Try Robert Samuelson madness instead. According to this, we should build the pipeline so that it can spill oil here instead of elsewhere, and so that it can bring oil and jobs here, except, of course, when it sends them elsewhere (which, of course, is more likely than not).
"The cynicism is breathtaking," he says of the President's decision-making. Really? It's not as bad as your cognitive dissonance, which is positively Olympian.
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Sunday, January 22, 2012
And Speaking of God ...
I don't often agree with Cal Thomas but, when he writes a column in which he effectively denounces his career in promoting the role of the religious right in politics, its worth reading.
The Slow, Sad Death Of A Fantasy
Timothy Egan's recent Times column on the Tea Party really says it all. You can link to it here, but I'm taking the liberty of quoting two parts of it. From the column itself:
"In truth, the Tea Party gang never intended to govern, or — God forbid — compromise. They were birthed by Fox News and right-wing radio, where fact-challenged outrage is the blood that keeps the heart pumping."
And from one of the posted comments:
"It's called "cognitive dissonance". Being lower middle class, and still voting Republican. How do they get them to do it?
Well, it's simple really. Ignore all the bad stuff like income and tax disparity, and accentuate, religion, gun rights, patriotism, and the military, right to life, and kind of, make a club about it! The club is like the way people dress in Ralph Lauren clothes, where you feel American and traditional. Cowboy boots, pickup trucks, it's all about feeling good and ignoring the fact that you really aren't in the club yet, you're almost there, and so close, and you can so vividly imagine yourself being that wonderful American.
Naturally, you would never vote against the club. This is a place you will eventually be and you don't want to get there and not be able to tell everyone that you always voted Republican all your life, because you believe in American Republican values!
It's also like a lottery ticket. You won't win, you never will. But that "feeling" of having that fantasy is worth the expense. It's the feeling of being and getting there, and finally part of it.
So human, and so sad and exploitative."
"In truth, the Tea Party gang never intended to govern, or — God forbid — compromise. They were birthed by Fox News and right-wing radio, where fact-challenged outrage is the blood that keeps the heart pumping."
And from one of the posted comments:
"It's called "cognitive dissonance". Being lower middle class, and still voting Republican. How do they get them to do it?
Well, it's simple really. Ignore all the bad stuff like income and tax disparity, and accentuate, religion, gun rights, patriotism, and the military, right to life, and kind of, make a club about it! The club is like the way people dress in Ralph Lauren clothes, where you feel American and traditional. Cowboy boots, pickup trucks, it's all about feeling good and ignoring the fact that you really aren't in the club yet, you're almost there, and so close, and you can so vividly imagine yourself being that wonderful American.
Naturally, you would never vote against the club. This is a place you will eventually be and you don't want to get there and not be able to tell everyone that you always voted Republican all your life, because you believe in American Republican values!
It's also like a lottery ticket. You won't win, you never will. But that "feeling" of having that fantasy is worth the expense. It's the feeling of being and getting there, and finally part of it.
So human, and so sad and exploitative."
Not So Fast, Terry!
Terry Keenan of The New York Post thinks that Bain Capital's role in the government bail-out is a net plus for her guy, Romney. If that's true, however, isn't that also a net plus for the role of government as the ultimate investment bank--the one on which every one ultimately depends (including Bain)?
Sorry, Terry, but this is a draw, at best. So we come back to the fact that our guy can imitate Al Green at the Apollo, but your guy can't do the Top Ten on Letterman without looking like he's facing a firing squad.
Score one for Team Obama.
Sorry, Terry, but this is a draw, at best. So we come back to the fact that our guy can imitate Al Green at the Apollo, but your guy can't do the Top Ten on Letterman without looking like he's facing a firing squad.
Score one for Team Obama.
Tax The Traders!
It will raise revenue and slow down the proliferation of bad business deals that exist solely to generate short term profits.
When even a conservative French president thinks it's a good idea, maybe the rest of us can afford to do so as well.
When even a conservative French president thinks it's a good idea, maybe the rest of us can afford to do so as well.
Maybe Obama Really IS Bringing Us Together, After All
Even Tea Party members are beginning to realize he's not so bad.
His opponents seem to have largely bet on the idea that they're much smarter than he is, and they're losing that battle. Personally, I'm not surprised.
His opponents seem to have largely bet on the idea that they're much smarter than he is, and they're losing that battle. Personally, I'm not surprised.
The Politics of Opportunity
Charles Blow's rebuttal to Mitt Romney's "politics of envy" diatribe. It should become Obama's rebuttal as well.
That is, when he's not talking about what he's accomplished. Something all of us should be doing.
That is, when he's not talking about what he's accomplished. Something all of us should be doing.
This Is Why Science Matters
Because that's where we can make our own miracles. This is extraordinary.
Good News For All Of Us, Except Republicans
People are finally beginning to wake up. The politics of distraction may be over. Perhaps, now, finally, it can be time for the politics of progress.
Perhaps this is even stronger proof.
Or this; it turns out that their best shot is someone they can't really stand.
Perhaps this is even stronger proof.
Or this; it turns out that their best shot is someone they can't really stand.
Well, Good For You, Mr. Brooks!
As is the case from time to time, I agree with him. Liberals need to be willing to reform government in order to regain the people's trust of it. But true reform is something that conservatives might not welcome, since modern conservatism draws its political plutonium from hatred of government, rather than from any positive ideas of its own.
You want to reform government, Mr. Brooks? We're already on board. Your cats are the ones you need to herd. Good luck!
You want to reform government, Mr. Brooks? We're already on board. Your cats are the ones you need to herd. Good luck!
On The Other Hand, They're Eating Themselves Alive
When capitalism runs out of things to consume, the only thing left to consume will be capitalists--and, perhaps, capitalism itself. This make me think we may already be there.
The Answer, Of Course, Is "Yes"
I want to do whatever I can to save the United States. But, when I read something like this, I worry that it's already gone. Likewise, when I read something like this.
We're all terrified of a real collapse, like the 1930s, as opposed to the semi-collapse of the past decade, but I wonder if it would be such a terrible thing. I've always believed that society--any society--is built from the ground up. Our social structure may be so corrupt that letting it fall completely down might truly be the first sane step we can take.
And, unlike Margaret Thatcher, I believe there is such a thing as society. And in the fact that putting society ahead of yourself is the only meaningful way to put yourself ahead.
We're all terrified of a real collapse, like the 1930s, as opposed to the semi-collapse of the past decade, but I wonder if it would be such a terrible thing. I've always believed that society--any society--is built from the ground up. Our social structure may be so corrupt that letting it fall completely down might truly be the first sane step we can take.
And, unlike Margaret Thatcher, I believe there is such a thing as society. And in the fact that putting society ahead of yourself is the only meaningful way to put yourself ahead.
Sunday, January 15, 2012
There Are Many Roads Toward A Sustainable Future
Here's one you might have overlooked. Our ingenuity got us into this mess, and it will have to get us out of it.
Obama's Learning Curve Is Finally Kicking In
During his 2008 campaign, I noticed an interesting and encouraging tendency on the part of Barack Obama: He made mistakes--the kind that you would expect from someone who had been on the national scene for a short time--but he managed to recognize and correct them relatively quickly. I've been waiting for that same tendency to kick in during his Presidency when it came to the whole matter of bipartisanship, and it looks like it's happening at last.
Maybe incidents like this one make a difference.
Maybe incidents like this one make a difference.
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