to do", but until recently, all of the real pressure has come from the Repubs and Blue Dogs. Now that Planet Occupy is kinda up and runnin', he can finally point at something tangible and tell John and Mitch, "See? The people are making me do this - opposing me will cost you".
Next, I don't think the Repubs have any real chance to glom onto the Occupy thing. They spent the first 3 weeks trashing it, which has had the effect of putting the Democrats' brand on it. They know they screwed the pooch and are only now trying to cozy up with it. I think the Dems have played it about right so far. They know they'll get more votes from the Occupy folks than the Repubs will get, so it's a matter of working the leverage.
Lastly, if the Dems are careful not to let it look like a co-opting thing, they could benefit in a big way.
He knows all that, btw. He also knows that the Hard-Left Hippies are finally getting a little traction; pulling the whole thing back towards the center - and he knows this is a good thing for him.
I think he's having an FDR moment. He's been constantly scolded for not doing "what we sent him up there to do", but until recently, all of the real pressure has come from the Repubs and Blue Dogs. Now that Planet Occupy is kinda up and runnin', he can finally point at something tangible and tell John and Mitch, "See? The people are making me do this - opposing me will cost you".
Next, I don't think the Repubs have any real chance to glom onto the Occupy thing. They spent the first 3 weeks trashing it, which has had the effect of putting the Democrats' brand on it. They know they screwed the pooch and are only now trying to cozy up with it. I think the Dems have played it about right so far. They know they'll get more votes from the Occupy folks than the Repubs will get, so it's a matter of working the leverage.
Lastly, if the Dems are careful not to let it look like a co-opting thing, they could benefit in a big way.
Oct 18, 2011
Solution Seeks Problem
The need to fight rampant voter fraud is one of those really scary sounding memes the Repubs love to trot out as they try to beat back the tide of Youth and Minority voting that they fervently believe threatens to wash them away at any moment.
Rampant Voter Fraud is also - you guessed it - almost completely baseless.
Here's a good look at the "issue" in The Tennesseean (not exactly a bastion of liberal bias):
Rampant Voter Fraud is also - you guessed it - almost completely baseless.
Here's a good look at the "issue" in The Tennesseean (not exactly a bastion of liberal bias):
“They identified a lot of fraud, but very, very, very, very, very, very little of it could be prevented by identification at the polls,” Levitt said.
The remainder involved vote buying, ballot-box stuffing, problems with absentee ballots, or ex-convicts voting even though laws bar them from doing so. Over the same seven-year time period covered by the cases Levitt reviewed, 400 million votes were cast in general elections.
“If there was evidence of this, we’d know about it,” said Elisabeth MacNamara, president of the League of Women Voters. Her organization, which has affiliates in every state, knows voter registrars, attends election meetings, observes and works at polls and is intimately aware of how the election system works.It's not about protecting the franchise. It's about keeping people from voting a certain way - in this case for Democrats - and it stinks. If a big majority (of either party) showed up in some state houses, the electees might grow some balls, step out of line, and then the Lords of Lucre will lose a big measure of control. And we can't have that now, can we?
Get Rich By Running For Office
I'm not sure I have a huge problem with this, but there is definitely something about it that stinks just a little.
“All candidates publish books and they offer them as premiums to donors, but most candidates aren’t buying them from their own companies,” he said. “It raises the question of his campaign contributions ending up in his own pocket.”Read all about it over at Bloomburg.
Occupy Dylan Ratigan
Here's an old-ish rant from a Dylan Ratigan show that aired a few months ago. I dunno if this is really what it's all about, but it's pretty close. The corrosive influence of money has to be addressed. And I love the passion - reminds me of what I get criticized for all the time. I kinda like the overly dramatic soundtrack too.
Signage
(From Occupy Wall Street) A couple of indications that this was definitely not a Tea Party rally:
1) The message is a bit long, so it requires some higher brain function to process the meaning.
2) All the words are spelled right.
1) The message is a bit long, so it requires some higher brain function to process the meaning.
2) All the words are spelled right.
Signage
From Occupy Boulder - an important message from an important bunch of voters. (hat tip to JR)
Oct 17, 2011
My Kinda Veteran
As long as the protesters fit the hippie/hipster stereotype, the police can function within a comfortable frame of reference. But throw 'em a curve, and they're lost - it blows their programming all to pieces.
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