pygalgia

A Profile of Courage

2012-01-22T11:37:00.000-08:00

Saddening news: Gabrielle Giffords Resigning From Congress . And yet, it is somehow uplifting to see her focusing on her recovery, and to witness the courage she's shown:

Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ), who was shot in the head a year ago at a district event, announced in a video posted on YouTube Sunday that she will resign from Congress this week, in order to focus on her medical recovery.

The Arizona Daily Star reports:

Before she leaves office, Giffords will finish her Congress On Your Corner event that was interrupted by a gunman on Jan. 8, 2011. In a private gathering in Tucson, Giffords will meet with some of the people who were at the event, her staff said.

“Arizona is my home, always will be. A lot has happened over the past year. We cannot change that. But I know on the issues we fought for we can change things for the better. Jobs, border security, veterans. We can do so much more by working together,” Giffords said in the message.

“I don’t remember much from that horrible day, but I will never forget the trust you placed in me to be your voice. Thank you for your prayers and for giving me time to recover.

tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2012/01/gabrielle-giffords-resigning-from-congress.php?ref=fpb

I think Ms. Giffords may be one of the most inspiring human beings I've witnessed in my life. She brought honor and integrity to both her political and personal life. I hope we all can agree to wish her the very best recovery possible.

A Sane Idea (in an insane world)

2012-01-20T11:34:00.000-08:00

One topic in the current political sphere that can get me into a screaming fit rather quickly is the subject of Iran. Especially with the current crop of republican candidates sounding ready to rush (with the exception of Ron Paul) into a military attack. The 'justification' for bombing Iran is that they have a (small, minimal) nuclear program, which could someday lead to a nuclear weapon. Which, of course, would be a threat to Israel (who has plenty of nukes) and the region (which has oil), and therefore to America.
Iran has repeatedly said that they want nuclear energy to produce electricity. Which actually makes a lot of sense. Iran has a lot of oil, but oil is a lousy source for electricity, for both efficiency and the environment. As a modernizing country, Iran is facing ever increasing demand for more electricity.
Then I read a piece by Thomas Buonomo at Informed Comment that I thought was truly brilliant:

An Alternative Course of Action

Considering the doubtful prospect of an effective sanctions regime and the unpredictable consequences of a military strike or covert action, the Obama administration should consider offering the Iranian government an opportunity for rapprochement in the form of renewable energy technology and financial incentives to help it achieve its ostensible goals.

Iran has abundant geothermal, solar, hydroelectric and wind energy resources that could help it meet its domestic electricity demand without presenting an inherent threat to the international community. This would require substantial investment but Iranian leaders might be prepared to consider such an alternative if the U.S. and other UN Security Council states were prepared to offer it attractive financing options.

Such an initiative would demonstrate to Iran that the United States acknowledges its legitimate energy and national security interests and is willing to take meaningful steps to support its peaceful aspirations and integration into the international community in return for its abandonment of its nuclear program.

http://www.blogger.com/www.juancole.com/2012/01/to-avoid-war-obama-should-offer-iran-renewable-energy-aid-buonomo.html

Now, I realize that Iran is not exactly our friend. In fact, the history of US-Iran relations is one of constant conflict, and we haven't had diplomatic relations since 1979. But imagine how relations (and the propaganda) could be reversed if America offered Iran alternative energy aid, and we began relating to each other as respectful adults. If Obama were to actually do this, he'd deserve a Nobel Peace Prize, and it would drive the neocon warmongers crazy. Plus, it might actually work.

A Short Political Observation

2012-01-12T17:42:00.000-08:00

In an effort to retain what little sanity I have left, I've tried to avoid paying attention to the republican nomination campaign. But my inner political junkie had a bit of a relapse, and I watched part of a debate last weekend. What I saw is still subtly disturbing me; that nagging feeling in the back of my mind that something so profoundly wrong is being ignored.

During part of the debate, Jon Huntsman came under attack for serving as ambassador to China in the Obama administration. Huntsman said something about putting "country ahead of party", and he was attacked for it by Romney, Gingrich, Santorum, and Perry as if this was a horrible thing for him to say. The attacking candidates all wanted to make it loud and clear that they were "republicans first, Americans second" in the age of Obama. Not that it should be a surprise; Boehner and McConnell have clearly stated that their goal is to defeat Obama rather than to govern, regardless of how much damage it does to the country. Well, at least they're honest about it.

That is something my brain is having a hard time reconciling with what I thought I knew. All those years of my life where the republicans were the party of "uber-patriotism"; the "flag wavers"; the "my country, right or wrong" party. Those were the republicans I knew throughout my life.

I guess it only took one black president for them to discard their loyalty to their country. What is really profoundly wrong is that these men want to be president of a United States that they publicly disavow loyalty to. And that many "proud Americans" will vote for them anyway.

20 More Years

2012-01-09T14:44:00.001-08:00

It's nice that there will be a 20 year moratorium on uranium mining on the Grand Canyon. Having spent a lot of time in the 'big ditch', I strongly oppose any thing that would spoil it. Especially such a short sighted exploitation that would also potentially poison millions of downstream people.

But I also know how permanently incredible the Grand Canyon is. I have a strong feeling that it will still be an awe striking geological formation long after humans have gone extinct.

Added: Predictably, Republicans and mining and energy lobbyists are furious

As Zandar Versus The Stupid says:

How many jobs would be lost if the Colorado River was contaminated by uranium mining runoff? How many lives? Do you think any of the Republicans running for president care about the environment?

The Supreme Reason to Re-Elect Obama

2012-01-07T08:42:00.000-08:00

The 2012 election cycle is now in full swing, and while I'd love to just hibernate and ignore it, it's clear that the results do truly matter. The Washington Monthly has a series on what a republican victory would mean that's well worth reading, although also quite frightening. While I know many liberals who are quite disappointed in President Obama (the only reason that I'm not disappointed is that I held really low expectations), it's important to assess what are the realistic options, before giving up on his re-election.

One of the greatest long term impacts of any President is the appointment of Supreme Court Justices. In his first term, Obama filled two vacancies, as did shrub before him. Overall, the current court is dominated by republican appointees, which is clearly reflected in the conservative, pro-corporate philosophy of it's decisions. And the next presidential term of office could potentially see vacancies that impact the courts makeup for decades to come.

While Supreme Court Justices receive the finest medical care on the planet, and historically live longer than the rest of the population, age does catch up to everyone. Four of the nine current Justices are in their seventies, an age where physical and mental decline are a common occurrence, and may not remain on the bench through the next presidential term.

First on the list of likely departures is Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who's 78 (79 in March) and has been battling cancer. She has been one of the most consistently liberal voices on the court since her 1993 appointment by Bill Clinton, and it's extremely unlikely that she will serve another four plus years.

Antonin Scalia is 75 years old (76 in March), and has been serving since 1986. A staunch (I would say extreme) conservative, he seems to be in robust health. It's conceivable that he would consider retiring if a republican is elected president, but is a good bet to remain on the bench through a second Obama term.

Anthony Kennedy is also 75 (76 in July), and is arguably the most significant member of the court. He's moderately conservative, and represents the swing vote in many decisions. While not substantiated, I've read multiple reports that he is likely to retire in relatively few years for reasons of age and health. He's been serving since 1988.

Stephen Breyer is 73 (74 in August), and is rumored to be considering retirement. Moderately liberal and fairly quiet, he's considered a very thoughtful, intellectual jurist. I think the likelihood of him remaining through the next presidential term is under 50%, as he often sounds frustrated with the current court.

(Justice bios here:http://www.blogger.com/www.supremecourt.gov/about/biographies.aspx. Of course, any of the other five Justices might choose to retire or suffer an untimely demise, but I chose to focus on the four most likely potential departures.)

The Washington Monthly piece is a useful group of articles. Addressing what a republican victory would mean for the Supreme Court, The conservative takeover will be complete. By Dahlia Lithwick is well worth reading.

The current court is viewed as a balance between four liberals and four conservative, with Kennedy somewhere in between, but is more really four moderates, four extreme conservatives, and Kennedy. That balance could be changed dramatically in the next presidential term.

Neither of Obama's appointee's, Sonia Sotomayor or Elena Kagan, are all that liberal, which is in keeping with his own moderate philosophy. And I would expect that any future justice appointees would also be moderates. But compare that to the philosophy of the current republican presidential candidates. Then consider how they would likely choose to fill vacancies on the Supreme Court. It's a scary proposition for the coming decades. That alone is enough to make me support Obama in 2012.

The President on Mars

2012-01-04T13:42:00.001-08:00

If you've been reading this blog for any length of time (which I thoroughly appreciate, by the way) you know that I really love a good conspiracy theory. And this has to be one of the best I've ever read:

Two former participants in the CIA’s Mars visitation program of the early 1980’s have confirmed that U.S. President Barack H. Obama was enrolled in their Mars training class in 1980 and was among the young Americans from the program who they later encountered on the Martian surface after reaching Mars via “jump room.”

Andrew D. Basiago, 50, a lawyer in Washington State who served in DARPA’s time travel program Project Pegasus in the 1970’s, and fellow chrononaut William B. Stillings, 44, who was tapped by the Mars program for his technical genius, have publicly confirmed that Obama was enrolled in their Mars training class in 1980 and that each later encountered Obama during visits to rudimentary U.S. facilities on Mars that took place from 1981 to 1983.

exopolitics.blogs.com/exopolitics/2011/11/mars-visitors-basiago-and-stillings-confirm-barack-obama-traveled-to-mars-1.html

You really owe it to yourself to go read the whole thing. Perhaps my favorite part:

On August 21, 2011, Mr. Basiago stated: "Something highly significant has happened, and that is that two individuals from the same Mars training class in 1980 (Basiago and Stillings) have met and are comparing experiences and are able to corroborate not only that they were on the surface of Mars together but that before reaching Mars via jump room they were trained with a group of teenagers that included the current President of the United States (Obama) and director of DARPA (Dugan)."

Mr. Basiago states that during one of his trips to Mars via “jump room” that took place from 1981 to 1983, he was sitting on a wall beneath an arching roof that covered one of the “jump room” facilities as he watched Mr. Obama walk back to the jump room from across the Martian terrain. When Mr. Obama walked past him and Mr. Basiago acknowledged him, Mr. Obama stated, with some sense of fatalism: “Now we’re here!”

The primitive conditions that they encountered on Mars might explain the high level of danger involved. Mr. Basiago and Mr. Stillings agree that Major Dames stated during their training class at The College of the Siskiyous in 1980: “Of the 97,000 individuals that we have thus far sent to Mars, only 7,000 have survived there after five years.” When they then first teleported to Mars in Summer 1981, the young Mars visitors confronted the situation that Major Dames had covered at length during the class the previous summer – that one of their principal concerns on Mars would be to avoid being devoured by one of the predator species on the Martian surface, some of which they would be able to evade, and some of which were impossible to evade if encountered.

So forget the whole Kenyan-Muslim thing. It's clear that our President may be controlled by Martians.
Added: The more I think about this, the more it explains things in my own life. I can't remember much of what happened to me between 1980 and 83. I always thought it was drugs, but now I'm thinking that actually the CIA sent me to Mars, and brainwashed me into thinking that it was drugs. Yup, that would explain a lot.

Iowa

2012-01-03T19:02:00.000-08:00

I was really rooting for Thaddeus McCotter, but then I saw that he dropped out back in September. So now I'm pulling for Buddy Roemer.

Another Trip Around the Sun

2012-01-01T10:21:00.001-08:00

For the 53rd consecutive time, the year begins with my Birthday (hey, I find that important) which is a good thing. We should start partying.

It's 2012, a leap year. Because the year has one extra day, we'll get the summer Olympics and a presidential election. I'm looking forward to the Olympics. The election...well, not so much. But the extra day is nice.

Anyway, Happy New Year to you all!

Merry Christmas, And Such

2011-12-25T08:25:00.001-08:00

Hope you all are having wonderful holidays, Christmas or otherwise. Mine has been quite nice. Anyway, wishing the best to all of you, and thanks for stopping by.

A Day For Joy

2011-12-21T06:05:00.001-08:00

Happy Winter Solstice (depending on where you are), and I hope you'll also celebrate Global Orgasm for Peace Day today.

Craziness

2011-12-19T15:37:00.001-08:00

I think maybe I chose the wrong year to try being sane. For reasons that aren't really clear, I read This, which lead me to this article:

This incident with Iran getting one of our top secret military drones, has been puzzling me since it happened. It's vaguely reminiscent of the alleged killing of Osama Bin Laden, with no evidence shown to the American people. ( Personally, I think he's been dead since around 2003, have seen no evidence otherwise, and think Obama staged the incident just so he could take credit. People prove they're alive by showing up, and he hadn't shown up in any way, in years. )

But we've been hearing reports recently, that socialists and gangs have been infiltrating our military now. So this leaves two very disturbing possibilities left.

One, that Obama passed down direct orders through a trusted chain of command, to land this drone in Iran, possibly sparking a war with Iran, and handing over our top secret military technology to them and their Russian and Chinese allies.

Or it may have been the act of a lone traitor who was operating the drone and decided to do this act on their own.

So then I read Larry Klayman, who claimed that Obama gave Iran the drone because the Iranian government was financing his presidential campaign:

Barack Hussein Obama was complicit in this treasonous act. By allowing the radical Islamic mullahs in Iran, China and Russia to have our highest technology when he simply could have ordered the destruction of the drone once it went down, Obama cemented my strong belief that he is a traitor. That's why I call Obama the "mullah in chief." . Bill Clinton and his criminal wife, Hillary, were the "Manchurian Candidates," but Obama and Hillary are now the "Islamic Iranian Candidates," an analogy the movie that depicted how Chinese communists infiltrated the highest reaches of our government. The primary explanation for Obama and Clinton rolling over for the Iranian Islamist mullahs is that they were paid off, that is, bribed

Now, everyone enjoys a good conspiracy theory. But this is virgin on the re-dick-u-luss. Of course, my sanity may be questioned based on the simple fact that I read these lunatics, and chose to post about it. Not the craziest thing I've ever done, but not the sanest, either.

Added: I am now composing a screed explaining how Obama conspired with Kim-Jong-Un to cause the power outage that delayed the 49ers-Steelers Monday Night Football game.

And So It Ends

2011-12-18T08:34:00.001-08:00

The war in Iraq has officially come to a close, as the last convoy of American troops crosses the border into Kuwait.

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - The last convoy of U.S. soldiers pulled out of Iraq on Sunday, ending nearly nine years of war that cost almost 4,500 American and tens of thousands of Iraqi lives and left a country grappling with political uncertainty.

The war launched in March 2003 with missiles striking Baghdad to oust President Saddam Hussein closes with a fragile democracy still facing insurgents, sectarian tensions and the challenge of defining its place in an Arab region in turmoil.

The final column of around 100 mostly U.S. military MRAP armored vehicles carrying 500 U.S. troops trundled across the southern Iraq desert from their last base through the night and daybreak along an empty highway to the Kuwaiti border.

After Obama announced in October that troops would come home by the end of the year as scheduled, the number of U.S. military bases was whittled down quickly as hundreds of troops and trucks carrying equipment headed south to Kuwait.

Only around 150 U.S. troops will remain in the country attached to a training and cooperation mission at the huge U.S. embassy on the banks of the Tigris river.

At the height of the war, more than 170,000 U.S. troops were in Iraq at more than 500 bases. By Saturday, there were fewer than 3,000 troops, and one base - Contingency Operating Base Adder, 300 km (185 miles) south of Baghdad.

news.talkingpointsmemo.com/2011/12/last-us-troops-leave-iraq-ending-war.php?ref=fpa

Well, I guess we should all be glad that it's over, and that Obama kept his promise on Iraq.

Such a stupid and tragic waste. A war begun on lies, whose toll in blood and treasure has yet to be fully paid. The carnage inflicted upon the Iraqi people will linger for decades. And for what? To remove one brutal but impotent dictator from a world with dozens of other brutal dictators, and inflict chaos as a result.

There were never any 'weapons of mass destruction', despite all the right wing media hype. Saddam was never a 'threat' to the United States; only a minor inconvenience with a lot of oil.

We spent (at least) 4,474 American soldiers lives, and well over a trillion dollars destroying Iraq. When it comes to 'weapons of mass destruction', we're by far the world leaders. Meanwhile, we're letting our own country fall into disrepair and decay, citing austerity and budget deficits. Demolishing Iraq's infrastructure took priority over repairing our own. As someone who has worked jobs in both demolition and construction, I know that demolishing things is more fun than building them. But the results are no where near as satisfying.

Have we learned a lesson from our arrogance and hubris? Sadly, I think not. All the republican presidential candidates except Ron Paul are advocating for military action against Iran. The neocons and the military industrial complex continue, their bloodlust unsated. And Dick "the dick" Cheney is still alive, so the world still isn't safe from madmen bent on destruction.

The Latest Medical Miracle

2011-12-11T13:15:00.000-08:00

While reading the headlines this morning, and this article caught my eye:

We have created the ultimate hangover cure in a pill (just in time
for Christmas), claim U.S scientists

Wow, that's great! Medical science that we can really use, right? Then I read the actual article to find out more about this great discovery. Uhm:

Hailed as a miracle cure by its maker, the pill contains 500 milligrams of aspirin, 60 milligrams of caffeine and an antacid to soothe upset stomachs.

Yup, that's quite the 'miracle' cure you've invented there. Nobody ever tried treating a hangover with aspirin, caffeine, and antacid before, right?

Jesus Christ on toast, but it don't take much to qualify for miracle status these days.

'Here' is not 'There'

2011-12-10T08:22:00.000-08:00

While the move to Minnesota has been good for the most part, there are a number of things that I do miss about Flagstaff. Mostly, friends and the community. I got a reminder of this in the comments, when my old buddy (oops, he's not that "old") Bill said:

You missed sampling my brine soaked and smoked wild turkey at Maker's Monday. It got rave reviews!

Dang! Sorry I missed that. Although I have gotten to enjoy the results of one of my housemates having success with deer hunting season. In fact, Venison is on the menu for dinner tonight, so I'm not suffering too badly.

But it is really cold here now. Which means it's time for a truly Minnesota form of insanity: Ice Fishing! Most of the folks I know around here (including the woman I live with, who has a sanity deficiency and two fishing poles) are excitedly gearing up for this. I am not. I have plenty of ice in the freezer, and no one can convince me that 'free range, wild caught' ice is that much better than the domestic commercially produced form. While there are rumors that sometimes people accidentally catch fish along with the ice, everyone clearly agrees that the most prevalent feature is still "ice", which is by nature fornicating cold. So I'm not enthused about this activity.

Maybe if my old buddies like Bill, Urland, Sweaterman, Maverick, Teeter, Bliss!, and the rest of the gang all came up (and Zymurgian came down) for an ice fishing excursion, I could generate some enthusiasm. Otherwise, I'd rather stay warm inside with my boring freezer made ice.

Added: Actually, Bill is enough of a crazy outdoor adventure type that he might enjoy ice fishing.

Playoffs!

2011-12-04T16:49:00.000-08:00

Yes, my beloved San Francisco 49'ers are going to the playoffs for the first time since 2002! This makes me quite happy, as it has been a while since the glory years of Montana and Young (I grew up a Niners fan back when John Brodie was the quarterback). Needless to say: Go Niners!

Obscene Weather

2011-12-03T18:07:00.001-08:00

The weather gods are after me! Notice how the snow front stretches all the way from my old home in Flagstaff all the way to my new home in Minnesota.

(Commercial break:)
Authoritative voice: "Do you suffer from Spontaneous Combustion? Ask your firefighter if water is right for you!
(End commercial.)

I'll be hiding under my blankets and indulging all my paranoid fantasies now.

Happy Thanksgiving, Y'all!

2011-11-24T09:58:00.001-08:00

Hope y'all have plenty of football in the oven and food on the TV. Enjoy the celebration, and thanks for stopping by!

Too Strange To Satirize

2011-11-23T15:52:00.000-08:00

Amish terrorists.

'Sam Mullet is evil': Sect leader and six Amish 'beard cutters' charged with hate crimes after FBI raids compound

A beard cutting cult with a leader named "Mullet."

I got nothin'...

11/22

2011-11-22T17:07:00.001-08:00

11/22/1963 is a date when the history of America was profoundly changed for the worse.

Battle Lines Being Drawn

2011-11-20T08:31:00.001-08:00

(yeah, every blogger on the left has posted this picture)

I admit that I haven't participated in the Occupy protests nearly as frequently as I would have liked. 'Real Life' has a way of keeping so many of us busy, which is why I believe that the Occupy protests actually represent a much larger segment of the population than the physical number of participants. 98% of the 99% sympathize with the cause, but they're too busy dealing with being the living symptoms of the disease to actively confront the source of their suffering.
That could start changing real soon.
Taking a look at the bigger picture: the Occupy protests have gotten large enough that the 1%'ers are getting very nervous and striking back. A few examples: 18 cities coordinated police crack downs on Occupy protests, the police are busting heads, beating up pregnant women, old ladies, judges, legal observers (and see this), reporters, skinny students and military heroes. And they’re using military weapons on the American people (militarization of the police has been ongoing for decades). For example, police have been using military sound cannons on protesters. Indeed, police reportedly used a sound cannon to interrupt and disperse protesters peacefully singing the National Anthem.
And now, as further proof the 1%'ers are getting scared, they're deploying their favorite weapon: lobbyists!

A well-known Washington lobbying firm with links to the financial industry has proposed an $850,000 plan to take on Occupy Wall Street and politicians who might express sympathy for the protests, according to a memo obtained by the MSNBC program "Up w/ Chris Hayes."

The proposal was written on the letterhead of the lobbying firm Clark Lytle Geduldig & Cranford and addressed to one of CLGC's clients, the American Bankers Association.

CLGC's memo proposes that the ABA pay CLGC $850,000 to conduct "opposition research" on Occupy Wall Street in order to construct "negative narratives" about the protests and allied politicians....
Two of the memo's authors, partners Sam Geduldig and Jay Cranford, previously worked for House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio.../
nomoremister.blogspot.com/2011/11/gulling-zillionaire-rubes-i-cant-tell.html#links

Funny, I thought the corporate media was already doing their masters bidding. But I guess sometimes you have to elevate the propaganda even further. So remember: "protester" is another word for "dirty fucking hippie", and being poor is a sign that you're just lazy. Make sure that all the "real Americans" hate and fear the 'radicals', lest they join into some sort of rebellion.
Our current reality is a direct result of the Supreme Court's Citizens United decision. Our democracy went up for sale to the highest bidder, and naturally, the richest were able to buy the most politicians to run the government for their benefit. Historically, free elections inoculated America against revolution, as we could 'throw the bums out' every couple of years. But the game is now thoroughly rigged: the rich own all the candidates, control the airwaves, and are well on their way to disenfranchising the most oppressed parts of the population.
I doubt this is going to end well...

Invading Australia

2011-11-16T18:38:00.000-08:00

As I'm sure you've heard (sarcasm), America will soon be deploying Marines to Australia. OK, the deployment doesn't involve any fighting, but it is another example of how out of whack our priorities are:

President Obama and Prime Minister Julia Gillard of Australia announced plans on Wednesday for the first sustained American military presence in Australia, a relatively small deployment that is still a major symbol of American intentions to use regional alliances to counterbalance a rising China...

The first 200 to 250 Marines will arrive next year, with forces rotating in and out and eventually building to 2,500-strong, the two leaders said.
www.nytimes.com/2011/11/17/world/asia/obama-and-gillard-expand-us-australia-military-ties.html?_r=2&hp

Let's see...Sec. of Def. Panetta recently screamed at the thought of any defense budget cuts possibly coming from the 'congressional super committee', but we have plenty of money to send Marines to Australia, as some sort of message to China. A very cunning plan...I guess.

Thought of the day

2011-11-14T18:56:00.000-08:00

I wouldn't mind the fact that the news drives me to drink if it would at least pay the tab and drive me home afterwards.

The Latest Circus

2011-11-09T16:30:00.000-08:00

Not that I really wanted to post anything about Ol' Hermie Cain, but...I mean, the guy ran a chain that made one of the worst fast food pizzas imaginable, and now he's running for president? New rule: if ya' can't make a decent pizza, ya' can't be president ( I am assuming Barack can pull it off).
Now Ol' Hermie's got himself a 'sex scandal', which is a guaranteed way to get yourself a lot of media attention. And on a few rare occasions, some actual consequences (ask John Edwards). The media know that old marketing axiom: sex sells. It sells much better than politics, no matter how simple you make your slogan.
Which is why we'll get lots and lots of air time on this "scandal", but the very real nationally damaging historic crimes committed by The Cheney never caught the media's interest. Ol' Hermie is just the latest act to be thrust on stage.

Powered By The People

2011-10-31T16:12:00.000-07:00

It's such a simple idea: people can generate power. The Occupy movement grasps the concept. And when Mayor Bloombulbug took away the gas powered generators, bicycle generators fired up:

Having lost their gas-powered generators, the protestors at Occupy Wall Street are turning to a more eco-friendly alternative: pedal power.

Keegan Stephan, a bike mechanic and environmentalist at the Zuccotti Park site of the protest in New York, has been pedaling a stationary bronze Schwinn bicycle to provide energy for the protesters' encampment.

"People get really excited when they see these bikes," George Pingeon, a bike tour guide involved with the effort, told the New York Times.

How does the contraption work? The bike is connected to a flywheel, which in turn connects to a dynamo, the Times explains. That dynamo creates energy, which flows through a motor and a one-way diode to charge a black battery.

news.yahoo.com/blogs/lookout/power-people-occupy-wall-street-uses-bikes-generate-141853827.html

Generating electricity is really rather simple: spin the reverse of an electric motor, and electricity comes out. Spinning a generator by using a bicycle is not a new concept. But, hey, you've got a lot of people; let them make their own power.

Now all we need to do is translate this into the political process.

Ending the Disaster

2011-10-22T08:17:00.000-07:00

The absolute worst mistake in the history of American foreign policy is coming to an end as Obama has announced the complete withdrawal of U.S. forces from Iraq. I suppose this is a good thing, pursuant to the first rule of holes: when you're in one, stop digging. But nothing 'good' has or will come out of our horrible misadventure that was the invasion of Iraq. The price paid will be beyond measure, but here's a quick look at some of the costs:

8 years, 260 days since Secretary of State Colin Powell presented evidence of Saddam Hussein’s biological weapons program

8 years, 215 days since the March 20, 2003 invasion of Iraq

8 years, 175 days since President George W. Bush’s “Mission Accomplished” speech on the USS Abraham Lincoln

4,479 U.S. military fatalities

30,182 U.S. military injuries

468 contractor fatalities

103,142 – 112,708 documented civilian deaths

2.8 million internally displaced Iraqis

$806 billion in federal funding for the Iraq War through FY2011

$3 – $5 trillion in total economic cost to the United States of the Iraq war according to economist Joseph E. Stiglitz and Linda J. Blimes

$60 billion in U.S. expenditures lost to waste and fraud in Iraq and Afghanistan since 2001

0 weapons of mass destruction found in Iraq

thinkprogress.org/security/2011/10/21/350368/iraq-by-the-numbers-the-worlds-costliest-cakewalk/

When the shrub/Cheney misadministration slunk into power they made clear their intention to invade Iraq as soon as they could conjure up a plausible pretext. 9/11 became that 'justification', despite the fact that there was absolutely zero connection. Let's face it: the American public was rather gullible at the time, and could easily be sold that a known dusky "boogyman" was a valid target for retribution. All that was required to substitute "Saddam" for "Osama" was a relentless front page marketing campaign, and the phrase "weapons of mass destruction" certainly sounds scary, especially when repeated often and loudly enough.

It was all a pack of lies.

The real legacy of the war in Iraq wont be told for years, and many of the realities may never be faced. America unilaterally invaded another country without justification or provocation, slaughtered civilians and committed atrocities that we will never be held truly accountable for. We wasted trillions of dollars on death and destruction, while our own country and citizens fell into poverty and decay. Shrub and 'the Cheney' truly are guilty of an astounding array of war crimes, but will never be tried in any court of law despite all the evidence against them.

In short: an incredible amount was lost and absolutely nothing was gained by going to war in Iraq. Forgive me if I don't feel much like celebrating its end.

Rangers? Bummer.

2011-10-16T08:21:00.000-07:00

Once again, the Texas Rangers will represent the American League in the World Series. I hate the Rangers (almost as much as I hate the Yankees), and will never forgive them for one simple reason: they effectively are guilty of giving us shrub Bush. Shrub owned a minority share of the team (thanks to a sweetheart family deal) which he sold to finance his run for governor of Texas, which then led to his (Supreme Court aided) disastrous elevation to president. The country has yet to recover from his mis-administration, and the Rangers are partially to blame.
If you watched the games on TV, there was shrub at every Texas home game, yucking it up from his luxury box like the spoiled rich kid with a shiny toy that he is. And I'm sure we'll see him at every Texas home game during the series, when the only place I'd ever want to see his smirking mug is on trial at the Hague.
Last year it was very easy to root against the Rangers, as they were playing my beloved Giants. This year, they will be opposed by one of two teams (either the Cardinals or the Brewers) for whom I generally have rather neutral feelings. But I'm rooting for either one over the hated Rangers. Normally, I don't think of baseball as a political issue. But I'm willing to make an exception for shrub and the Rangers.

Some Thoughts on Occupy Minneapolis

2011-10-09T07:59:00.000-07:00

Having spent the majority of yesterday at the Occupy Minneapolis protests, I'm going to share a few of my observations. The crowd, while not huge, was large enough to be notable. At the peak, I'd estimate around 800-1,000 people (I'm pretty good at estimating crowd sizes, having worked rock concerts for a lot of years), but only about 500 'real' participants, the rest being passersby who kind of 'stopped in'. Very diverse; the usual drum circle hippies that the media likes to focus on, a strong union turnout (International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, United Steel Workers, Nursing and Teachers Unions all having a notable presence), lots of seniors, and a whole bunch of 'just plain working class folks', along with the LaRouche and Paulite fringe. Which is great, with the minor exception that there always seemed to be three different bullhorns shouting to different audiences at the same time. And the free food booths had vegan tabouli and the greasiest cheeseburgers I've ever seen, all available at the same time.
Quite a few witty signs. The one I carried read "We don't make bootstraps in America anymore", which may have been a little too subtle. I actually had a lady tell me "Your sign is wrong. Target sells American made bootstraps", and when I tried to explain that it was an 'analogy' she just looked confused. Sorry, no pics, as my camera failed to survive my last river trip before I moved up here.
It's true that, as the media pundits love to point out, there's no clear 'message' or 'agenda' coming out of the Occupy demonstrations, but I think that could be a strength rather than a weakness. What there clearly was is a general consensus that things are going very badly for most of us, that it is wrong and unfair, and that the country needs to seriously reevaluate the way that our economy works. That over riding feeling is likely far more important than any one single policy proposal, given that "one size fits all" doesn't work for all the "99%" present. And I don't believe that the majority wanted any one "answer" so much as they just want a fair chance. The vast majority of the crowd are the type of working people who could 'get by' in the past, but now can't find jobs or fear losing the jobs they have, are overwhelmed by costs from housing and medical care, and are generally afraid for their and their children's future. They're not looking for a revolution; rather, they just want to have a system that works.
So how meaningful is it? I'm really not certain. I do know that this was very different from any other protest I've ever participated in (and believe me, as an old liberal hippie, I've been part of many protests), and it looks to be growing. If I were a "1%er", I'd be worried.

Occupy Everywhere

2011-10-07T15:17:00.000-07:00

When I first read about the Occupy Wall Street protests, my cynical response was "like that'll accomplish anything." Tomorrow, I will be joining in at the Occupy Minneapolis protest.
What changed? Well, momentum for one major thing. Seems like a lot of people were just waiting for a venue to express their anger at our current economic situation. Once the protests achieved that critical level of mass where the media could no longer ignore them, and more people became aware that they weren't alone in their angst, protests began springing up all around the country. Now, every major city has one. And a lot of smaller towns are getting action, too.
The (corporate owned) media has tried to downplay it, and marginalize the crowds as being "hippies and anarchists", but it isn't working. For one simple reason: the public sees the protesters, and they see themselves. Working Americans who've played by the rules but are struggling harder and harder just to survive, barely employed or unemployed, while the wealthiest grow increasingly richer. The general public may be dumb, but they're not stupid; they know that something is going dramatically wrong in this country, and that they're the ones getting screwed.
It was entertaining to watch the 'pundits' in the first week or so of Occupy Wall Street, all agreeing that the protesters had "no clear message or agenda." Which, while partly true, is absolutely irrelevant. Remember back during Stephen Colbert's rally where the crowd was chanting "three word slogan, three word slogan" over and over? That was brilliant satire. The simple fact is that there is no simple slogan or message to address the complex problems facing us. We need a systemic change, and right now those in power are doing all they can to prevent any such change. Just look at the congressional republicans (not that the democrats are a whole lot better) who claim to be about "jobs, jobs, jobs" and address this by attempting to further restrict women's access to abortion. Not quite sure how that agenda is supposed to work, but they seem to believe that it will hurt Obama's chances of re-election so they're pushing it as far as they can.
Ya' wanna boost America's economy? It really wouldn't be that hard to do. Just drop a few trillion dollars on infrastructure repair and upgrade. Doing that would require a lot of workers, who then would have more income, which they would then spend buying things, which would boost that magical 'consumer spending' that business so covets. "But we don't have the money because of the deficit" conservatives will scream. Funny, we had plenty of trillions to spend destroying and rebuilding the infrastructure of Iraq and Afghanistan (OK, not that Afghanistan had any real infrastructure to destroy, but we're rebuilding one anyway) and besides, as my blog friend badtux the snarky penguin likes to point out, the government owns a printing press. During a recession, putting more money into circulation is a smart move; austerity only prolongs the recession. Oh, and all those workers: They'd be paying taxes on that income, instead of not paying income tax due to a lack of income. I know that this will come as a shock to the tea party folk, but most people don't mind paying taxes if they're earning more money.
Will these protests actually accomplish any change? I have no idea. I do know that it's worth a try. I know that protesting against the Iraq war didn't prevent it. But sitting around, doing nothing, certainly isn't going to effect any change. And this movement seems to be growing and spreading. If enough of us are out there showing our faces and raising our voices, that top 1% just might get nervous enough and realise that there's a limit to how much they can get away with. If they're halfway smart, they'll understand that the time to engage in some wealth redistribution is before the pitchforks and torches enter their gated communities.
So I'll be joining my local Occupy protest. And I hope you will, too. After all, it's not like we have the money to buy our own congressperson. But if there are enough of us out there, we might be able to scare them into action. Besides, anything that upsets Eric Cantor is a thing well worth doing.
Added: My old pal monkeyfister is back in action, and he's on fire about the Occupy protests.
Added 2: Heres some maps for Occupy Everywhere and Occupy Together. Hope there's one near you!

Happy National Vodka Day

2011-10-04T15:57:00.001-07:00

Happy National Vodka Day. While I’m more of a beer guy myself, I support this holiday. More - here, here and here. And all my old friends in Arizona can celebrate with local vodka from my friends at www.arizonahighspirits.com/index.php.

Today's "Did You Know?"

2011-09-29T16:09:00.000-07:00

Did you know that...
If you hold your ear up against a strangers leg, you can hear

them saying "what the fuck are you doing?"

It's true.

History and Technology

2011-09-28T15:53:00.000-07:00

That is a photo of the card catalog of the Library of Congress around 1918. Now, many of us carry all that information and more around in our pocket. Less than a century later.

Which is why I'm always skeptical when I hear someone projecting what the future will be like in more than a fairly short period. Especially economists.

If someone in 1918 said "in less than a century, we'll fit all this onto something the size of a small book" they'd most likely land in an asylum.

(Prompted by a conversation today with a person who was quite adamantly telling me about the future of technology. I'm not saying that he was wrong; just that I'm skeptical that his predictions will be the actual reality.)

(Also, I thought Sweaterman would like the pic.)

Latest Sign of the Apocalypse

2011-09-26T16:51:00.000-07:00

OK, not really. But it is a break with one of those traditions that had been true throughout my life:

Hoping to boost sagging revenue, the U.S. Postal Service on Monday abandoned its longstanding rule that stamps cannot feature people who are still alive and is asking the public for suggestions.

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_STAMPS_ALIVE?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

It was a concrete rule that the only way to get on a postage stamp was to die. And it was a sacred truth that anybody on a U.S. stamp was dead.

And now that I think about it, a Lady Gaga postage stamp could really be a sign that civilization is doomed.

Dormant; Not Dead, But Changing

2011-09-24T07:44:00.001-07:00

This old blog has been suffering from an abundance of inactivity lately, I know. There's a reasonably good reason for this, at least in my mind: I've been making major life changes. While I rarely post much 'personal blogging', I'll share this update.

For a variety of reasons, I've moved from my beloved Flagstaff, AZ, to Minnesota. It was a difficult decision, as I have many dear friends in Flag. Not to mention Minnesota winters, which I'm not really looking forward to. But after 17 years in Flag (city motto: poverty with a view), my life had become quite stagnant. Here in Minnesota I've got good job prospects and a good woman to share my life with. And I really needed to get out of the rut my life was in.

I have no idea whether this change will lead to more blogging or even less, but at least the politics will be better. Heck, in the senate alone I just traded John McCain and Jon Kyl for Amy Klobuchar and Al Franken. Which is a damn good trade when you think about it.

Obligatory 9/11 Post

2011-09-11T20:04:00.000-07:00

There is no 'win' in a war against a verb.

Presidents and Chess

2011-08-30T09:48:00.000-07:00

Read a very interesting article on which US Presidents played chess. I happen to enjoy a good game of chess, myself. I'm not saying that playing chess means that you are smarter-I know plenty of smart people who don't play-but it is a game where intelligence matters.

(sorry, I tried to post the table, but the formatting is royally screwed up. Just go to the link to see.)

http://chessbase.com/newsdetail.asp?newsid=7474

Now, what first struck me is the party breakdown among those who have been President during my lifetime. Every Democratic since LBJ has been a chess player, while Dwight Eisenhower was the only Republican who played (and the last decent Republican President in my opinion) during my lifetime.

Doesn't prove anything, but it is an interesting (at least to me) division.

Hurricane Advice

2011-08-26T09:15:00.000-07:00

With hurricane Irene bearing down on the east coast, blog friend Jack of What Would Jack Do has posted A few tips on hurricane preparation for the uninitiated, and it's a great read. My favorite tip:

4. Alcohol (and limes). I can’t stress this enough. No self-respecting human being should EVER have to face an approaching tropical storm of ANY strength without a sizable supply of alcohol and associated accoutrements.

Seriously though, this looks like a very real threat and I urge all my east coast readers to take all appropriate precautions.
Added: Here's FEMA's Hurricane preparedness page.

Could Be Worse

2011-08-02T07:02:00.000-07:00

Haven't felt like posting anything about the stupid bullshit debt ceiling debate as the whole process has been disgusting and depressing. A crisis ginned up by thugs to force a choice between cutting federal spending during a recession (a very bad idea) or defaulting and blowing up the whole global economy (a really, really, really very bad idea) ain't much of a choice.

So now we've got a "compromise" that's only 'very bad' as opposed to a total disaster. The rethugs get to expand their policy of "death to the poor", the dims continue to be weak and useless, and the recession will grind on even longer. No new jobs for anyone, even though that is what the economy actually needs.

The only good thing in the whole process was Rep. Gabrielle Giffords makes first return to House since Jan. 8th shooting to cast vote in favor of debt deal. Everything else was dismal.

Added: Passed the senate 74-26. Now we get another "bi-partisan commission", and we all know that those always work wonders.

Pics that made me happy

2011-07-26T08:36:00.001-07:00

My beloved San Francisco Giants being honored at the White House.

I wonder if 'The Beard' could help with the debt ceiling negotiations?

Congrats, New York

2011-07-25T12:20:00.001-07:00

Gay people are getting married in New York, and that's a great thing. My view on gay marriage is really quite simple: 'equal rights' means equal rights for all.

I'm reminded of Branch Rickey's statement on the integration of baseball, "I truly believe that future generations will look back and wonder what all the fuss was about."

Current Budget Priorities

2011-07-19T09:59:00.001-07:00

(click for big)
The above graphic comparing the cost of going to The moon vs. Afghanistan(the moon landing was cheaper, even after adjusting for inflation) got me thinking about how much America's priorities have changed in my lifetime. While the comparison between the space program and our current wars is more "apples to hubcaps" than "apples to oranges", it still is a clear example of changes in government expenditures. The end of America's manned space program and the shuttle program is a fact; the end of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are future hypotheticals at best.
As congress and the administration engage in kabuki theater around the budget and deficit, parsing away on how much they should kill the 'American dream' by (one side wants it completely extinct, while the other side would leave a small sliver on life support), I despair at the choices being made. We've gone from "anything is possible" to "everything is impossible" in a few short decades. The future is most certainly not what it used to be.
Which is why I rarely feel like blogging anymore...
Added: here's a good read: Social Security's Been Successful For Eighty Years. Reaganisn's Been A Failure For Thirty.

Charming Fellow

2011-07-09T10:37:00.001-07:00

(Cloud over Flagstaff. Photo by George Breed)

My local Congressman, Paul Gosar, is a pretty typical wingnut repub. But he's usually just clueless and not particularly notable. However, one of his staffers has resigned after a series of violent tweets that sound very disturbing for anyone here locally:

A staffer in the Flagstaff office of Rep. Paul Gosar (R-Ariz.) who used his Twitter account to trumpet the downfall of former Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-N.Y.) resigned Friday after Roll Call discovered violent messages he tweeted.

Roll Call learned on Friday that Blake Schritter, a caseworker and office manager in one of Gosar’s district offices, had posted messages about drunken exploits and his desire to gun down professors and postal workers.

http://www.rollcall.com/news/rep_gosar_staffer_quits_after_violent_twitter_posts-207127-1.html?pos=htmbtxt

For example, he wants to shoot NAU professors:

"I can’t believe how unprofessional liberal professors can be. I’m sitting here, cleaning my gun, thinking...this is a classroom!!!” Schritter, a graduate student in Northern Arizona University’s criminology program who also graduated from the school's criminal justice program, posted on June 23.

And the local postal workers (many of whom are friends of mine):

On June 2 he tweeted: “The line at the post office is moving at a glacial pace. I’m ready to open fire with a handgun to get some damn service!”

Come election time, it might be a good idea to remember the kind of charming people Rep. Gosar chooses to employ to staff his local office.

Also, this being Arizona, this guy is free to carry his guns all around town, concealed if he so desires.

Truth

2011-07-08T12:55:00.001-07:00

This one is for Fearguth at Bildungblog, who makes me jealous.

One Last Time

2011-07-08T10:20:00.001-07:00

Atlantis had a successful liftoff this morning, the last space shuttle flight. The end of thirty years of service.

What makes this such a melancholy moment is that this is the effective death of America's manned space program. As someone who grew up with the glory of the race to the moon, space was always exciting. We believed that we could do anything; that science, technology, and invention were our future.

But America is now a dying empire, and this is our last big show of our prowess. We can't build anymore manned spacecraft programs. The simple fact that a thirty year old vehicle is the best we have (and are retiring) makes me sad. Thirty years without advancing any further, nor any plan to advance ahead.

Another dream from our childhood now dying, and it's all downhill from here.

How Exciting

2011-07-01T10:11:00.001-07:00

For the most part, I've been ignoring the republican presidential primary contenders. A circus only made up of clowns has very little entertainment value. But now that Thaddeus McCotter is filing his presidential paperwork today and plans to formally announce tomorrow, I just might have to take interest. He's such an exciting candidate, after all. Right?

< /satire >

Beer History

2011-06-29T08:40:00.000-07:00

File this under "jobs I wish I had":

The Beer Archaeologist

Really interesting for us beer fans.

The 40 Year War

2011-06-17T09:36:00.000-07:00

On June 17th, 1971, Richard Nixon declared a "war" on drugs. It really should have been called a "war on some people who use some drugs", as pharmaceuticals have obviously been given a pass. Fourty years later we have the worlds highest rate of incarceration, drug gangs, and millions of lives ruined, but plenty of 'illegal' drugs available. Could we declare 'peace' now? Because this war will never be won.

Long time blog friend badtux the snarky penguin has a great piece, An anniversary on the topic. Well worth reading.

(Also, I apologize for the lack of posts lately. I just really haven't felt much like blogging about stuff recently.)

Hullabaloo

2011-06-04T10:14:00.001-07:00

Spending the day at Flagstaff Hullabaloo (www.flagstaffhullabaloo.com), a "celebration of all things Flagstaff", which includes the reunion of iconic local band Onus B. Johnson. This should be fun.

Ancient History

2011-05-29T10:38:00.001-07:00

File under "things that make me feel old": Today would be John F. Kennedy's 94th birthday, were he still alive. Because of that day in Dallas, I'll always remember him as a 'young' man, and wonder how our history might have been so different had he lived a long, full life.

Buster Broken

2011-05-26T10:59:00.000-07:00

This is a very sad day for all of us Giants fans. Buster Posey suffered a broken ankle in a collision at the plate in last night's game. Posey was an essential key part in the Giants quest to repeat as world champions, not only because he's a great hitter but because of the way he handles the Giants pitchers. It's hard to see the Giants succeeding without him.

Damn!

Added: a link Posey likely out for season with ankle injury

Another Failed Rapture

2011-05-22T09:11:00.000-07:00

Once again, an 'end of the world' prophecy has been proven wrong. That makes five or six apocalypses I've lived through (not counting the shrub administration).

Rapture Flow Chart

2011-05-21T09:16:00.000-07:00

(Click for big enough to read)
As this chart clearly shows, you are not going to be raptured. Of course, the mere fact that you are reading this blog is proof of impure thoughts, so you will be "left behind".
Also, I really wish the rapture were true. It would be nice to be rid of all those self-righteous evangelicals.
More beer for the rest of us...

Please, Bring on the Rapture

2011-05-20T08:31:00.000-07:00

I know I'm a bad blogger. I'm actually kinda hoping that the 'Rapture' actually does happen tomorrow. It won't, but I wouldn't miss some of the crazy fundies. Of course, most of them are way too hypocritical to actually meet there purity standards. A lot of "Christians" aren't going to be happy come Sunday.

The Running of the Newt

2011-05-12T10:03:00.000-07:00

Now that the slimy Newt is an announced candidate in the 2012 GOP goat rodeo, we need a good conspiracy theory for him. I demand an investigation!

Happy 80th, Kid

2011-05-06T14:20:00.000-07:00

Willie Mays, the "say hey kid", turns 80 today. It is not an exaggeration to call him the greatest baseball player of all time. And certainly one of the classiest.

On afternoon back in May of 1964, I was sitting in a grade school classroom, when my Father showed up. He told my teacher that I had a dentist appointment, and took me out of class. But he didn't take me to the dentist. Instead, we went to Candlestick Park, where my Dad got us center field bleacher seats. My first baseball game. Dad told me to watch Willie, as he was (according to Dad) "the greatest ballplayer you'll ever see." 47 years later, Dad was still right. I've never seen another player who's as good at every facet of the game. Willie Mays remains the greatest baseball player I've ever seen.

If you doubt me, take a look at the Willie Mays page at Baseball Reference. Other players may have been better at one part of the game or another. But Willie was among the best at hitting, power, speed, fielding, and throwing of all time. He was the complete package.

So, Happy Birthday, Willie. Thank you for letting me watch, and learn to appreciate, the greatness of baseball.

5/5

2011-05-05T19:24:00.000-07:00

I don't care what day you say it is. I am not putting my mayonnaise in my sink.

Keeping it Simple

2011-05-05T09:51:00.000-07:00

Seems like the whole (never) right wing is freaking out that Obama got Osama. They feel that shrub should be getting the credit.
Here's the simple response:
Shrub disbanded the CIA's bin Laden task force in 2005.
Obama reinstated the bin Laden task force shortly after taking office in 2009.
Those are the facts. Deal with it, wingnuts.

Geek Humor

2011-05-04T18:31:00.001-07:00

May the Fourth be with you!

A Few More Thoughts on bin Laden's Death

2011-05-02T10:00:00.000-07:00

Obviously, this is major news. But like most major news stories, the killing of Osama bin Laden will have ramifications and repercussions that will take time to play out. Still, I have some thoughts that I want to express.

First, a little personal background: I first took interest in bin Laden in the late 1990's after the African Embassy and U.S.S. Cole bombings. I'd been interested in Middle East politics and history for many years, and began trying to learn Arabic in 1995. As I read more of bin Laden's fatwas and began to understand more about Al Qaeda's brand of Wahhabi extremism, I became convinced that his threats were quite real. Osama was a quite complex man, an extremely wealthy, western educated Saudi elite who embraced a primitive fanaticism for an Islamic caliphate coupled with extreme anti-Americanism. In his many fatwas, he was strikingly clear about his plans for jihad against the U.S. and the types of tactics he intended to utilize. When 9/11 occurred, my immediate reaction was "damn, bin Laden pulled it off" (ask Sweaterman, who was stuck listening to my rants hours before the media made the Al Qaeda connection) as it was the type of attack I had been expecting. Really, he told us what he intended to do long before he actually did it, in accordance with Islamic laws of war, but it certainly seemed that the shrub administration ignored his words as the 'ravings of a madman'. Which was a frustrating issue; it was easy to dismiss bin Laden's threats because they sounded 'crazy' to our world view, but I never doubted that he was honest about his intentions nor doubt his capabilities.

Obligatory reading: the much more knowledgeable Juan Cole at Informed Comment has posted his thoughts titled Obama and the End of Al-Qaeda, which has both a very complete history of bin Laden and a thoughtful look at the implications of his death. A small sample:

Then he and his number two man, Egyptian Ayman al-Zawahiri, came to the conclusion that the reason they could not overthrow the governments of Egypt (Hosni Mubarak’s dictatorship) and Saudi Arabia and so forth was that these were backed by the United States. They decided it had been a mistake to hit the “near enemy” first. They decided to hit the “far enemy” on American soil. Bin Laden thought that if only he could entice the US into the Middle East, he could do to it what he thought he had done to the Soviet Union.

http://www.juancole.com/2011/05/obama-and-the-end-of-al-qaeda.html

One salient fact that most Americans don't understand, and would vehemently deny: Osama bin Laden is winning his war. He made quite clear that his strategy was to destroy the American economy, and thereby empire, by dragging us into a prolonged occupation and warfare in the Islamic Middle East. Shrub did exactly what Osama desired by invading Iraq, and the subsequent draining of the American economy has been exactly what he intended to achieve. His death does nothing to change that reality.

After 9/11 and the invasion of Afghanistan, bin Laden ceded all operational control of Al Qaeda. He became a figurehead who hoped to inspire the offspring of multiple regional splinter groups, and again he has been successful. Killing him may seem like a symbolic victory for America, but his martyrdom is also the symbolism he intended. The only way this will benefit America will be if it hastens our withdrawal from Iraq and Afghanistan, and if we change our counter terrorism strategy away from military intervention towards greater intelligence gathering and very carefully targeted operations.

Killing Osama was necessary for the American psyche, but we're still in the same mess today as we were yesterday.

Finally

2011-05-01T20:56:00.000-07:00

Interesting that Osama bin Laden has finally met justice. I'm surprised by a few of the details. Near Islamabad. In a mansion. In a firefight. Lengthy intelligence operation.

The media seem to forget that bin Laden issued his Fatwa against America long before 9/11. They do remember shrub saying "dead or alive", but will they notice that it was actually Obama who got Osama? And if what Obama said is anywhere close to the truth, they're actually engaging in useful intelligence. And some old fashioned spywork.

One big factor is that ISI was clearly involved. That will have some serious political implications in both Pakistan and Afghanistan,

Al Queda will still exist, but without bin Laden it will be weaker. So today's news is good.

May Day

2011-05-01T12:13:00.001-07:00

Sorry about the paucity of posts. Between 'blogger malaise' and my internet service being down repeatedly, there hasn't been much activity here. Just a brief note to Verizon: 'upgrading' is a term that usually means improving service in some way, not making it crash every other day.

2011-04-26T12:51:00.000-07:00

25 years since Chernobyl

Earth Day Boobies

2011-04-22T12:15:00.000-07:00

Boobies are one of the nice things about Earth. Also, happy 'above average' Friday.

'More War' McCain

2011-04-22T08:55:00.000-07:00

So good ol' St. Sleazy McCain has made his way to Libya, and guess what he thinks should happen there:

BENGHAZI, Libya (AP) — U.S. Sen. John McCain, one of the strongest proponents in Congress of the American military intervention in Libya, said Friday that Libyan rebels fighting Moammar Gadhafi's troops are his heroes.

The top Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee made the remark after arriving in Benghazi, a city that has been the opposition capital in the rebel-held eastern Libya.

McCain said he was in Benghazi "to get an on the ground assessment of the situation" and planned to meet with the rebel National Transition Council, the de-facto government in the eastern half of the country, and members of the rebel military.

...

But as the U.S. handed operational control over to NATO — and withdrew U.S. combat aircraft — McCain criticized the administration.

"For the United States to withdraw our unique offensive capabilities at this time would send the wrong signal," McCain said. He said the U.S. must not fail in Libya and said he spoke as someone experienced in a lost conflict, a reference to his time as a prisoner of war in Vietnam, where he served as a Navy pilot.

McCain also has pushed for arming the rebels, saying the U.S. and its partners cannot allow Gadhafi to consolidate his hold on one section of the country and create a military deadlock.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5j1PbaTcWtkYOVonh-uifB9-UePXA?docId=b8d2a3be474641fcb2cbdf92011d8bd2

One would think that his time as a POW would have curbed his enthusiasm for wars, but instead he's taken the opposite view. Which is why we should all be glad that he isn't president. If he were, lord only knows how many wars we'd be in by now.

Surprise! Brewer Does the Right Thing!

2011-04-19T09:26:00.000-07:00

I'll be the first to admit that I didn't expect this: Gov. Brewer Vetoes Birther Bill, Guns on Campus. Ol' Jan is usually very right wing and pro gun, so it's significant that the bills coming out of the state legislature went too far for her.

PHOENIX - Arizona Governor Jan Brewer has vetoed two controversial bills passed by both the Arizona Senate and House -- the guns on campus bill and the 'birther' bill.

Guns on Campus Bill: SB 1467

- Would've allowed guns to be carried on public rights of way at public university and community college campuses
- Applies only to "rights of way" -- not inside classrooms
- University presidents opposed the bill
- Student support was mixed

"This bill was very sloppily written and drafted... and we can't even find out a definition, what is a right of way? It just wasn't defined to be able to tell the courts or the policeman how they are going to enforce a law like that," Governor Brewer told us.

Sen. Ron Gould is the bill's sponsor. He says he's disappointed.

'Birther' Bill: HB 2177

- Would've required President Barack Obama and other presidential candidates to prove they are U.S. citizens before their names can appear on the state's ballot
- Arizona would've become the first state to require such proof
- 13 other states have considered similar proposals this year. The proposals were defeated in Arkansas, Connecticut, Maine and Montana

As for her decision to veto this bill, Gov. Brewer said in part: "I never imagined being presented with a bill that could require candidates for President of the greatest and most powerful nation on earth to submit their 'early baptismal or circumcision certificates'… this is a bridge too far. This measure creates significant new problems while failing to do anything constructive for Arizona."

http://www.myfoxphoenix.com/dpp/news/politics/state_politics/brewer-vetoes-birther-bill-guns-on-campus-4-18-2011

The state of crazy in Arizona, when Jan Brewer starts looking sane by comparison.

Fresh Boobies

2011-04-15T12:40:00.000-07:00

Have a wonderful Friday!

Practical Religion

2011-04-14T11:35:00.000-07:00

There are many things about religion that confuse me. But I do understand the urge to pray to a god for intervention when a situation is going badly. So I understand why these folks in Dublin, GA are asking god for help:

A Dublin church group plans to gather pump-side Saturday and pray for the gas prices to drop.

Mabry says he can remember when gas jumped from under $1 to $1.50 and says, now, with prices reaching almost $4, he says he plans to ask God for help.

And this isn't the first time his congregation has gathered at Kroger's gas pumps.

"If it doesn't drop down to nothin' but ten cents, I'm happy with that. But what I really want to believe God to do is drop down $1.50, hey, I'm glad with that, too," says the pastor.

http://www.13wmaz.com/news/story.aspx?storyid=124242

Of course, it isn't going to work. They fail to understand one simple fact: oil companies bought off god a long time ago.

Lovely Spring Weather

2011-04-08T12:30:00.001-07:00

And by "lovely spring weather" I mean "winter storm warning" with sleet and overnight snow. Forecast calls for "up to" a foot of snow by tomorrow night (although forecasts don't mean anything around here). Anyway, here's some Boobies.

"Death To The Poor"

2011-04-07T10:22:00.001-07:00

We should be making it very clear that the current GOP agenda truly is "death to the poor". The latest example is the very “serious” Ryan budget plan: destroy medicare and medicaid while further cutting taxes for the wealthy. Throw in the impending government shutdown, and the GOP is clear about where their priorities are. One good read: Paul Ryan and the New Politics of Sadism:

The object of his politics is to render political liberty subservient to economic exigencies, to render it an unaffordable luxury item available only to the wealthy, because only the wealthy are competent enough to exercise it. Ryan has come to the unremarkable intellectual conclusion that more people would rather inflict pain — even vicariously, even through his greasy sadist’s smile — than receive it. He has seen that dynamic in action. Even the White House, occupied for the nonce by a putatively progressive Democrat, has signed on in a gentler way to the notion that “austerity” is the way out of our current economic morass, and “austerity” is fairly defined in this context as making other people hurt so you’ll feel better about yourself. Unemployed workers, whose pensions were looted by Wall Street sharpers, rage against the pensions of public workers, not because those pensions are so gloriously lavish, but because they exist at all. Somebody has something you don’t and they must pay for that. Small wonder that Paul Ryan thinks he can grin his way to the dystopic wasteland that he sees when he dreams of a free country.

What is even worse is that Obama and the Dems are reacting with unfettered timidity. They should be screaming about the GOP''s direct assault on the vast majority of the American people, not cowardly attempting to "compromise" with these extremists. The "Ryan budget" should be the biggest political club used to bludgeon the repubs on a daily basis. It's a very simple message: "the republicans want to take money from you and give it to the wealthiest 1%." Sadly, that will not happen. I do have a personal stake in Ryan's attempt to destroy medicare: Ryan propose a voucher system for those currently under age 55, which could be used to get 'private insurance'. I'm currently 52, and while I'm in reasonably good health right now I have a very long list of 'pre-existing conditions' that will only get worse as I get older. In short, the Ryan plan would condemn me (and a huge number of people like me) to an early death. Steven D of Booman Tribune shares his tragic story GOP Wants to Kill Me (and You). I hope you'll read it. It's really beyond time to say "enough is enough" to the GOP's assault on us, the people. If we want American society to survive, we must stand up to the oligarchs efforts to reduce us to serfs.

Seafood

2011-04-05T10:04:00.001-07:00

I love seafood. It's literally my favorite food group. So the past year has been really depressing. First the BP oil spill contaminates the gulf, which will impact the food chain for decades. Then we get the radioactive water from Japan's reactor disaster spilling into the Pacific. I'm not an alarmist by nature, but the long term impacts of these two events will be huge. Despite the authorities 'reassurances' that the oil spill 'wasn't that bad' and that the radioactive water will 'disperse', anyone who understands pollution of an ecosystem knows that the total effects from these spills will take years to spread through the food chain. The bottom feeders will be the first contaminated; shellfish and halibut for example. The pollutants will then be spread to larger predator fish like tuna, snapper, and the like. Given that stocks of the 'food' fish were already in decline, safe seafood is well on it's way to scarcity and the price will soar into luxury status. Which really pisses me off. I'm not going to panic yet, but the thought of a future without eating scallops or sushi is depressing.

All Fool's Friday

2011-04-01T10:27:00.000-07:00

So here's a...wait a minute. That's not a Boobie!

That's not either. Newt Gingrich may be a boob, but he's not a Boobie.

Ah, that's more like it. Happy Friday!

It's A National Holiday

2011-03-31T10:46:00.000-07:00

Yes, it's the opening day of Baseball! It's my second favorite holiday, and I fully intend to celebrate properly. Oh, and my beloved San Francisco Giants are the proud owners of this:

Please Don't

2011-03-30T14:13:00.001-07:00

Not as big as the national or world news, but I really didn't need to read that Ann Kirkpatrick is looking to run for congress again:

Former Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick, a freshman Democrat ousted in last year's Republican tidal wave, is angling for a rematch against Rep. Paul Gosar, R-Ariz. She told AZ/DC Tuesday that she has made the decision to run for her seat again in 2012.

Kirkpatrick, a Flagstaff resident, said she has heard from her former constituents that Gosar, a Flagstaff dentist, is not responsive to the 1st Congressional District's priorities.

"It's clear to me, now that Paul Gosar has a record, that he is toeing the party line rather than serving the district," she said. "The real key for me is the number of people who I've been hearing from in the district -- and this is Democrats, independents, Republicans and even folks who are actively involved in the 'tea party' -- that they feel he is deeply out-of-touch with the district."

Kirkpatrick said she hopes the 2012 political climate will be more hospitable to her candidacy because it is a presidential year and likely will have a bigger turnout.

http://www.azcentral.com/members/Blog/azdc/123758

Look, I like you, Ann. But you were totally ineffective during your term in congress. You're not a very good campaigner, which you proved by losing to an absolute whacko Paul Gosar. And I'm not saying this just because you turned me down when I volunteered for your campaign in 2010 due to our previous disagreements. It's that if you run, you will lose again.

We need a stronger candidate in AZ-01 for 2012.

There Were Giants In Those Days

2011-03-28T05:31:00.000-07:00

Joe Bageant, 1946-2011

After a vibrant life, Joe Bageant died yesterday following a four-month struggle with cancer. He was 64. Joe is survived by his wife, Barbara, his three children, Timothy, Patrick and Elizabeth, and thousands of friends and admirers. He is also survived by his work and ideas.

According to Joe's wishes, he will be cremated. His family will hold a private memorial service.

I hate it when I can't sleep and go online to news like this. R.I.P. Joe, you will be missed.

Friday Boobies

2011-03-25T10:04:00.000-07:00

Regardless of all other world events, Friday's should have Boobies.

While My Opinion Doesn't Matter

2011-03-21T19:15:00.000-07:00

Yeah, I'm a lousy blogger. And I've held off on commenting about things like Libya, Japan, Wisconsin, and...(fill in blank), but I have an excuse: I'm still waiting and seeing.
But I will say a few things on Libya here.
First: while I'm as antiwar as anybody, this is not "America at war". It's another fornicating 'military action', which is not a good thing, but still less than a war.
Second: Please throw all Iraq comparisons out your window. This isn't a pointless, unprovoked invasion. At least, I hope. Obama is much smarter than Shrub.
Third: This really wasn't a military action that was started by America. The UN initiative was more a result of European pressure. Europe is much more dependant on Libyan oil than we are. Prolonged instability of a civil war in Libya would seriously hurt the Euro, so intervention was inevitable. The French and British had no choice.
Fourth: Yes, it is about oil. The tsunami in Japan threw the world in "crisis mode" and any urge to let Libya "resolve itself" became untenable on the world market. Which is why everybody involved will work for a quick resolution. Europe wants stability even more than we do.
Fifth: I do think that Obama has done a fairly good job of walking a fairly fine line. Being cautious is not a bad thing, nor is acting when the time is advantageous.
Sixth: Dear media: Libya is not in the "Middle East"; it is in North Africa. In Fact, Tripoli is the main North African port.
Seventh: Know at least something before you speak: I happened to hear one of the Sunday talkers say "then why aren't we going into Bahrain?" (I forget which one) and I wanted to scream at my TV. The simple reason we aren't "going into" Bahrain is that we're already there. Our Fifth Fleet is based there. I realize this may come as a surprise to some idealists, but we do treat allies of convenience differently than we do 'enemies'.

That's a Tomahawk missile. They cost around a million bucks apiece. We just gave Libya over a 120 of them for "free" if you look at the federal budget. Next time a repub wants to cut anything that helps American people, ask how he feels about giving cruise missiles to foreigners.

(click to enlarge)

Qaddafi has been a "bad guy" for almost thirty years. He's the original 'terrorist', and nobody should be surprised by his brutality. When the tide of change in the region washed over him, he behaved in the way that everyone should have expected. He should have run away while he had the chance. But he's a dumb, crazy brute who only understands crushing. And, as a result, he will be crushed.

World "realpolitik" is bigger than Obama and Qaddafi combined.

Spring (Training) Boobies

2011-03-18T06:34:00.000-07:00

A fine Friday. Sweaterman and I are taking the trip down to the valley to catch a spring training baseball game, thereby proving that winter is over.

So many things that I haven't blogged about lately. Major events in so many different spheres that I find myself taking a "wait and see" attitude, but most everything looks bad right now. The latest simple example: we have the house republicans defunding public radio in the name of "austerity" (yes, I know it's really about ideology), but we have plenty of money in the budget to send a bunch of 'free cruise missiles' to Libya. It's nice to know what the priorities are.

I'll leave you with an Arizona joke:

"Even with the huge cuts to the states education budget, Arizona kids will still learn their 'A,B,C's'. They'll just have to go to another state to learn the other 23 letters."

Craziest Speculative Story of the Day

2011-03-14T09:27:00.000-07:00

Let me be clear: I try to avoid anything and everything associated with Sarah Palin. The very fact that she is somehow considered relevant is evidence that American politics may be too stupid to survive.

But then I read this example of extreme insanity:

Former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin, we learned earlier this week, is rumored to be planning to base her hypothetical presidential campaign in Scottsdale, but GOP sources tell New Times the one-time darling of the Conservative movement might be coming to the Grand Canyon State for a different reason: to run for the Senate seat being vacated by Senator Jon Kyl.
Sadly, it makes sense.

Arizona is the Mecca of Conservative kookdom, so it would be much easier for someone like Palin to get elected here than it would be for her to get elected nationally -- where the far-right-wing agenda is much less popular.
GOP sources tell New Times Palin fell in love with Arizona while campaigning with Senator John McCain during the 2008 presidential race, and that she already owns a home here. Although, no record of any Sarah Palin-owned property in Maricopa County is found on the County Assessor's website (there are, however, four homes owned by people with the last name Palin, and homes owned by people with the same names as Palin's sister and father).

Not to mention, Palin's daughter Bristol's inexplicable move to Maricopa, which we'll now assume had more to do with her mother's future plans than her desire to see Mexico from her back porch.

Congressman Jeff Flake is the only declared candidate for the seat, however, former TV pitchman J.D. Hayworth, fagala-fearing Congressman Trent Franks, and several other local GOPers have expressed an interest in the seat.

Palin's capable of raising a lot of money, which spells trouble for other Republicans looking to run. Hayworth and Franks would likely bow out (although, watching three crazy people argue over who's crazier could be fun).
http://blogs.phoenixnewtimes.com/valleyfever/2011/03/is_sarah_palin_considering_a_s.php

I've always doubted that Palin would actually run for president due to her own greed and sloth. Simply put, I don't believe that she would take the pay cut or accept the work load involved. So I seriously doubt that she'll actually run for senator here. But the scary reality is that if she did run here in Arizona it's quite likely that she would win.

Also, Boobies

2011-03-11T10:46:00.000-08:00

Friday, therefore Boobies.

Another Way The GOP Budget Plan Can Kill

2011-03-11T08:44:00.000-08:00

An 8.9 magnitude earthquake hit Japan It was the largest known earthquake to hit Japan and one of the largest in history, and the ensuing tsunami has been devastating. Tsunami waves are now reaching America's west coast.

What does that have to do with the GOP budget proposal? Glad you asked. Via Sam Stein:, one of the provisions in the house Republicans proposed budget is to drastically cut the tsunami warning and response system:

WASHINGTON -- Thursday night's massive earthquake in Japan and the resulting tsunami warnings that have alarmed U.S. coasts, seem likely to ignite a debate over a previously little-discussed subsection of the spending bills currently being debated in Congress.
The House full-year continuing resolution, which has not passed the Senate, would indeed make steep cuts to several programs and functions that would serve in a response to natural disasters (not just tsunamis) home and abroad. According to Sobien, the bill cuts $126 million from the budget of the NWS. Since, however, the cuts are being enacted over a six-month period (the length of the continuing resolution) as opposed to over the course of a full year, the effect would be roughly double.
As for NOAA, the House GOP cuts are even deeper. The House spending bill is roughly $450 million below the president's 2011 budget requests. The Senate Democratic bill would be $110 million below that request. The White House-allied Center for American Progress, argued that the House spending bill would actually cut $1.2 billion from the president's budget requests, likely by taking into account that the bill does not provide NOAA the funding increase requested for the Joint Polar Satellite System.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/03/11/tsunami-relief-gop-budget-cuts_n_834479.html

The Republican philosophy of 'cut now, regardless of the future consequences' is going to kill a lot of people over time. Can't have that 'big government" doing things that actually might help people. I'm sure that the big corporations will be happy to deal with any tsunamis that occur.

It's Good to Have Priorities

2011-03-09T09:29:00.000-08:00

Arizona politics can be entertaining, if it wasn't so bloody tragic. Our state senate has succeeded in tackling one of the states most pressing problems: the lack of an official state firearm:

PHOENIX -- Cost to name the Cardinals stadium after the University of Phoenix? $154.5 million over 20 years.
Cost to Bank One -- now Chase -- for its name on the baseball stadium? $2.2 million a year until 2028.
And the cost to the Colt Manufacturing Co. to get the Arizona Senate to name one of its products the official state weapon? Priceless. Well, actually zero.
That, however, didn't keep the senators from voting 18-12 Tuesday to declares the Colt single action Army revolver. It joins such things as the official state tree, butterfly, gemstone and neckwear, the last being, of course, the bola tie.
But the move annoyed Sen. Adam Driggs, R-Phoenix, who pointed out that all of those other items are generic. This is the first time, he said, lawmakers would be endorsing a brand name.
"This is advertisement for Colt," he said. While the gun in question was first made in 1873, the company still sells versions.
"If the state is going to go in this direction, I think we should get the equivalent of naming rights," Driggs continued. He said Arizona, facing a $1.1 billion deficit next budget year, could use the cash.
Colt named official state weapon

As the state dismantles all our social services in the name of "fiscal responsibility", they don't even generate any revenue from this act. It's pure red meat for the right wing base. Arizona's state policy has become "more guns for everybody, anywhere they want to carry them".

Frustration

2011-03-07T18:06:00.000-08:00

I read the news, and I think about it. Then I think about posting about my thoughts. Then I read other blogs, and somebody else already said what I was thinking, but with more eloquence.
Take the "budget" (please, in a Groucho voice). We don't have a "debt" or "deficit" problem; we have a revenue problem. You've already seen the graphs: the rich are getting the pie, and we're getting the crumbs. I mean "why the fornicate are you arguing about family planning when we need jobs" type of angry.
So I'm frustrated.
Because, in reality, it is getting worse. Slowly and steadily. The 'frog pot' analogy.
Somehow, I doubt that I'm going to "enjoy" the near future.

White House Honey Ale

2011-03-05T09:59:00.001-08:00

OK, it's easy to complain about that Obama guy, but he is doing a few good things. Like having the White House brew their own beer. The "White House Honey Ale" is being made with honey from on site bee hives.

Obama plans to serve his very own 'White House Honey Ale' for Irish night:

President Obama has officially declared March 2011 Irish American Heritage Month. More importantly the White House also announced that the president would be brewing his own beer called White House Honey Ale for St.Patrick’ Day.
Obama, who said he will pay for the beer making equipment himself, has made presidential history by being the first U.S. president to brew beer at the White House.
Last month the president and his wife Michelle served White House Honey Ale at their Super Bowl party. They are officially the first White House residents to charge their chefs with brewing, and White House curator Bill Allman says the chefs love it.
Historian for the White House Historical Association William Ushong agrees. He said, "I haven't heard of any beer brewing going on at the White House itself. President Jefferson would be your likely candidate, given his epicurean taste."

The staff confirms that White House home brewing is here to stay. According to the Obama Foodorama blog Semonti Stephens, a spokesman for the East Wing said, "It is very safe to assume that there will be more White House beer in the future.”
http://www.irishcentral.com/news/President-Obama-brewing-his-own-beer-for-StPatricks-White-House-bash-117392163.html

He's now assured of my vote in 2012.

March Boobie

2011-03-04T08:28:00.000-08:00

It's Friday. It's March. Yay!

Happy Pic

2011-03-03T09:51:00.000-08:00

My regular bartender sent me this pic from Tuesday's Giants spring training game. It makes me quite happy.

Making Fun of the Truth

2011-03-01T18:33:00.000-08:00

I'm quite sure that all of you have already read this, but I can not resist:

A unionized public employee, a teabagger and a CEO are sitting at a table. In the middle of the table there is a plate with a dozen cookies on it.
The CEO reaches across and takes 11 cookies, looks at the teabagger and points to the union guy. “You’d better look out for that guy — he wants a piece of your cookie.”
The teabagger looks at the union worker, knocks the last cookie to the floor, stomps on it and calls the union member a “fucking socialist.”

Kind of like the world now.

Meanwhile, Boobies

2011-02-25T09:02:00.000-08:00

I'm actually working on a serious, coherent post (not that I'll succeed), but it is Friday. So here are some Boobies for you.

Oil's Swell

2011-02-24T09:12:00.001-08:00

I've said many times that the SCOTUS's "Citizens United" decision was the worst thing that ever happened to American democracy, allowing corporations to pump unlimited money into elections. And the oil industry has decided to start buying their candidates directly:

The American Petroleum Institute, the Big Oil industry’s chief lobbying organization, will start directly backing political candidates in the second quarter of this year. API, whose membership includes oil giants like Exxon-Mobil and Chevron, already spends tens of millions of dollars every year on lobbying, advertisements and Astroturf campaigns to support the the oil industry agenda. As CAP’s Dan Weiss wrote, API “wants to drill in fragile, sensitive places, keep government tax breaks, expand offshore drilling without reforms, and block global warming pollution reduction requirements.”
“This is adding one more tool to our toolkit,” Martin Durbin, API’s executive vice president for government affairs, told Bloomberg News. “At the end of the day, our mission is trying to influence the policy debate.” As Bloomberg pointed out, oil-supported political action committees like the Independent Petroleum Association of America overwhelmingly donate to Republican candidates.
According to the Center for Responsive Politics, API spent $6.7 million on lobbying alone last year, after clearing $7 million in 2009. In 2010, API was the seventh most prolific spender in the oil and gas industry, following ConocoPhillips, Chevron, Exxon-Mobil, Shell, Koch Industries and BP.
API’s turn toward direct political donations is doubly problematic because, in addition to acting as the industry’s chief lobbyists, the institute runs technical committees that set standards for the oil industry. In its official report, the commission that investigated the BP oil spill found that API was too “compromised” to be setting industry standards. “Because they would make oil and gas industry operations potentially more costly, API regularly resists agency rulemakings that government regulators believe would make those operations safer, and API favors rulemaking that promotes industry autonomy from government oversight,” the commission found. And this was before API decided to begin directly supporting candidates!
http://thinkprogress.org/2011/02/24/api-direct/
(please, go read the entire article)

The oil industry has had an incredible amount of influence on our government for many decades, and certainly has a number of members of congress in their control already. But they've decided they want more. I had wondered how the industry would react to Obama's proposed cuts to subsidies and increased alternative energy funding, and now we know their response: buy more politicians.

I'm sure you've all seen yesterday's 'big news' that Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker got punked into a phone call that he thought was from energy magnate David Koch. Embarrassing? Maybe; but is anyone really surprised? I'm willing to bet that David Koch has a long list of politicians that he can call up who are all too willing to do his bidding. He and his cronies have decided that they need to buy the rest of the seats to ensure that they can dictate policies.

The simple fact is that we're already screwed by our oil dependence. Our entire economy (especially food and transportation) swings with every change in the price of a barrel of crude. Just look at the price of gas in response to the uprising in Libya. And of course, the environmental costs of climate change. But the very biggest threat is the very real "peak oil" problem. We're pretty much done using up all the cheap, easy to reach oil reserves. Our country desperately needs to move away from a fossil fuel based economy, but that will require government action. And those who profit most from the status quo are determined to prevent any action.

Bow down before your masters.

Rally to Restore Transplant Funding Feb. 28th

2011-02-22T10:06:00.000-08:00

I've posted before about Arizona's draconian decision to de-fund organ transplants. While Gov. Brewer has relented, the state legislature is blocking restoring the funding for transplants. On Feb. 28th, there will be a rally to restore the funding at the state capitol:

Join us for a rally and press conference to
"Restore Transplant Funding"
February 28, 2011 at 11:30am
Arizona State Capitol grounds
sponsored by Democracy for America.
DFA-MaricopaCounty :: Rally to Restore Transplant Funding 2/28

Arizona has some seriously screwed up budget priorities. I've said before that we really need some Wisconsin style democracy here. Examples:

Now, however, Governor Jan Brewer is proposing to kick some 280,000 Arizonans off the state’s Medicaid rolls. Brewer claims such a move is the only way to get the state’s fiscal house in order, as it would save $541.5 million in general funding spending. Brewer also wants to save $79.8 million by dropping 5,200 “seriously mentally ill” people from the state’s Medicaid program. Instead of balancing out these draconian cuts with additional revenue increases or simply not making the cuts in the first place, Brewer instead signed $538 million in corporate tax cuts into law two weeks ago.
http://thinkprogress.org/2011/02/22/gop-governors-misplaced-priorities/
(BTW, that article covers several other states as well)

But the legislature is addressing one vital issue. SB1610, which addresses the vital issue of "What is the official firearm of Arizona?"After the bill's enactment, the official firearm of Arizona will be the Colt Single Action Army Revolver.
Whew! Now we can all rest easy tonight.

(kindly Gov. Jan Brewer)

Presidents Day

2011-02-21T09:19:00.000-08:00

Back in my youth, Lincolns Birthday and Washingtons Birthday were seperate holidays. Now we have one holiday to honor all former presidents. So today I'm honoring Millard Fillmore. Millard is best known for having the oddest name ever to be elected president until some guy named "Barack" came along. Which president are you honoring today?

Arizona Needs Protests, Too

2011-02-19T07:36:00.000-08:00

(Desert Shell by Shane Rickman)

As we watch the continuing protests in Madison, Wisconsin, I'm thinking that we need the same kind of public uprising here in Arizona. On the surface, the issues look different: the Wisconsin protests are about the rights of union workers; Arizona is a "right to work" state that has already effectively killed unionization. But in reality, there are underlying issues in both (and many other) states that are a result of the republican mindset of putting corporate interests ahead of the well being of ordinary people.

There is one major difference: In Wisconsin, they're trying to kill unions; in Arizona, they're trying to kill actual innocent people:

As ThinkProgress has reported, Gov. Jan Brewer (R-AZ) and the GOP-controlled state House have turned a blind eye to the plight of 98 Arizona patients in desperate need of organ transplants. Since Brewer enacted painful cuts to the state’s Medicaid program in October, two Arizonans unable to pay for the transplants they needed passed away. After months of appeals and protests, it appears Brewer has finally agreed to set aside a $151 million “uncompensated-care pool to pay health-care providers for ‘life-saving’ procedures, including transplants.”
However, state House Republicans remain vigilant in their anti-human life campaign. They are refusing to let measures to restore funding for organ transplants advance because, as the state House Appropriations Committee Chairman Jon Kavanagh (R) explained, “not enough lives would be saved to warrant restoring millions in budget cuts” for the transplants.
But as Brewer and the GOP-led legislature waffle over the value of human lives, two more people — including 23-year-old leukemia patient Courtney Parham — join the 98 others standing before the Brewer death panel. Because the state has so far refused to pay for her transplant, Courtney’s family “must raise somewhere between $400-$800 thousand dollars for a transplant, or their daughter will die.”
http://thinkprogress.org/2011/02/19/brewer-corporate-tax-cut-transplant/

Remember that whole "of the people, by the people, for the people" thing? How can we consider ourselves a decent, democratic society if we are willing to sanction the killing of the weak in favor of protecting the profits of the wealthy? Is cutting the taxes of the rich and the corporations so important that we cannot afford to help the most vulnerable amongst us?

In the coming week or so, I'm hoping to engage as many people as I can to try to organize a protest at the Arizona state capitol, because I don't think that I'm the only one outraged by a government that chooses to callously kill innocent people. Anyone interested in joining me? My email address is in my profile.

Always Happy to See Boobies

2011-02-18T07:50:00.000-08:00

A nice pair of Boobies for Friday.

And a minor rant: I paid my electric bill this morning, which is no big deal. I kinda like having electricity, for all the fairly obvious reasons. But their reciept email states "Thank you for choosing (company name)". Um...I didn't "choose" you, except in the sense that my other option would be to live without electricity. I live in a small apartment, so I really can't set up my own solar panels and wind generators. Maybe I'm a stickler for semantics, but words should matter. If you want to thank me for paying my bill, fine. It's not like I've got a lot of choices.

100 Madisons

2011-02-17T17:16:00.001-08:00

This post may ramble a bit, so feel free to skip reading it. But some of your comments lead me to believe you might agree.

There is a reason that I'm paying so much attention to the events in Madison Wisconsin. It's possibly the start of something larger. Not so much because of the actual union busting, but the many states who've decided to balance their budgets on the backs of working people. The anger captured by the "Tea Party" movement may have been corporately manipulated, but that underlying anger was real. We see the rich getting richer, while we are getting royally screwed. While I support progressive ideals, this isn't as much about "progress" as it is about stopping "regress", which is a better word for what we're experiencing. In Madison the workers are showing that they are tired of being the victim.

Just as Tunisia was a small revolution in a small country, ripples expand. Most Americans couldn't find Tunisia on the globe, and most Americans aren't union workers in Madison. But then it spread to Egypt. OK, everybody made the "walk like an Egyptian" jokes, but most have a vague idea about pyramids and the sphinx. They may not know that there is a country called "Bahrain" but they've heard of Iran. So revolts can spread, even if it's different people in different places.

Imagine, if you will, a workers uprising in Ohio. Then, protests in Pennsylvania. Missouri follows. Heck, even Arizona could have a good protest (just not in summer. it's too hot) around health care death panels and the prison industry immigration laws. How about the coal states? I'm deliberately not picking cities, because I have no clue which would be next. But I want the next "Madison" and then another, and then...

The part that feels weird is that I'm really not revolting against Obama. He's stuck with the rather unpleasant job of being the front man for a failing ideal. But the failures are hitting, and he's not going to be able to fix it anytime soon enough. Too bad; I think Obama is a well intentioned guy. It's the corporations who are steam rolling him and us. After the "Citizens United" decision, they own the system. Which is why we cut taxes for the rich and wages for the rest.

So I believe: the only way to fix it is one city, one state, one community at a time. We need 100 "Madisons" around our country. When your state tries to balance its budget your back, will you fight back?

Wisconsin Getting Even More Interesting

2011-02-17T11:45:00.000-08:00

The Wisconsin protests are getting even more interesting. Today's crowd appears to be even larger than yesterdays, and now lawmakers are reacting:

The weather in Wisconsin is cold this time of year-- but the budget fight is only getting hotter. Following a walkout by the state Senate Democrats, depriving Republicans of the three-fifths majority needed to pass the budget and its controversial anti-public union provisions, the NBC affiliate in Madison now reports that sources say the Dems have left the state entirely.
This comes after the state Senate majority leader said that the State Patrol could be called in to round up the Dems. However, leaving for another state would presumably place the legislators beyond the state's jurisdiction. (Fun fact: The state Senate leader and the Assembly Speaker are brothers -- and the new head of the State Patrol is their father.)
Communications director Graeme Zielinski was unable to confirm anything. "I know the whereabouts of not a single Democratic senator," said Zielinski. "I do not know what latitude they're on, or know what longitude they're on. I assume they're in this hemisphere, I'll say that."
http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2011/02/report-wis-dem-state-senators-leave-state-to-block-budget-quorum.php?ref=fpa

It's a great tactic, but it remains to be seen if it's enough to get Gov. Walker to withdraw his draconian proposals.

Also:

WI Gov. Walker Ginned Up Budget Shortfall To Undercut Worker Rights

Paul Ryan On WI Protests:
'Cairo Has Moved To Madison'

I'm really hoping that this works in Wisconsin, because we really could use this type of direct action here in Arizona. And in so many other states. Let 100 other "Madisons" blossom across America.

More From Madison

2011-02-16T12:19:00.001-08:00

Some more reports:

Protests Escalate Over WI Gov's Plan To Roll Back Union Rights

Wisconsin Gov. Walker Reiterates That The ‘National Guard’ Will Be Used Against A Worker ‘Walk-Off’

Wisconsin's Attack on Public Employees Could Lead to a Nationwide Campaign

Tens of Thousands Protest Move by Wisconsin's Governor to Destroy Public Sector Unions

We need 100 more Madisons' around this country. Really.

Protests in Madison

2011-02-16T07:53:00.001-08:00

Well, this could get interesting. In Wisconsin, workers are standing up for their rights. Faced with draconian cuts and old fashioned union busting by governor Scott Walker (R-of course), 12,000 rallied in Madison.

In one of the largest protests in recent memory, thousands of angry union supporters gathered at the state Capitol on Tuesday to oppose a bill by Gov. Scott Walker that would greatly weaken organized labor in Wisconsin.
More than 12,000 protesters gathered in two separate rallies outside the Capitol, many of them carrying signs and chanting "Recall Walker" or "Kill this bill." Thousands more crowded inside the rotunda and watched TV monitors broadcasting a public hearing on the governor's proposal.
http://host.madison.com/wsj/news/local/govt-and-politics/article_de45ba12-3935-11e0-9b64-001cc4c002e0.html

Gov. Walker had previously threatened to call out the National Guard in the event of "unrest", but that doesn't appear to have happened yet.

Republican Governors around the country are using the "financial crisis" as an excuse to attack public workers benefits, attempting to balance budgets on the backs of the middle class while saving tax cuts for the rich.

Cheers erupted every time someone in the hearing voiced opposition to the governor's bill, aimed at erasing a $137 million deficit in the current budget. Unveiled Friday, Walker's plan would remove collective bargaining rights for most of the 175,000 state and local government employees.
On Tuesday, members of the firefighters union received a loud ovation from the crowd outside the Capitol as they marched through the rally, holding signs displaying solidarity with their fellow state and local employees.
Charles Franklin, UW-Madison political science professor, said Tuesday that the opposition that has erupted over Walker's proposals are more severe than he has seen in 19 years of following politics in Wisconsin.
http://host.madison.com/wsj/news/local/govt-and-politics/article_de45ba12-3935-11e0-9b64-001cc4c002e0.html

It may not be Tahrir square, but it's good to see real Americans standing up for real American values.

Apparently, the Governor has decided to skip town to make an important appearance on Faux News (no link from me). And he's scheduled next weeks "State of the State" address on private business property to avoid potential protest at the capitol. More:

And also, significant cuts don't have to be made, if you'd stop giving tax breaks to every business like it's a goddamn fire sale at the toy store, using state pension funds to finance tax cuts for rich people, and gambling that economic growth would always continue because there isn't a third grader in this country couldn't have told you that was a bad bet. God, I hate when people ascribe to natural inevitability the results of their acting like morons for years.
http://first-draft-blog.typepad.com/first_draft/

Lots more at the link. Also, go to Blue Cheddar and Caffeinated Politics for more.

I really hope that Madison starts a trend. It really is time to stand up against the repubs and their corporate masters for the rights of working Americans. Also, good Lord people are morons. The schools have been shut down in Madison and protests are escalating in the state capital.
Added: A video of the demonstration is available here.

Sunday Beverage

2011-02-13T11:59:00.001-08:00

What'll you have?

The Weekly Boobies

2011-02-11T11:35:00.000-08:00

Friday Boobies in the shade.

Mubarak Steps Down

2011-02-11T08:32:00.001-08:00

Wow, that went quicker than I expected.

Hosni Mubarak has stepped down.

While we'll have to see what happens next, and how the military leadership actually rules, mass bloodshed has been avoided for now. Mubarak finally read the writing on the wall:

Egyptian Vice President Omar Suleiman has just read a statement saying President Hosni Mubarak has stepped down as president, ending his 30-year rule. Suleiman said that the higher council of the armed forces will lead the nation.
Mubarak's move came on the 18th day of the protests that gripped his country, and after he had stopped short of stepping down on several previous occasions.
The New York Times reports:
The Egyptian military issued a communiqué pledging to carry out a variety of constitutional reforms in a statement notable for its commanding tone. The military's statement alluded to the delegation of power to Mr. Suleiman and it suggested that the military would supervise implementation of the reforms.
http://tpmlivewire.talkingpointsmemo.com/2011/02/mubarak-steps-down-in-egypt.php?ref=fpblg

I'm very pleased to see a non-violent revolution succeed. A brutal dictator has been removed without a single American bomb being dropped.

I couldn't resist the picture above, which proves the American influence on the Egyptian protests. Witness that great icon of American freedom: Cartman!

Fecal Matter About To Hit Oscillating Wind Device

2011-02-10T13:55:00.000-08:00

Damn. Mubarak says he's not leaving, but will delegate some powers to al-Suleiman. I listened to his speech in Arabic, and I really couldn't believe what I was hearing. Mubarak sounded disoriented and delusional, but still defiant:

On the 17th day of protests that have gripped his country and commanded the attention of the world, Egypt's President Hosni Mubarak made a televised speech in which he repeated his pledge not to seek re-election, announced proposed amendments to the constitution, but did not -- as many had expected -- leave office.
"Day after day we will continue the transfer of power from now until September," he said.
He did say that he had delegated some powers to Vice President Omar Suleiman.
As Mubarak spoke, the massive crowd gathered in Cairo's Tahrir Square grew more agitated, and began holding their shoes in the air in unison.
"Egypt is going through difficult time, and we can not do anything that causes damage to our economy day after day," Mubarak said.
After Mubarak spoke, Suleiman gave his own televised speech, urging protesters to go home and to work together with the government for the transition.
http://tpmlivewire.talkingpointsmemo.com/2011/02/mubarak-im-not-stepping-down-yet.php?ref=fpa

This is likely to turn very bloody very quickly. The people aren't backing down, and I believe that al-Suleiman really wants a violent confrontation. The real question is what the military will do; if they stand aside, Mubarak is done, but if they intervene we may see the bloodiest revolution in decades. I'm not optimistic.

pygalgia

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