Flooding the Big Ditch

As a sometimes canyon boatman, I'm quite interested in the result of the 2008 flooding experiment. Well, the results are in, and they're a mix of positive and negative:

The experimental flood of March 2008 in the Grand Canyon has yielded two main findings: The high water worked well in building sandbars as hoped, but they weren't lasting.

The flood released twice as much water as normal down the Colorado River for 60 hours that spring, and it created large stockpiles of sand that had accumulated in a few major tributaries.

Researchers with a branch of the U.S. Geological Survey in Flagstaff say the flood was successful in expanding the sandbars used by river runners for camping, which also form backwaters that possibly help young and endangered fish survive.

It's something of a hot issue because these beaches have been shrinking in recent years, and vegetation has been spreading over much of what remains, making camping less available.

"By October 2008, six months after the high-flow experiment, the new sandbars had been largely eroded by typical fluctuating-flow dam operations," researchers wrote in a brief paper.

Releases from the dam are increased and decreased, within limits, to meet hydropower demands from customers in six states.

The bigger question is whether the Colorado River system through the Grand Canyon can be kept static or gain sand instead of continuing to lose its beaches and sandbars.

"It may not be possible to rebuild and maintain sandbars over the long run solely through the manipulation of Glen Canyon Dam operations," the researchers posit in a fact sheet on the subject.

That's because about 90 percent of all sand that once flowed through the Canyon now winds up behind Glen Canyon Dam, said Ted Melis, deputy chief of the Grand Canyon Monitoring and Research Center at USGS.

http://www.azdailysun.com/news/local/article_626badf4-90c4-5ce4-89b3-ced3065e6ad7.html

Similar to the results of the flooding of 1996 and 2004, the benefits are only temporary. Which points to the need to repeat the floodings in order to maintain a healthy ecosystem in the Grand Canyon.

And I'm hoping to get my raft there this spring for a personal inspection.

Amnesty in Action

To kick off "blogroll amnesty day", I've made some additions. While it's not strictly in keeping with Skippy's goal of linking to smaller blogs (hey, we're pretty small ourselves), they're all blogs I find well worth reading. So, go say "hello" to:

Anosognosia

Bildungblog

Cheyanne's Campsite

GINANDTACOS

Just An Earth-Bound Misfit

Salmon Alley

Slobber And Spittle

TwoTonGreenBlog

unrepentant old hippie

Zandar Versus The Stupid

And if you have a blog that you'd like me to include, either leave a link in the comment or email me. Link to me, and I'll link to you (caveat: except strictly commercial spam blogs. I don't play that game), it's really that simple.

Added: and please feel free to visit the rest of the fine folks on the 'roll. Mustn't forget all the old friends.

I haven't posted in awhile folks. I would, but I am continually harrassed by a belligerent, co-dependent dinosaur. It really sucks. You have no idea.
Really, a creature belonging to the early jurassic era or something gamboled into my life by way of a time vortex disguised as a dumpster. Taking out the trash would never be the same again.
"What kind of dinosaur is it?" you might ask. Well, this is difficult to answer, but let us start out with a physical summation- oh but I should point out that I named this creature Noam (longtime pygalgia readers know all this so yooz skip the next few paragraphs) and I know it is female not only for its timeless indefatigueable plain ornery bitchiness when being ignored but for its propensity to moan, when I scratch her scaly belly, like something from under the skirts of Aphrodite herself.
Noam is about the size of a dorm fridge when relaxed. Bigger than a Yugo when flustered. I have seen my dear dinosaur Noam truly pissed, a few times, I'm sorry to say, and in this state she grows so prodigious that she would dwarf the commercial dumpster where we first met.
Scales, of course. Zillions of them, each shaped like a guitar-player's plectrum, ranging in color to platinum, jade, carnelian, lapis, dun, according to mood. Quadrepedal when chasing ice-cream trucks (Noam''s favorite diversion) But whenever I play Gordon Lightfoot songs she dances about on her hind legs and tries(miserably) to sing along. So obviously this dinosuar is not a dumbass. She moves like a cat that thinks it's a crocodile and wants to know what you have been reading lately.
Once Noam actually caught up with an ice-cream truck. This naughty dinosaur devoured everything from the sugar cones to the ball bearings. She ate the poor fellow trying to sell ice-cream that day. He didn't deserve that.
Noam was morose and remorseful that day, puking bits of ice-cream-truck-tires, human femurs, strawberry ice cream and the like. (Apparently certain modern ice cream trucks exude a scent appropriating some jurassic pheremone Noam loses all composure for)
"Noam! That was pretty fucked up- eating that ice-cream--truck! BAD DINOSAUR!"
Noam replies, swinging her giant rippling peladon neck, "WHHAGGGHHHHHHH."

So I always try getting rid of Noam but she always somehow shows up again. Hey, did I mention that my pet dinosaur's favorite food is books?
A very expressive and indolently charming creature (such eyes!) Noam is currently out back perched upon a snowbank munching through a stack of National Geographics I brought her. When Noam The Dinosaur comes across an issue involving saurians of her age, the entire house, and maybe town, rock with her paens of anguish "WHHAGGGHHHHHHH!"
Poor thing.

B.A.D.

Tomorrow, feb. 3 is traditionally blogroll amnesty day here in blogtopia, (and yes, skippy coined that phrase!) and I was overdue to review the blogroll anyway. So here's an open invitation: you link to me, I link to you (unless you're a strictly commercial spam blog); it's that simple. either leave a link in the comments or email me. I'd be happy to share my 40 or so readers with you.

Blog-O-Versary

Three years ago today, I started this humble little blog. I'd been reading, and commenting on, other blogs for several years prior, and I decided that I wanted one of my own. Nothing major, but a small soapbox where I could espouse my opinions, and share assorted things that amused or interested me. And Boobies. The internet needed more Boobies.
Three years, and 1,575 posts, aren't all that much, but according to "sitemeter" they've led to almost 35,000 "views", which is a lot more than I ever would have expected.

One of the major motivating factors was politics. The gross criminality of the shrub administration kept me in perpetual outrage, and I needed to vent sometimes. Not that I expected my little screeds to have any real impact. Let's face it; nobody in power cares what small, liberal blogs have to say. But, like screaming "theater" at a crowded fire, it feels good to have your viewpoint validated by its mere existence in the ether.

While the shrub administration is gone (thank chosen deity), the reasons for complaining and ranting are not. We still have a dysfunctional government that is failing its citizens, and there's plenty of causes for outrage to feed the blogging fever. So I have every intention of continuing the expression my 'very important' opinions here. And I'm sure that they'll continue to make not a damned bit of difference. Which is probably as it should be.

More importantly, I really want to thank you, my readers, for stopping by to read and sometimes comment on my little piece of the intertubes. Thanks to my co-bloggers (who I really do wish would post more), and to all the wonderful blogs who link to here. If I could, I'd love to have a beer with all of you! Consider this a virtual toast of thanks to you all!

Varmint Weather

The annual ritual harassment of Punxsutawney Phil reveals that Winter will, again, last until Spring. This is, apparently, news.

Our culture has some strange customs.

Timing

Happened to be watching the TV news, something I don't do very often. A long story on the Toyota recall, followed by a commercial by the local Toyota dealership's "huge inventory blowout sale."
Timing is everything.

Local Pic

The local college newspaper caught this one; two girls kissing in front of a street preacher. The irony amused me.

But it Would Have Made Such Great Comedy

I realize that there are more important things in politics than my amusement, but I was slightly saddened to read this: "Steele Rules Out 2012 White House Run". The thought of a Michael Steele presidential campaign was enough to make me laugh, as long as he was no where near winning (that would be scary, not funny). Oh well, I'm sure he'll continue to provide humor even if he's not a candidate.

A Correction

Earlier this week, I put up a post on the news that it would soon be legal to import haggis. NPR is now reporting that the news report was in error, and that (thank goodness) it's still illegal to import haggis.
So I am happy to retract my prior post. I may be a very small, humble blogger, but I do have my ethical standards, damn it!
(I do still reserve the right to be wildly off-base in my opinions, however.)

An Evil Birthday

Today is the birthday of Dick "the dick" Cheney, perhaps the most evil person to ever hold a position of power in American government. From the Nixon era up to his latest bloviating on FAUX, he's truly been the embodiment of "the worst person in the world".
So, what should we give him for his birthday? I'd like to give him an indictment for war crimes. And it might even happen:

International arrest warrants have been requested for George W. Bush, Richard (Dick) Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld, George Tenet, Condoleeza Rice and Alberto Gonzales at the International Criminal Court, The Hague, Netherlands.

Professor of Law Francis A. Boyle of the University of Illinois College of Law in Champain, United States of America, has issued a Complaint with the Prosecutor for the International Criminal Court against the above-mentioned for their practice of “extraordinary rendition” (forced disappearance of persons and subsequent torture) in Iraq and for criminal policy which constitutes Crimes against Humanity in violation of the Rome Statute which set up the ICC.

As such, the Accused (mentioned above) are deemed responsible for the commission of crimes within the territories of many States signatories of the Rome Statute, in violation of Rome Statute Articles 5 (1)(b), 7 (1)(a), 7 (1)(e), 7 (1)(g), 7(1)(h), 7(1)8i) and 7(1)(k). Despite the fact that the USA is not a signatory State, the ICC has the jurisdiction to prosecute under Article 12 (2)(a) of the Rome Statute.

This Article stipulates that the Court may exercise its jurisdiction if one or more States in which the conduct in question occurred has accepted the jurisdiction of the Court. Furthermore, the forced disappearance of persons and torture in deemed by the Rome Statute as a Crime against Humanity, one which is still ongoing.

http://english.pravda.ru/world/americas/25-01-2010/111844-war_criminals_bush-0

(h/t to Fixer at the alternate brain for the link)

OK, I doubt that much will actually come of this, but it's nice to see someone trying to hold "the dick" accountable. Wouldn't it be nice to see his snarling visage doing the Milosivic at the Hague?

So, what would you give Mr. Cheney for his birthday?

Slightly Odd Conversations

Yesterday, I'm having a "happy hour" beer at my favorite pub, with my usual friends; nothing unusual about that. One of my dearest lady friends was talking about what was going on in her life (she likes to share, often at a 'TMI' level), and was telling us about her upcoming date with a man who she met through an online dating service. A service that, as she proudly told us, caters to people like her who are "polyamorous." Zymurgian (who never seems to post here anymore) was unfamiliar with the term, so the woman, Sweaterman, and myself gave a lengthy explanation of what "polyamorous" meant and that there really is a community of people who consider themselves such. The look on the bartenders face as he overheard the conversation was just about priceless; a group of middle aged folks discussing the merits of a polyamorous lifestyle was probably too much for his twenty-something mind to grasp. Not that it applied to the rest of us: Sweaterman is fairly newly wed, my sexual lifestyle is better described as "mostly celibate", and I have no idea what Zymurgian is in to (although I'm sure it involves beer). But it was a more interesting than our usual political conversations.

Most Voters are "Un-Informed"

This doesn't come as a surprise, but if you read political blogs, you're far more informed than the typical person. This Pew research study shows that the majority of voters don't really know much about the actual operation of the government:

The public has consistently expressed strong interest in the health care debate, but relatively few Americans can correctly answer two key questions related to the Senate's consideration of health care legislation.

In the latest installment of the Pew Research Center's News IQ Quiz, just 32% know that the Senate passed its version of the legislation without a single Republican vote. And, in what proved to be the most difficult question on the quiz, only about a quarter (26%) knows that it takes 60 votes to break a filibuster in the Senate and force a vote on a bill.

It's well worth reading the whole thing, but I want to focus on how this relates to the Supreme Court's decision allowing corporations to buy and run political ads, and why our elections are about to get worse.
I'll try to be polite. I don't want to say that most voters are "stupid", so I'll say that they're "low-information" and not inclined to learn a lot about politics or government. They tend to know what they've seen and heard on TV. And American mega-corporations are masters of television manipulation. Just look at the shlock they're already selling us. The corporations don't have to lie to manipulate people's opinions, only engage in some slick marketing. Even if they did lie, it's doubtful that anyone would be able to effectively counter it. So all the corporations will need to do is to sell the public their chosen candidates, and let those elected legislate to their benefit. And the public will not notice...
because the public is "un-informed."

The State of the Boobie

I would say that the State of the Boobie is "firm", but I'm open to hearing your assessment.

Corporation for Congress

The Supreme Court decision to allow corporate money to flood into elections will allow them to buy congress members more directly than they currently do. Now, in Maryland, a corporation has decided to cut out the middle man:

The progressive PR firm Murray Hill Inc. has announced that it plans to satirically run for Congress in the Republican primary in Maryland’s 8th congressional district to protest the Supreme Court’s disastrous decision. A press release on its website says that the company wants to “eliminate the middle man” and run for Congress directly, rather than influencing it with corporate dollars:

“Until now,” Murray Hill Inc. said in a statement, “corporate interests had to rely on campaign contributions and influence peddling to achieve their goals in Washington. But thanks to an enlightened Supreme Court, now we can eliminate the middle-man and run for office ourselves.”

“The strength of America,” Murray Hill Inc. says, “is in the boardrooms, country clubs and Lear jets of America’s great corporations. We’re saying to Wal-Mart, AIG and Pfizer, if not you, who? If not now, when?” [...]

Campaign Manager William Klein promises an aggressive, historic campaign that “puts people second” or even third. “The business of America is business, as we all know,” Klein says. “But now, it’s the business of democracy too.” Klein plans to use automated robo-calls, “Astroturf” lobbying and computer-generated avatars to get out the vote.

Murray Hill Inc. plans on spending “top dollar” to protect its investment. “It’s our democracy,” Murray Hill Inc. says, “We bought it, we paid for it, and we’re going to keep it.”

Murray Hill Inc. released its first campaign video Monday. A narrator in the video explains, “The way we see it, corporate America has been the driving force behind Congress for years. But now it’s time we got behind the wheel ourselves.”

http://thinkprogress.org/2010/01/28/corporation-election/

Murray Hill inc. for congress! Honest govrnment at a reasonable price!

Book Piracy

This one's for Sweaterman:
Offline Book "Lending" Costs U.S. Publishers Nearly $1 Trillion
Yes, the publishing industry is being robbed, robbed I tell you!

Boston, where a mass meeting of alleged book traffickers is to take place. Over 10,000 are expected at the "ALA Midwinter" event. Even at the Amtrak station in New York City this morning, at the very the heart of the US publishing industry, book trafficking culture was evident, with many travelers brazenly displaying the totebags used to transport printed contraband.

As soon as I got off the train, I was surrounded by even more of this crowd. Calling themselves "Librarians", they talk about promoting literacy, education, culture and economic development, which are, of course, code words for the use and dispersal of intellectual property. They readily admit to their activities, and rationalize them because they're perfectly legal in the US, at least for now.

http://www.boingboing.net/2010/01/27/book-sharing-bankrup.html

Trafficking in literary property without paying royalties to publishers, in broad daylight. Pure socialism in action, Sweaterman.

SOTU Reaction

If you blog about politics, you're legally, contractually obligated to react to the annual "State of the Union" speech, so here's mine:
"Meh."

OK, maybe I'll elaborate a little further:
"The State of the Union: still fucked."

A perfectly mediocre speech that won't change the political equation. Talking points made, constituencies pandered to, sweeping rhetoric expressed, as was expected.

And Tweety Matthews is weird.

More Snow

It's getting kinda old.
So here's a Very funny. blog post explaining blog posts.

SOTU Survival Kit

Damn! I had hoped that I would no longer need the "State of the Union Survival Kit" after the shrub administration was gone. But I'm now going through the checklist, just to make sure that I'm properly prepared:

* Strong Beer: check.
* Whiskey: check (for when beer isn't enough).
* Pain Killers: check.
* Tranquilizers: check.
* Anti-Depressants: check (although they've never worked in the past).
* Snacks: check (but it's hard to eat them while screaming).

The sad fact is that I'm a political junkie; I know that watching the SOTU is bad for me, but I can't stop myself. I'll watch it, even though I know it will only leave me angry and depressed. Being a liberal is a form of political masochism, sometimes.

Kids Today

Aw, come on: who among us hadn't tried to wiretap a senator's office as a youthful indiscretion like This?

Lowering Already Low Expectations

It's hard to disappoint someone who's as politically cynical as I am. I had fairly low expectations for Obama, really. "Hope" that he'd be reasonably competent and "change" from the horrible disaster of shrub/cheney. Not a whole lot more. But I did kinda expect him to be more politically savvy. He showed a gift for rhetoric during the campaign, and an ability to make a 'sales pitch' that was just short of Billy Mayes.
So I'm scratching my head at his latest move, a "spending freeze" that appears completely pointless. It's not a real freeze, or even a good idea, and it certainly isn't going to sell to the "deficit hawks". It's certainly unpopular with "the left" (whoever the hell we/they are), and won't rally any support toward the November elections. The only folks who might react positively are beltway pundits like Broder, and I doubt that even they'll like it.
Seems like a totally wasted effort that won't gain Obama any political capital. I never expected all that much from Obama, but I do wish he'd be a little shrewder about how he uses his gift for oratory toward a somewhat meaningful agenda.
Barack, buddy, you're really not doing very well when you manage to disappoint someone as cynical as I am.

Yet Another Really Bad Idea

We're truly screwed: US to lift 21-year ban on haggis. Spreading a known bio-hazard amongst the populace is never a good idea.
Next thing you know, they'll legalize bagpipes.
(My ancestry is 3/4 Scottish, so I know how dangerous these things are)

Celebrate!

75 years of canned beers:

Be sure to crack open a cold one on Jan. 24, the day canned beer celebrates its 75th birthday.

New Jersey's Gottfried Krueger Brewing Company churned out the world's first beer can in 1935, stocking select shelves in Richmond, Va., as a market test. The experiment took off and American drinkers haven't looked back since, nowadays choosing cans over bottles for the majority of the 22 gallons of beer they each drink per year, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/livescience/20100123/sc_livescience/cannedbeerturns75

While most American canned beers are tasteless yellow fizzwater (or worse), more and more craft beers are now available in cans (which is a great boon to us river runners). A few of my favorites include Ska Brewery's "Modus Hoperandi", Oskar Blue's "Gordon", and the local Mogollon "Wapiti Amber". Life is too short to drink cheap beer.

Where's Doc When We Need Him?

As I've been reading an assortment of opinions on the latest SCOTUS outrage, I find myself wishing to hear the missing voice of Hunter S. Thompson. Doc was the absolute master of writing the angered observance of political criminals in action, his pen was a rapier thrust into the heart of an issue. Sadly, the disaster of the shrub administration saw the last of Thompson's evisceration:

The cure for White House Disease is not so simple. It is like a combination of Blueballs & malaria, an interminable Fever that is always Incurable & often Fatal. The symptoms are blindness, freezing, sweating, weeping & delusions of suffering beyond Death.

Let's face it: The only true Blood-Sport in this country is high-end Politics. You can dabble in Sports or the Stock Markets, but when you start lusting after the White House, The Joke is Over. These are the real Gamblers, & there is nothing they won't do to win.

The Presidency of the United States is the richest & most powerful prize in the history of the World. The difference between winning the Super Bowl & winning the White House is the difference between a Goldfish & a vault full of Gold bars.

The Bush family has already Corrupted the Presidency & the U.S. Supreme Court. Millions of Americans will never again be Confident that their vote will be counted in any election

http://proxy.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?id=937848

The man had a keen eye for spotting corrupt, evil bastards, and he was fearless in exposing them. How I wish his voice were still howling today.

Added: This piece by Mark Kleiman is well worth reading; not that it's at all like what Doc would write, but he makes a great point. See, also, The Editors.

Can Anybody Here Play This Game?

To paraphrase 'Ronald Dumsfeld', you go to legislate with the Democrats you have, not the Democrats you wish you had. But I'm starting to wonder if the current Democrats are even trying. The senate health care bill, bad as it may be, is the only option left in the playbook. The house's choice is to either pass it, or forget about health care reform for another generation.

I understand the lack of enthusiasm for the bill. It really isn't anywhere near the strong reform we deserve, but there is enough benefit to regulating insurance to make it worthwhile. (I admit that I have a bias; as a walking "pre-existing condition" I have a vested interest in it passing.)

So yesterday, I called my congresswoman's office to express my view. Now, regular readers know that my congresswoman is a proud standing member of the "soggy-waffle caucus" who can avoid taking a stand on almost any issue that might be remotely controversial, so I wasn't expecting much. But I was rather surprised at the staffer's lack of information regarding the status of the bill, or negotiations on it. I had kinda hoped that a political employee might...you know...pay some attention to politics. I'm so naive sometimes.

Let me spell this out simply for the Democrats: you need to pass this if you wish to maintain any political viability for the remainder of this term. If the republicans win on this, they will block every other attempt at legislation by the same means. I hate to see governing reduced to a 'game', but that is the current reality. Score now, or forfeit the game.

Added: New Democratic party slogan:

"That Lemming seems to know where he's going! Let's follow."

So Nice, I'll Do It Twice

(added: the view from my door)

That was sarcasm, folks.
I got a path cleared from my door, so that I could get out. Then I returned the borrowed shovel.
While I was gone, the landlord sent people out to clear the snow off the roof (which is a good thing).
So I returned to find my doorway buried five feet deep in snow.
So after digging out, I got to dig back in.
I'm sick of snow.
And, damn, my shoulder is killing me.
Next year, I'm migrating south for the winter.

A Boobie's Outlook

(pic from Lockwood at Outside the Interzone)

Even the Boobie's downcast this week, and the stamping of feet has begun.

On the snow front, I can (barely) get my door open. Which lead to a simple realization: I don't currently own a shovel. When I moved into this (very tiny) apartment, I left all those implements to my former housemates, not thinking that I'd need them. I don't have a sidewalk; just a tiny doorstep out to a small courtyard that I share with a few neighbors (who seem to have all headed south prior to the storm). Usually, the landlord sends his little maintenance guy by with a snowblower, but I doubt he can get here today. So today I'm on a mission: to borrow a shovel before too much more snow piles up (yeah, there's still more), so that I can get out into the world. Not that I want to go out, but I'm faced with a simple problem: I'm almost out of cigarettes. Nicotine addiction sucks.

The Man Has A Great Future in Stand Up Comedy

"That's why I am instructing my Administration to get to work immediately with Congress on this issue. We are going to talk with bipartisan Congressional leaders to develop a forceful response to this decision."-President Obama, in response to today's Supreme Court decision.
I'm sure that will work, and if it doesn't, perhaps a sternly worded letter will follow.

An Obscene Amount of Snow

Just looked out my kitchen window, and the snow is over the sill. That's over 40", which is just ridiculous. Roads, schools, and the airport are all closed.

Damn Depressing

(old image, but it's appropriate for the day)

The whole political picture has gotten damn depressing over the past few days (not that it was rosy before), and I really want to scream at somebody. Or worse.
Having weathered eight years of absolute disaster under shrub, I (probably naively) "hoped" that we might actually get competence in governance under Obama. I didn't expect a whole lot, just a reasonably decent effort. I'm coming to the realization that wanting a "functional government" is actually "unrealistic idealism".
As a result of the Massachusetts election, health care reform appears to be dead for another generation. Not that the "reform" proposed was all that good; it wasn't. But it was at least an attempt, and (IMHO) better than doing nothing. The democrats (as usual) decided to surrender at the first sign of adversity, and the republican bullies are happy to strike at any weakness. Because of this, you can forget about getting any kind of meaningful legislation on financial reform, climate change, or jobs for the remainder of the Obama administration. Governing requires the courage to stand up for something; that courage is sorely lacking.
And, thanks to today's SCOTUS decision (see below), it's going to be almost impossible to elect better officials to replace our current jellyfish. We might as well let Goldman-Sachs appoint our next legislature and administration. They've bought the government, fair and square, so let them go ahead and run it.

Democracy For Sale

That's it. It's now official: America is now a corporatocracy. Our politicians, who previously tried to hide being 'bought and paid for' shills, will now be openly chosen by their corporate sponsors:

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Supreme Court ruled Thursday that corporations may spend as freely as they like to support or oppose candidates for president and Congress, easing decades-old limits on business efforts to influence federal campaigns.

By a 5-4 vote, the court overturned a 20-year-old ruling that said companies can be prohibited from using money from their general treasuries to produce and run their own campaign ads.

The justices also struck down part of the landmark McCain-Feingold campaign finance bill that barred union- and corporate-paid issue ads in the closing days of election campaigns.

Advocates of strong campaign finance regulations have predicted that a court ruling against the limits would lead to a flood of corporate and union money in federal campaigns as early as this year's midterm congressional elections.

''It's the Super Bowl of bad decisions,'' said Common Cause president Bob Edgar, a former congressman from Pennsylvania.

The decision removes limits on independent expenditures that are not coordinated with candidates' campaigns.

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2010/01/21/us/AP-US-Supreme-Court-Campaign-Finance.html?_r=2&hp

It was pretty easy to see this coming with shrub's two supreme court appointees being openly pro-corporation. Once you own the Supreme Court it's a lot easier to buy the rest of the government.
Our democracy was plenty dysfunctional before, and elections dominated by money. Now corporate money will openly pour into elections, effectively overwhelming populism. The average American voter wasn't very sophisticated before (witness the tea party people), and now they'll be subjected to even greater manipulation. The upcoming election cycles are going to be even uglier, and the smear campaigns even louder, as big money dominates the airwaves. Your choice of candidates will now have fewer options than a fast food menu, and the quality will be at the level of choosing between McDonalds or Jack-in-the-Box. Sorry if you want something better; the corporate masters aren't offering that. "Of the people, by the people, for the people" has been taken off the menu.
American democracy had a pretty good run, lasting over 230 years. It's a shame that it was sold so cheaply.

This Week in 'Snowstaff'

About a foot of new snow overnight, on top of the roughly 8 inches Monday and Tuesday. 6 more inches forecast for today, but the "big" storm isn't supposed to start until tomorrow night, when 26 to 40 inches is expected. I know we really need the moisture, but it's almost too much of a good thing. Luckily, I don't have to go anywhere today. Perhaps a little shot of Bailey's in the morning coffee is called for.

Senator 'With Benefits'

So Scott Brown, the Naked Teabagger won. I'm looking to find something positive to salvage from his election, and I think I've found it: during his lengthy, rambling victory speech, Sen.-elect Brown announced to the world that his daughters were "available"

BOSTON (FOX25, myfoxboston) - Senator-elect Scott Brown called his daughters "available" in an awkward moment that stood out during his victory speech.

Brown thanked his daughters Ayla and Arianna for their help on the campaign, then stopped to point out to the nation that they were, "available."

http://www.myfoxboston.com/dpp/news/offbeat/awkward-moment-for-brown-daughters

Republican "family values" can seem a little strange for the uninitiated, but if you've read the book of Leviticus, a father is allowed to sell his daughters. So he's keeping with christian tradition, at least when compared to his nude centerfold posing (I'm not aware of any biblical passages about that).
If I could, I'd be asking him a couple of questions about his daughters "availability", like "available for what?" and "how much?"
But I'm a perverted, old liberal.

Haiti Benefit Tonight!

For all my Flagstaff readers, we're having a benefit for the people of Haiti tonight at The Green Room (http://flagstaffgreenroom.com/) starting at 6:00pm:

The Green Room is holding a benefit for Haiti today from 6 to 10 p.m. All money raised will be donated to relief organizations, including Doctors Without Borders.

Bands to play include The People's Crew, Summit Dub Squad and Sambatuque.

Organizers are inviting people to ski or snowshoe over, and asking patrons to donate what they can (any amount) at the door. The Green Room is located at 15 N. Agassiz St.

Don't let a little snow stop you; there will be free tacos!

Broken Politics

In what is obviously the most important election since the last one, Massachusetts will elect a senator to replace the late Ted Kennedy. And regardless of who wins, it's another shining example of how badly our political system is broken. With each election, we move further and further into a choice between uninspiring mediocrity or downright nihilist mendacity.
Take this election (please): the democratic candidate to replace Kennedy, a true giant of American legislative history, Martha Coakley, arrogantly assumed that she could win the seat merely by having a "D" behind her name. Her 'campaign' was an exercise in listless, vanilla flavored platitudes stating that all she had to offer is being a democrat in a predominately democratic state. Not the sort of stuff that motivates voter turnout.
Then there's the republican...damn...could Scott Brown be any more typical of the current republicans? One simple example: he voted against funding for 9/11 rescue workers, while at the same time voting to fund a golf course; this is called "fiscal responsibility" by his party. He's done an effective job of tapping into the 'tea party' anger and the party of "no" anti-government sentiment by promising to oppose anything Obama attempts (I guarantee that he'll vote against any 'jobs' bill) to do. Another "cut taxes and drown the government in a bathtub", "government doesn't work, and I'm going to make sure it doesn't" vote in the senate, protecting the rich and privileged by insuring that the future will be worse for the masses.
These are the kind of choices we get in our corporate controlled political system. Should a truly dynamic candidate emerge in a race, the media will marginalize him/her as "extremist" and the big money political brokers will mobilize to defeat the "insurgent." That is our current political reality, and the majority of voters don't seem to care. After all, there's a new season of "American Idol" to keep them distracted.

Listen to Some Music, Help Haiti

Here's one I had to share: the fine folks at Wolfgang's Vault (http://www.wolfgangsvault.com/) are making donations to Haitian relief for every hour of (free) music streamed from the site. They're also donating 25% from merchandise sales (downloads, t-shirts, classic concert posters, etc.). The concert vault has a huge collection of live concert recordings, from Led Zeppelin to the Newport Jazz Festival to a few thousand bands you've never heard of. I've got Bob Dylan and The Band streaming right now.

Boobies Rights

This weeks Boobies are celebrating the actual birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr., and hoping you have Monday off to honor him.

Some Local Weather Records

Not to confuse "weather" with "climate", but a look at the numbers for 2009 reveals some disturbing trends:

In addition to having one of the driest years on record, Flagstaff and northern Arizona set some other records in 2009.

-- Flagstaff had the longest growing season on record, due to a span of 153 consecutive days between April 30 and Oct. 1 when it didn't freeze. Typically, the last freeze hits Flagstaff on June 10, and the first freeze of fall is Sept. 21, according to National Weather Service records.

-- Flagstaff had the second-driest monsoon season on record; Bellemont had the driest; Page had the sixth-driest.

-- In 14 of 17 communities, from Ganado and Tuba City to Flagstaff and Williams, average highs and lows for the entire year ranged from a fraction of a degree to 3 degrees warmer than normal, according to data by the Weather Service. The South Rim of the Grand Canyon was neutral -- neither hotter nor colder than average.

-- Flagstaff's hottest temperature for the year was 93 degrees on July 17; its coldest was 6 degrees below zero on Dec. 25.

ON THE WEB www.wrh.noaa.gov/fgz

http://www.azdailysun.com/news/local/article_d17c2bbc-7f41-5693-b683-3cfd20e5efbd.html

In brief, it was really dry. Despite last month's blizzard. Unless we have a really wet spring, the summer wildfire season is going to be very scary. So the forecast for snow most of next week is actually a good thing, even if I'm personally sick of winter.

More on Haitian Relief

I'll hand this over from someone who's better at it than I am, but I've given what little I can. Digby posted a list of relief/humanitarian agencies on the ground in Haiti, which I'm just going to copy.

by digby

Ayayay. It's just awful. It's going to be tens of thousands of casualties.

Here is a list of organizations on the ground that will be needing help if you're so inclined:

• The Red Cross: You can give $10 to the Red Cross’s International Response Fund by texting HAITI to 90999. 100 percent of your donation benefits the Red Cross, and you can print a receipt through mGive, a foundation that helps non-profits take advantage of mobile technology.

• UNICEF, the United Nations Fund focusing on children, has worked on the ground in Haiti since 1949, so has the expertise to make a difference. You can donate here.

• Doctors Without Borders is also present in-country. One senior staff member reports, “The situation is chaotic. I visited five medical centers, including a major hospital, and most of them were not functioning.” Donate to support public health efforts here.

• MADRE, the international women’s rights NGO, partners with the Zanmi Lasante Clinic on the ground in Haiti. “The most urgent needs right now are bandages, broad-spectrum antibiotics and other medical supplies, as well as water tablets to prevent cholera outbreaks,” MADRE reports. Donate here.

• Action Against Hunger has had a team in Haiti since 1985, and is ready to fly planeloads of emergency supplies from Paris to Port-au-Prince. Food is one necessity, but so is sanitation; in some Haitian towns, 70 percent of homes do not have plumbing. Donate here.

• Mercy Corps has a history of deploying aid to regions affected by catastrophic earthquakes, such as Peru in 2007, China and Pakistan in 2008, and Indonesia last year. They are deploying a team to Haiti, and you can support their efforts here.

• Partners in Health is the NGO founded in Haiti in 1987 by Dr. Paul Farmer, the celebrated physician and anthropologist who focuses on international social justice. The group’s emergency response focuses on delivering medical supplies and staff. Louise Ivers, PIH’s clinical director in the country, sent the message, “Port-au-Prince is devastated, lot of deaths. SOS. SOS.” Donate here.

To follow the story, the best online source for me remains Mark Leon Goldberg at UN Dispatch.

Haiti

Incredible devastation in what was already the poorest nation in the western hemisphere. The Red Cross and UNICEF have ways to help, as do many other aid groups.

For Her Courage

Miep Gies was bestowed with the "Righteous Gentile" title by the Israeli Holocaust museum.

Bullshit.

Righteous Gentile? How about 'Righteous MotherF*cking Human Who Supported Far More Of A Share of Her Life's Load Than Anyone Ever Should". That might be a start. For her, and for the many others who gave as she gave, and but because of the fickleness of fate, she became the icon.

This is a person who defined and defines the essence of humanity. She IS what it means to be human; to share, through our weakly evolved history of providing support to each and every one of us, when we most need it, and following through on that support, even though it may have meant the cessation of her own being.

That's Human. That's Humanity. That was Miep Gies.

Let's hope that we could all be a little more like her, every day.

Obey the Sign

My city, in what I presume to be unintended humor, placed this sign on the sidewalk approaching the railroad crossing nearby. As I walked by a few evenings ago, a group of what I presume to be local college students were...um...engaging in an obvious response, and taking pictures. I didn't have my camera with me at the time, but I'm willing to bet that the results have already been posted somewhere on the intertubes. And I will also bet there will be more.

I love my city!

No Surprise, But...

In case you might have been delusional enough to think they couldn't get worse, they can:

Sarah Palin to Contribute to Fox News

Another reason not to watch.

A Cunning Plan

With just a few minor flaws.
Last week, NORAD twice scrambled fighter jets in response to unruly passengers. Now, I understand that everybody is being hyper-vigilant in the wake of the "undie bomber", but I fail to see how F-15's or F-16's are an effective way to deal with the problem. The fighter escorts can force a commercial aircraft to the ground based only on the implicit threat of shooting it down. Which doesn't strike me as much of a deterrent to a terrorist. "Don't blow up the plane, or we'll blow up the plane" has a bit of a logical flaw as a tactic against terrorism. Maybe I'm missing something, but blowing something up to prevent it from being blown up, while a common military approach, seems counterproductive.
And I don't quite understand how this helps control "unruly" passengers. Saying "quit being an asshole, or we'll blow you (and everyone around you) to smithereens", while emotionally satisfying, seems to be a bit of overkill. Sure, we've all had the urge to blow up an obnoxious drunk (OK, at least I have; you may be more tolerant), but no sane person would actually do it, especially when it means killing a couple hundred other people along with the jerk.
So the scrambled fighters are a purely symbolic gesture, allowing the TSA to say "see, we are doing something." It's just that the "something" won't make anybody any safer.
Or am I missing something?

Kyl Has Priorities

My dumber senator (truly) has his priorities. For instance, along with every other thing on the internet, he doesn’t like online gambling very much. Which is OK; I like online gambling, but I don't have a bunch of casinos lobbying me; simple corruption I can understand. But Jon "I Hate Government" Kyl is using this as an excuse to put a "hold" on a bunch of Treasury nominees. Per Matt Yglesias:

Sen. Jon Kyl (R-AZ) evidently doesn’t like online gambling very much, and in 2006, he helped craft a law banning the processing of online wagers. The law and its corresponding regulations were supposed to go into effect last month, but the Obama administration and the Federal Reserve pushed back the start-date until June.

This, ladies and gentlemen, is your modern United States Senate. If there’s some random crap that nobody cares about, it just takes one Senator with a bee in his bonnet to ruin everything for everyone who would like to live in a country with
a properly administered government. There are six Treasury nominees still awaiting action being held up by Kyl.

You might think it would be a good idea to have an Under Secretary for International Affairs. Kyl disagrees. You might think it would be a good idea to have an Under Secretary for Domestic Finance. Kyl disagrees. You might think it would be a good idea to have an Assistant Secretary for International Markets and Development. Kyl disagrees. You might think it would be a good idea to have an Assistant Secretary for International Economics and Development. Kyl disagrees. You might think it would be a good idea to have an Assistant Secretary for Financial Markets. Kyl disagrees. You might think it would be a good idea to have an Assistant Secretary for Tax Policy. Kyl disagrees.

This kind of thing really has to stop, it’s a ludicrous way to run a country. Amidst a global economic meltdown, we can’t get confirmation for the international economics officials. Not because the senate has a problem with them, but because one guy isn’t happy with the delay of some internet gambling regulations.

http://yglesias.thinkprogress.org/archives/2010/01/while-economy-burns-jon-kyl-blocking-treasury-nominees-over-petty-bs.php

I'm of a simple mind: we're in an economic crises, I have no idea how to fix it, but I want more people working to solve the problem. Not saying Treasury should be trusted too far, but they should be allowed to have a full toolbox for the attempt.
And that is the crux of the debate: the dems govern poorly, while the rethugs are against governing at all. It's a lousy choice, but those are the only options at this time.
I don't particularly like Timmy G., but I'd rather he had a full team while tackling our current mess. I'd even give up my online football bets (which have done me well) to have a barely functional government.

Why Is The Bird Grumpy?

For reasons that are entirely unclear to me, Grizelda (my bird) woke up in a bad mood today. Most days, when I let her out of her cage in the morning she perches by the heater and chatters at the sunrise. Not today. Today she started by attacking the computer mouse (a behavior I thought I had broken her of) and then attempting to shred and toss a pile of paperwork that I should be working on. Then it was the speaker wires that became her target. She's been loudly complaining about my putting a stop to her path of destruction, like a small child throwing a tantrum. I finally had to put her back into her cage for a "time out".

She's normally a very sweet, well behaved bird. I have no idea why she's in such a bad mood today, as everything in her world (food, water, treats) is the same as every other day. No signs of anything wrong with her health; I checked her out to see if there was anything physically wrong and found her to be extremely healthy. So why is she so grumpy today?

Added: Let back out about an hour later, she's her normal sweet self.

The Absurdity of St. Sleazy

Clearly St. Sleazy McCain is feeling threatened by the potential primary from J.D. "the eggplant" Hayworth (yes, that's my new pet nickname for him). St. Sleazy has decided to channel his 'inner warrior' in two new radio ads:

"President Obama is leading an extreme, left wing crusade to bankrupt America. I stand in his way every day. If I get a bruise or two knocking some sense into heads in Washington, so be it. I'll keep fighting for jobs and economic growth for Arizona as long as I'm in the Senate," McCain says in one of them.

"My lot in life has been to wage war against wrong, like today's massive spending at the worst possible time," he says in the other. A narrator calls McCain "Arizona's last line of defense" against Obama's agenda and says McCain leads the charge against "ridiculously unaffordable ideas like government-run health care." Conveniently for the McCain campaign, it appears that the only place to listen to the ads, other than Arizona radio stations, is here, on the campaign's contribution-form web page.

http://politics.theatlantic.com/2010/01/mccain_i_stand_in_obamas_way.php

Damn, but that's some absurdest theater! Somehow, Obama is an extremist liberal (which is news to most of us on the left) who can only be stopped by the bruised tough-guy geriatric hero, St. Sleazy himself. While I'm sure these ads will appeal to the base, to me sounds even more delusional and senile than he did during his presidential run, and that's saying something. Watch for J.D. "the eggplant" to put out even more extreme 'tough-guy' ads in response, which could be entertaining if it weren't for the sad absurdity that one of these wackos will probably end up being senator.

Boobies I Should Have Noticed

Don't know why it took me so long to find and post this one, but it's here now. Enjoy.

The Retirement

(Baseball post; non-fans can skip)

Randy Johnson has announced his retirement, ending a career of the pitcher who, in my opinion, was the most entertaining to watch over the past 22 years. I lived up in Washington state when the Mariners first acquired the young Johnson (from the Expos), and the first time I saw him pitch, my reaction was "Oh, my...if this guy learns to throw strikes, he'll be one of the greatest. If he doesn't, he's gonna kill somebody." He learned (although he did kill a bird with a pitch).
For those unfamiliar with "RJ" or "the big unit" as he was nicknamed, he was simply intimidating as a pitcher. A 6'11" lefthander with a 100mph fastball and a menacing stare, he overpowered batters. Baseball statistics are a matter of near religious reverence amongst fans, and Johnson's numbers put him in the all-time greats: 303 wins (24th), 4,875 strikeouts (2nd all-time, 1,700 ahead of #3), 5 Cy Young awards, 10 all-star appearances, 2 no-hitters (1 a perfect game) and a world series co-MVP. Automatic 'Hall-of-Fame" in 5 years.
In 2001, Johnson lead the Arizona Diamondbacks to a World Series championship, blowing away the hated Yankees. He ended his career by pitching last season for my beloved San Francisco Giants.
I've been a Baseball fan my whole life, and I've seen some of the greatest pitchers in the history of the game. Johnson was among them, and the game will miss him.

Oh, yeah...a couple of Senators are also retiring. But neither Dodd nor Dorgan ever won a Cy Young or a World Series. I suppose they both threw a few curve balls in their careers, though.

Like A Steele Trap

Republican party chairman Michael Steele follows up on his success with African-Americans and Hispanics by reaching out to Native Americans:

Our platform is one of the best political documents that’s been written in the last 25 years. Honest Injun on that.

http://thinkprogress.org/2010/01/05/steele-injun/

One of the Democrats best assets is having Steele speaking for republicans.

TSA Almost Succeeds

in protecting America from Joan Rivers:

The New York Daily News reports that comedian Joan Rivers was among the many travelers to get snared in the heightened-security frenzy that overtook airports after the December 25th failed terrorist attack. Rivers wasn’t allowed on her Newark-bound flight in Costa Rica this past weekend by a “jittery Continental Airlines gate agent” who thought the two names on her passport, which reads “Joan Rosenberg AKA Joan Rivers,” seemed “fishy.”

http://thinkprogress.org/2010/01/05/joan-rivers-airport/

Now, I don't think Ms. Rivers is a terrorist. But she's not funny, and she's the kind of celebrity that we have way too many of. As a country, we really don't need Joan Rivers back. I can only assume that the powerful cosmetic surgery industry successfully lobbied for her return.

The Entertainment Value of a Train Wreck

I've been in the 'political doldrums' lately, watching with intense disinterest as the dysfunctional process loudly fails to serve the public. I frequently find myself wondering how much worse it will get.
Here in Arizona, we get the honor of being represented by two of the worst examples of rethuglican obstructionism in the senate, Jon "I hate government" Kyl and St. Sleazy "Keating Five who?" McCain, which is bad enough. But the 'even further right' rethugs are serious about electing an even worse senator:

Fourteen months ago, John McCain was his party's nominee for president. But, now, as the 2010 midterms loom, the senior Senator from Arizona may find himself locked in a primary battle to hold on to his seat -- and he could be vulnerable.

Last week, former Rep. J.D. Hayworth (R-AZ) signaled on his radio show that he's getting closer and closer to a run at McCain's seat. "We may have moved past due diligence into something that is more than a legal term of art ... something called 'testing the waters.' So stay tuned on that," Hayworth said.

Hayworth is popular with the conservative base because he was a leading right-wing voice in Congress on immigration, until he lost his seat in 2006. (Since then, Hayworth has hosted a talk radio show in Arizona.) McCain has traditionally struggled with this voting bloc, largely because of his past moderate positions on illegal immigration.

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/01/why-the-political-deck-in-arizona-might-be-stacked-against-john-mccain.php?ref=fpa

As much as I dislike St. Sleazy, I cannot imagine a worse senator than J.D. Hayworth. J.D. is a blow-dried sportscaster with the intellectual capacity of an eggplant. He'll spout the right talking points on "god, guns, and gays", but his pet issue is 'immigration'; he really hates brown people. He's upset that there are "mexicans" in Arizona (J.D. don't know much history).
And he could win:

If McCain faces a primary challenge from Hayworth, McCain could be at a distinct disadvantage because of his state's election laws -- namely the closed primary, which allows only registered Republicans to choose the GOP's nominee.

Voting registration figures in Arizona through last spring show that Republicans, Democrats, and independents and minor parties all take about a third of registered voters. McCain has traditionally had a strong appeal with the state's independents -- but they can't vote in the GOP primary, leaving a heavily conservative, anti-illegal immigration base to choose the nominee.

So far, there is no credible democrat running. So if J.D. wins the primary, he could win in the general.

01022010

Happy "numerical palindrome day."

New Year's Boobie

Flying into 2010.

Happy 2010

Happy New Year to you!

And Happy Birthday to me. 51. Funny, I don't feel older.

Goodbye, 2009...and Good Riddance

Note: this post contains an excess of personal whining. Please feel free to skip reading it.
2009 was, for me, a year of pain. In fact, by far the most painful year of my life. On the first day of the year, my 50th birthday, I slipped on an icy hill and suffered a double compound fracture of my right humerus. Surgery, a metal plate, and eight days in the hospital are a lousy way to start a year, trust me.
On January 23rd, my Mother passed away. For those who never new my Mom, she was a character of almost mythological proportions. She called herself a "faded flower-child" but she was tougher than the average nail. Although she battled cancer for 16 years, she was still riding her Harley a few weeks before she died. The last thing she said to me was "I'm not old enough to have a child your age." Spending the last days by her bedside, I went through more emotional pain than I could have imagined.
And the plate in my shoulder/arm worked loose. So I got to have a second surgery, and gained a second plate. Also, a lump was discovered in my right lung. It was non-cancerous, but having it removed was another surgery, and caused another painful process.
Are you sensing a theme here? I spent my spring in extensive physical therapy, which is supposed to be good for you but feels like a violation of the Geneva Conventions, three times a week.
By June, I thought my shoulder had recovered enough to attempt a small river trip. It hadn't. I ended up with an inflamed labrum in my rotator cuff. Six more weeks of serious pain.
Just to insure that the year finished in pain, I developed an Inguinal Hernia (actually, two. But only one hurt prior to surgery). So earlier this month, I had Bi-Lateral Inguinal Hernia repair surgery. I'm rehabbing steadily, but it still hurts to move.
And I still need surgery on my right knee sometime in the future. I think I'll hold off as long as possible.
Throughout all of this I've had prescription pain medications available, but I don't like taking pain pills because I like pain medications way too much for my own good. I've gone through addiction in my past, and I refuse to go back. So I'm willing to live with a certain level of pain. It's the better alternative, even though the plates in my arm are an effective barometer.
I did have some good times in 2009. River trips in June, July, and October; multiple concerts by Widespread Panic, Stockholm Syndrome, Jerry Joseph and more; good friends (and I do have some of the greatest friends imaginable) and gaining a silly little bird (she thinks she's important). I shouldn't whine; my life is full, and mostly happy.
So I'm happy to say 'goodbye' to 2009, a year that had way too much pain.

5,000 Years in 90 Seconds

Via Ellroon at Rants From The Rookery, here's a very Cool map of the rise and fall of empires across the Middle East over the past 5,000 years. History is not kind.

The Frightened Senator

Aw, my worst senator (yes, I think he's even worse than St. Sleazy McCain) Jon Kyl is scared:

Sen. Jon Kyl said he doesn't "feel totally safe" with Janet Napolitano at the helm of the Department of Homeland Security, given that agency's handling of the attempt to blow up a Detroit bound airliner.

"I don't feel totally safe" Kyl said.

http://www.azdailysun.com/news/local/state-and-regional/article_4ba5a284-e5a8-5a14-aca8-2106b6952207.html

Poor senator Kyl doesn't feel safe in the world because terrorists still exist. In short, the terrorists have achieved their goal with him: he's terrorized.
Jon, I want to let you in on a little secret: life isn't safe, and it always ends up with dying. Man up, grow some stones, and realize that, as a senator, you're supposed to show a little courage. OK, I know you're a rethug and fear is your marketing strategy, but you're acting like a whiny child faced with a bully instead of some sort of leader. You don't feel safe? Maybe you should stay home with your mommy.
(added slogan: "you're 99% safe everywhere, you're not 100% safe anywhere")

Adjusting the Attitude

Sweaterman and I were discussing the issues I focused on in my last post, and he made some very salient points:
That the issue may be less one of "competence" than one of "attitude"; that the American mind set used to be one of "can do", but the current attitude is "no can do". That is that we used to believe in our abilities to change the world, but at some point the problems became accepted and insolvable. FUBAR became the accepted status quo.
And then Sweaterman asked the gazillion dollar question: "how do we change that attitude?".
I certainly don't have an answer. I know that I don't expect Obama (or any other 'leader') to make the changes we need. It has to come from within; we need to believe we can change and improve our society if we're going to fix anything.
So I'm passing Sweaterman's question on to you: "how do we change that attitude, from 'can't do' to 'can do'?"

The Tragic Death of American Competence

The following may just be the grouchy ranting of an old curmudgeon, but I'm angry about the loss of "American Competence" that seems to be more pervasive in recent years. As I read the media's "end of decade" stories (they can't even get that right; the decade ends at the end of next year. Count it off with me: 1 to 10, not 0 to 9. Thank you.) there is a repeating theme of failure; of all the things we "cannot" do.
The most glaring example is our dysfunctional government. Regular readers know that I tend to blame the conservatives for this, but there's plenty of blame to be shared. In principle, government is the means of maintaining a functional society. Maintaining the rules (laws) and ensuring the basic services (roads, etc.) while providing security (military) for the populace as a whole. But politics is sometimes the enemy of good government, and the struggle to hold power has reduced the focus from substance to image. The goal has become re-election rather than achieving solutions to problems.
The most recent example, the health care reform debacle: the problem is rather simple; over 3 million Americans lack access to health care, and roughly 45,000 per year die as a result. So a simple solution would be to create a program to provide health care to those people (yeah, that's the public option) efficiently. But that's not the way our government works. Instead, corporate lobbyists spread millions, and partisan hacks spread misleading talking points in order to enrich themselves. We're told that real reform is "impossible"; we lack the competence to provide working health care for all (despite the fact that the rest of the modern world seems capable of doing it.)
This country needs a modern energy infrastructure, not the fifty year old system we currently have. Even if you want to deny climate change, what's so bad about reducing pollution, energy costs, and dependence on foreign oil? And the technology to address the problem is readily available. Here's one simple example: look at all those long distance overhead power lines, and realize that they lose 8% to 25% (depending on distance and age) of the electricity passing along them. Simply replacing them with modern insulated lines would bring the loss down below 2% (and create a lot of jobs; replacing that much wire is rather labor intensive), saving the country billions annually. While the project wouldn't be cheap, it's a hell of a lot cheaper than invading Iraq. But we're too incompetent and complacent to take up such grand projects. It's the same in alternative energy: we're falling behind Europe and Asia in wind, solar, geothermal, and tidal energy generation. A wind farm being built in this state will use windmill generators built in China. Why? Because we "can't" manufacture them here.
America has the largest, most powerful (and most expensive) military in the history of the planet, but after eight years we are still stuck in wars with no "victory" in sight. I admit that because our war is with a verb, "terror", it's hard to know what "victory" would be, but one would think that after 8 years and roughly 1.5 trillion dollars, a competent military would be able to defeat a small group of fanatics. America isn't even competent at war anymore.
I grew up with a certain ideal of American greatness; "exceptionalism" if you wish. Forty years ago, we put a man on the moon. We can't do that now. We built the greatest cars, the finest machines, and the most innovative technologies then. Now we build celebrities, although most of them do nothing worth celebrating.

There was a recent report that 12% of American drinking water is contaminated, and almost every month brings news of a food contamination. Modern, competent civilizations should be able to ensure safe food and water, but America can't anymore. Why?
As American industry is dying, we're spreading billions of bytes of information across the internet every hour. But it seems that most of it is spent spreading "LOL cats" and such, rather than building anything. I suppose that's something; we're still competent at entertainment. America may be dying, but at least we'll be amused.
This probably sounds like the grumblings of a grouchy old man about the "good old days", but it's not meant to be. The "old days" had plenty of problems; the difference is that we had a belief that we were competent enough to solve those problems. That belief seems to be gone now. Now we believe in all the reasons that we can't solve problems.