Apparently I wasn't the only one who thought so.
Saturday, September 27, 2008
Thursday, September 18, 2008
The Spectacular Failure of "Conservative" Economic Policies
It is awe inspiring to see McCain scrambling to modify his economic message in response to the market collapse which was caused, in large part, by the very policies that he champions. His response is a bizarre kind of schizophrenia characterized by touting "conservative" economic policies while railing against the "greed" of Wall Street, which he endorsed deregulating.
I don't think you can effect real change to the behavior of Wall Street by calling them names. But McCain has already said that he doesn't understand economics "as well as I should".
Why then does he consider himself capable of setting policy? Well, I guess because his primary economic advisor is Phil Gramm, a veritable wizard who claims that america is in a "mental reccession" and that we've become "a nation of whiners".
So let me get this straight: when financial institutions are doing well, there should be no government oversight, and limited taxation, but when financial institutions fail due to lack of regulation, there should be massive government bailouts funded by taxpayers?
I don't think you can effect real change to the behavior of Wall Street by calling them names. But McCain has already said that he doesn't understand economics "as well as I should".
Why then does he consider himself capable of setting policy? Well, I guess because his primary economic advisor is Phil Gramm, a veritable wizard who claims that america is in a "mental reccession" and that we've become "a nation of whiners".
So let me get this straight: when financial institutions are doing well, there should be no government oversight, and limited taxation, but when financial institutions fail due to lack of regulation, there should be massive government bailouts funded by taxpayers?
Thursday, September 11, 2008
What's wrong with Sarah Palin?
Well, she's a deranged, sadistic lunatic for starters. But you probably already know that if you've been paying attention. Still, I thought it might be helpful to provide a semi-comprehensive compendium of the sheer awefulness of Palin for your convenience.
I really don't say this lightly, but I think she might be worse than George Bush. To his credit, at least Bush was a feckless, stupid, lazy, self-doubting, ineffectual stumblebum. Palin, on the other hand, is a not-very-stupid, politically savy, maniacal rinocerous on a rampage, who possesses wickedness similar in magnitude to Bush.
At least she's stopped claiming that she opposed the "bridge to nowhere" now that that claim has been roundly discredited. Hasn't she heard of the internet?
But Palin is a serial liar. The story she told about selling a jet on ebay that was purchased by the former Governor turned out to be untrue, as was the claim that she fired the Governor's chef. Neither of these minor fibs really matter, except that they demonstrate a troubling lack of judgement or forsight, a lack of a record substantial enough to stand on without embelishing, a proclivity to stretch the truth, and a base who will dumbly swallow that kind of crap without blinking. What if Obmama had committed such misrepresentations of fact? They wouldn't shut up about it from now until the election. (Instead, they have to completely invent controversies concerning pig lipstick, and the liberal media falls gleefully in step)
Then there's the abuse of power stuff. McCain's judgement must certainly be questioned after picking her in the midst of the troopergate
investigation in which Palin is credibly charged with firing her chief-of-police after he refused to fire her ex brother-in-law while he was involved in a fierce divorce and custody battle with her sister. Report coming in October... just in time.
And of course, there's the story about her trying to fire the Wasilla Librarian after she refused to ban books.
Book banning. It's 2008, folks.
Obviously, in keeping with her party's unwritten platform, she has an abysmal environmental record; opposing the protection of endangered species, and saying of global warming, "I'm not one, though, who would attribute it to being man-made."
We really don't need another anti-science administration.
Of course, I'm not going to mention her pregnant teenage daughter. Oops... I just did. So since the subject has been broached, the fact doesn't bother me. The only teenagers I knew who didn't have sex were the ones who couldn't; it's hardly a parenting issue. (But what might represent a parental short-coming is raising a daughter whose baby-daddy's myspace page says (said), "I'm a fuckin' redneck who likes to snowboard and ride dirt bikes. But I live to play hockey. I like to go camping and hang out with the boys, do some fishing, shoot some shit and just fuckin' chillin' I guess. Ya fuck with me I'll kick ass,") But study after study has shown that abstinance-only sex ed programs, which Palin favors, don't work, and moreover, that abstinence-only programs may increase the spread of STDs and teen pregancy. So could it be possible that Sarah Palin is actually responsible for her daughter's pregnancy in that way? It's worth contemplating.
While we're on the subject, check out this gem from McCain, from salon.com:
Would he support taxpayer funding for contraception in Africa to prevent the spread of AIDS? McCain initially replied that he preferred a program of abstinence education but would provide condoms in places where abstinence "was not being followed," that is, where sex is happening, which is everywhere. That was a stupid answer, which he credited to Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., his ultraright mentor on issues of reproductive rights and health.
Moments later, he wanted to amend his answer. "Let me think about it a little bit ... I don't know if I would use taxpayers' money ... I'm not informed enough on it. Let me find out ... I'm sure I have taken a position on it in the past ... I have to find out my position on it ... I am sure I am opposed to government funding. I am sure I support the president's policy on it." (Whatever! -- as his bottle-blond, Tupac-listening teenage daughter might crack on her campaign blog.)
A reporter followed up by inquiring whether McCain supports sex education that candidly discusses contraception and preventing the spread of AIDS and other disease, or whether he backs President Bush's abstinence-only education program. After a long pause, he said, "I think I support the president's policy." Does he believe that contraceptives help stop the spread of HIV? After another long pause, he replied, "You've stumped me."
That was too bizarre for the startled journalist. "I mean, I think you'd probably agree it probably does help stop it?" Realizing how foolish he sounded, the senator had a ready quip. "Are we on the Straight Talk Express?" Still, he stuck to his muddled answer: "I'm not informed enough on it. Let me find out. You know, I'm sure I've taken a position on it in the past. I have to find out what my position was. Brian, would you find out what my position is on contraception -- I'm sure I'm opposed to government spending on it, I'm sure I support the president's policies on it."
Wow! McCain's capacity to pander is just incredible. He doesn't know if condoms help prevent STDs? Of course he does. Liar.
But I digress.
Definitely, the most troubling thing about Palin is her kooky religious orientation. She is obviously entitled to her private religious beliefs, but I think that she crosses a line over which the country really needs to question how her religious beliefs would inform her governance. Palin spent most of her life at the Wasilla Church of God, a Pentacostal Church whose members engage in speaking-in-tounges and other such antics. That's fine, I guess. I do some strange things in my spare time too. But the troubling thing about the religious context which formed Palin's belief system is that they believe that the "End Times" are at hand: that a period of great calamity is imminent in which Jesus shows up and rescues all his "Chosen People" (read: white, American, Evangelical Christians) while relegating everyone else to Hell. Sarah Palin believes this will happen in her lifetime. Is it not fair, then, to question how that belief might inform her thinking on things like energy policy, global warming, environmental protection, or policy related to the, shall we say, "non-saved" citizenry? I mean, they're screwed anyway, right?
Then there are Palin's widely-circulated statements at the Wasilla Church of God when she spoke to a group of graduating students.
Video:
"I am do my part in doing things like working really, really hard to get a natural gas pipeline; about a 30 billion dollar project that's going to create a lot of jobs for Alaskans because it will have a lot of energy flowing through here. And pray about that also. I think God's will has to be done in unifying people and companies, so pray for that." -Sarah Palin
"I think God's will has to be done in unifying people and companies " ... to build a gas pipeline. Hmm. So God is working for the oil companies now? What that actually means is that Palin is one of those people who feels that what she wants is what God wants, a frightening trait she shares with George "I think God wants me to be President" Bush. I mean, if God is telling you what to do, you can't be wrong, right? This thinking leads to a kind of knee-jerk confidence in one's gut feelings at the expense of considering nuance, reading, or listening to experts. We've seen how such an approach worked out for Bush.
During the same speech, she said, "Pray for our military men and women who are striving to do what is right. Also, for this country, that our leaders, our national leaders, are sending [U.S. soldiers] out on a task that is from God. That's what we have to make sure that we're praying for, that there is a plan and that that plan is God's plan."
Iraq was "God's plan"? Surely he could have come up with a better idea.
I just can't end this post without mentioning Palin's stance on abortion, saying that she would oppose it even if her own daughter was raped. She would force her daughter to carry a baby that was the result of a violent rape. If that doesn't make her a deranged idealogue, I'm not sure what would.
Finally, what's up with Palin and other Republicans at the RNC making fun of Obama for being a Community Organizer, as if it were shameful or deficient to want to help disadvantaged members of one's community in one's early 20's? Maybe, to Republicans, that is incomprehensible.
I really don't say this lightly, but I think she might be worse than George Bush. To his credit, at least Bush was a feckless, stupid, lazy, self-doubting, ineffectual stumblebum. Palin, on the other hand, is a not-very-stupid, politically savy, maniacal rinocerous on a rampage, who possesses wickedness similar in magnitude to Bush.
At least she's stopped claiming that she opposed the "bridge to nowhere" now that that claim has been roundly discredited. Hasn't she heard of the internet?
But Palin is a serial liar. The story she told about selling a jet on ebay that was purchased by the former Governor turned out to be untrue, as was the claim that she fired the Governor's chef. Neither of these minor fibs really matter, except that they demonstrate a troubling lack of judgement or forsight, a lack of a record substantial enough to stand on without embelishing, a proclivity to stretch the truth, and a base who will dumbly swallow that kind of crap without blinking. What if Obmama had committed such misrepresentations of fact? They wouldn't shut up about it from now until the election. (Instead, they have to completely invent controversies concerning pig lipstick, and the liberal media falls gleefully in step)
Then there's the abuse of power stuff. McCain's judgement must certainly be questioned after picking her in the midst of the troopergate
investigation in which Palin is credibly charged with firing her chief-of-police after he refused to fire her ex brother-in-law while he was involved in a fierce divorce and custody battle with her sister. Report coming in October... just in time.
And of course, there's the story about her trying to fire the Wasilla Librarian after she refused to ban books.
Book banning. It's 2008, folks.
Obviously, in keeping with her party's unwritten platform, she has an abysmal environmental record; opposing the protection of endangered species, and saying of global warming, "I'm not one, though, who would attribute it to being man-made."
We really don't need another anti-science administration.
Of course, I'm not going to mention her pregnant teenage daughter. Oops... I just did. So since the subject has been broached, the fact doesn't bother me. The only teenagers I knew who didn't have sex were the ones who couldn't; it's hardly a parenting issue. (But what might represent a parental short-coming is raising a daughter whose baby-daddy's myspace page says (said), "I'm a fuckin' redneck who likes to snowboard and ride dirt bikes. But I live to play hockey. I like to go camping and hang out with the boys, do some fishing, shoot some shit and just fuckin' chillin' I guess. Ya fuck with me I'll kick ass,") But study after study has shown that abstinance-only sex ed programs, which Palin favors, don't work, and moreover, that abstinence-only programs may increase the spread of STDs and teen pregancy. So could it be possible that Sarah Palin is actually responsible for her daughter's pregnancy in that way? It's worth contemplating.
While we're on the subject, check out this gem from McCain, from salon.com:
Would he support taxpayer funding for contraception in Africa to prevent the spread of AIDS? McCain initially replied that he preferred a program of abstinence education but would provide condoms in places where abstinence "was not being followed," that is, where sex is happening, which is everywhere. That was a stupid answer, which he credited to Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., his ultraright mentor on issues of reproductive rights and health.
Moments later, he wanted to amend his answer. "Let me think about it a little bit ... I don't know if I would use taxpayers' money ... I'm not informed enough on it. Let me find out ... I'm sure I have taken a position on it in the past ... I have to find out my position on it ... I am sure I am opposed to government funding. I am sure I support the president's policy on it." (Whatever! -- as his bottle-blond, Tupac-listening teenage daughter might crack on her campaign blog.)
A reporter followed up by inquiring whether McCain supports sex education that candidly discusses contraception and preventing the spread of AIDS and other disease, or whether he backs President Bush's abstinence-only education program. After a long pause, he said, "I think I support the president's policy." Does he believe that contraceptives help stop the spread of HIV? After another long pause, he replied, "You've stumped me."
That was too bizarre for the startled journalist. "I mean, I think you'd probably agree it probably does help stop it?" Realizing how foolish he sounded, the senator had a ready quip. "Are we on the Straight Talk Express?" Still, he stuck to his muddled answer: "I'm not informed enough on it. Let me find out. You know, I'm sure I've taken a position on it in the past. I have to find out what my position was. Brian, would you find out what my position is on contraception -- I'm sure I'm opposed to government spending on it, I'm sure I support the president's policies on it."
Wow! McCain's capacity to pander is just incredible. He doesn't know if condoms help prevent STDs? Of course he does. Liar.
But I digress.
Definitely, the most troubling thing about Palin is her kooky religious orientation. She is obviously entitled to her private religious beliefs, but I think that she crosses a line over which the country really needs to question how her religious beliefs would inform her governance. Palin spent most of her life at the Wasilla Church of God, a Pentacostal Church whose members engage in speaking-in-tounges and other such antics. That's fine, I guess. I do some strange things in my spare time too. But the troubling thing about the religious context which formed Palin's belief system is that they believe that the "End Times" are at hand: that a period of great calamity is imminent in which Jesus shows up and rescues all his "Chosen People" (read: white, American, Evangelical Christians) while relegating everyone else to Hell. Sarah Palin believes this will happen in her lifetime. Is it not fair, then, to question how that belief might inform her thinking on things like energy policy, global warming, environmental protection, or policy related to the, shall we say, "non-saved" citizenry? I mean, they're screwed anyway, right?
Then there are Palin's widely-circulated statements at the Wasilla Church of God when she spoke to a group of graduating students.
Video:
"I am do my part in doing things like working really, really hard to get a natural gas pipeline; about a 30 billion dollar project that's going to create a lot of jobs for Alaskans because it will have a lot of energy flowing through here. And pray about that also. I think God's will has to be done in unifying people and companies, so pray for that." -Sarah Palin
"I think God's will has to be done in unifying people and companies " ... to build a gas pipeline. Hmm. So God is working for the oil companies now? What that actually means is that Palin is one of those people who feels that what she wants is what God wants, a frightening trait she shares with George "I think God wants me to be President" Bush. I mean, if God is telling you what to do, you can't be wrong, right? This thinking leads to a kind of knee-jerk confidence in one's gut feelings at the expense of considering nuance, reading, or listening to experts. We've seen how such an approach worked out for Bush.
During the same speech, she said, "Pray for our military men and women who are striving to do what is right. Also, for this country, that our leaders, our national leaders, are sending [U.S. soldiers] out on a task that is from God. That's what we have to make sure that we're praying for, that there is a plan and that that plan is God's plan."
Iraq was "God's plan"? Surely he could have come up with a better idea.
I just can't end this post without mentioning Palin's stance on abortion, saying that she would oppose it even if her own daughter was raped. She would force her daughter to carry a baby that was the result of a violent rape. If that doesn't make her a deranged idealogue, I'm not sure what would.
Finally, what's up with Palin and other Republicans at the RNC making fun of Obama for being a Community Organizer, as if it were shameful or deficient to want to help disadvantaged members of one's community in one's early 20's? Maybe, to Republicans, that is incomprehensible.
Monday, September 1, 2008
Impeachment
I really have no idea why the Democrats don't want to initiate impeachment hearings for Bush and Cheney. As I've said before, it's not a political question, but one of constitutional imperative; if crimes were committed (and there were myriad), there is a course of action that is constitutionally prescribed. It is not optional. Please sign the petition.
Here's a fun video...
Here's a fun video...
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