A Connecticut Checkmate
I raised some ire among a few folks recently with my suggestion that Obama should demonstrate his magnanimity by welcoming Lieberman back into the fold. By 8pm on the evening in which I wrote the piece, the evening news had broken a story that Obama himself had let it be known to Harry Reid that Lieberman should be allowed to caucus with Democrats.
Having taken my stand and then having it reaffirmed by Obama, I would hasten to say that this does not mean that Lieberman should be welcomed back without having to accept some responsibility for the policy positions that he took during the campaign which are inconsistent with the visions of the new President. Lieberman has plenty of skills but on national/domestic security issues he has proven himself unworthy of the leadership roles that he previously held. Just as he should be welcomed back because we are better than those who would shun him. He should not be given a leadership position on national security because we are better than the vision that Senator Lieberman expounded in his support of the McCain ticket.
GOP Must Purge the Kooky and the Credulous
In spite of John McCain's and the Republican National Committee's best efforts, Election Day will likely result in their party losing the White House and sinking deeper into a minority status in Congress. I believe political extremism will ultimately be cited as one of the major culprits.
Therefore, it's high time the GOP made a return to common sense conservatism in order to have any chance of making a comeback in 2010 and beyond. Of course, this means it must purge from its ranks all the kooky and credulous people who have become attached to it over the years.
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An Appeal to Racism and Fear: The Strategy of the McCain/Palin ticket?
Before turning to politics, I want to take a moment to remember Hurricane Katrina, an event that called to mind our Nation's collective racism and classism. I was asked the other day, why we "liberals" blame Bush for Katrina. After all, he can't control the weather (ironically, though, he has managed to slow down or completely stop any legislation that would control the greenhouse gas emissions that have been linked to climate change and one of its likely symptoms--stronger and more frequent storm systems). But yes, Bush doesn't control the weather.
What he does control is funds and how funds are allocated. Bush cut drastically into funds for the Army Corps. of Engineers and FEMA, and shelved the former's project to improve the levees in New Orleans. He completely gutted funding to conserve and strengthen wetlands, which play a crucial ecological role in absorbing floods from hurricanes. Due to the military's personnel constraints overseas, there was a lack of officers here on the ground that could deal with this domestic security issue. When state officials, non-profits and even corporations such as Wal-Mart attempted to become involved and ship goods to stranded citizens in the aftermath of the disaster, Bush's "federalization" of it impeded progress. While NGO, state and private business reps. stood by, awaiting clearance from the federal government, people suffered starvation, dehydration and death. The federal government not only failed to respond effectively, but then with a misguided pr stunt, deterred other entities from taking the lead.
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McCain's Challenge: It Can Be Done
If you're somewhat despondent about Senator McCain's performance in last evening's debate, count yourself among millions of Republicans who sat in stunned silence as the presidential hopeful peppered his opponent with jabs but was unable to fell him. There were so many missed opportunities and unclosed loops that it became frustrating to watch. But before we become too immersed in self-pity, let's look to the mastermind of political strategy, Karl Rove, for some encouragement.
Writing in today's Wall Street Journal, Mr. Rove provides the context necessary to calm our jittery nerves, noting that the most reliable poll, from Investor's Business Daily, says this is a three-point race. And, although Obama is outspending McCain nearly two-to-one, Rove reminds us that Senator Kerry outspent President Bush in 2004 by $121 million and still lost. Moreover, the Washington Post/ABC poll found that a remarkable 45 percent of voters still don't feel Obama is qualified to be president.
How much CO2 can we live with?
How much atmospheric CO2 can we live with?
That's the question James Hansen, director of the NASA-Goddard Institute for Space Studies, addressed on October 7 at the Joint Annual Meeting of the Geological Society of America, in Houston, Texas.
Election Day Will Not Be the End of the World
No matter who comes out victorious in the presidential election on November 4, it will not be end of the world. It will not result in any cataclysmic events and the republic will not fall apart. Barack Obama will not transform the U.S. into an Islamic state, nor will he import communism from Cuba or socialism from Europe. John McCain will not start World War III or set off some kind of nightmarish recession. Obama is not the Antichrist, nor is he a Muslim. McCain is not a warmonger, nor is he suffering from dementia.
For the next four years, life will go on as it always has. Of course, try telling that to rabid partisans on either end of the political spectrum. I suspect that some of them will need to check into therapy for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) if their candidate loses. Those are the folks, many of them bloggers, who are so fanatical about their candidate that they can't stand for one anyone to say anything nice about the other. Their candidate can do no wrong, while the opposition can do no right. They just can't comprehend a guy like me, who generally has both positive and negative things to say about all political office seekers.
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APA backs out of the torture business
It took several years of grass-roots advocacy and a rare vote by the entire membership, but the American Psychological Association (APA) has finally bowed out of the dark realms where torture is carried out.
Following a long series of revelations about how some American psychologists have wittingly or unwittingly abetted the Bush administration's program of coercion and abuse of prisoners in the war on terror at Abu Ghraib, Guantanamo and CIA black sites throughout the world, activists within the APA forced a vote on an unequivocal anti-torture resolution.
Sarah Palin--Black Swan
A Black Swan, according to philosopher/stock trader Nassim Taleb, is an intrinsically unpredictable, completely unexpected event with major consequences.
Based on a lifetime of studying and trying to deal with Black Swans, Taleb believes that in our highly dynamic, intimately interlinked, and intensely non-linear world, these rare but extremely potent bolts-from-the-blue actually dominate most human affairs, including economics and history.
The Red Meat on Sarah Palin and Her Speech
The irony was not lost to me that only a couple of days after Palin told the press that she doesn't believe global warming is attributed to human activities, Hurricane Gustav made landfall in New Orleans during Katrina's three-year anniversary, forcing a mandatory evactuation. It seemed nature's skeptical response to the GOP convention and a morbid reminder of the failed Bush presidency.
I may in fact be every conservative's dream come true: the scared-shit liberal shaking in her boots at the thought of a Sarah Palin vice presidency or potential presidency (let's face it, McCain is no spring chicken and their age disparity conjures up serious considerations of mortality). Of course, I understand why supposed-moderate-and-maverick John McCain picked her: to rile up the strong, conservative base of the party and to appeal to the Reagan- and blue-dog Democracts and disenchanted female voters who veered towards Clinton. And it helps that she's pretty and good with a rifle, too: the meat-and-potatoes, I-can-shoot-and-gut-my-own-moose image sure gives an authenticy and grit to Palin that can sway even some skeptics in the party.
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Palin's Disappointing Convention Speech
Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin certainly turned in an impressive performance during her acceptance speech at their convention Wednesday night. By almost every account, she far exceeded all expectations. Her speech was tough, well delivered, and to the point. She did a great job of combining wit, sarcasm, straight talk, and biting humor. Hardcore right-wingers, including Sean Hannity, Rush Limbaugh, and Pat Buchanan, were probably so ecstatic that they soiled their pants. Convention-goers went wild. Palin nearly brought the house down.
Ironically, she was -- at least for one night -- the rock star and celebrity that Republicans like to accuse Barack Obama of aspiring to. Remember, during the height of The Beatles' popularity, when John Lennon so arrogantly and sacrilegiously remarked that they were "more popular than Jesus Christ"? If he were still with us today, I wonder if Lennon would have been tempted to say the same thing about Palin Wednesday night.
Sarah Palin & The Politics of 'Small-Town' America
After Sarah Palin's speech last evening, American voters are once again doing an end-around on the media, whose venal preoccupation with her destruction has inspired millions nationwide, many never before interested in politics, to take up her cause. Reports from across the country called her performance stellar, and, most critically, her small-town values and big-hearted love of this nation resonated with people in dense urban settings and rural hamlets alike.
Grasping for political purchase, the left has unwisely accused Palin of being overextended, not capable of caring for her family if she assumes the daunting responsibilities of vice president. It's a strange role reversal for aging feminists and their male acolytes who, decades ago said women can, in fact, have it all-- a family and an executive job--and handle both responsibilities well. But it's also a testimony to the fact that the younger generation of women haven't bought the arch feminist pedagogy, which is predicated on an oblique disdain for men and a desperately misguided need to mask their femininity in feigned masculine garb.
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McCain Will Choose One of These Two
Well, tomorrow is supposed to be the big day for John McCain. That's when he is scheduled to make his long-awaited announcement of whom he has selected to be the Republican Party's vice-presidential nominee this year.
Contrary to what some might believe, there is no way McCain will select Joe Lieberman or Tom Ridge as his running mate. He knows that too many members of the far right base of the GOP -- who are already suspicious of his conservative credentials -- would abandon him in a heartbeat if he named a pro-choice candidate to the ticket. Of course, they would not vote for Barack Obama -- they would simply stay home on Election Day. He cannot afford to take such a hit and he knows it.
You want help? Oops!
Toward the end of the fourth century, the Romanized Britons realized that the security provided by the Roman Empire was ending. Departing legions were not replaced. Waves of Germanic warriors and settlers flooded into the vulnerable areas of the British Isles and northern Gaul. Appeals for help to Roman military leaders and even to the emperor went unanswered. Britain's Dark Ages began.
A semblance of order was restored in the last quarter of the ninth century when Alfred, the ruler of the West Saxons, stopped the western expansion of the Danes. Historians credit Alfred with founding what came to be called England. He is the only English monarch to be called "the Great."
Obama and McCain: Two Flawed Candidates
As was the case four years ago, we are being asked to choose between two unsatisfactory candidates for President of the United States. And as I did then, I will be passing on the two major party candidates and voting for the Libertarian nominee -- this time, former Georgia Representative Bob Barr. This is a protest vote, of course, as there is absolutely no way I can vote for Barack Obama or John McCain.
There are so many reasons why I oppose Barack Obama's candidacy that I hardly know where to begin. Obama toes the line of the militant gay lobby. That includes opposing "Don't Ask Don't Tell" in favor of allowing gays to openly serve in the military. He also voted against the constitutional amendment that would have defined marriage as being between one man and one woman.
Old man in the games
As President Pervez Musharraf faces impeachment in Pakistan, millions gather in China for the 2008 Olympics. But only few know about the misuse of power and the games played by politicians in the history of Pakistani politics.
Gentlemen, like a narcotic, when the addiction to power permeates the leader of a nation, it is safe to say that the process of social unrest and political deterioration has begun.