... and it has the Congressional Democrats written all over it.
Blago.
Rangel.
Murtha.
Harmon.
Feinstein.
Over and over and over and over and over...
So much for the most ethical Congress. So much for clean politics.
SWM seeking responsible political party for voter registration. (D)/(R) need not apply.
21 April, 2009
16 April, 2009
Snowball Fight In Hell
What ever happened to the phrase "My country, right or wrong!"? Or "America: Love It Or Leave It!"?
These were always two of the most prominent cries of the modern American Conservative. Yet today, with nary a conservative in power in the Federal government, some of them not only want to leave the country, but take the entire country with them. In my last post, I referred to the Texas Legislature and their prominent effort to undermine the sanctity of our Constitution. And now, I refer to yet another member of the Several States that not only seeks to undermine the Constitution, but to singlehandedly declare it null and void.
Georgia.
It has long been a conservative talking point that all liberals are actively seeking to destroy this country, that their every action and desire is designed to tear apart the Constitution and render it null and void. These words from the Georgia State Senate, as well as those from Texas, put that talking point to a final rest. For when all is said and done, no liberal has passed through any resolution, whether binding or non-binding, calling for the dissolution of our country as a whole. No liberal has ever called for the wholesale abandonment of the ties of liberty and fraternity that bind our civilization together.
Yet now that there are no conservatives within the top echelons of the Federal government, it is the conservatives that are seeking to dissolve the United States of America.
They justify it in many ways. Here are two:
Yet where was this concern for the sanctity of the Constitution over the past few years? The suspension of the writ of habeas corpus? The restrictions of the free press? Signing statements that nullify, or even reverse, a bill as it is signed into law? The right to a fair and speedy trial? To confront witnesses and seek the assistance of council? The uses of cruel and unusual punishments? The uses of government funds without a clear statement and account of those funds? The denial of the full faith and credit between the rules and laws of other states? All of these things have been railed against by liberals. Yet not once have they threatened to dissolve this country, this Constitution, and this great nation.
Not once.
Conservatives claim that liberals hate America.
Liberals are not the ones seeking to destroy her.
These were always two of the most prominent cries of the modern American Conservative. Yet today, with nary a conservative in power in the Federal government, some of them not only want to leave the country, but take the entire country with them. In my last post, I referred to the Texas Legislature and their prominent effort to undermine the sanctity of our Constitution. And now, I refer to yet another member of the Several States that not only seeks to undermine the Constitution, but to singlehandedly declare it null and void.
Georgia.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that any Act by the Congress of the United States, Executive Order of the President of the United States of America or Judicial Order by the Judicatories of the United States of America which assumes a power not delegated to the government of the United States of America by the Constitution for the United States of America and which serves to diminish the liberty of the any of the several States or their citizens shall constitute a nullification of the Constitution for the United States of America by the government of the United States of America. Acts which would cause such a nullification include, but are not limited to:
I. Establishing martial law or a state of emergency within one of the States comprising the United States of America without the consent of the legislature of that State.
II. Requiring involuntary servitude, or governmental service other than a draft during a declared war, or pursuant to, or as an alternative to, incarceration after due process of law.
III. Requiring involuntary servitude or governmental service of persons under the age of 18 other than pursuant to, or as an alternative to, incarceration after due process of law.
IV. Surrendering any power delegated or not delegated to any corporation or foreign government.
V. Any act regarding religion; further limitations on freedom of political speech; or further limitations on freedom of the press.
VI. Further infringements on the right to keep and bear arms including prohibitions of type or quantity of arms or ammunition; and
That should any such act of Congress become law or Executive Order or Judicial Order be put into force, all powers previously delegated to the United States of America by the Constitution for the United States shall revert to the several States individually. Any future government of the United States of America shall require ratification of three quarters of the States seeking to form a government of the United States of America and shall not be binding upon any State not seeking to form such a government.
Yet now that there are no conservatives within the top echelons of the Federal government, it is the conservatives that are seeking to dissolve the United States of America.
They justify it in many ways. Here are two:
- A 3% tax increase to an income level that will only ever apply to a very few of them is the equivalent of socialism.
- A refusal to allow the religious beliefs of a single religion to control the public education is a violation of the free exercise of religion.
Yet where was this concern for the sanctity of the Constitution over the past few years? The suspension of the writ of habeas corpus? The restrictions of the free press? Signing statements that nullify, or even reverse, a bill as it is signed into law? The right to a fair and speedy trial? To confront witnesses and seek the assistance of council? The uses of cruel and unusual punishments? The uses of government funds without a clear statement and account of those funds? The denial of the full faith and credit between the rules and laws of other states? All of these things have been railed against by liberals. Yet not once have they threatened to dissolve this country, this Constitution, and this great nation.
Not once.
Conservatives claim that liberals hate America.
Liberals are not the ones seeking to destroy her.
14 April, 2009
To Dissolve An Imperfect Union
Today, the State of Texas, with the due complicity of Governor Rick Perry, has put forth the beginnings of their second secession from this Union.
Doesn't sound very pretty when I state it like that, does it? Yet by a straight reading of the Resolution in question leaves little doubt of which direction they are steering towards. Salient points bolded for easy reference:
Therefore, by placing the will of a single State above that of the United States, the logical conclusion of this action would be to secede completely from the will of the United States in specific, and from membership of the United States as a whole.
We, the People, as citizens of these United States, cannot simply pick and choose which laws we will follow, which laws we will break with impunity, and which laws we can be punished for violating. Likewise, neither can the several States participate in the same process. It is part and parcel of our current national identity, our pledge of "Allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands" that we recited every day in childhood, that the will and the power of the national government supersedes that of the individual just as much as it does that of the several states.
The question must come into our heads whether or not I disagree with the intent and the spirit of the Legislature in regard to this resolution. The simple answer is that I do not disagree, and entirely concur with their spirit. I disagree primarily with their method, which bypasses the one significant safeguard designed to protect the will and desires of the several states, and the citizens of these United States, established at the same time as the 10th Amendment:
The First Amendment, specifically the right to petition the government for the redress of grievances.
It has long been the complaint of the Antifederalists, as well as their spiritual descendants in the current Republican Party, that the Supreme Court has usurped the primary power of judicial review without specific authorization under the Constitution, dating all the way back to the Marshall Court in Marbury v Madison. Yet given the 1st Amendment right to petition, who else could bell the cat, could enforce a ruling that the government is in violation of its own rules and regulations, but the judges of the Federal Bench? Would we petition to Congress that the laws they pass are unconstitutional? Would we petition to the President, and his Executive Branch, that the laws he is sworn to uphold and enforce are against the document that he is sworn to protect and defend? And, more importantly, how would we enforce those petitions against a government unwilling to view the validity of our petitions and arguments against their already established laws?
We cannot do so. The Constitution is clear in that regard, that the laws and regulations of the Federal Government supersede all others. Yet it is the Court that does have that capacity, that power, and that ability. I find myself citing John Marshall again: "Should Congress, in the execution of its powers, adopt measures which are prohibited by the Constitution, or should Congress, under the pretext of executing its powers, pass laws for the accomplishment of objects not intrusted to the Government, it would become the painful duty of this tribunal, should a case requiring such a decision come before it, to say that such an act was not the law of the land."
Just as we cannot pick and choose the laws we accept as valid, we cannot also pick and choose the parts of the Constitution we accept as valid. We cannot claim 10th Amendment rights without using 1st Amendment rights. We cannot protect 2nd Amendment rights without protecting 5th Amendment rights. We cannot rule based on the Commerce Clause or the Necessary and Proper Clause without holding them against Limitation Clauses.
And we cannot "form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity," by violating the Constitution that contains those same words. To do otherwise is against the letter of the Constitution, and against spirit of these United States.
Doesn't sound very pretty when I state it like that, does it? Yet by a straight reading of the Resolution in question leaves little doubt of which direction they are steering towards. Salient points bolded for easy reference:
RESOLVED, That the 81st Legislature of the State of Texas hereby claim sovereignty under the Tenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States over all powers not otherwise enumerated and granted to the federal government by the Constitution of the United States; and, be it furtherPlease note that this resolution is citing the 10th Amendment.
RESOLVED, That this serve as notice and demand to the federal government, as our agent, to cease and desist, effective immediately, mandates that are beyond the scope of these constitutionally delegated powers; and, be it further
RESOLVED, That all compulsory federal legislation that directs states to comply under threat of civil or criminal penalties or sanctions or that requires states to pass legislation or lose federal funding be prohibited or repealed; and, be it further
RESOLVED, That the Texas secretary of state forward official copies of this resolution to the president of the United States, to the speaker of the house of representatives and the president of the senate of the United States Congress, and to all the members of the
Texas delegation to the congress with the request that this resolution be officially entered in the Congressional Record as a memorial to the Congress of the United States of America.
The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.I cite in rebuttal Article 6 of the Constitution:
This Constitution, and the Laws of the United States which shall be made in Pursuance thereof; and all Treaties made, or which shall be made, under the Authority of the United States, shall be the supreme Law of the Land; and the Judges in every State shall be bound thereby, any Thing in the Constitution or Laws of any State to the Contrary notwithstanding.The Legislature of the State of Texas is, on the face of it, in clear violation of the National Supremacy Clause as printed above. By unilaterally declaring that the national government must "cease and desist, effective immediately, mandates that are beyond the scope" of the Constitution, they attempt to place the Republic of Texas over the Republic of these United States. Yet under the same Constitution, the laws of the Federal Government lie supreme over the laws of the several States.
Therefore, by placing the will of a single State above that of the United States, the logical conclusion of this action would be to secede completely from the will of the United States in specific, and from membership of the United States as a whole.
We, the People, as citizens of these United States, cannot simply pick and choose which laws we will follow, which laws we will break with impunity, and which laws we can be punished for violating. Likewise, neither can the several States participate in the same process. It is part and parcel of our current national identity, our pledge of "Allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands" that we recited every day in childhood, that the will and the power of the national government supersedes that of the individual just as much as it does that of the several states.
The question must come into our heads whether or not I disagree with the intent and the spirit of the Legislature in regard to this resolution. The simple answer is that I do not disagree, and entirely concur with their spirit. I disagree primarily with their method, which bypasses the one significant safeguard designed to protect the will and desires of the several states, and the citizens of these United States, established at the same time as the 10th Amendment:
The First Amendment, specifically the right to petition the government for the redress of grievances.
It has long been the complaint of the Antifederalists, as well as their spiritual descendants in the current Republican Party, that the Supreme Court has usurped the primary power of judicial review without specific authorization under the Constitution, dating all the way back to the Marshall Court in Marbury v Madison. Yet given the 1st Amendment right to petition, who else could bell the cat, could enforce a ruling that the government is in violation of its own rules and regulations, but the judges of the Federal Bench? Would we petition to Congress that the laws they pass are unconstitutional? Would we petition to the President, and his Executive Branch, that the laws he is sworn to uphold and enforce are against the document that he is sworn to protect and defend? And, more importantly, how would we enforce those petitions against a government unwilling to view the validity of our petitions and arguments against their already established laws?
We cannot do so. The Constitution is clear in that regard, that the laws and regulations of the Federal Government supersede all others. Yet it is the Court that does have that capacity, that power, and that ability. I find myself citing John Marshall again: "Should Congress, in the execution of its powers, adopt measures which are prohibited by the Constitution, or should Congress, under the pretext of executing its powers, pass laws for the accomplishment of objects not intrusted to the Government, it would become the painful duty of this tribunal, should a case requiring such a decision come before it, to say that such an act was not the law of the land."
Just as we cannot pick and choose the laws we accept as valid, we cannot also pick and choose the parts of the Constitution we accept as valid. We cannot claim 10th Amendment rights without using 1st Amendment rights. We cannot protect 2nd Amendment rights without protecting 5th Amendment rights. We cannot rule based on the Commerce Clause or the Necessary and Proper Clause without holding them against Limitation Clauses.
And we cannot "form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity," by violating the Constitution that contains those same words. To do otherwise is against the letter of the Constitution, and against spirit of these United States.
31 March, 2009
To The Curb
I read this just before I had to go and walk the dogs tonight. And there is very little to do but think while walking dogs. So my conclusion?
With the new information about his former aide's lobbying firm, I'm finally convinced.
All the conservatives who have been railing against John Murtha's corruption over these long years were right. Those who were only railing against him since he stood up on the floor of the House and called Bush43's Iraq plans for what they were, which could only be summarized by a long string of four-letter words, will unfortunately feel the most justified out of them all. They would be the ones that are prominently mentioning his opposition to the AUMF.
The first sort will be the ones that stood more on principle. The second sort will be the ones who stand on partisan politics, and principles be damned.
I'm not much for solely being for partisan politics.
Let the investigations be opened, and let the sunshine in.
With the new information about his former aide's lobbying firm, I'm finally convinced.
All the conservatives who have been railing against John Murtha's corruption over these long years were right. Those who were only railing against him since he stood up on the floor of the House and called Bush43's Iraq plans for what they were, which could only be summarized by a long string of four-letter words, will unfortunately feel the most justified out of them all. They would be the ones that are prominently mentioning his opposition to the AUMF.
The first sort will be the ones that stood more on principle. The second sort will be the ones who stand on partisan politics, and principles be damned.
I'm not much for solely being for partisan politics.
Let the investigations be opened, and let the sunshine in.
26 March, 2009
Vulgarity Ensues
There are times when I really wish I didn't have my self-imposed ban on cussin' and swearin' on this blog, for I would be saying very little, aside from quite a few choice four-letter words, after reading this.
A police officer was placed on administrative leave Thursday over a traffic stop involving an NFL player whom he kept in a hospital parking lot and threatened to arrest while his mother-in-law died inside the building.Officer Robert Powell also drew his gun during the March 18 incident involving Houston Texans running back Ryan Moats in the Dallas suburb of Plano, police said.
Seriously, folk. Where the heck did this cop think they were going? No one does a pleasure jaunt to a hospital at night. If someone is in a hurry to get to a hospital, then they obviously will have a damn serious reason to do so. Therefore, it should be an automatic conclusion that something very wrong was in progress, even to a ticked-off cop wanting to prove that his unit was bigger than that of anyone else. And he was in such desperate need to prove it, he even drew his weapon.
Rule number one: You don't draw unless you plan to use it. Period. This was not a hostile situation on the parts of Mr. Moats and his family, but of the officer's own creation. His attitude and belligerence was the entire reason for any possible escalation that Officer Powell could have cited, and the police commanders of Dallas have the intestinal fortitude to be embarrassed and ashamed about it.
This is not a cop that should be on the streets, whether Denver or Dallas or Detroit or Dachau. If his atrocious behavior was not a clear indication of this fact, than his obvious failure to possess basic intelligence and analytical skills should be enough of a hint.
Pray that the Dallas Police Department fires him and runs him out of the city on a rail, if only to raise the average intelligence level in the city.
03 March, 2009
Could Someone Explain This?
Without using buzzwords, unprovable innuendo, or excessive talking points...
How the bloody hell is the economic stimulus package considered socialism?
Because until someone shows me why, I'm going to continue thinking of it as just about enough of a good thing. Taxes cut significantly, spending on long-tern infrastructure construction... It's got the whole ball of wax, the whole nine yards, and butters both sides of the bread at the same time, plus saws through nails and still can cut a tomato just like this.
Is it perfect? Not by a long shot, and not even if Senator McCain can carve some of the pure pork out of the bill in conference. Is it better than doing absolutely nothing? Arguably, absolutely nothing is what we should have done to a good chunk of the financial corporations we've bailed out, who should have been forced to sleep in the beds they made.
Various CEOs, CFOs, hedge fund operators, and their like-minded cohorts have caused this mess while drinking themselves under the table while yelling and screaming obscenities at the top of their lungs. And the average American taxpayer is picking up the tab, including breakage, as well as tipping the bartender very heavily in apology for our extremely drunk friend. (Those who are local attendees of the Blogger Bashes might draw a parallel to a certain night at Breckenridge Brewery during that big ice storm... Just saying.)
So why don't Mr. and Mrs. Average American Tax Payer deserve a break?
Please show your work.
How the bloody hell is the economic stimulus package considered socialism?
Because until someone shows me why, I'm going to continue thinking of it as just about enough of a good thing. Taxes cut significantly, spending on long-tern infrastructure construction... It's got the whole ball of wax, the whole nine yards, and butters both sides of the bread at the same time, plus saws through nails and still can cut a tomato just like this.
Is it perfect? Not by a long shot, and not even if Senator McCain can carve some of the pure pork out of the bill in conference. Is it better than doing absolutely nothing? Arguably, absolutely nothing is what we should have done to a good chunk of the financial corporations we've bailed out, who should have been forced to sleep in the beds they made.
Various CEOs, CFOs, hedge fund operators, and their like-minded cohorts have caused this mess while drinking themselves under the table while yelling and screaming obscenities at the top of their lungs. And the average American taxpayer is picking up the tab, including breakage, as well as tipping the bartender very heavily in apology for our extremely drunk friend. (Those who are local attendees of the Blogger Bashes might draw a parallel to a certain night at Breckenridge Brewery during that big ice storm... Just saying.)
So why don't Mr. and Mrs. Average American Tax Payer deserve a break?
Please show your work.
13 February, 2009
See Your Gypsy
You know, the more I think about it, the more I feel like I was missing something with this post...
And now I remember what it was.
Popular culture reference secured. So the Gypsy that remains.
And now I remember what it was.
Popular culture reference secured. So the Gypsy that remains.
31 January, 2009
Ein Zwei Drei Beer
Hmmm... Must be February already. Because it is now time for...
ROCKY MOUNTAIN BLOGGER BASH!!!!!111!1ELEVENTYONE!
See David for details.
But in the meantime, unless you thought I wrote that title for the completely obvious reason, let me introduce the latest party animal...
Ein!
And yes. His name really is a reference to Cowboy Bebop. We're all dorks over here. It's completely natural.
He's pretty much a classic herding dog when it comes to his behavior. If you are, Heaven forbid, attempting to leave his domain, he will sound the alarm and charge. If you are, Heaven forbid, trying to enter his domain, he will sound the alarm and charge.
I swear that he'd be the world's best guard dog if he would only grow a bit more. But, yet again, he's a corgi. Low, lean, fast, and able to get into amazingly difficult places. I know this for certain, as I still have the claw marks on my chest from when he crawled into my bed and slipped under the covers just so he could wash Alice's back. Alice was not amused. Violently so. And her claws were already aimed at me, so... Yeah.
(Oh. And a PSA for folks out there: Bactine is not meant to be applied to nipples. Not even male ones. You have been warned.)
(And you may laugh now.)
His most endearing quality? His addiction to belly rubs. That and he really wants to be a lap dog, even though he is far too big to fit in my lap.
ROCKY MOUNTAIN BLOGGER BASH!!!!!111!1ELEVENTYONE!
See David for details.
But in the meantime, unless you thought I wrote that title for the completely obvious reason, let me introduce the latest party animal...
Ein!
And yes. His name really is a reference to Cowboy Bebop. We're all dorks over here. It's completely natural.
He's pretty much a classic herding dog when it comes to his behavior. If you are, Heaven forbid, attempting to leave his domain, he will sound the alarm and charge. If you are, Heaven forbid, trying to enter his domain, he will sound the alarm and charge.
I swear that he'd be the world's best guard dog if he would only grow a bit more. But, yet again, he's a corgi. Low, lean, fast, and able to get into amazingly difficult places. I know this for certain, as I still have the claw marks on my chest from when he crawled into my bed and slipped under the covers just so he could wash Alice's back. Alice was not amused. Violently so. And her claws were already aimed at me, so... Yeah.
(Oh. And a PSA for folks out there: Bactine is not meant to be applied to nipples. Not even male ones. You have been warned.)
(And you may laugh now.)
His most endearing quality? His addiction to belly rubs. That and he really wants to be a lap dog, even though he is far too big to fit in my lap.
28 January, 2009
John Galt Wept
This. Quoted in full.
Yeah. Right. I personally say this.
From each according to his ability, to each according to his need.
And now, we the American people are no longer able.
Then there's this little gem from the original article:
Not even Ayn Rand would have supported this double-standard existence.
Even if it winds up tossing us further into a depression, Atlas has got to shrug.
We gave them money. All of us gave them money. A great big heaping crapload of money. They begged for it. They plead for it. They crawled on hands and knees over deep-pile carpeting and broken-glass tales of woe. And this is how they want to do things? Beg and plead for financial assistance and then play politics as usual immediately afterwards?This just can’t be true:
Three days after receiving $25 billion in federal bailout funds, Bank of America Corp. hosted a conference call with conservative activists and business officials to organize opposition to the U.S. labor community’s top legislative priority.Participants on the October 17 call—including at least one representative from another bailout recipient, AIG —were urged to persuade their clients to send “large contributions” to groups working against the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA), as well as to vulnerable Senate Republicans, who could help block passage of the bill.
If this is true, not another damned dime. Let everyone of them fail. Not one more tax cut to businesses with over 50 people, and in fact, raise their damned taxes. Send the money to unemployment benefits funds, because corporate America simply can not be trusted with anything. In the most serious economic crisis in decades, and these folks are spending the money to organize to crush labor.
Seriously, if this is accurate, these people are sick.
Yeah. Right. I personally say this.
From each according to his ability, to each according to his need.
And now, we the American people are no longer able.
Then there's this little gem from the original article:
"This is the demise of a civilization," said Marcus. "This is how a civilization disappears. I am sitting here as an elder statesman and I'm watching this happen and I don't believe it."Preserve us from retail magnates with Darcy Taggart complexes, excessive ego inflation, and one of the most overbearing and insensate self-martyrdoms in recorded history. Abandoning his personal Atlantis to try and salvage his civilization...
...
"This bill may be one of the worst things I have ever seen in my life," he said, explaining that he could have been on "a 350-foot boat out in the Mediterranean," but felt it was more important to engage on this fight.
Not even Ayn Rand would have supported this double-standard existence.
Even if it winds up tossing us further into a depression, Atlas has got to shrug.
08 January, 2009
On A Personal Note
I now have a dog.
Literally. I have a dog. A 7-year old purebred Welsh corgi. A very overweight corgi, as you could probably tell from the above photo, so she is on a diet and exercise regimen until we can get her back down to a healthier weight.
Gypsy here has attached herself to me with such strength that not even duct tape could equal. From the first time she laid eyes on me, she determined that I was going to be her owner. The only other time I have seen this happen is when Alice came home for the first time.
And yes. It is weird having a dog. For one thing, scooping poop in public isn't exactly the most suave thing in the world. On the other hand, I now get plenty of attention at Starbucks when I go for my venti whole milk white mocha. Well, okay. SHE gets plenty of attention. I just sit and bask in her glow.
I'm not too certain about the name Gypsy, however. It goes against the naming tradition I've built. Buffy the Miller Moth Slayer, Alice in Wonderland, and Wendy Goes To Neverland. I should change it to Buttercup for a Princess Bride reference.
Don't ask me what the cats think about this. The response would be unprintable.
07 January, 2009
First Horse, THEN Cart
Ryan Grim of the HuffPo:
We have the opportunity to start cleaning up the trash in this party. And what are the progressives wanting to do instead? Score political points and increase their market share.
And, of course, everyone is also playing their favorite game known as What Digby Said:
As a party, we need to run smarter, not simply run outside the lines for the sake of intra-partisan squabbles. Given how the DCCC has become an old-boys network of mostly self-serving snake-oil salesmen and seems to be mostly interested in pandering to J Street consultancies, it would be better if someone were to revamp the national party's networks along these lines rather than doing it only for those particular politicos that follow their own agendas.
After all, it worked out oh so well for the Club For Growth, the Christian Coalition, Heritage Foundation and the National Center For Public Policy Research... In the limelight for a few short years, and all geared up to be on the descendant for a while.
I have to wonder if the Progressive wing of the Democratic Party would rather just blow everything in a blaze of glory, just like the GOP did over the first 6 years of the Bush43 Administration, rather than strive for something more lasting. If so, they're certainly on the right track with this ever-present push for allegedly "better" Democrats.
If these folks have their way, I predict that not only will the Dem majority only last 4 years, but they will be lucky to not pull Obama down with them and keep him from a second term.
The organization will be dedicated to finding progressive candidates who might have an outside shot at winning and "take them under our wing," in Green's words. The group's name -- the Progressive Change Campaign Committee, or the P-triple-C -- is a reference to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, which financially backs Democratic candidates it thinks have a shot to win but does not prioritize progressive Democrats over conservative Democrats. The DCCC has had a patchy relationship with the liberal blogosphere, which charges it with relying too heavily on old-school expensive Democratic consultants and not being willing to take chances on progressive candidates.How about maybe we instead work on getting Democrats with intestinal fortitude, personal integrity, and a basic comprehension of ethics and morality? You know, so we don't have to deal with more episodes of Reid being spineless, Rangel being crooked, Blago being evil, Murtha being clueless, Caroline Kennedy being... Well, a self-serving entitlement-burdened Kennedy, basically.
We have the opportunity to start cleaning up the trash in this party. And what are the progressives wanting to do instead? Score political points and increase their market share.
And, of course, everyone is also playing their favorite game known as What Digby Said:
This is an essential component of progressive politics. The stale CW of the village Democrats gets passed on to congressional candidates by simple osmosis --- there's no creativity, no use of modern methods and no real progressive message and the progressive ends up losing.Regretfully for the progressive wing of the party, they end up losing not because of the ever-dreadful conventional wisdom and less-than-full-throated support from the DCCC but because those particular politics don't always play well in Peoria, much less any given congressional district. Or, as in one of the races referenced in the HuffPo article, they can run such a poor campaign that they couldn't even get elected for the Berkeley City Council.
As a party, we need to run smarter, not simply run outside the lines for the sake of intra-partisan squabbles. Given how the DCCC has become an old-boys network of mostly self-serving snake-oil salesmen and seems to be mostly interested in pandering to J Street consultancies, it would be better if someone were to revamp the national party's networks along these lines rather than doing it only for those particular politicos that follow their own agendas.
After all, it worked out oh so well for the Club For Growth, the Christian Coalition, Heritage Foundation and the National Center For Public Policy Research... In the limelight for a few short years, and all geared up to be on the descendant for a while.
I have to wonder if the Progressive wing of the Democratic Party would rather just blow everything in a blaze of glory, just like the GOP did over the first 6 years of the Bush43 Administration, rather than strive for something more lasting. If so, they're certainly on the right track with this ever-present push for allegedly "better" Democrats.
If these folks have their way, I predict that not only will the Dem majority only last 4 years, but they will be lucky to not pull Obama down with them and keep him from a second term.
31 December, 2008
Much Ado About Maybe Nothing
The folks who specialize in Sturm und Drang are at it again.
No. Not the radical feminists who insist that the failure of Barack Obama to select Hillary as his Vice President was further proof that the male conspiracy against them is much broader than previously expected.
The OTHER conspiracy theorists. The ones that even Art Bell thought were kooks. Yes, that Art Bell, who gave airtime to the supporters of National Tin-Foil Hat Day.
It starts off rather innocuously. Thanks to the Discovery Channel's well rerun special on supervolcanoes, most folks that watch television know that (Insert ominous voice here.) someday the Yellowstone Caldera will erupt again, maybe some day soon. (Close ominous voice.)
With the recent swarm of earthquakes in the Caldera, unfortunately, out come the crunchy nut bars in full force. Regretfully, the linked article is so full of sensational claims that makes it almost impossible to blockquote effectively, so I will explain. No. Forget that. It'll take too long.
Let me sum up.
The Illuminati, using a long-defunct Soviet subsonic weapon, is forcing the ground itself to weaken in the caldera so that it can erupt, cause massive devastation, combine with a 9.0 Los Angeles earthquake and a nuclear detonation in New York City, usher in the New World Order, force the relocation of half the (surviving) American population, bring about the Antichrist and herald the destruction of the entire world!
Not even James Patterson's ghost writers could use such a plot. Maybe Douglas Preston, though...
Is the possibility of an eruption something to be concerned about? Absolutely. Massive death, destruction, mayhem, and missing out on knowing who will be the next American Idol? (Snark!) Certainly a part of everyone's not-to-do lists for the coming year. The significance is overwhelming already, folks. The second-to-last thing we need is to set it to the X-Files theme music.
The last thing, however, is to be grossly ignorant as to the actual impact. From James Pethokoukis, a blogger at the U.S. News & World Report: (Bold mine.)
What would actually happen? It depends on the actual event itself. If it is large enough, a good number of American citizens will be dead within the first hour or two, and a lot more over the next week as panic sets in. If it is not large enough, we breathe in ashes and soot for the next few months until things settle out of the atmosphere. For this to be an "extinction-level event", as James suggests, would require an eruption beyond what the historical records show can happen. Years of deteriorated sunlight, miniature ice ages, loss of most plant species in the Northern Hemisphere and the virtual dessication of a continent? Can happen. Complete annihilation of all life? I'd sooner believe in talking laboratory rats taking over the world.
Will this be Happy Fun Time at the park? Doubtful. Can basic human stubbornness and ingenuity cause some of us to survive? Flights to Australia and New Zealand will be booked solid to give it a good shot, even though it might turn into the set of Mad Max movies for real. Will the dead turn into the undead, requiring all owners of the Zombie Survival Guide to register with the government so as to provide trained countermeasures against the mindless hordes? It's more likely than the Antichrist, especially if the talent for American Idol is as pathetic as it was last year. (Paula Abdul: Zombie Queen.)
As it stands, there should be a wait-and-see attitude. Prepare for the merely bad, certainly. But drive the susceptible population into panic beyond measure in order to solicit donations to your religious organization in return for the salvation of the gullible? Or wax grandiose in order to simply sell a webpage so that your paycheck won't be under the ax when it's time for cuts?
I have a four-letter word for that garbage:
NARF!
No. Not the radical feminists who insist that the failure of Barack Obama to select Hillary as his Vice President was further proof that the male conspiracy against them is much broader than previously expected.
The OTHER conspiracy theorists. The ones that even Art Bell thought were kooks. Yes, that Art Bell, who gave airtime to the supporters of National Tin-Foil Hat Day.
It starts off rather innocuously. Thanks to the Discovery Channel's well rerun special on supervolcanoes, most folks that watch television know that (Insert ominous voice here.) someday the Yellowstone Caldera will erupt again, maybe some day soon. (Close ominous voice.)
With the recent swarm of earthquakes in the Caldera, unfortunately, out come the crunchy nut bars in full force. Regretfully, the linked article is so full of sensational claims that makes it almost impossible to blockquote effectively, so I will explain. No. Forget that. It'll take too long.
Let me sum up.
The Illuminati, using a long-defunct Soviet subsonic weapon, is forcing the ground itself to weaken in the caldera so that it can erupt, cause massive devastation, combine with a 9.0 Los Angeles earthquake and a nuclear detonation in New York City, usher in the New World Order, force the relocation of half the (surviving) American population, bring about the Antichrist and herald the destruction of the entire world!
Not even James Patterson's ghost writers could use such a plot. Maybe Douglas Preston, though...
Is the possibility of an eruption something to be concerned about? Absolutely. Massive death, destruction, mayhem, and missing out on knowing who will be the next American Idol? (Snark!) Certainly a part of everyone's not-to-do lists for the coming year. The significance is overwhelming already, folks. The second-to-last thing we need is to set it to the X-Files theme music.
The last thing, however, is to be grossly ignorant as to the actual impact. From James Pethokoukis, a blogger at the U.S. News & World Report: (Bold mine.)
This is even worse than the conspiracy theorists above. From the Tin Foil Brigade, you can expect grandiose claims and slippery-slope arguments as a matter of course. It's what they do. This is a (now allegedly) respectable blogger in a (very long time allegedly) respectable media publication, crying around in a Chicken Little impersonation until someone comes to check on the wolf.And what if the supervolcano blew? Kind of like if a giant rock hit the Earth. A planet killer. An extinction-level event. Let me quote the words of President Tom Beck (Morgan Freeman) in the comet-hitting-earth film Deep Impact:
Within a week, the skies will be dark with dust from the impact and they will stay dark for years. All plant life will be dead within weeks. Animal life within a few months. So that's it. Good luck to us all.
Such a scenario would be very bad for equity values and the outlook for the labor market.
What would actually happen? It depends on the actual event itself. If it is large enough, a good number of American citizens will be dead within the first hour or two, and a lot more over the next week as panic sets in. If it is not large enough, we breathe in ashes and soot for the next few months until things settle out of the atmosphere. For this to be an "extinction-level event", as James suggests, would require an eruption beyond what the historical records show can happen. Years of deteriorated sunlight, miniature ice ages, loss of most plant species in the Northern Hemisphere and the virtual dessication of a continent? Can happen. Complete annihilation of all life? I'd sooner believe in talking laboratory rats taking over the world.
Will this be Happy Fun Time at the park? Doubtful. Can basic human stubbornness and ingenuity cause some of us to survive? Flights to Australia and New Zealand will be booked solid to give it a good shot, even though it might turn into the set of Mad Max movies for real. Will the dead turn into the undead, requiring all owners of the Zombie Survival Guide to register with the government so as to provide trained countermeasures against the mindless hordes? It's more likely than the Antichrist, especially if the talent for American Idol is as pathetic as it was last year. (Paula Abdul: Zombie Queen.)
As it stands, there should be a wait-and-see attitude. Prepare for the merely bad, certainly. But drive the susceptible population into panic beyond measure in order to solicit donations to your religious organization in return for the salvation of the gullible? Or wax grandiose in order to simply sell a webpage so that your paycheck won't be under the ax when it's time for cuts?
I have a four-letter word for that garbage:
NARF!
12 December, 2008
The Orwell & Huxley Home Owners Association, Inc.
Read this. The whole thing.
And then tell me that the first thoughts going through your head did not involve either Brave New World or 1984.
Then again, knowing some of my readers, they would probably prefer a planned absolute economic-free-market/social-authoritarian environment. I, however, would be quickly running the other direction while screaming about Big Brother-ism and corporate arcologies and obscure Phillip K. Dick quotations.
If this really is the future of urban planning, then leave me the heck out of it. I'll take my sprawling, allegedly obsolete cities any day of the week, just as long as my cat can still sleep on my bed and I can still stay up well past 11 in the evening without any loss of services.
Just remember, folks. It is not whether or not someone can take your freedom away from you, but whether someone can get you to gladly volunteer to surrender your freedom to them. And in that line, all authoritarians, whether left or right, will always be easy to identify.
[Turn Signal: Gibson]
And then tell me that the first thoughts going through your head did not involve either Brave New World or 1984.
Then again, knowing some of my readers, they would probably prefer a planned absolute economic-free-market/social-authoritarian environment. I, however, would be quickly running the other direction while screaming about Big Brother-ism and corporate arcologies and obscure Phillip K. Dick quotations.
If this really is the future of urban planning, then leave me the heck out of it. I'll take my sprawling, allegedly obsolete cities any day of the week, just as long as my cat can still sleep on my bed and I can still stay up well past 11 in the evening without any loss of services.
Just remember, folks. It is not whether or not someone can take your freedom away from you, but whether someone can get you to gladly volunteer to surrender your freedom to them. And in that line, all authoritarians, whether left or right, will always be easy to identify.
[Turn Signal: Gibson]
09 December, 2008
How Long?
Please tell me how long it will take for my party to clean itself up?
Judging from Exhibit A, Exhibit B, and the recently-defeated Exhibit C...
I think the Los Angeles Raiders will win three straight Super Bowls first. "But OC," you say, "the Raiders play in Oakland!"
You think maybe that's the point? My friends, I am thinking it is time to call a shovel a shovel here and admit that, when in positions of power, the party designation beside their name does not really mean a damn thing when it comes to defying the ultimate corruption that power holds.
Regretfully, there is no reset button in life, however useful it may be. For the more corruption scandals that come to light, the more I believe that scrapping the entire system is the only way stop this. It is not a Republican instinct, nor is it a Democratic instinct, to lift your own boat at the expense of lowering the rest. Instead, it is merely a human condition. (For all I know, it could be a condition of sapience. I'll let you know when I have an exclusive interview with Our New High Overlords From Zzyzx Prime.)
It is time to permanently remove all fragments of pay-for-play politics, graft, corruption, and all other forms of how one hand washes the other. Unfortunately, it seems like the only way to do so is to remove the government of the people in charge, by the people in charge, and for the people in charge.
Unfortunately, I think it will take a visit from Zzyzx Prime in order for that to happen.
Judging from Exhibit A, Exhibit B, and the recently-defeated Exhibit C...
I think the Los Angeles Raiders will win three straight Super Bowls first. "But OC," you say, "the Raiders play in Oakland!"
You think maybe that's the point? My friends, I am thinking it is time to call a shovel a shovel here and admit that, when in positions of power, the party designation beside their name does not really mean a damn thing when it comes to defying the ultimate corruption that power holds.
Regretfully, there is no reset button in life, however useful it may be. For the more corruption scandals that come to light, the more I believe that scrapping the entire system is the only way stop this. It is not a Republican instinct, nor is it a Democratic instinct, to lift your own boat at the expense of lowering the rest. Instead, it is merely a human condition. (For all I know, it could be a condition of sapience. I'll let you know when I have an exclusive interview with Our New High Overlords From Zzyzx Prime.)
It is time to permanently remove all fragments of pay-for-play politics, graft, corruption, and all other forms of how one hand washes the other. Unfortunately, it seems like the only way to do so is to remove the government of the people in charge, by the people in charge, and for the people in charge.
Unfortunately, I think it will take a visit from Zzyzx Prime in order for that to happen.
07 December, 2008
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