Video Of The Day

This video from I Can Has Cheezeburger reminded me of how my two cats got along when they were living with me:



Since they also look like my cats did, it's a big smile-inducer.

A Wonderful Google Result

This blog is the number four Google search result for the phrase "fight the system":
Image credit: Screenshot by Cujo359

I like that.

In case you're wondering, it leads to this article.

Progressives And The Price Of Stupidity

Caption: Republican U.S. Rep. John Shadegg (AZ-03) explains why individual mandates without a public option is political suicide for Democrats.

Image credit: Screenshot of FireDogLake video by Cujo359



Paul Krugman seems to have forgotten the history of this phrase, which I've emphasized in this quote from his blog:

If [passage of the health care "reform" bill] does happen, and Republicans campaign on repeal, Democrats should say “bring ‘em on”.

Health Care Resurrection

The most famous recent use of that phrase was in support of an unqalified disaster. This one looks to be, too. As Brendan of Brendan's Calling notes, once again this phrase was uttered by someone who wouldn't experience the consequences of that failed policy:

When Susie Madrak spent a good portion of 2008-2009 railing against the “educated elites” of the Democratic Party, I would get angry, because I didn’t know what she meant. After all, I’m highly educated and a Democrat, but hardly an elitist: I’m working poor, live in a low-income neighborhood, and work for a nonprofit.

I know what she means now though: she’s talking about the people who, by dint of their education, think they know what’s best for working people and the less-educated; that if only the less-educated would listen to the better-educated, they would learn about what’s best for their families.

The problem is, of course, is that “educated” is a two way street. And unless you’re in those working class shoes (or in my case, those working poor shoes), you don’t “know” what’s best for others. You need to experience those tight margins yourself for an extended period of time before you REALLY understand what it’s like to be on the margin of failure and penury.

How The GOP Will Campaign In 2010

As I've mentioned before, this is a problem with many progressive advocates - they really don't understand what it's like to be an ordinary working stiff in this country.

Here's the problem: The GOP will be happy to emphasize how opposed it is to the individual and employer mandates for insurance. They are, after all, ideas that run counter to a free market. Think I'm kidding? Watch this video of Republican Representative John Shadegg (AZ-03). That's the part of the health care bill the fewest voters seem to like. The Democrats will be killed on this issue at the polls. Needless to say, the GOP won't repeal these provisions. They're just as dependent on insurance company largess as the Democrats are. That won't stop them from using this issue to the Democrats' disadvantage, though. And that won't stop folks who are wondering where they're going to get that extra $1000 or so for the crap insurance they'll soon be required to buy from voting for them.

If people like Krugman are too clueless to understand this, I'll be happy to remind them in November on the day after the elections.

All you need to do to understand how powerless progressives are is to read what our "leaders" write. Stupidity of this magnitude has a price, and part of that price is being powerless.

UPDATE: In the sentence after the quote I changed the word "last" to "most famous recent". I'm sure that wasn't the last time some fool used the phrase, but it's certainly one that many people can recall. Also added the quote from Brendan, which explains this disconnect in a nutshell.

Another Pathetic Gesture

Are you tired of the federal government passing economic assistance efforts that are so small as to be laughable for everyone except bankers, who get whatever they want? I certainly hope not, because as Robert Reich notes, there's another one on the way:

Any day now, the Obama administration will announce $4.35 billion in extra federal funds for under-performing public schools. That’s fine, but relative to the financial squeeze all the nation’s public schools now face it’s a cruel joke.

The recession has ravaged state and local budgets, most of which aren’t allowed to run deficits. That’s meant major cuts in public schools and universities, and a giant future deficit in the education of our people.

Bail Out Our Schools

American public schools had been underperforming already. That $4.35 billion represents less than one percent of what we pay for public schools in this country:

Current expenditures for public elementary and secondary schools will be about $543 billion for the 2009−10 school year. The national average current expenditure per student is projected at $10,844, up from $9,683 in actual expenditures in 2006−07 (source and source)."

Department Of Education: Fast Facts

It should be clear from that statistic alone that this is a drop in the bucket. Of course, as Reich noted, it's worse than that. Chicago public schools alone laid off 1,000 employees last year to help meet a budget shortfall totaling more than $220 million. Public schools in many parts of the country have been tightening their belts for years. They're in over their heads already, and the federal government is offering them a stool.

So you can add this pathetic gesture to all the other pathetic attempts the Obama Administration and Congress have made to look like they're doing something about the economic depression we're falling into: the stimulus bill that wasn't big enough by a factor of three or more, the jobs bill that wouldn't have funded a month of war in Afghanistan, and a health care reform bill that won't help anyone except insurance companies.

Did The Climate Change Today?

There were snow flurries in my neighborhood yesterday. I caught this image of them before they disappeared. It's supposed to get down close to freezing tonight.
Image credit: Cujo359

I'm confused, though. Since this didn't happen where Sean Hannity lives, either, does it mean that there really isn't such a thing as global warming?

Actually, a little snow in March isn't all that unusual out here. What's unusual is that we had such warm weather the last two months.

When All You Have Is A Polygraph...

When all you have is a polygraph, every anomalous event looks like a lie:



As usual, clicking on the image will take you to the original xkcd comic, where there is a clever hidden message.

An Unappetizing Choice

This quote by Dana Hunter on the continuing story of California State Representative Roy Ashburn started me thinking:

[Last week] we learned that an anti-gay legislator in California likes to frequent gay bars. In news that should surprise no one, State Sen. Roy Ashburn has admitted he's gay, and in the meantime come up with the lamest excuse ever for his virulent anti-gay voting record:

Ashburn, a divorced father of four, said that his many votes against gay rights were efforts to represent the conservative views of his constituents.

There's nothing wrong with being a gay man, or having the courage to finally come out of the closet. There's something seriously wrong with being a gay man who hides what he is, constantly attempts to rip the rights of LGBT people away, and then sanctimoniously claims it's all because his constituents want him to.

Dumbfuckery du Jour

[link from original]

In one sense, I don't have a problem with her conclusion. Why would someone vote so consistently to curtail the rights of people like himself? Seems like he could have split the difference, or taken a page from Mr. Present's book and simply abstained from voting for particularly troublesome measures.

The other thought that occurs to me, though, is that at least Rep. Ashburn was honest about this issue where it counted - his record was unequivocally clear, and people from his district kept sending him back to office. You won't have to search very much to find what I think of politicians who promise they'll do one thing, and then do another, particularly if they have a habit of doing this in a number of areas. It's likely that Ashburn really was doing what his constituents wanted him to do. I've certainly argued for that behavior from my representatives, too. So in one sense at least, he did what a representative should have.

I don't like what Ashburn has done, but I'd rather have a politician honestly explain what he intends to do when he's elected, and then do it the best he can when elected, than the ones who promise to do the things we want, but then think better of it. Despite his personal dishonesty about his sexuality, I'd rather have a representative like him than progressives like Lynn Woolsey. At least with Ashburn, I know what I'm up against. Mostly.

How about you?

Sunday Photo(s)

This week the cherry trees have been blooming around Federal Way. As I've mentioned before this has been an unusually early Spring. These are pictures I took around the Weyerhauser Aquatic Center and the BPA Trail. Next week, there will be some from downtown Federal Way.

This is from 1st Ave. South, just south of 333rd S.:
Image credit: Cujo359

This is the North parking lot of the Weyerhauser Center:
Image credit: Cujo359

Here are a couple from the area just south of the Center:

Image credit: Cujo359
As you can see, there are quite a few cherry trees in the area. Unfortunately, they only bloom for a few days before the rain washes them away.

Click on the images to enlarge them. Have a good Sunday.

Obama Administration Ready To Punk Out Again

Every time that someone tells me that President Van Pelt is such an improvement over the last one, I dare him to name two things that don't have to do with speaking skills that he's better at. Every day, the list of possible rejoinders gets smaller:

One of the very few commendable steps taken by the Obama administration toward reversing the Bush/Cheney Constitution/Terrorism template was the DOJ's decision to try the five accused 9/11 defendants in a civilian court (just as the rest of the civilized world does with Terrorists). But ever since that was announced, Obama officials have been clearly signaling that they intend to reverse that decision in response to the GOP's political attacks (while Rahm Emanuel has been busy making clear he disagreed with Holder's choice), and a new story in The Washington Post this morning provides the clearest evidence yet that this will happen.

The WP: Obama close to reversing Holder on civilian trials

[that link is from the original article. There are many more that I didn't transcribe.]

Go there, read, come back. I'm tired of expending lots of effort trying to make people who don't want to see things aware of what's going on.

Whether Obama is just a punk, as some of his erstwhile supporters seem to think, or he's the con man I've always suspected, he's not doing anything at this point that the Bush Administration wouldn't have done on this issue. If anything, Obama's record is worse.

That Glenn Greenwald article I quoted is a clear indication of how the Obama Administration has gradually ceded what few areas it had shown improvement in to the shrill opportunists, who seem to dominate the human rights debate on television and other mass media these days, and the quivering fools who agree with them. As David Dayen wrote today:

You can compromise on funding this or that domestic policy. But here we have a compromise on the rule of law, an ethical impossibility. The Cheney family talked enough trash and questioned enough patriotism to actually get the President to potentially step away from the criminal justice system? We’re running trials based on polls now?

Of course, like most things, Obama comes to this debate having already compromised. His Justice Department selected trial venues – or the lack thereof – based on the admissible evidence available on the suspect. The A tier (with clearly enough evidence to convict) got a criminal trial, the B tier (with less evidence) a military commission, the C tier (not enough evidence) got to stay at Guantanamo or Guantanamo North or wherever indefinitely. It’s hard to talk about principles and justice when you’ve already sold it out.

Advisers to Recommend Trying KSM in Military Commissions

So, tell me again how happy you are to have a President who speaks in complete sentences.

If there were real justice for past misdeeds by American Presidents, he'd end up in the dock next to George W. Bush and Dick Cheney somewhere.

Your Daily Pound Of Salt

Image credit: Real Simple (See Note)

This is, in many ways, a local story in a state I don't live in, not to mention a gossipy kind of story. For those reasons, I normally wouldn't touch it. On the surface it seems to be another story of conservative hypocrisy - a Republican legislator who has supported anti-gay legislation who, apparently, is gay. Unfortunately, so soon after defending Eric Massa from gossipy news reports, I feel compelled to point out that there may be less to this story than meets the eye, too.

California state representative Roy Ashburn, a Republican who lives in the Sacramento area, is in trouble for driving under the influence (DUI) of alcohol, as Talking Points Memo reports:

Ashburn's blood alcohol level was .14 when he was picked up by police, according to the Sacramento DA. The legal limit is .08.

Gay Sacramento Pol: Ashburn Is A Regular At Gay Hotspots

To me, this is scandalous enough. Ashburn clearly isn't a kid in his twenties. His photo (see the story I just quoted) clearly shows he's in middle age. But that's not where this story ends:

The openly gay mayor of West Sacramento says that he's spotted state Sen. Roy Ashburn (R), who has racked up a consistently anti-gay voting record over the years, at gay clubs a number of times.

Gay Sacramento Pol: Ashburn Is A Regular At Gay Hotspots

I'm sure the mayor is pretty certain about this, but if the two of them didn't talk, it seems at least possible that there's someone else in Sacramento who resembles Ashburn. In addition, as TPM also reported, the owner and manager of the night club Ashburn was supposedly visiting before his DUI arrest don't recall seeing him there that night:

Tuesday night is Latin night at Faces, explained manager Laurie Bonifield in a phone interview. The club describes itself as "Sacramento's premier GLBTI Nightclub since 1985."

"Tuesday nights are a very, very huge Latin crowd. We don't see a lot of white guys here on a Tuesday night," Bonifield said. "A white guy would stick out like a sore thumb."

Gay Club Manager: I Didn't See Anti-Gay State Senator Here -- It Was Latin Night

There's also the fact that both the report about Ashburn's being at Faces and his being sighted by the mayor at other places both came from the same television station.

For now, this story strikes me as being a bit dubious. It may turn out to be true, and I wouldn't be surprised, but skepticism should be applied to all stories, not just to the ones we don't want to believe.


NOTE: This is just a nice, clear image of a salt shaker. Its use here does not constitute endorsement of the website by this blog, nor does it constitute an endorsement of this blog by the website. They do claim you can use salt as a scrubbing agent, though. Kinda cool if true.