Yeah, those pesky Democrats spending all the money..

Please, let me put some facts in the way of your lovely opinions on who is to blame for our debt crisis. ;)


http://www.slate.com/id/2276583/

And no, I don't only blame Republicans, but they aren't the "debt fighters" they claim to be. Oh, and neither are the "Tea Party" morons who have already added billions to the spending. Nice huh?

We the descendants of the 10 lost tribes of Israel

Hopefully you're saying "Wait, wah?" And scratching your head in a confused manner.

If not, please stop reading and throw yourself in traffic.

A disturbing column from The Atlantic on the sad sad state of teaching people about the Constitution in this country. Its very well written and not an attack on anyone, just well an indictment of how things currently stand on people's knowledge of important things in this country.

Criminals

Guess who's in the news again in a bad bad bad light? HALLIBURTON! Those criminals who profited nicely off the war in Iraq (everything from oil rig equipment to washing soldiers uniforms) have done it again!

Remember that BIG OIL SPILL we had earlier this year? Guess who supplied the concrete to sell the well? HALLIBURTON!

Guess who's concrete mix didn't meet the specifications but they used it anyway! HALLIBURTON and BP because BP had recieved notification that the stuff wasn't good enough and used it anyway.

For all you people out there who don't understand why so many of us hate the energy sector it is because there are too many involved in it who are greedy, dishonest, and downright criminal. Sure, there's plenty in other areas too, but oil spills, rig explosions, refinery explosions, leaking pipelines, etc. etc. are a special sort of horrible.

Only in America

Only in America can we have a candidate running for the US Senate who hasn't worked a real job ever in her life. Yes, that is hyperbole, but sadly not nearly enough of one to not warrant a massive facepalm

Christine O'Donnell, running for the Senate seat in Delaware, has less than zero qualifications to be a US senator, and yet she is not only being treated as a legitimate candidate, people are actively supporting her.

Her Wikipedia page details her work history, lots of time as a lobbyist, talking head, and working for various non-profits.

However, what she has been most adept at is getting herself into financial trouble and lying about her credentials. She's claimed on numerous occasions that she had been pursuing a master's degree in Constitional Studies, but neither of the schools she mentioned had record of her enrolling or taking classes there.

She got fired from a job at ISI for doing personal consulting work on their coin. Now, she had filed a lawsuit against ISI, stating that their "conservative beliefs" required men to be subordinate to women. Apparently being a conservative who believes masturbation to be wrong only applies so far in your personal pursuit of a buck. She eventually dropped the lawsuit because she was broke.

At some point in time she decided she'd make a good senator and became embroiled in even more financial troubles. She paid her townhouse's mortgage from campaign funds because she was essentially jobless. She's had numerous campaign employees quit and accuse her of misusing funds.

Another problem is, she's a Tea Partier who believes the Constitution to be some sort of "holy document" except she doesn't even know all the Amendments. I wouldn't expect the average American to know them all, but if you claim to be a Constitutional scholar, who holds the Constitution to almost the level of scripture, shouldn't you know at least all the changes and amendments to it?

What amazes me is that the people who are supporting her don't have a problem with this. They don't have a problem with someone who has lied about her credentials, doesn't exhibit any expertise about the thing they hold dear, and hasn't held a job like an "average" person for more than a couple years at a time.

We don't need lifetime politicians, but we also don't need uneducated buffoons making a different sort of mockery of the current system.

Flip Side: Obama admits he screwed up!

I lambasted the Tea Partiers, now I'll go the other way. Here is an article about Obama standing by hit policies, but saying he should have "sold" them more.

From the article: Campaigning in Seattle, he said: "We had to move so fast, we were in such emergency mode, that it was very difficult for us to spend time a lot doing victory laps and advertising exactly what we were doing because we had to move onto the next thing."

If he honestly believes this is why so many Americans of all stripes are disappointed in his administration so far then he is completely out of touch with reality.

We aren't upset about the bailout because he didn't sell it. We're pissed about it because it was bailing out many of the very people who created and exacerbated the crisis. We're angered because the version of bailout that went through helped the millionaires and billionaires and did next to nothing for the average American who is struggling with mortgages, finding work, and facing the future with retirement funds that were crushed during the crash.

Most aren't upset that you got health insurance mandated. (Some are, and that's fine too.) But many of us ARE upset about how you did it. You mandated everyone has heath insurance, but then gave them no competitive option to purchase it. You de facto handed ALL the power to the insurance companies while doing nothing or next to nothing to change how they operate.

This is on top of the graceless exit from Iraq, the continuation of many Bush era privacy invasions, your weak stance on off shore oil drilling, the continued debacle in Afghanistan, and on and on.

It was that you didn't sell your policies. Its that you didn't fight for them to matter. You didn't force the Democrats to not cave on a public option. You didn't fight to break up the biggest banks. You haven't fought for privacy rights. We're still embroiled in a nasty war with no end in sight.

Those are the reasons we are mad with you sir. Not that you didn't "sell" us on your polices. They just plain SUCK!

Election Season

I hate it. The 2 party system is broken and corrupt.

Instead of whining about it, here's a great article on how the "Tea Party" has no idea what they are talking about regarding the Constitution and how their supporters have often pushed for additions to the Constitution that has been so horribly altered and abused.

Nice.

Why Do I Expect Consistency of Belief?

Here's a link to a column/blog by a libertarian. Its a nice little read and points out much of what I find wrong with the "Tea Party" movement.

I'm not a libertarian, I feel its a simple recipe for disaster. But I can respect people who are libertarian and have consistency of belief (for the most part. We all struggle with this to certain degrees.)

Many Tea Partiers whine about the gov't, but don't really try to do anything serious about it. They have no proposals except "cut taxes and spending." They never say HOW they are going to do it. Well, getting rid of "entitlement" programs like Social Security (privatization like Bush wanted would have decimated the system like it did people's 401K's and private investments) and Medicare (old people love it) would be starts, but I'm sorry, that's not realistic.

They like to yell and scream about "social issues" like immigration and an Islamic YMCA with a mosque in it built by Ground Zero, but they don't offer solutions except wanting to take away rights from people they don't agree with or who aren't like them.

Is illegal immigration a problem? YES! However, they keep pointing to the wrong statistics on why its a problem. Crime is not a problem. Even jobs isn't the real issue because by and large Americans don't want to work the long hours for crappy pay that illegals will work. (And not even just illegals, immigrants in general.) They ignore the fact that illegals come here and work for Americans who often are KNOWINGLY flaunting the laws, and if nothing else our desire for ever cheaper prices on meat, produce, housing, hotel rooms, etc. are what have driven the wages on jobs so low that the only people who will take them are those here under frequently dubious circumstances.

But, we have too many laws, too many regulations, we just need to build a fence and police the border and question anyone with brown skin who gets pulled over in a car and seems "suspicious."

Seriously, when you have some actual courses of action, when your positions aren't simply emotion built by ignoring the facts, get back to me. We can discuss, and disagree, but actually have a conversation. For now you offer nothing but rhetoric and a mistrust which looks a lot like intolerance of anyone who isn't like you.

Misplaced Anger

There has been fury unleashed at BP lately due to the oil spill in the Gulf. Much of it is warranted. They screwed up, cut corners, lied, lied again, lied a few more times, finally admitted they were completely wrong, and now are trying to clean up and keep the company solvent. (Is solvent like the disperents they sprayed all over which just cause the oil to sink to the bottom of the ocean?)

Anyway, some people have called for boycotts of BP, and that's fine I suppose. Just remember, while this happened to BP, it could have been ANY of the oil companies and the response would have been the same.

The problem isn't BP. The problem is are the oil giants and their cozy relationship with those in power. AND America's refusal to change their lifestyles and stop relying on oil.

So, what am I saying? First, something like this was going to happen. It really was. It might have happened to Shell, or Conoco-Phillips, but it was going to happen. And no company would have known what to do, and all of them would have lied just like BP. This is not exonerating BP, merely stating the entire industry is corrupt and used to doing whatever they like.

America, we need to get over our love for oil. Is cheap gas, oversized cars, inefficient roadways, and personal selfishness more important than polluting the oceans and coastlines and putting thousands of jobs at risk? The economic fallout from this is going to be felt for some time.

So America, be mad at BP, but be mad at all oil companies, your government who for too long has turned a blind eye, AND yourselves for continuing to live in ways that encourage this kind of risky behavior.

Perspective

Now, everyone talks about a balanced budget, but here's a bit of real perspective on it.

From Chris Weigant on Huffingtonpost.com

Last year's budget, for instance, spent $3.55 trillion while it took in
$2.38 trillion, for a deficit of $1.17 trillion. [.....] Four items -- the
Pentagon, Medicare/Medicaid, Social Security, and the interest on the debt --
together add up to roughly the money the government takes in. Meaning that
everything else the federal government does would have to be cut completely --
zeroed out -- in order to balance the budget.

So, there you have it. And, umm, good luck trimming ANY of those significantly enough to make a difference. Old people vote.

This is Sad

Not having CNN, I never watched the Campbell Brown news hour. I don't know if she was a good or bad anchor. I do know the reasons she is stepping away are both noble and sad.

She flat out says she will not change her journalistic style to the frothing opinion "news" that she is slated against. And since her rating are so much lower, she's stepping away to let CNN figure out what they want to do.

Pound another nail in the coffin of journalistic integrity and get ready for even more screaming heads blabbering on cable news channels.

A Call for Real Change

While I wish I could enjoy the implosion of the Republican Party at the hands of the Tea Partiers, I can't, because the party isn't imploding, its becoming even more far-right and hardline than it was. That's a bit terrifying.

The Democrats aren't doing anything about it, attacking the radicals (for that's what they are, I'm serious, they are uncompromising radicals), pointing out their hypocrisy and racism to gain points for the November election or anything else useful.

Why? Because its becoming apparent (not that it was exactly hidden) just how bought off they have been.

There has not been a better time for serious change in the political landscape of America recently. The time for real reforms.

With incumbents in both parties at risk, passing real campaign reform laws and term limits would be brilliant.

Oh, I know, it won't happen. But unless people start demanding real reforms the same mistakes are going to keep happening over and over again as politicians continue to be bought.

The only ones who won't be bought are those too toxic in their beliefs to take much money openly. But, they'll still get plenty funneled to them as well.

This is rambling, my head hurts and I can't be coherent.

America is in ugly shape. The time for real, hard changes is during the hard times. We're quickly losing our chance to make reform.

I can dream right?

Drill Baby drill...oh shoot...

I'd love to think that if any good came out of the oil spill in the Gulf it might be someone will finally tell Sarah Palin to shut up and go home.

Drilling for more oil is not the short or long term solution to America's energy problems.

The technological marvel that is deepwater drilling is showing the dangerous side. If things go catastrophically wrong, there is pretty much nothing we can do about it quickly enough to stop massive environmental disasters.

President Obama correctly put other deepwater well's on hold until more is found out about what happened to cause this disaster and what can be done to prevent future ones.

Even if there is only a 1/10000th chance of this sort of thing happening again, can we risk it for the miniscule gain?

Don't kid yourselves, we cannot raise domestic production to levels that will make a difference. We can't drill fast enough to have any real effect on gas prices. The kicker is too, we have limited (and aging) refinery space to handle any new oil coming in. (This is a bottleneck that frequently drives up the price of oil.)

Oil is necessary, we aren't getting away from it anytime soon. But, if we keep feeding our addiction for little gain (except the pockets of large corporations) no real change is going to happen.

We MUST invest heavily in alternative fuel sources while creating incentives for people to carpool, use mass transit, or buy highly efficient small commuter vehicles.

Change is hard. But it must happen.

Another Chesterton Quote

From one of my pastor's emails. I need to read some G.K. Chesterton.

"The whole modern world has divided itself into Conservatives and Liberals. The business of Liberals is to go on making mistakes. The business of the Conservatives is to prevent the mistakes from being corrected."

G. K. Chesterton

(speaking of early 20th century England)

Arizona

Arizona just put into effect a law allowing police to stop people anytime they are suspicious those people might be illegally in the country. The people must produce proof they are here legally, and may be arrested if they cannot show proof, even if they are here legally.

Let's be honest here, this law is targeting Hispanics. How many people with non-brown skin do you think are really going to be asked to produce papers?

Putting aside the legalities of this, let me pose a question:

What if the tables were reversed? Arizona allows openly carrying weapons and concealed carry. What if every time an officer wanted they could ask to see not only your FOID card (or the equivilent), but wanted your driver's license, birth certificate and recent proof of a background check?

The cries of "the gov't is interfering in mah life daggumit" would be heard to the heavens!

So, government is "bad" when it affects the "rights" of white people. But its "good" when it profiles racially and only affects non-whites.

So, really, tell me again how so many of these "conservatives" aren't racist?

Also, Barry Goldwater and I may not agree about much, but he must be rolling over in his grave at this. The man was a true libertarian and this would most likely disgust him.

Federal Dollars for Religious Social Services

I'm reading a fascinating and disturbing book entitled "Kingdom Coming: The Rise of Christian Nationalism" by Michelle Goldberg. As a secular Jew, she doesn't quite "get" all aspects of evangelicalism, but overall the book is excellent if scary.

I'm currently on the chapter discussing Bush's "faith-based initiatives." These innocuous sounding plans allow religious organizations to get public funds to do good work.

The issue is this. Certain well established religious organizations such as Catholic Charities and Lutheran Social Services set up secular branches to work with the government. Both the Catholic and Lutheran churches have plenty of religious social work they do as well under different umbrellas, but those agencies are the ones that recieve the bulk of government funds.

Many other groups do not make this distinction. They offer social services and prosyletization all at once. That's fine, except when you are taking government money. Then you get into issues with the separation of church and state.

Don't get me wrong. We are guaranteed freedom OF religion, not FROM religion. But, when the government starts giving certain groups money, groups who aren't soley interested in social good, but conversion as well, you're getting into dangerous territory. If Christians can do it, so can Muslims, Buddhists, Scientologists, etc. Unless you believe that America was founded as a Christian nation then, well, I'm sorry, the facts just don't support that.

Now, I'm saying no government money for these programs. Does that mean I think these programs should go away? Of course not! These are the places Christian charity should be going. To help people and their souls. But, its also helping people no matter what!

Are there radical secularists in this country that make life hell for any group wanting to do good in Christ's name? Yes. Are there fundamentalist groups that give the secularists good grounds for their concerns? Sadly yes.

Christ didn't work through the government. He didn't speak much about it at all really. I find the idea of so many Christians loathing the government, but wanting to twist it and use it when it benefits them disturbing. Its a very, well, un-Christlike thing to do. There was no duplicity in Christ. At least not in His aims or means.

What if it happens to you?

Ok, so you don't like the idea of national health insurance. You thought the public option was bad, and you like the system we have.

Just remember this, private health insurance companies care about profits, not people. Am I calling them evil? Not quite.

However, when they are targeting women with breast cancer and AIDS patients to rescind their coverage, that's getting really close in my book. And when the wife of a senator is on the Wellpoint board and that senator helped to successfully lobby to keep a public option from the bill, you're into highly sleazy.

People, I understand you don't want to hear this. However, the only fair, equitable, and morally responsible way to dispense health insurance (not the care, the insurance) in this country is a national single payer plan.

Lacking that, a public option for affordable insurance to compete with the private insurers. These companies care about bottom line. Not people. What is more important? Millionaires making more millions? Or people getting access to the care they need?

Tradition, Tradition!

A great quote from my pastor's weekly email.

"Tradition means giving votes to the most obscure of all classes, our ancestors. It is the democracy of the dead. Tradition refuses to submit to the self-important living who merely happen to be walking around."G. K. Chesterton

Thoughtful Column

A nice column on what I've slowly realized. (Thanks mightily to such wonderful authors/activists as Johnathon Kozol and Jim Wallis.)

Well, I was right...

Huh, here's a post I wrote a couple years back.


"...lots of companies could cut back payroll by 15% and not notice it if getting things accomplished was actually the goal of management."

Sadly, this proved completely true as the financial crisis forced layoffs like crazy. Now we have around 10% of the workforce not working, and no real job recovery in sight.

What is it going to take for the government to encourage (force) companies to create jobs in this country?

People need to work.

Reality

You can believe whatever you want. The facts don't lie. Here are the facts.

Babykillers, Lies, & Love

Bart Stupak, the Democratic, Pro-Life, Congressman from Michigan is retiring. After initially raising concerns that the new health bill provided room for federally funded abortions, he was ridiculed, called a baby-killer, and other things after eventually voting for the bill. He was assured the bill was not opening that door and decided that the good of the bill outweighed the negatives.

Being a politician of faith is not simple. Faith tends to call us to be uncompromising in our convictions while politics is a continual call for compromise.

Rep. Stupak's choices could not have been easy.

However, I want to direct this towards those who in the name of "life" called him a baby-killer or anything else.

I have never understood some of the more militant stands "pro-lifers" take.

I also don't understand how so many pro-life proponents (of who I am one in principle, life is very seldom as simple as black and white however) can be against EVER allowing an abortion to occur, but have no problems with the wars in Iraq or Afghanistan. Or the numerous smaller conflicts the US has been involved in since the "pro-life" movement really got moving in the 1980s.

What it leads me to believe, and I hope I'm wrong, is that too many pro-lifers have a very narrow view of the lives they want to save. They want to save American babies lives. That's nice. That's good. But what about other countries children? (And not just children but all who live in wartorn lands.)

Do they not deserve a life free of American cluster bombs, landmines and machinegun fire? Should they live in fear that kicking a soccerball in an empty field one day will set off a long dormant weapon, scarring and maiming them for life? (I could write another blog on my view of the usage of cluster bombs & land mines. Maybe I will sometime.)

Or even, taking the "-life" idea further, beyond children, what of the lives of those on death row?

Thanks to the vagaries of the justice system, they disproportionately black and poor. Also, since death is final, even one mistake of convicting and sentencing an innocent man results in another innocent life being taken.

Is this right? Is that being "pro-life?"

Finally, taking it beyond the realm of simple life, where is the love? Yelling hateful, spiteful words, even in pursuit of good, is never, ever right. Was Christ sometimes harsh and honest? Yes, but most often against those in his own religious community.

And there is a difference between harsh honesty and poisonous words that can only cause division.

The tragic consequences of abortion on demand in our nation call for a loving, caring discourse. Creating more pain and strife is not the answer.

Nor do I believe it's what Christ wants for us.

Postmodernity is Everywhere

I'm reading an interesting book called "A Primer on Postmodernism" by Stanley Grenz.

The book is just what the title implies, a primer into the murky world of postmodern thought. Written by an academic to non-academics, it avoids as much as possible the coded, specific language philosophical texts are usually full of.

I'm about 50 pages in and its been very interesting. Learning that postmodern ideas can be both disturbing and transformational has gotten me thinking greatly about how to engage it when necessary.

The lack of "absolute truth" in postmodernity is disturbing, but interestingly enough, God is not 100% incompatible with all postmodern beliefs.

One interesting idea that has come from postmodern art is the collage; a juxaposition of varied images, media, or ideas (truth/fiction) into a final output.

We are hit with this daily in the form of television, but even more so in the form of television "news." The proliferation of "news"-talk programs on TV where they impart fact, distortion, editorialization, sound bites, quotes without context all come from the postmodern viewpoint.

And, following postmodern thought, they all appeal to their own "community."

I see this as another danger. While postmodernism has destroyed the modern idea of the "superiority" of Western thought, etc., the idea of every community, culture, or tribe being equally valid in their worldview can be problematic. Especially if that worldview is being twisted to nefarious ends.

Granted, this is not a problem that in inherent to modernity alone. Christian and Muslim fundamentalists, radical Marxists or Maosists, and extremists of any kind have always twisted information to their own end.

I suppose what I am learning is this: Postmodernism was a necessary progression to wipe away the ills of modernity. It presents its own challenges going forward, specifically a place for God (absolute truth), and the challenges of pluralism leading to increased tribalism in an ever growing and changing world.

Hedge Funds & You

Not for a strong progressive tax yet? Read this!

Good column

Great column here on sexuality, marriage and modern men & women.

Its so sad but so often so true.

True to a Point

Here's a link to a great column about the Hutatree Militia.

She raises many good and valid points. One issue she skirts is the major difference between Christianity and Islam.

Christianity's central figure, Christ, never focused on political power or violence. He healed the ear of one of the people coming to arrest him after Peter cut it off.

Islam's prophet/founder on the other hand used mercenaries to take over a city and violently set up a political theocracy. This was from the start of the faith.

Now, am I going to say that Christ's adherents have followed his ways or teachings very well with how they relate to temporal power? No. We've done a terrible job. Its merely that there is nothing in the teaching of Christ or the New Testament to support many of the horrible things done in his name.

Islam, conversely, has more to answer for because of how it began. Does it mean every Muslim is a potential terrorist or believe in the more violent interpretation of the Quran? Of course not, and its unfortunate that most countries that are run according to interpretations of Islamic law are run by fundamentalists who take the most conservative and harsh stands.

Should every Muslim have to apologize for the misguided and those perverted by evil? No. Does Islam need to do much soul searching about how it interacts with the modern world? Yes.

Just as Christians need to as well.

Election Law

On our recent family vacation, my dad, brother and I were discussing, among other things, national elections, our screwed up political process and our grand ideas for fixing it. (We have ALL the solutions, unless we don't.... )

A one point during the discussion my brother mentioned "state's rights" and I said something to the effect of "screw states rights!"

Now, I do think to a certain degree states rights are very important.

However, when it comes to National Elections, states rights need to go out the window. For Presidential elections there should be 1 primary date. There should be the same laws and rules applying to all states.

Every state should adopt a percentage based distribution of electoral votes with the majority getting any votes that needed rounded up.

Currently the "winner takes all" approach means that many people's votes literally do not count. In Illinois, this past presidential election was the first time my vote actually counted. I'm sorry, you can say my vote counts, but when my state gives all the electoral votes to 1 canidate, that means my vote actually didn't matter a bit.

I am NOT in favor of a straight popular vote. Voter fraud is easy enough, lets not make it any simpler.

Also, there needs to be a "secondary" vote option. I first heard this idea from my dad and it strikes me a good one.

Since our system is currently set up to exclude anyone who is not from one of the two major parties, a vote for a 3rd party is literally throwing your vote away.

If you vote 3rd party and your canidate doesn't get elected, your vote defaults to your "second" option if you choose.

With the Supreme Court's allowing corporations, foreign countries, and flying ducks to donate money to campaigns now, we need more than ever term limits. BUT, we also need 1 electoral process for the entire country.

Allow states to run their state and local and even legislative elections however they want. But for presidential elections it needs to be a case of everyone playing by the same rules.

I'll rant on the desperate need for people to take part in elections another time. And term limits. We need them so badly that I can't even begin to state the importance of this. Then, only then can we hope to inact some of the lobbying limitations that need to happen.

Yes Virginia, You are living in the Past

Congrats Virginia, you are a bunch of backwoods hicks! You've effectively made yourself look like racist fools in front of millions.

I'm not saying you are all racist fools, you're just doing a good job of attempting to make the Confederacy look like a good thing. And that's pretty darn foolish.

Now, don't get me wrong, I understand your Governor is pandering to the "conservative" base, but honestly, proclaiming a Confederate History month with no mention of slavery because "there were many issues at stake during the war" is pretty much a joke.

There were many issues at stake, almost all of them can be drawn back to slavery.

States rights? Slavery
Economic issues? The reliance of the southern economy on slavery and lack of an industrial base in the south.

Honestly, I cannot say how much this makes me sad. The attempted glorification of a horrible war, Americans slaughtering Americans mainly to protect states ability to choose to ENSLAVE other human beings is disheartening.

As America becomes ever more polarized this sort of "hat-tip" to those that really don't need support is tragic.

I understand many people are sick of "Black History Month" or "Women's History Month." They have arguments such as "they didn't found the country, they didn't contribute as much..." etc. etc.

Besides the fact that blacks and women have contributed immensely to the economic, academic, and humane aspects of American life, one must remember that for more of this continent's history than not blacks were by and large enslaved and disenfranchised (which continues to be a problem even to this day) and women were blocked from positions of power.

Maybe to celebrate the bank's massive bonuses we should install a National Plutocrat Month where Ayn Rand is required reading and we learn all about Carnegie, Pulitzer, Morgan and others! Think of the fun that could be had in schools as we train children to be even better little consumers and that greed is not only good, its to be expected and encouraged!

Yay!

edit: Just so you don't believe I'm some "All things southern were awful." I'm not. There were many great southerners. Robert E. Lee first and foremost among them. That doesn't mean he made the right choice in joining the Confederacy. Nor does it mean that the Confederacy, the rebelling against the US to insure that states could choose certain things for themselves, such as keeping humans enslaved, was a good or noble memory.

I'm not asking for handwringing, sackcloth and ashes. I am asking please, lets keep the Confederacy and all of Antebellum American in perspective.

Ahh, movement conservatism

David Frum lost his job at the American Enterprise Institute. What is AEI? Its a conservative think-tank that researches, comes up with policy ideas etc. to generally promote "conservative" agendas.

Liberal versions exist as well, but the conservative ones are more numerous and better funded.

Anyway, he lost his job. Why? Because oh my word he didn't toe the party line.

From the article above:

Bruce Bartlett, another conservative scholar who has been at odds with the
right, wrote that Frum told him AEI staffers "had been ordered not to speak
to the media" about health care "because they agreed with too much of what
Obama was trying to do. . . . The donor community is only interested in
financing organizations that parrot the party line.

See, this is a problem. The donor community, mostly massive trusts set up by very very rich people, don't care about fact. They don't care about the greater good. They care about what's good for them. And having paid scholars who can be fired anytime they aren't spouting what you want is handy.

I'm not saying this doesn't exist on the liberal side. But not to this degree. How can this not horribly undermine what little legitimacy some of these places have when stating opinions contrary to what donors want gets you fired.

I questioned them before, now it becomes apparent they are just mouthpieces for the Enterprise that's in their name. This is sad.

Equal Treatment Under the Law?

Albert Gonzalez, the hacker who broke into Barnes & Noble, TJ Maxx and others and stole credit card numbers, was sentenced to 20 years in prison.

Prosecutors claim he caused 200 million dollars in damages. Numbers are always hilariously inflated in hacking cases because there is no real way to prove how much money was lost.

The executives, brokers, and traders at the nations largest banks stole/lost well over 200 BILLION (actual losses probably far closer to a trillion, but anyway) and what do they get?

Just another $30 BILLION (yes, 150x the losses this hacker supposedly caused) in bonuses in 2009 while 10% of americans are out of work and the REAL number is closer to 15%.

So, does the hacker deserve to go to jail? Yes.

For 20 years? (Probably 10 with good behavior.) No.

Should something happen to the bankers? Yes.

A 150x Yes.

Remember Your Witness

During the past twelve months or so a loose conglomeration of people have formed the semi-organized "Tea Party." Their beliefs are varied, but it mainly appears to be a libertarian belief of "less government" and lower taxes.

That's ok. This isn't a commentary on the lack of intellectual thought to their platform.
If you are in the the Tea Party, and a believer, please remember your witness. This applies to Christians involved in any political group, but currently, its the Tea Party that is the loudest, most obnoxious, hate-filled and borderline terroristic group out there.

Now, I understand, its a small percentage of the Tea Partiers who are hinting at violence. However, its a larger, though still most likely a minority, who are being very hateful and ugly vocally at protests.

It is a wonderful right in this country to voice your opinion. You can voice it loudly if you like. However, as Christians we are called to a higher path. It is imperative we act with love.

Spewing hateful words, racist words, is not loving.

Please, voice your displeasure at the things the government does. But please do so in a Christlike manner. The Roman's did some pretty horrid stuff, but Christ wasn't screaming in the streets about it.

He did seem to get pretty upset at religious leaders who were a bit focused on monetary gain and rigid moralism though...

Pray For Glenn Beck

I'm serious. He is seriously lost and confused. I may not like his politics, but the lies he is spouting about Jim Wallis, and the teachings of Christ are, well, I'm glad God is the arbiter of salvation, because then its up to God. Beck needs to stick to bad political diatribes and stay out of theology which he apparently knows very very little about.

Seriously, Glenn Beck needs to be prayed for.

Listen to where he says that "Jesus' message was about choice." It was? Interesting take on the Gospel message. Especially following a 1 line response from Jim Wallis saying the Gospel message was about the redistribution of wealth. Just going from what I've read of Rev. Wallis's books, I'm pretty sure there was a lot more to that statement then a single line snippet showed.

Anyway, here's the video clip.

And here is a link to a column Rev. Wallis wrote in response to Beck's show. Note the difference in tone between the two.

Hans Kung's questions for the Pope

A great read.

I love the Catholic church even though I disagree theologically with them on many points. This is a great piece on the German (and in general) sex abuse scandal that is ongoing.

The points he makes about celibacy are wonderful, and if you suffer through the comments you will see some people arguing that "marriage doesn't prevent pedophilia."

This is true. But, it does allow more, healthy, men to join the clergy, leaving less space for problem priests. Well, there's much more to say, but enjoy the read.

How'd I miss this?

"The united states of america was established as a white society, founded upon a near-genocide of one race and then the enslavement of yet another."
Jim Wallis, The Soul of Politics pg 98.

Certain vocal Christian preachers attempt to make statements saying America's woes are because of sins such as homosexuality, abortion, etc. While I don't know how many Christian's believe that explicitly, there seems to be a large section of believers in this country who seem to think all the sins are committed by "someone else." (Everyday sins such as greed, coveteousness, gossip and slander aren't talked about as often.)

However, there is a pervasive sin that is crippling America. Is it causing the wrath of God to fall down in the form of hurricanes, terrorist attacks and other natural disasters? Heck no.
Is it aiding and abetting the distintegration of society through consumerism, fear, hatred, reactionism, and other forms of exclusion.

Am I saying every white person in the US is racist? No. Sure, we all have our moments and thoughts, but not actively racist.

However, because we do nothing to truly change our behaviors or attitudes, the end result is a divided country. This isn't good for anyone.

So...Social Justice is bad?

Glenn Beck, that bastion of logical thinking, stated on his show last week that any Christian should leave a church that teaches "social justice." Apparently wanting a more equitable and better life for the less fortunate is really just a code word for communism and nazism.

To quote Dave Berry, "I am NOT making this up." Of course, he usually was, and this is totally true.

So, here is a lovely rebuttable from a Jesuit priest to Mr. Beck.

Oh, also, from Sojournor's website you can send Glen Beck an email message saying how you believe what he said to be very wrong and completely missing the point of much of the Gospels.

Shhh, you can't say this out loud

A fascinating interview with Mosab Hassan Yousef, son of one of Hamas' founders. He worked as a spy in Hamas for the Shin Bet (Israel's FBI it seems, since I think Mossad is their CIA).

He was coverted to Christianity during this time, and has since quit being a spy and is now living in the US.

What I found fascinating, and do agree with, is that he views Muslims as trapped by Allah. He says that Allah is a fundamentalist terrorist god, and that by extension his followers, even peaceful moderate Muslims, are stuck.

Does YHWH, or Jehovah, or "God" have issues in the Judeo-Christian tradition? Yes. Many parts of the Old Testament are VERY hard to reconcile with the God who sends his Son to die for us in Jesus Christ.

Islam, from the beginning was spread by war with the prophet Muhammed leading a mercenary army to capture Mecca.

Am I saying there is no difference between peaceful "moderate" Muslims and terrorists? Of course not. There is a difference.

However, the god they serve is NOT the same as the Christian God. At least not the one understood since Christ.

Also, this doesn't mean that there aren't plenty of Christians who pervert the Bible or Christ's teachings, but that isn't what this post is about.
But, the prophet Muh

Great Read

I love it when smart people reinforce the things I've been thinking (and saying to friends and family who listen to me...)

Here is a great read by a Harvard Law prof.

Nice summation

Yes, this is a blog, not a "hard news" report. However, its a great piece on why I am so unhappy with Obama's administration so far.

Really, its summed up by who he chose to help him lead.

Its why I was disappointed even before he was ever officially President. Oh well.


Yeah, you notice he made a few quick million on Wall Street too. Nice having that cushion to fall back on when politics gets old. Be a shame if any politician had to go back to a 9 to 5 job like the rest of us after they leave office or a post....

Its a joke

Just to show you what a complete joke wealth equity has become in this country, the current senate bill wandering around will provide $15billion to the nations unemployed. (That number is hovering the in millions, around 10% of the workforce.)

However, 165,000, Wall Street bankers recieved $20 BILLION (yes, BILLION, it breaks down to a median of 121212.12 each how much did you make last year? )

So, MILLIONS are getting to spread out $15 billion. A few score thousand got $20 billion in bonuses.

You have to be kidding me right? What is it going to take for American's to revolt against this sort of inequity?

More Education Stuff

Here is an article summarizing OBama's grant plan for education.

I have a better idea. What if the money was given to the schools that needed it directly? Then they could fix up buildings, hire more staff, buy new books and other aids and possibly catch up with the funding the suburban schools get.

Wait, that wouldn't make sense.

It saddens me that the Democrats are just following along the Republican trail as far as education is concerned. Its not going to help. Not in the long run.

The brilliant thing is this is aimed at "stopping dropping out" but most of the money is headed to high school kids, some to junior high.

That's great, but the seeds of eventual dropping out are usually planted much earlier than even the 6th grade.

Can you tell I've been reading a bit on the issues and inequities of the American Education System lately?

Oh, and notice how I'm not saying "its cause the teachers suck!"

So It Begins...

Ahh, the lovely fallout of NCLB begins.

So, the theory is, fire all the teachers, hire back no more than 50% of them. Bring in new teachers (at least 50% of your teachers will be new) and watch test scores....improve? Really? Maybe they will, lots can be done if you drill for the tests, but I honestly can't see it helping improve the 50% dropout rate.

Let me see if I understand this. EVERY teacher is bad enough to deserve to be fired, but up to 50% MIGHT be good enough to hire back? Why does this make no logical sense to me?

Another story says the principal wants to lengthen the school day AND thinks the teachers should offer extra tutoring to the students. Note, this is a "tiny impoverished city" so I could bet the school is underfunded already. I'm doubting the teachers were in for much of a raise for all the time invested.

Now, one COULD say "Oh, to save their jobs they should put in the time for free." Well, that is one way of looking at it.

Obviously it is by someone who knows nothing about the average teacher's workday. Teachers at underfunded schools are frequently required to put in MORE hours for less pay, just because they have less to work on.

I'm betting, and I could be wrong, but I'm betting if the school was funded at say, 90% of the richest public school in Rhode Island the results would be different.

Sure, the drop out rate might be higher than more affluent communities, but I bet they could get it up with more manpower.

In the military, they talk about "boots on the ground." How many people are actually there to do the mission.

Well, that needs to start happening in education. We need more boots on the ground. More aides, more librarians, more teachers, to help these kids.

I'm not saying all these teachers were great. There were probably some who were bad, some who were great, many who were in the middle.

Firing them all is not going to solve the schools problems. Nor is more stringent testing requirements.

I won't even start on how the Education Secretary put his two cents of praise in.

These people are clueless. And they are running the show.

Scary.

Musings

Wow, I should stop reading the news. I should stop delving into stories. I should stop following links, and should just sit back and let the TV "news" channel of my choice lull me into nothingness.

America is in trouble but nobody in our government seems interested in doing anything about it. What issue in particular am I talking about?

The "economic recovery." Call me a liberal, but I see a problem with the current recovery we are having. Its only helping those who are the same people who caused the bulk of the problems in the first place?

Oh, don't get me wrong, the average American consumer (myself included in the past) is an idiot who spends way more than they can afford to. Credit card debt, along with with bad mortgages, too much on car loans, and nothing in savings helped fuel this disaster.

However, that doesn't absolve Wall Street. And Wall Street, not the average American, is who recieved the most bailout money.

Profits are up, bonuses are rolling, and millions of Americans are out of work with no prospects in the short term. Honestly, how long can a "recovery" go on if 10% (and the numbers are higher when you include people who have given up hope of getting a job) of the work force in out of work?

Without getting too deep into the silliness that is financial world pay plans, how about we put some real incentive back into the jobs?
Those people are highly trained, and frequently, doing high stress jobs. I have no issues with them being well compensated. However, "bonuses" should be based on performance, ie making money in the long term, not just "performance" which is shifting money for short term "gains." (Its not a gain if the money goes away again down the line.)

What if, and this is crazy liberal talk I know, we start breaking up companies that are "too big to fail."

Think about it? Why should any company, especially a bank, be too big to fail? That doesn't lead to healthy competition and smart business practices. It leads to making dumb decisions because you know the government will have your back when you tank.
what if, instead of rewarding US companies for moving jobs overseas (it can help boost the bottom line!) we encourage investment in factories here? Sure, I know that isn't cost effective, the way the system is set up currently.

However, it could be. Give tax credits for companies keeping jobs here or creating new jobs. There are lots of carrots you can dangle before them. Hit them with penalties every time they decide to "outsource" jobs to a foreign country. Create tariffs on goods, without actually taxing the good.

Heck, start a national campaign "Buy American for America." We are never going to be a manufacturing-centric nation again, but we do need a certain percentage of those jobs. Do they need to be as high paying as the car company jobs with their great benefits and pension plans?
No. But they should pay a living wage.

And what if, WHAT IF, some sort of cap was set on exectutive pay? Cap it at total compensation, TOTAL including stock options, deferred payments, assorted perks, and cash, could be no more than 500x the average pay of workers in a company.
So, if the average pay was 50k, an executive could recieve no more than 25mil a year in benefits. Is that unfair? Really?

I don't see how this could possibly be a bad thing.

We need to make it easier to unionize. But unions need to be smarter. There needs to be oversight of unions to insure they are looking out for the best interests of their workers.
I'm going to stop my crazy pinko rantings here. They way we have been doing things is not working. At least not for the bulk of America.

Part of the blame falls on the American people.

Much of the blame falls on the super-rich and politicians who seem to have forgetton that the average American is not a millionare.

Leadership

Leadership, that's something this country needs and it is not being provided by our President.

I'll put this out there. I voted for Obama for a variety of reasons. One reason was I didn't want Sarah Palin second in line for the presidency.

Before he took office I was disappointed with him. Not, surprised, disappointed, as he surrounded himself with Clinton cronies who had already proved once they had no clue how to lead a country.

Someone needs to tell Obama that he doesn't come across as "bridge-building" or "bipartisan" but merely weak and indecisive.

In a day and age where far too many people only get their "news" from the source they find most appealing (gives it the spin they like) every decision is going to be ripped on by someone anyway. So be a leader. MAKE a decision.

Healthcare: We still don't know if Obama really wants the public option in a bill or not. It looks like the Democrats are going to get it back in there (thankfully, because without it, no bill would be better.) So tell us what YOU support President Obama!

Economy: Yes, the bailout "worked." It saved jobs, created a few new jobs and propped up many plutocrats who elected officials will be needing money from every few years. However, there are still 10% of American's without work. More if you count the people who gave up. The jobs bill that is dying in the Senate is a joke. Be a leader. Make hard decisions. Support unpopular, but necessary ideas. Do SOMETHING, besides try to save Democratic seats in the fall. Do you know why people think you're doing the wrong things? Its because you aren't really doing anything at all!!!

Terrorism: Trumpet the fact we've caught or killed a number of high ranking Taliban and Al Quaeda figures over the past few months. Say, "hey, this wasn't my fight, but we're doing the best we can and look what we've done." Talk about how much information we're getting from the Christmas Day bomber because we didn't torture him, but brought in his family to talk to him.

President Obama, I have cut you slack because you were inheriting a disaster. I didn't think you could do much to turn things around, but I hoped I was wrong. Instead, your lack of will, your lack of LEADERSHIP, has saddened me.

Stop getting into spats with FoxNews, or Sarah Palin, or whoever. Have some guts and say, "You know, you can believe the naysayers if you want, you don't have to agree with me, but I am the President of the USA and I believe this is what we should be doing."

Sure, you'll be skewered for it. But, you're getting skewered anyway.

I know this is a lot to ask, but a 2nd term doesn't matter if you got nothing done in the first one. Don't worry about being unpopular if you're actually doing good things.

Something to Ponder

I learned today that the Supreme Court ruled that a quality education was not something gaurenteed by the Constitution.

Merely adequate education.

Just consider that.

Its not a right, but the government has mandated higher standards year after year and punish teachers and schools who do not reach artificial benchmarks.

Brilliant. Just brilliant.

Peaceful Revolution

After reading a Huffington Post blog I got to thinking: How does a wealthy country have a revolution?

No, I'm not talking crazy here. We don't need violence, or guns, or a forcible overthrow of the government. Overall, things aren't bad. However, the overall system is broken and if the American people want the best for their country they need to understand this.

I feel most of the Tea Party people are idiots (sorry, but while some of the ideas they espouse seem nice, think critically on them.... i'll take socialism over a plutocracy if it comes to it) but they at least have the guts to admit that the Republican party isn't going to do anything to help move their ideas forward.

The progressives haven't realized this yet. They seem to think that the Democratic party is going to pull itself away from the corporate trough and actually be, well progressive. It isn't going to happen.

The reason is this. Politicians are in politics to be in politics. Oh sure, they believe they know best and can help, but right now the argument shouldn't be over "big" government or "small" government. It needs to be over SMART government.

Efficiency is not the goal, but it IS part of the overall solution. We need to merge many of the various governmental agencies into powerful watchdogs over whatever sector they watch. This includes the government itself in my mind.

NPR had a story a month or so back about how part of the problem with the derivatives is that 2 different agencies thought the other agency was watching the banks. It "slipped" through the cracks.

One congressman attempted to merge the two agencies, but it failed because that meant one of the committee chairmen would lose an agency to oversee.

Political power once again trumps the greater good.

This sort of thing is RAMPANT in all levels of government, but most noticeable, and concerning at the national level.

Merging agencies, giving them real power and authority, and, good lord, possibly voluntarily limiting certain rights, would be steps in the correct direction.

It will not happen until we change the overall political system, and I'm sorry, that is going to take a peaceful revolution which I think we as a nation are too rich and lazy to partake in.

Accountability

Reading this, you'll probably think I read all the gossip columns and watch TMZ all the time. I don't. But, if you follow almost ANY news source, you'll see things like young celebrities dying with no evidence of "foul play."

I believe drug overdose is going to become a "natural cause" in California. Michael Jackson, Brittney Murphy, The Rev (drummer for Avenged Sevenfold), and now Johnson & Johnson heiress Casey Johnson is dead too. I'm suspecting a pile of prescription drugs is going to be found at her house, just like at Jackson's and Murphy's. The Rev liked his booze and coke, so, who knows if anything else was involved.

I guess the point I'm making is this: If you want to do drugs, you can always get drugs. However, far too many doctors have merely become drug dispensers for the rich & famous. The pile of legal (prescription) drugs that Murphy had at her house would have done most people in.

Why has it become ok to pop pills just because a doctor gives them to you? These drugs aren't tested against possible interactions with EVERYTHING possible you could take.

YOU are responsible for what you put into your body. BUT, if we're going to hold drug dealers accountable for a product that kills, are we going to hold some of these joke doctors responsible too?