So Long, Christy

Caption: Christy Hardin Smith at the Netroots Nation 2009 panel on the Supreme Court.

Image credit: Cropped from this Eli photo by Cujo359

Christy Hardin Smith, one of the folks I've loved to quote over the years, is calling it quits when it comes to blogging:

As you all know, the last year and a half have been tough on the Smith family. It has been beyond exhausting juggling everything that has been flung our way.

But when you try keeping eighty bazillion balls in the air at one time when you have lupus?

Apparently your body decides to get even with you. And, let's just say, mine is doing so at the moment.
...
I'm going to have to step away from blogging for a while, because I want to live to see the woman that The Peanut will become as she grows up. And I want to grow old with Mr. ReddHedd, who may just be the best husband on the planet and is most certainly the love of my life.

Pull Up A Chair...

While I don't know the specifics of her condition, it would take a lot of motivation to pull Christy away from the keyboard. I certainly agree with her priorities, not that it should matter what I think.

These last couple of years I haven't been able to read as much of her writing. Other parts of her life have taken priority, and I'm never up early enough to get to the "Pull Up A Chair" thread she moderated every Saturday. I've valued her insights when she could offer them, though, as she occasionally still did on Supreme Court decisions and torture. She also has a dry sense of humor, as this comment to that thread shows:

Morning everyone. I have the world’s loudest cardinal out on my feeder, and the world’s most obsessed cat staring at him…this will end with a head bonk on the glass, I’m certain.

Pull Up A Chair...

So, I'll miss her, and hope that she can find a way to come back and visit from time to time.

Late Change In Afghanistan Strategy

Caption: Construction Representative Robert L. Williams (far right) shows the Cadets a gate at the Ministry of Defense that has some foundation problems and asks them how they would design the foundation to resolve the issue. (Photo by Leslie J. Wright, Capacity Development Program Manager)

Image credit: Leslie J. Wright/U.S. Army

Spencer Ackerman discussed General Stanley McChrystal's operational philosophy for Afghanistan today at The Washington Independent:

That approach is familiar to anyone who read McChrystal’s counterinsurgency guidance or the “metrics” he set out with Ambassador Karl Eikenberry. Protect the population. Give the population material reasons to support the Afghan government and NATO. “Prioritize responsive and accountable governance,” which appears like a pipe dream now that Hamid Karzai looks to have stolen an election. Reorganize the NATO command to better fit these missions. Reverse the Taliban’s momentum in the next year — or, he doesn’t say explicitly, mitigate failure. It’s also, as Josh Foust has observed, more of a quantitative change from McChrystal’s predecessor than a qualitative one.

It’s Not Just Resources: McChrystal’s Message to Obama, and to the Military

This strikes me as the proper strategy. In fact, it strikes me as the only strategy that ever plausibly could have worked in Afghanistan. Unfortunately, I just can't get over the feeling that it's about four years too late.

We passed on the "material reasons" idea by invading Iraq for no good reason. That diverted money and resources that could have been used, not only to hunt down Osama Bin Laden and the other Al Qaeda leaders, but to improve the country. As The Globalist's Stephen Richter observed last month:

[I]nstead of focusing its mission on Afghanistan and taking the opportunity to deal with neighboring Pakistan — and, in turn, improving its own tumultuous relations with India — the Bush Administration suffered from outright mission creep and utter delusion when instead it changed its focus to Iraq.

To this day, George Bush's successor, Barack Obama, still struggles with accepting the lesson that an opportunity missed can sadly mean an opportunity lost.

To succeed in the critical and extremely worthy Afghanistan-turnaround mission would have required relentless focus. By turning Afghanistan into a sideshow to the war in Iraq, the execution of that vital mission could not succeed.

Why Afghanistan Is Lost

I can't claim to know what the average citizen of Afghanistan is thinking, but I think if I were one I'd be wondering why the Americans and NATO are still there. I'd probably also be wondering why they don't seem to do anything but blow the place to smithereens.

That's because there's lots more water under the bridge than just a stolen election. The air strikes that Gen. McChrystal has rightly limited have killed wedding parties, our allies' soldiers, and a whole lot of other people. The lack of accountability has honked off Afghanistan's leaders:

A US spokesman said that if "innocent people were killed in this operation, we apologise and express our condolences". But the Afghan president, Hamid Karzai, called on the US and its president-elect, Barack Obama, to stop civilian killings.

"Our demand is that there will be no civilian casualties in Afghanistan. We cannot win the fight against terrorism with airstrikes. This is my first demand of the new president of the United States."

US warplanes 'bomb Afghan wedding party'

Short of repeatedly bombing mosques while services are in session, I can't think of a better way to make new enemies than bombing wedding parties. But that isn't the first such incident, nor is it likely to be the last. It hasn't helped us with our allies, either.

It's astonishing that an army that went through a long, failed counterinsurgency (COIN) campaign has not learned this lesson yet, but this isn't like fighting the Wehrmacht. Civilian casualties will come back to haunt you here, and there are already a lot of ghosts in Afghanistan.

So, good strategy though it might be, it's a day late and a dollar short.

UPDATE: Added a (somewhat) expository link for "a lot of ghosts". More than one empire has reached its limits there. Maybe the real reason it's a "burial ground for empires" is that only an empire that had fallen so far that idiots or maniacs run it would try to conquer the place.

Sunday Photo

Here's a panorama I created from a couple of photographs of a bridge in the Mercer Slough in Bellevue, Washington:
Image credit: Cujo359

Have a good Sunday.

Joan Osborne

The other night over at Firedoglake, Suzanne posted a link to this YouTube of Joan Osborne singing "Don't Tell Me How It Ends". It's a decent rendition of the song, which is one of those Kris Kristofferson compositions that are probably best appreciated if they're not experienced too often. I'd heard of Joan Osborne before, but I couldn't have told you what she sang. Then, for some reason, I clicked on this YouTube:

Image credit: Screenshot of this video by Cujo359

All I can say is, wow. I'm a fan now.

Steve Harvey Is An Arrogant Bigot

There have been several times in the last couple of years when I've been moved to write that atheists are the one group in America that it's still OK to hate. Steve Harvey, a guy who is a standup comedian who thinks he is qualified to be a relationships counselor, provided a prime example of this on CNN recently:

BEHAR: Which reminds me, speaking of God, you say in the book that you wouldn't go out with a woman, I guess, a woman should not go out with a man that doesn't believe in God.

HARVEY: No, I mean, why would you?

BEHAR: Do you believe that only people who are religious are ethical and moral?

HARVEY: No. I just believe if you don't believe in God, then where is your moral barometer? That's just me talking. You can believe what you want to believe. But if you're an atheist, you're basing the goodness and morality on what? I mean, but what is an atheist? I don't really get into that. I've talked the people all the time. I'm an atheist. I just walk away. I don't know what to say to you. BEHAR: Well, an atheist is someone that doesn't quite believe that there is somebody out there, some God out there.

HARVEY: Well then to me you're an idiot.

BEHAR: OK. Well ...

HARVEY: I'm cool with that. Probably not the right politically correct thing to say but if you don't believe in God, I mean, really, you have to have an explanation for this. You can't just tell me it spun out of a gastrous (ph) ball and then all of a sudden we were evolved from monkeys. Why we still got monkeys? There is too much open. I just believe that and if you don't believe that, then I don't like talking to you.

BEHAR: I see. OK. Listen. Listen. It's fine with me.

HARVEY: Can you say that on Larry King?

BEHAR: You can say it on any show. It is a free country.

Larry King Show Transcript: May 29, 2009

Yes, he's free to say that. A good question would be why you're free to say that on CNN. He's been on at least once since then. He wouldn't be free to say that about an ethnic minority. He sure wouldn't be free to say that about Christians, but he can say it about atheists.

Steve Harvey is a bigot. Anyone who is willing to believe such things, particularly without having spoken to the people he's disparaging or having read any of their opinions qualifies as one. He must certainly be aware that some of the world's most prominent scientists, who are among the world's smartest people, are atheists. In fact, scientists are far more likely to be atheists than the general population. Yet Harvey, who has never demonstrated an actual mastery of any subject more complicated than a one-liner, dismisses them as "idiots".

I've known some bigots in my life. I've also known people who were not terribly thoughtful. Yet even they, when they are saying things like this, at least have had the grace to sound apologetic or somewhat ashamed of their view. Does Harvey sound apologetic, or embarrassed? The only thing he seemed concerned about is that he wasn't allowed to say what he did on that show. That takes some arrogance.

Normally, I wouldn't bother writing about this bigoted clown. This interview was three months ago, after all. He made the same assertion on Tyra Banks' show a couple of months earlier. I can't find any statement of contrition, apology, or reconsideration on his part. What's more, the sad fact is that a lot of people seem to believe the nonsense Harvey does. Here's a letter someone blessed the Des Moines Register with a few weeks ago, during the controversy about the atheist bus ads:

Having read Rekha Basu's Aug. 12 column, "Culver Sends Message of Unacceptance," I am perplexed by the logical inconsistencies atheists habitually live with. The aggrieved tone of the atheists' letter to Gov. Chet Culver indicates that they believe he did something wrong.

What does that even mean to an atheist? If there is no God and no absolute moral standards, then right and wrong, good and bad, mean nothing but "things I like" and "things I don't like."

A logically consistent atheist cannot make moral judgments of any kind about anything.

Atheists Can't Make Moral Judgments

By way of background, I covered Culver's comments last month. This writer, as you may have observed, has no problems with logic. He simply hasn't offered any.

What's more, it's clear that he's stumped as to why people would be offended when the governor of their state takes offense at their announcing that they exist.

I have a suggestion for this guy, Steve Harvey, and any other pig-ignorant bigot who wants to assert something like this without a shred of proof. Go to college. A lot. Study biology, physics, mathematics, and cosmology. When you know biology as well as this guy, know physics as well as this guy, mathematics as well as this fellow, or the cosmos as well as this man did, then maybe you'll have learned enough to show why there's a physical or mathematical reason why people can't learn morality without believing in your god. Maybe you can tell all those other "idiots" who missed it what they were doing wrong. Personally, I think you have about as much chance of that as you do of being struck by lightning with a winning Powerball ticket in your hand. Maybe less.

Why do I write that they're "pig-ignorant"? It's because you don't really have to resort to physical or mathematical proofs to show that morality can exist without believing in a Christian god. Societies all over the world have managed to develop prohibitions against murder, theft, lying, and adultery, which are most of the things covered by the Ten Commandments that don't have to do with how to worship. Yes, they don't get all the details right, like whether one is allowed to drink alcohol or eat sausages and cheeseburgers, but they got the basics down without believing in the god of Jews, Christians, or Muslims. In fact some don't believe in gods at all.

So, whether you accept that there is no physical reason why people can't have morality without gods, there's clear empirical evidence that it isn't necessary. Maybe there's some innate morality we all have. Maybe there's an evolutionary pressure on societies that makes the unstable ones disappear. Maybe people just figure out one day that stoning people for eating cheeseburgers isn't a cool way to run a society. Whatever the reason, it clearly isn't belief in Steve Harvey's bearded guy in the sky.

So, the man is ignorant as well as a bigot. That doesn't stop television people from putting him on the air. As long as that continues to be true, I suppose the best thing is for more of us to write about what a tiresome asshole he is until he learns better.

As arrogant and ignorant as he is, my guess is that it will be a long, long time.

(h/t Greg Laden)

Truer Words...

Frank Schaeffer on why the Republican Party and the Right need to stop pandering to fundamentalist Christians of the sort who think that President Obama is the anti-Christ:

You don't move them off this position. You move past them ... The village cannot reorganize village life to suit the village idiot.

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

When people are as unwilling as fundamentalist Christians have become to learn anything that doesn't conform to their narrow religious beliefs, you really do have to move past them. When one major party is in thrall to these idiots, and the other dares not offend them, you have a recipe for disaster. You cannot make policy to please the least informed and most incurious segment of your society.

UPDATE (Sep. 21): Finally fixed that link about Obama being the anti-christ. Apologies to anyone who tried to click on that link, ended up back at SnS, and wondered what the heck that was about.

In The Birthplace Of The American Print Industry

Image credit: The Franklin Institute

That rumbling you hear is Ben Franklin turning in his grave. The Free Library of Philadelphia, one of the oldest and biggest in the country, is closing its doors thanks to a budgetary crisis in Pennsylvania:

All Free Library of Philadelphia Customers,

We deeply regret to inform you that without the necessary budgetary legislation by the State Legislature in Harrisburg, the City of Philadelphia will not have the funds to operate our neighborhood branch libraries, regional libraries, or the Parkway Central Library after October 2, 2009.

FLP Closing

Philadelphia's most famous citizen almost started the print and news business in this country singlehandedly, by importing and then selling at rock-bottom prices the printing presses used to publish the colonies' first newspapers and handbills. Now, its public library is closing its doors, because politicians can't seem to do the right thing.

The supplemental budget for states and municipalities in the stimulus bill passed last April was, by any reasonable standard, wholly inadequate. But, as crankylitprof explains, that's not the only level of government that's failing:

Why is it closing? because the douchetards in Harrisburg, PA, led by their miserable, wretched, disingenuous, cheese steak-snarfling fat fuck of a “Governor,” Ed Rendell, can’t manage to pull a budget out of their gaping, wart-raddled, pecker-ridden asses.

Is Ben Franklin Gonna Have To Smack A Bitch?

For those not familiar with Pennsylvania dialects, allow me to interpret. The PA legislature has been avoiding passing a budget for some time. Thanks to their inaction, Philadelphia is having to close the library system, not to mention laying off police and firemen, and setting 1000 traffic signals to flashing (PDF) by mid-October. It can fairly be observed, as crankylitprof does, that the Philadelphia city council and mayor aren't depleting their staff very much, but there's plenty more blame to be spread at the state level.

These disputes nearly always come down to taxes, and this seems to be no exception. Tax revenues are down everywhere, and states have to balance their budgets. PA has a much lower tax rate than Delaware's (about 71% of Delaware's in 2005), New Jersey's (79%), New York's (82%), and Maryland's (92%). Of its neighbors, only Ohio has a (slightly) lower per capita state tax level. There has to be some wiggle room there. Yet the state legislature seems unwilling to bite the bullet.

This economic crisis has been largely due to the federal governments refusal to act when it would have made a difference, and refusing to do enough afterward. I suppose expecting a state legislature, particularly Pennsylvania's, to be any different is unrealistic.

(h/t Earthbound Misfit)

"No, Really. Who Did It?"

Caption: The astonishing genetic diversity of the Joe Wilson family on display.

Image credit: YouTube screenshot by Cujo359

Some bits of humor from here and there around the web:

Bloggess found a special mushroom and went from there on a wild stream-of-consciousness ride.

Jason Rosenbaum and the Billionaires for Wealth Care thank the people who are making the country safe for obscene health care profit.

But the funniest thing I've seen this morning was a new commercial that allegedly is coming out in support of congressional designated screamer Joe Wilson's re-election campaign:

"I said, 'Joe, who's the nut that hollered out, "You lie" or "You liar?" And he goes, 'It was me.', and I said 'No really. Who did it?'. I couldn't believe that Joe had said that."

Roxanne Wilson Is Proud To Stand With Joe (YouTube)

She goes on to say that her husband is very passionate, not to mention hard working, loves his family, all the stuff you'd expect from a guy who hollers nonsense in the middle of a joint session of Congress.

I'm not sure how much help that advertisement is going to be, but it's a needed shot of comic relief.

UPDATE: Image credit: YouTube screenshot by Cujo359

Getting back to intentional humor - Skeptic Society founder Michael Shermer tries to talk his way past Mr. Deity into heaven. Unfortunately, there's just one deadly sin he ... just watch the video.

Where Do They Find These People?

A blog called Look At This Teabagger has been collecting photos of teabaggers at various events. There are some real gems:

Considering that the USSR never had czars, that's a fairly trivial point there, Jethro.

Proof that Fox "News" keeps Americans better infromed than other cable news channels:

I can't wait to see the ad campaign this inspires...

Irrational America

Caption: A sign seen at the "Million50K Moron March" last weekend.

Image credit: Mule Breath

Just a couple of examples of how irrational political discourse is becoming in America.

The first is from David Sirota at Open Left:

Yes, last night I received a full-on death threat from a person promising to kill me if I dare discuss the racial undertones of the froth that Glenn Beck and other political terrorists are clearly encouraging. I went through the process of contacting the authorities, and the police responded very quickly, which was reassuring. The whole episode speaks to a post I did last week about the Nation of Assholes - and it is demoralizing.
...
Mind you, though, willful ignorance is not the exclusive purview of the right. Over the weekend, I received some very nasty email and Twitter messages from self-declared "progressives" insisting that the news of a UnitedHealth lobbyist holding a fundraiser with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee is a conspiracy theory that I fabricated, not really connected to Pelosi or the Democratic Party, or some amalgamation of both. These people have no actual evidence to support their claims - their attacks on me come from a sick form of sycophancy that makes them absolutely unable to do anything other than deify Democratic poltiicians. Again, there are none so blind as those who cannot see.

On Racism, Death Threats, & The Blindness Of Those Who Will Not See

It's demoralizing alright, even more demoralizing than trying to post a comment at "Open" Left. I gave up after the tenth attempt. Their POS software is yet another reason they're not on the blogroll here. At least I can ignore them. Ignoring the loud-mouthed bigots who seem to be the ones monopolizing the debate on health care is another matter.

The national discourse really is coarsening. It's coarsening for any number of reasons, but I think one of the things you have to look at is what people are watching these days. Even news discussion shows tend to be shouting matches, and news shows themselves are remarkably uninformative. This is where most people get their information in America, and it's a lousy place to try to find any.

Our other example today comes courtesy of Rep. Eric Massa (NY-29). This is a letter he received recently from a constituent:

From: Dr. M. M., MD
Zip: 14618

President Obama is a liar. The face that Joe Wilson chose to state that fact during Obama's speech is irrelevant to me. It is a fact that illegal aliens receive free health care in emergency departments all across this country. There is a federal law mandating that anyone presenting to the emergency department MUST BE SEEN under penalty of law. No provision was made by the government to compensate Physicians or Hospitals for the care they are forced to provide. Forced labor without compensation is slavery and outlawed by the Constitution of the United States.

Before I quote Rep. Massa's reply, I'll just interject that if this is the definition of slavery, a lot of people in this country are in trouble. Lawyers are expected to do pro bono work. That means "free". In my profession, uncompensated overtime is a hazard just about anywhere. Even in medicine, there are times when a doctor will have to work for free. None of us likes to do this more than occasionally, but it's a fact of life for a professional.

Furthermore, if this doctor were on salary at a hospital, he'd probably be compensated for his time whether the patients could pay or not. Since he's apparently billing a hospital for his services, perhaps Dr. M.M. should consider that lawyer phrase "pro bono" and what it means to someone who is an independent contractor.

So, at a minimum, I'm thinking that all my past employers, most court systems, and a whole lot of professional organizations are in trouble if this guy's definition of slavery ever becomes law. And in case you're wondering, I don't want any of my former employers to go to jail.

Meanwhile, Rep. Massa responded with this:

From: Eric Massa

Dear Doctor,

It saddens me to hear educated people in this country, a country that I defended with my life for more than two decades, endorse and propagate emails like yours.

Let me be exceptionally clear, I disagree with you - and both you and Congressman Wilson are wrong.

The President, with whom I have many policy disagreements, did not lie. He stated that there was nothing in the current legislation that provided funding for health care for illegal residents of this country. He is right - there is not.

As you correctly stated, there is a long-standing law that requires that all persons receive some basic level of care at an emergency room. In many states that care is now a referral to an outpatient clinic or other less expensive facility. The fact that the emergency room is the only place for so many to go - legal residents and illegal residents - is one of the core problems that we have in this country today. Would you turn someone away following a broken arm suffered while working on a farm? Would you say "sorry" after an auto accident? Do you really think that those who toil in the shadows seek to appear in front of you to suffer your scorn and disdain? Since when did a physician become a social judge and jury in the emergency room?

Should we enforce our immigration laws so that millions are not here illegally - yes. Should we make the emergency room the point of enforcement - no. We clearly disagree on this and I doubt we will ever reconcile that difference.

I am frankly shocked that you, a medical doctor, would equate providing medical care to those who cannot afford it, to forced slavery. This is absolutely outrageous, and an insult to all who have suffered under the scourge of slavery.

I am proud to know dozens of doctors who have travel the United States and the World seeking out the destitute, the poor and yes, even those who are right here among us, harvesting our food in the shadows of our legal system in order to provide care for them. These doctors represent the best among us and are model to hold up to our youth.

You, based on the statements in your email, are not.

I took an oath to defend your right to make the statements you make, while you as a medical doctor took and oath "to do no harm". I uphold mine to the best of my ability, do you? Your comments only reinforce the debased and disgraced political forces that were so clearly illustrated by an indefensible outburst on the floor of the House by a Congressman who has already apologized.

I would offer the observation that one should be careful when calling another a liar ... especially when that accusation is not based on fact. Please know that if you are a constituent in the 29th Congressional District I hope you publicly campaign against me thus virtually guaranteeing my re-election.

Sincerely,
Eric Massa

I love the closing. If we lived in a country of rational people, I suspect he'd be correct. Under the circumstances, though, I'm worried.

I'm sure we'll have more examples of irrational public discourse in the coming days. Stay tuned.

UPDATE: Incidentally, Rep. Massa's correspondent is apparently a rare exception among doctors:

When polled, "nearly three-quarters of physicians supported some form of a public option, either alone or in combination with private insurance options," says Dr. Salomeh Keyhani. She and Dr. Alex Federman, both internists and researchers at Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York, conducted a random survey, by mail and by phone, of 2,130 doctors. They surveyed them from June right up to early September.

Most doctors — 63 percent — say they favor giving patients a choice that would include both public and private insurance. That's the position of President Obama and of many congressional Democrats. In addition, another 10 percent of doctors say they favor a public option only; they'd like to see a single-payer health care system. Together, the two groups add up to 73 percent.

Poll Finds Most Doctors Support Public Option

What's not too shocking is that doctors prefer billing the government:

Keyhani says doctors already have experience with government-run health care, with Medicare. And she says the survey shows that, overall, they like it. "We've heard a lot about how the government is standing in between patients and their physician," Keyhani says. "And what we can see is that physicians support Medicare. So I think physicians have sort of signaled that a public option that's similar in design to Medicare would be a good way of ensuring patients get the care that they need."

Poll Finds Most Doctors Support Public Option

In other words, one of the more ridiculous of the many ridiculous charges from the anti-reform side of this debate is that a public option will put the government between us and our doctors. If anything, doctors agree there will be less interference than they get from private insurers.

(h/t Scarecrow at FireDogLake)