Look out, it's icky political stuff
Politics and government crud, except John McCain
Now relegated to Blogblivion...Tuesday, February 01, 2005
Yet another reason to homeschool.
This is frightening.
Interestingly enough, the choice of issues and the tone of the article make it seem to me that they’re afraid of high-schoolers turning into right-wing fanatics, when their education has obviously been limited in the usual attempt to turn them into left-wing fanatics.
Funny how that works.
Sunday, January 30, 2005
Frightening Frist.
There’s been some talk that Bill Frist might make a suitable Presidential candidate. Medpundit has provided me with another very good reason to reject him out of hand: his nightmare vision of the future of healthcare. Creepy.
Thursday, January 27, 2005
Fear of Man
This article, via Glenn, doesn’t surprise me. I am on a mailing list that includes the “Killer B’s”: Benford, Brin, and Bear. It’s on encouraging kids to read, and learn to read, through science fiction, which often is what will get an otherwise bored-with-reading kid hooked. There’s a lot of discussion of teaching ideas and so forth.
Lately it has also included bashing on Michael Crichton over being “anti-science,” not merely with State of Fear (which I have not yet read far, but is intriguing for the first few chapters that set things up), but in general.
Not that I would be surprised if some of the facts cited in Crichton’s book are debatable, but even if not a bonfire of delusion fed by power grabbing conspirators, that we are that responsible for climate change is a pretty haughty assumption for humans to make, given what Mr. Sun can do to climate simply by having a hyperactive billionth or so of a solar lifespan.
UPDATE: Added to today’s Beltway Traffic Jam.
Tuesday, January 25, 2005
Senility Or Worse On The Bench
We have this thing, it’s called the Constitution, and it has, you know, rules and limits on the government. Like unreasonable search and siezure being unacceptable, and a certain implicit expectation of privacy associated with those limits.
The court was aware of this when they ruled that authorities could not point see-inside devices, such as infrared detectors, at your house and gather valid evidence of anything.
The court somehow lost its collective mind in the interim, or in similar yet contrary prior rulings that they base this new one on, so now it is “legal” for drug sniffing dogs to check out your car at any old traffic stop or whatever other non-reason inspires the jackbooted thugs authorities in question.
Come on, “justices.” The war on drugs is hopelessly wrong. Why encourage it by trashing the very thing you are supposed to have the reading comprehension to uphold?
Friday, January 21, 2005
A Poll Of Sorts
Who has done more to fuck up this country than anyone else in YOUR lifetime?
His ten choices are quite interesting, and at least some of them would be on mine if I took the time for such a list. Just yesterday I was thinking about the evil of Rachel Carson, but didn’t come up with anything coherent to post about along those lines. Except he said “this country,” and her millions killed are primarily elsewhere.
Thursday, January 20, 2005
Inauguration
I came in about halfway through the inaugural speech, so the first paragraph I heard was:
A few Americans have accepted the hardest duties in this cause - in the quiet work of intelligence and diplomacy ... the idealistic work of helping raise up free governments ... the dangerous and necessary work of fighting our enemies. Some have shown their devotion to our country in deaths that honored their whole lives - and we will always honor their names and their sacrifice.
All in all, an excellent speech from what I saw and later read. They even seemed to approve of it on ABC afterward. Which I suppose makes sense when you can make comparisons to that awful yet amazingly revered President Wilson, the martyr Kennedy, and the rather mixed up yet generally worshipped Lincoln. He did a good job delivering it. I was surprised with the apparent reluctance of the applause at times, but I think there was a bit of “it’s cold, let’s get this over with and get the FCC-censored out of here” going on.
Sadie actually sat still and watched most of it from my lap. Then after she started stirring, she stopped again when the band started playing. Sort of an “ooh, I hear music!” reaction.
This term should be interesting. There’s no re-election to worry about. There’s no VP running afterward whose chances the administration can affect. With the disarray in available obvious candidates, being bold, taking chances, thinking big, and making major needed reforms will be as likely to help as hurt a candidate of the same party next time.
Candidates for 2008
Darn, we didn’t get our submission in for this before it closed. Too preoccupied with other things, and really it was a tough choice beyond a small number.
I must say I am pleased with the results. Our favorite won, and our least preferred lost. Beyond that it’s less clear, though Mitt seems to me like a good choice, if he could run competetively. I think it would be amusing for a Republican governor from Massachusetts to win the Presidency and show up the most recent Massachusetts Democrats to run and lose.
A better choice would be Bill Weld. He totally rocks. There are ways in which the state vastly improved and became less bureaucratic and more efficient that go back to his administration, helped by his successors. The registry of motor vehicles is no longer a laughingstock, for instance; more like a model of efficiency, with pretty decent customer service. It also helps that he’s more of a libertarian Republican, rather than a conservative Republican.
Chances are nobody else would have thought of Weld, so he wouldn’t have gotten enough points to make the list, but he’d have been on ours.
We’re kind of hoping 2008 will be a Rice versus Clinton race. That’ll be fun. It wipes out the female advantage Hillary would have and ups her by black, as Deb pointed out. It guarantees one way or another a woman will be President and gets that benchmark over with in an exciting way. If Hillary runs against most anybody the Republicans can put up the way it appears now, Hillary should win. In this house she’s hated yet respected, and not immune from garnering votes. Against McCain, for instance, there would be no contest.
I’d like to think there is something so personally visceral in people’s reactions to Bush that the next race will shed some of the animosity between sides. It should be interesting to see.
Anyway, the post is a selection by right of center bloggers of their most and least desired candidates for 2008. It’s definitely an interesting selection.
Wednesday, January 19, 2005
Boxer and Kerry: Pompous Losers
Michael King says “It sounds like Ketchup Boy is still sore over losing the election, and wants to take it out on whomever he can.”
Yeah, I would say so. He’s sent out another one of those propaganda e-mail thingies, with a subject of “Hold Bush and Rumsfeld Accountable!”
I think we did. We re-elected Bush, which would seem to imply general approval for his policy and staffing decisions. Kerry begs to differ. I present here the text of his letter without further comment:
I have just come back from Iraq. After several months consumed by the campaign trail, I wanted to make contact with our soldiers on the ground there. The first thing I want you to know is that, in very difficult circumstances, our brave soldiers are serving America with enormous skill and great courage.
In the Senate, we have a duty during times like these to hold our Defense Department accountable for the well-being of our troops. It’s one of the ways that our democracy makes our military the strongest in the world. And I can’t tell you how comforting it is as a soldier to know even if you don’t have a say over your own situation, the folks back home do.
I knew our soldiers were still facing hold ups getting the equipment they need, but I wanted to see it for myself. American troops deserve the best gear and equipment we can provide. But adequate vehicle armor remains in short supply.
A soldier who spoke up about these problems was told by Defense Secretary Rumsfeld, “you have to go to war with the army you have, not the army you want."1 Well, it’s been over two years since Rumsfeld planned this war. And whether he has the army he wants or not, he should at least have basic armor for army vehicles.
I’ll say this in the Senate, but I’m asking you to add your voice to mine:
“President Bush, for the sake of our troops, replace Rumsfeld now.”
http://www.johnkerry.com/replacerumsfeld
More than 500,000 called for Rumsfeld to resign during the presidential campaign. I’m renewing my call now—please renew yours too, and forward this email to friends to bring them on board. Add your name to mine here, and add your voice to mine by speaking out in your community as I will do in the US Senate for as long as it takes to remove Secretary Rumsfeld from his post:
http://www.johnkerry.com/replacerumsfeld
It’s a question of competence. Poor planning at the Pentagon is letting American soldiers down. According to the National Intelligence Council, the CIA director’s think tank, Iraq is now providing the next generation of “professionalized” terrorists with “a training ground, a recruitment ground, [and] the opportunity for enhancing technical skills."2 Our troops need a capable Secretary of Defense. At the very least, they absolutely need that.
I believe that together, the three million of us who worked together on the campaign can help the troops. We not only have a right to speak out against failed Bush policies: we have a duty to defend this country from a President who refuses to recognize the total inadequacy of his own Defense Secretary. That’s how democracy works. And that’s why America has worked all these years.
The campaign season is over, but our citizenship continues. I know from personal experience that citizens and Senators standing up for the truth can be a powerful combination. Now, with email and the Web as citizenship tools, we can make ourselves heard even more clearly. And I can’t tell you how inspired I am that you and I are using these tools to fight side-by-side for the things we believe in.
One more time: please join me in my call for President Bush to fire Donald Rumsfeld. He’s the man responsible for the well-being of our troops. He’s neglected his duty. He’s made excuses. It’s time for him to go.
Add your voice to mine in the Senate in calling for President Bush to replace Rumsfeld today.
http://www.johnkerry.com/replacerumsfeld
Thank you,
John Kerry.
_______________________
WHY RUMSFELD HAS TO GO!
1) Rumsfeld Blamed The Troops for Problems in IRAQ
Rumsfeld: “As you know, you have to go to war with the Army you have, not the Army you want.” [CNN, 12/9/04]
2) Rumsfeld Admitted Bush Administration Was Not Prepared for Iraqi Resistance
Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld admitted that “I am saying that—if you had said to me a year ago, ‘describe the situation you’ll be in today, one year later,’ I don’t know many people who would have described it—I would not have described it—the way it happens to be today. ... I certainly would not have estimated that we would have had the number of individuals lost that we have had lost in the last week.” [Rumsfeld News Conference, 4/15/04]
3) Rumsfeld Failed to Equip Troops in Iraq
Army Study Suggests One-Fourth of Casualties in Iraq Could Have Been Prevented If Troops Were Properly-Equipped at Beginning of War. Newsweek reported, “A breakdown of the casualty figures suggests that many U.S. deaths and wounds in Iraq simply did not need to occur. According to an unofficial study by a defense consultant that is now circulating through the Army, of a total of 789 Coalition deaths as of April 15 (686 of them Americans), 142 were killed by land mines or improvised explosive devices, while 48 others died in rocket-propelled-grenade attacks. Almost all those soldiers were killed while in unprotected vehicles, which means that perhaps one in four of those killed in combat in Iraq might be alive if they had had stronger armor around them, the study suggested. Thousands more who were unprotected have suffered grievous wounds, such as the loss of limbs.” [Newsweek, 5/3/04]
4) Rumsfeld Failed to Plan for Iraq War
In August 2003, the Joint Chiefs of Staff prepared a secret report assessing the post-war planning for Iraq. The report blamed “setbacks in Iraq on a flawed and rushed war-planning process.” It also said “planners were not given enough time” to plan for reconstruction. [Washington Times, 9/3/03]
5) Rumsfeld Failed To Sign Condolence Letters to Families of Soldiers Killed in War on Terror
ABC World News Tonight, “Now on the home front here, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld is under fire from some military families and members of the Congress. They’re upset that he has used a machine to attach his signature to some letters of condolence. More than a thousand of those letters have been sent to families who have lost sons and daughters in the global war on terror.” ABC (Yang) added, “After Ivan Medina’s twin brother Irving an Army Specialist was killed in Baghdad last year he got a letter of condolence from Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld. Today, Medina himself a veteran of Iraq said he was angered to learn that Rumsfeld never actually signed the letter or even saw it.” Medina: “Our commanders here in the United States who include the President and the Secretary of Defense don’t care about the troops. We’re just a number to them and that’s the wrong message to send back to our troops.” Yang: “In a statement Rumsfeld said he used a machine.” [ABC World News Tonight, 12/19/04]
Notes:
1. MSNBC, January 13, 2005
2. CNN, December 9, 2004
Okay, some comment after all. I think the dude needs to go back to being an undistinguished Senator who accidentally became a Presidential candidate Wesley Mouch style, by being the big fat zero at the confluence of less mindless if equally misguided influences, keep a low profile, and scramble to try to keep from being fired by the people of Massachusetts next time he runs. I don’t think he has any idea how eye-opening his candidacy for President was, as far as showing what an awful senator we have. His name isn’t Kennedy, so he doesn’t get automatic life tenure on account of a family name martyr mythos. Besides, Kennedy is an infinitely more distinguished man and senator than Kerry.
The Fundamental Unconnectedness of Friedman
Tom Bowler doesn’t exactly fisk Thomas “Kyoto” Friedman, but he does compare him to Victor Davis Hanson. Might as well be a fisking.
All of which reminds me of my impression of Friedman from reading a book of his columns someone loaned me in an effort to shed enlightenment upon my being. One can write faux Friedman simply through judicious use of the phrase “the Bush team” followed by something negative and likely wrong or misconstrued, and especially through mention of Kyoto as somehow relevant to, well, everything.
Which must make sense, because global warming affects the whole, you know, globe, which is everything, so it all relates. But I don’t think this is what Dirk Gently had in mind.
Tuesday, January 18, 2005
Buttinskies
Here is the perfect compliment to my post yesterday on movie times legislation: permits for rainwater.
Not Cali--Washington State, instead. Heh.
Monday, January 17, 2005
And in the dumb legislation category today we have…
A proposal to force publication of the real start time of movies.
Only in California.
UPDATE: Turns out the idiot isn’t from California! (Thanks, Andrew!) Guess that teaches me to read carefully before I post!
Sunday, January 16, 2005
China, Taiwan and Japan
Ian Hamet, who lives in China, has a scarily fascinating perspective on the news of Japan preparing defense plans for two of its island, against the assumption of a Chinese invasion of Taiwan and associated actions in the region.
It’s fairly lengthy, and touches on the Chinese power structure, the visceral, encouraged revulsion of the Japanese, and the direction things are taking if nothing upsets the cart. Which the very publicity about these plans risks doing, though I can see it being a “we know what you’re up to and don’t even think about it move,” misbegotten or not.
Aim Those Stones Properly
I have to agree with John Cole. There may be other reasons to dislike Kos. There may be reasons to disagree or even be revolted by what he believes or supports. However, he practiced as full disclosure as anyone ought to feel they need to practice.
Although we cruise over to Balloon Juice semi-regularly, this post was noticed via Glenn.
Wednesday, January 12, 2005
If you must be indocrinated, it’s nice to choose in what.
Coyote Blog has an interesting post on the potential flexibility of school choice plans. Given that we’re planning to homeschool in part so that we don’t have to spend our evenings beating* the socialism out of the kid(s), I think he’s got a pretty good idea.
*purely a figure of speech, people, purely a figure of speech
Tuesday, January 11, 2005
State of Power
Varifrank has read Michael Crichton’s State of Fear and reviews it at fascinating length. This just makes me all the more intrigued about reading it when Deb has finished it. I’m not going to quote the review, because you should read it all, except for one point, to note that this is a concept I had thought of:
Much as been made of the “Military Industrial Complex� in our culture, but Mr. Crichton brings out a new idea, the “Political-Legal-Media Complex� where certain agencies are interested in hyping a “State of Fear�.
Friday, January 07, 2005
Because they really do know better than you…or that’s what they want you to think, anyway.
Fantastic post at Coyote Blog classifying all of those folks who think they know better than you do and want to make sure the government enforces their brilliance on your butt. I’m not sure where the impulse for these people to try to remake your life in their own image comes from, but I wish they’d all just go away and leave the rest of us alone.
Thursday, January 06, 2005
Letter From Kerry
McGehee notes the effort underway to disrupt certification of the electoral vote in Congress. In the article he cites, they mention, and he emphasizes, that Kerry sent an e-mail in the past 36 hours, encouraging the antics. Here is the text of that e-mail, less the salutation at the top:
No American citizen should wake up the morning after the election and worry their vote wasn’t counted. No citizen should be denied at the polls if they are eligible to vote. And, as the greatest, wealthiest nation on earth, our citizens should never be forced to vote on old, unaccountable and non transparent voting machines from companies controlled by partisan activists.
Tomorrow, members of Congress will meet to certify the results of the 2004 presidential election. I will not be taking part in a formal protest of the Ohio Electors.
Despite widespread reports of irregularities, questionable practices by some election officials and instances of lawful voters being denied the right to vote, our legal teams on the ground have found no evidence that would change the outcome of the election.
But, that does not mean we should abandon our commitment to addressing those problems that happened in Ohio. We must act today to make sure they never happen again.
I urge you to join me in using this occasion to highlight our demand that Congress commit itself this year to reforming the electoral system. A Presidential election is a national federal election but we have different standards in different states for casting and counting votes. We need a national federal standard to solve the problems that occurred in the 2004 election. I will propose legislation to help achieve this.
Florida 2000 was a wake up call. But the Republicans who control Congress ignored it. Will they now ignore what happened in 2004?
There are nearly 3,000,000 of you receiving this email. We accomplished so much together during the campaign. Now let’s use our power to make sure that at least one good thing comes from the voting rights problems of the 2004 election. If we want to force real action on election reform, we’ve got to demand that congressional leaders hold full hearings. Make sure they hear from you and help hold them accountable.
Speaker Dennis Hastert: 1-202-225-0600
Leader Bill Frist: 1-202-224-3135And please report that you’ve made your call right here:
http://www.johnkerry.com/signup/electoral_reform.phpI want every vote counted because Americans have to know that the votes they stood in line for, fought for, and strived so hard to cast in an election, are counted. We must make sure there are no questions or doubts in future elections. It’s critical to our democracy that we investigate and act to prevent voting irregularities and voter intimidation across the country. We can’t stand still as Congressional leaders seek to sweep well-founded voter concerns under the rug.
Please join with me in calling Speaker Hastert and Leader Frist and telling them that you want action on election reform now.
A recent report from Representative John Conyers (D-Michigan) reveals very troubling questions that have not yet been answered by Ohio election officials. I commend the Democratic National Committee for its announcement this week that the DNC will be investing resources and reaching out to non-partisan academics in a long term study of Ohio voting irregularities. I am only sorry that we haven’t seen the same from Ohio Secretary of State Blackwell and GOP officials.
Congress must play a positive, proactive role on this issue. That’s why I will soon introduce legislation to reform our election system, ensuring transparency and accountability in our voting system and that all Americans have an opportunity to vote and have their vote counted.
Please remember to let us know that you made your call when you’re done. We’re hoping to ensure House and Senate leaders’ offices hear our demand for action on election reform in meaningful way. Please take a moment to let us know you have made your call here: http://www.johnkerry.com/signup/electoral_reform.php
Thank you,
John Kerry
P.S. Thanks to all those who participated in our USO “phone home” campaign last week. The totals are coming in from the USO, and they are thrilled with your generosity and support for our brave men and women in uniform. We will send you totals as we get them.
Is John Kerry behind or supportive of this e-mail? Well, the e-mail is from “John Kerry,” address of info@johnkerrry.com . It is paid for by “Friends of John Kerry, Inc., P.O. Box 34640, Washington DC, 20043, U.S.A.”
He’s at least allowing people to use his name in vain, so he can be treated as having authorized it. But is he encouraging the actions by Boxer and CBC? Or is he merely saying “let’s make sure this can’t happen again”?
You never can tell.
Who would have guessed that John Kerry is considerably more sane than Al Gore?
In related news, here’s the sort of thing I’m talking about when I say that Mass is less bizarre than Cali. Barbara Boxer outweirds John Kerry by a large margin:
“I have concluded that objecting to the electoral votes from Ohio is the only immediate way to bring these issues to light by allowing you to have a two-hour debate to let the American people know the facts surrounding Ohio’s election,” Boxer wrote in a letter to Rep. Stephanie Tubbs Jones (news, bio, voting record), D-Ohio, a leader of the Democratic effort.
The action seems certain to leave Bush’s victory intact because both Republican-controlled chambers would have to uphold the objection for Ohio’s votes to be invalidated. But supporters of the drive hope their move will shine a national spotlight on the Ohio voting problems.
Underscoring that the outcome was not in doubt, Kerry, who conceded to Bush the day after the Nov. 2 election, said he would not join the challenge. The four-term Massachusetts senator was in the Middle East, thanking U.S. troops for their service.
In a statement, Kerry said there are “very troubling questions” about the Ohio voting and he would present a plan later to improve voting procedures.
Or maybe we’re just spoiled because he doesn’t go to work, ‘eh?
Did you catch that gratuitous “Republican-controlled chambers,” as though Democrat-controlled chambers would find all those extra votes in Ohio instead of keeping their heads buried ostrich-style? Heh. After seeing what’s happened in Washington state, I have no doubt they could.
Via Acidman, who probably mentioned it because, on some level, it amused him.
UPDATE: Jeff Goldstein elaborates.
Monday, January 03, 2005
California is weird, example #43,877,012.
I’ve been missing the heck out of Cali lately, but I have to agree with Jen that there are more than three million good reasons not to live there. (I knew Cali was in desperate straits when Mass seemed an improvement, but that is, as they say, a whole other topic.)
In any case, Michelle Malkin has highlighted an article from the Modesto Bee on the latest round of weird legislation in the Bear Flag State. I suppose this sort of thing is only weird if you aren’t the sort of compulsive who thinks that kids ought to be raised the way that the state dictates they should be raised, so consider yourself warned. Each intrusion seems so small and sensible, but together they make up something so ugly as to make the most beautiful of states unlivable.
One of the more interesting side effects of having a baby is that it has brought my libertarian impulse into full flower. On the other hand, when the state dictates whether or not your teenager is allowed to use a tanning booth, or where your kids are allowed to sit in your car, maybe that impulse isn’t so much libertarian as it is just human.
Saturday, January 01, 2005
Year End/Beginning Stuff and More
There’s some great stuff over at Hennessy’s View.
I enjoyed his predictions, and his year in review, but there’s more there as well
Thursday, December 30, 2004
And after the skydiving, you just might need the painkillers…
King of Fools points to a Thomas Sowell column about a rather odd facet of human nature...of the kind that would be amusing if it didn’t result in illnesses and deaths. Perception is a really weird thing sometimes.
Tuesday, December 28, 2004
The law of unintended consequences, example #7,442,381
Legislating people into buying SUVs.
Actually, sometimes I wonder if these things aren’t some sort of thinly-veiled disapproval of people who breed; after all, if we take away your ability to transport your family, you’ll have to stop having kids, right?
Heh. That’ll work about as well as not building roads in an attempt to keep people from going where you don’t want them to go. Or, say, restricting the housing supply with weird zoning to keep people from moving to town. Proven winners, those.
And yes, the bulk of this post is a thinly-veiled attempt not to go off on my normal rant about government mandated safety devices threatening the lives of your children should you attempt to decide for yourself where in the car they should sit.
Thursday, December 23, 2004
Dear WIC,
Just so you know, I had my 6 week postpartum checkup 6 weeks or so ago, but thanks for sending the reminder. We’re not rich, but we’re doing just fine, and I don’t need or want your damned “Personalized Nutrition Consultation” or your “Checks for Free, Healthy Food.”
Now quit wasting my money pestering me and go help someone who needs it, m’kay?
Love,
the Jedi
Wednesday, December 22, 2004
Merry Chr- Oops, Happy Holidays
Yesterday I went shopping at Wal-Mart for presents for the house Deb and Sadie. It went rather well, besides spending too much.
One funny thing I noticed, though. Periodically they had a “thank you for shopping Wal-Mart” guy come on the PA system with announcements. It became obvious he was under orders to say “happy holidays” and not merry Christmas. He kept goofing and trying to correct himself with the more correctly political phrase.
I dunno. These retailers rely heavily on Christmas shopping. Seems kind of… dangerous, almost… to start dissing the reason for most of their sales this time of year.