Out of all the things that have cost America plenty, tops on the list would have to be the 24-hour news cycle. One of the most precious items that has been strip-mined from our national conscience is the ability, or even the desire, to say, "Let me sleep on it."
First it was the war in Iraq. Then it was your mortgage. Later on came the bank bailouts. Now it's the swine flu.
Hospitals and clinics are bracing themselves for the onslaught of a brand new virus, the likes of which hasn't afflicted this country since the Spanish Flu in 1918. Schools are being closed. The disease has broken containment from Mexico, where it began, and is now considered a global threat.
It's a big deal, worthy of a massive government response, right? C'mon, right? Yesterday, this was cause for quite some concern. Rather than fading into the next day's fare, however, I found it came out of an overnight gestation with something of a cynical twist.
Having slept on it, I conclude, bring it on. I grew up in Michigan, where you exchange bodily fluids with about five thousand insects each week during the summer. I've been immersed in - have swallowed - Great Lakes water with its varying degrees of mercury and atomic slurry. I ate cafeteria food, for two years, at Milwood Junior High School.
So, then, influenza. Something that comes around every year, we're in a fit of panic over that, the flu? People, our enemies are watching, and carefully. They study our every move, and ask themselves, what can we do that will really freak the Americans out this time? Now they know.
If we were in a movie, the leading role would more likely be played by Dustin Hoffman, or maybe Rick Moranis, than say Clint Eastwood or John Wayne. Was this subject not covered on an episode of Leave it to Beaver? Or was it Family Affair? Was it even remotely alarming back then - when we were CHILDREN?
More worrisome than the bug itself is the fact that Janet Napolitano, formerly the governor of Arizona, is now the head of Homeland Security. Given a full-blown pandemic, something on the scale of 1918, could she quarantine entire cities such as Tucson or Phoenix?
Sure she could. But so far all she's told us to do is wash our hands and cover our mouths when we cough or sneeze. (Translation: We're already dead.) And she sees no point in closing the border, noting with an official shrug that this strain has been identified everywhere from Canada to New Zealand.
Even in Mexico, where there have been nearly 200 deaths already, the response is just a bit surreal. Thousands of drug-related homicides last year didn't faze those poor people, but the flu has emptied the streets.
Anyway. The point is that a person can often get a better - or least a different - perspective on the big issues if he or she takes the time to sleep off the initial emotion. Letting the dust settle, however you make time for doing so, can be a good thing...
So tomorrow would be a much better day to tell you what I really think of Arlen Specter.
pH 4.28.o9
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Thursday, April 23, 2009
Seceding Hairline Fracture
The past is not dead. In fact, it's not even past. - William Faulkner
***
Did you notice the so-called Tea Parties held across the country on April 15th? Or were you too busy filing to care? In some locations, thousands of Americans responded to the sirens of conservative media... In other places it was more like dozens.
These folks were protesting things like federal spending, big government and (of course) taxation. Never mind that the corporate tax rate is today what it was in the 1950s, or that the Bush regime spent us into the largest expansion of government in history. It's not sense they're looking for.
That puts them in a peculiar category, and at long last it must be said: The Republican Party is the Confederacy, geographically, demographically and practically. This would be a particularly intense perversion given that Abraham Lincoln was the first Republican.
This could explain why right-wingers have become so intensely agitated by the presidency of Barack Obama. This comes after the South actually did rise again - but said resurrection only lasted for eight years (about as long as the Third Reich).
In all of modern New England - the cradle of our nation and the place where our freedom was won - and in nearly all the original Colonies, nary a conservative lawmaker exists. To find them you have to go to places where the Stars and Bars once were, and sometimes still are, flown.
Look at where the Republican Party resides today. In the South. Across the Mountain West - Texas, Utah, Idaho, Wyoming, Arizona, the Dakotas. That's the Trail of Fears trod by the Rebel diaspora who could not stand to remain in the South during the horrors of Reconstruction.
Remember George Allen, with his "real Virginia" remarks aimed at "Macaca", a person of Central Asian descent who happened to work for Jim Webb (who won the election)? Look and listen; the mantra of the GOP today is precisely what the mantra of the Confederacy was 145 years ago.
Secede. That sharp word was proudly uttered in a recent public speech made by Texas Governor Rick Perry. It all but oozes out of the ground in Alaska where Sarah Palin's husband was, for years, a card-holding member of a party dedicated to secession from the United States.
What has changed? Instead of bombing Union railways or Black churches, Southern nut-cases like Eric Rudolph turned their deadly habits upon abortion clinics. What would inspire someone to commit such acts of terrorism?
Same thing that was used to justify slavery not so many generations ago, that staple of GOP fundraising, the Bible. Clearly this proclivity for twisting existing doctrine (such as a major political Party or the Constitution) is nothing new.
It's glaring in our history. We've dealt with it before. But that sure as Hell doesn't mean it's past.
pH 4.22.o9
***
Did you notice the so-called Tea Parties held across the country on April 15th? Or were you too busy filing to care? In some locations, thousands of Americans responded to the sirens of conservative media... In other places it was more like dozens.
These folks were protesting things like federal spending, big government and (of course) taxation. Never mind that the corporate tax rate is today what it was in the 1950s, or that the Bush regime spent us into the largest expansion of government in history. It's not sense they're looking for.
That puts them in a peculiar category, and at long last it must be said: The Republican Party is the Confederacy, geographically, demographically and practically. This would be a particularly intense perversion given that Abraham Lincoln was the first Republican.
This could explain why right-wingers have become so intensely agitated by the presidency of Barack Obama. This comes after the South actually did rise again - but said resurrection only lasted for eight years (about as long as the Third Reich).
In all of modern New England - the cradle of our nation and the place where our freedom was won - and in nearly all the original Colonies, nary a conservative lawmaker exists. To find them you have to go to places where the Stars and Bars once were, and sometimes still are, flown.
Look at where the Republican Party resides today. In the South. Across the Mountain West - Texas, Utah, Idaho, Wyoming, Arizona, the Dakotas. That's the Trail of Fears trod by the Rebel diaspora who could not stand to remain in the South during the horrors of Reconstruction.
Remember George Allen, with his "real Virginia" remarks aimed at "Macaca", a person of Central Asian descent who happened to work for Jim Webb (who won the election)? Look and listen; the mantra of the GOP today is precisely what the mantra of the Confederacy was 145 years ago.
Secede. That sharp word was proudly uttered in a recent public speech made by Texas Governor Rick Perry. It all but oozes out of the ground in Alaska where Sarah Palin's husband was, for years, a card-holding member of a party dedicated to secession from the United States.
What has changed? Instead of bombing Union railways or Black churches, Southern nut-cases like Eric Rudolph turned their deadly habits upon abortion clinics. What would inspire someone to commit such acts of terrorism?
Same thing that was used to justify slavery not so many generations ago, that staple of GOP fundraising, the Bible. Clearly this proclivity for twisting existing doctrine (such as a major political Party or the Constitution) is nothing new.
It's glaring in our history. We've dealt with it before. But that sure as Hell doesn't mean it's past.
pH 4.22.o9
Friday, April 17, 2009
Franken Buries Coleman
Hey, Minnesota, have you had enough yet? Truly, can there be any greater assault on the manhood of a State than to say, "You've only got one nut (in the Senate)"? I bet that stings almost as much as the fleeting memory of a certain Little Brown Jug.
As former Saturnday Night Live! comedian and duly elected representative Al Franken waits for the will of Minnesotans to be put into full effect, Republicans everywhere are wailing and gnashing their teeth, and they don't mean to stop anytime soon.
Even with the Minnesota Supreme Court validating the election results, other odious members of the GOP continue to push former Senator Norm Coleman to take his fight to the U.S. Supreme Court. In their wild-eyed desperation, they're also leaning on Governor Tim Pawlenty not to certify the election results - never mind his aspirations for national office.
Conservatives mask their raw obstructionism by invoking the rights of every voter to cast, and have counted, a ballot. Such concern was nowhere to be found shortly after the election. Back then, with an apparent lead, Coleman called on Franken to concede in order to save the taxpayers the cost of a recount even though such was mandated by state law.
Coleman lucked into that seat anyway, as he stood little chance against incumbent Democrat Paul Wellstone in 2oo2, but Wellstone died in a plane crash just weeks before the election and the Democrats inexplicably countered with Walter Mondale. Since he didn't exactly arrive with a mandate, getting dumped for Franken shouldn't be so shocking.
Whenever Franken gets seated (the opposition threatens to somehow filibuster even that) the Democrats will have little need of Republican support in order to pass any sort of legislation they like. Conservatives have thus abandoned all manner of pride in this venture. They realize this is embarrassing but they can't afford to care.
Neither, then, can the good people of Minnesota. Recent polls tell us that nearly two-thirds of them want Coleman to concede already and get this past election over with before the next one begins. They're probably not very happy with Pawlenty's mime act, either.
Keep in mind, based on the weather alone, that these are not fickle people in Minnesota. Remember Jesse Ventura? Don't laugh; save it for your first encounter with Michelle Bachmann.
Eventually this current charade will come to a halt, and Norm "God Wants Me To Serve" Coleman will be tossed out with the rest of the of 'o8 Republicans. So Minnesotans can take solace in two things. One is that Barack Obama genuinely wants to avoid any further bridge collapses in your state (and every other).
Better yet is this: At least you're not... quite... Alaska.
pH 4.17.o9
As former Saturnday Night Live! comedian and duly elected representative Al Franken waits for the will of Minnesotans to be put into full effect, Republicans everywhere are wailing and gnashing their teeth, and they don't mean to stop anytime soon.
Even with the Minnesota Supreme Court validating the election results, other odious members of the GOP continue to push former Senator Norm Coleman to take his fight to the U.S. Supreme Court. In their wild-eyed desperation, they're also leaning on Governor Tim Pawlenty not to certify the election results - never mind his aspirations for national office.
Conservatives mask their raw obstructionism by invoking the rights of every voter to cast, and have counted, a ballot. Such concern was nowhere to be found shortly after the election. Back then, with an apparent lead, Coleman called on Franken to concede in order to save the taxpayers the cost of a recount even though such was mandated by state law.
Coleman lucked into that seat anyway, as he stood little chance against incumbent Democrat Paul Wellstone in 2oo2, but Wellstone died in a plane crash just weeks before the election and the Democrats inexplicably countered with Walter Mondale. Since he didn't exactly arrive with a mandate, getting dumped for Franken shouldn't be so shocking.
Whenever Franken gets seated (the opposition threatens to somehow filibuster even that) the Democrats will have little need of Republican support in order to pass any sort of legislation they like. Conservatives have thus abandoned all manner of pride in this venture. They realize this is embarrassing but they can't afford to care.
Neither, then, can the good people of Minnesota. Recent polls tell us that nearly two-thirds of them want Coleman to concede already and get this past election over with before the next one begins. They're probably not very happy with Pawlenty's mime act, either.
Keep in mind, based on the weather alone, that these are not fickle people in Minnesota. Remember Jesse Ventura? Don't laugh; save it for your first encounter with Michelle Bachmann.
Eventually this current charade will come to a halt, and Norm "God Wants Me To Serve" Coleman will be tossed out with the rest of the of 'o8 Republicans. So Minnesotans can take solace in two things. One is that Barack Obama genuinely wants to avoid any further bridge collapses in your state (and every other).
Better yet is this: At least you're not... quite... Alaska.
pH 4.17.o9
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
Confidence of a Conservative
So, Republican, are you over it yet? Barack Obama soundly defeated John McCain nearly six months ago. He's been in the Oval Office for a full ten weeks. He's submitted his first budget, held his first news conference, made his first visit to the troops in Iraq. Still the right-wing din has yet to subside.
This president's every move, every word, is grist for the mill - which is fine. Political discourse is the keystone of our freedom and always has been. The stuttering, apocalyptic gaggle of talk-show hosts has to earn their pay like everybody else. Every stable requires men with shovels.
On a personal level, though, many people are still very angry and upset about their fortunes trending forward. The latest polls indicate that barely 20 percent of Americans now trust the GOP to solve our nation's economic woes. As a wise man once said, childrens do learn.
This means that the confidence of conservatives has sunk even below the levels they felt in the closing days of the Bush administration. This statistical impotence is easily explained by a vast body of evidence; what exactly did they achieve in all the time they held power?
That doesn't explain the anger, though, the rage that so many on the right still harbor toward our new president or any other Democrat they can think of. For said explanation, one need only turn on one's radio. The airwaves are full of stock derision if not outright hostility.
That's not really a surprise to anyone who has ever listened to more than one segment of talk-radio. Every other monologue (parroted by caller after caller) is laced with incendiary diatribes and wild-eyed rhetoric, most of which boils down to "liberals are destroying America".
Their other most favorite thing to say is that "Obama is dangerous". That's a strong word, alarming, meant to elicit an emotional response... Like the man's going to start a war, or wiretap the citizenry, or something.
Some would say the unending assault on our highest government officials, elected as they were by a clear majority to put this country back together, constitutes an obscenity. We may not be able to define it, but we know it when we see it. Or hear it.
Delivered day after day, such language does not constitute dissent; it is the equivalent of hollering fire! in a crowded theater. Fighting words are designed to keep conservatives from cooling off already. Whipping them into a frenzy seems designed (or at least destined) to send the mentally weak over the edge. It's nothing new.
Such is not protected free speech. Should some deranged conservative, unable to control himself (or herself), take these people just a bit too seriously... Well, obviously, someone ought to be held responsible as an accessory. Let the punishment fit the crime.
pH 4.o8.o9
This president's every move, every word, is grist for the mill - which is fine. Political discourse is the keystone of our freedom and always has been. The stuttering, apocalyptic gaggle of talk-show hosts has to earn their pay like everybody else. Every stable requires men with shovels.
On a personal level, though, many people are still very angry and upset about their fortunes trending forward. The latest polls indicate that barely 20 percent of Americans now trust the GOP to solve our nation's economic woes. As a wise man once said, childrens do learn.
This means that the confidence of conservatives has sunk even below the levels they felt in the closing days of the Bush administration. This statistical impotence is easily explained by a vast body of evidence; what exactly did they achieve in all the time they held power?
That doesn't explain the anger, though, the rage that so many on the right still harbor toward our new president or any other Democrat they can think of. For said explanation, one need only turn on one's radio. The airwaves are full of stock derision if not outright hostility.
That's not really a surprise to anyone who has ever listened to more than one segment of talk-radio. Every other monologue (parroted by caller after caller) is laced with incendiary diatribes and wild-eyed rhetoric, most of which boils down to "liberals are destroying America".
Their other most favorite thing to say is that "Obama is dangerous". That's a strong word, alarming, meant to elicit an emotional response... Like the man's going to start a war, or wiretap the citizenry, or something.
Some would say the unending assault on our highest government officials, elected as they were by a clear majority to put this country back together, constitutes an obscenity. We may not be able to define it, but we know it when we see it. Or hear it.
Delivered day after day, such language does not constitute dissent; it is the equivalent of hollering fire! in a crowded theater. Fighting words are designed to keep conservatives from cooling off already. Whipping them into a frenzy seems designed (or at least destined) to send the mentally weak over the edge. It's nothing new.
Such is not protected free speech. Should some deranged conservative, unable to control himself (or herself), take these people just a bit too seriously... Well, obviously, someone ought to be held responsible as an accessory. Let the punishment fit the crime.
pH 4.o8.o9
Saturday, April 4, 2009
Thank You For Your Service
Any serious analysis of our current economic condition requires a point of origin wherein all sides can agree. Right? Okay, then: In this day and age there can be no lower forms of life on Earth, microbial or otherwise, than banks.
Marie, a cosmetologist by trade, served in the United States Air Force during the Cold War. She worked on the air conditioning units for the vaunted A-10 Warthog, serving overseas in the mid-1980s, when Ronald Reagan was rattling his saber at the Evil Empire on nearly every public occasion.
Marie left the Air Force in 1988 with an honorable discharge after having attained the rank of Staff Sergeant. Along with her DD-214 came a VA loan guaranty, which she filed away, content to let it ride until she needed to buy a home.
All through the housing run-up, she rented whatever place she wanted to live in, with her commute to work being the primary factor in her decision-making process. That made sense, what with mortgages skyrocketing to $2,500 a month or more, and gasoline prices going absolutely (and unnecessarily) nuts last year.
Now, in a more realistic housing market, Marie's interested but she's having a hard time finding any lender willing to service her VA-backed loan. They have other loans, sure, but the idea is that the government vouches for her, which should open things up as far as interest rates and down payments are concerned.
One lender wanted to charge her fifteen hundred bucks to process such a loan. Real estate agents won't deal with her at all if she mentions the VA guaranty. They all try to steer her in a different direction (one that surely must be more profitable for themselves).
And aren't these the same people who are responsible for our current economic crisis, the ones who spent the last few years giving over-inflated loans to anyone with or without a pulse, whose foreclosures are now dragging down our property values? Lately, those same banks have been slurping up hundreds of billions of taxpayer dollars, and still haven't righted their own ships.
Even Marie's credit union (supposedly a less nasty breed of banker) refuses to grant her a loan under the terms she wants, that she fought for. So the priveleges of membership don't seem to mean any more to those slugs than does her service to our country.
(She requested that I not name her credit union online, but if you e-mail me, I'll happily tell you which one it is.)
I'm sure it would take about five seconds to elicit, from any white-collar finance guy, an expression of support for our troops. Hoo-ah. They just won't grant them loans that they've earned through their service to our country. Nationalizing the banks, then, doesn't sound all that radical but rather like a long-overdue step in the right direction.
Again - because we all agree this stuff matters - Marie was discharged in 1988 with full honors, as have been millions of other good Americans. All they want to know is why they are being dishonored by the lowest forms of life on Earth.
pH 4.o4.o9
Marie, a cosmetologist by trade, served in the United States Air Force during the Cold War. She worked on the air conditioning units for the vaunted A-10 Warthog, serving overseas in the mid-1980s, when Ronald Reagan was rattling his saber at the Evil Empire on nearly every public occasion.
Marie left the Air Force in 1988 with an honorable discharge after having attained the rank of Staff Sergeant. Along with her DD-214 came a VA loan guaranty, which she filed away, content to let it ride until she needed to buy a home.
All through the housing run-up, she rented whatever place she wanted to live in, with her commute to work being the primary factor in her decision-making process. That made sense, what with mortgages skyrocketing to $2,500 a month or more, and gasoline prices going absolutely (and unnecessarily) nuts last year.
Now, in a more realistic housing market, Marie's interested but she's having a hard time finding any lender willing to service her VA-backed loan. They have other loans, sure, but the idea is that the government vouches for her, which should open things up as far as interest rates and down payments are concerned.
One lender wanted to charge her fifteen hundred bucks to process such a loan. Real estate agents won't deal with her at all if she mentions the VA guaranty. They all try to steer her in a different direction (one that surely must be more profitable for themselves).
And aren't these the same people who are responsible for our current economic crisis, the ones who spent the last few years giving over-inflated loans to anyone with or without a pulse, whose foreclosures are now dragging down our property values? Lately, those same banks have been slurping up hundreds of billions of taxpayer dollars, and still haven't righted their own ships.
Even Marie's credit union (supposedly a less nasty breed of banker) refuses to grant her a loan under the terms she wants, that she fought for. So the priveleges of membership don't seem to mean any more to those slugs than does her service to our country.
(She requested that I not name her credit union online, but if you e-mail me, I'll happily tell you which one it is.)
I'm sure it would take about five seconds to elicit, from any white-collar finance guy, an expression of support for our troops. Hoo-ah. They just won't grant them loans that they've earned through their service to our country. Nationalizing the banks, then, doesn't sound all that radical but rather like a long-overdue step in the right direction.
Again - because we all agree this stuff matters - Marie was discharged in 1988 with full honors, as have been millions of other good Americans. All they want to know is why they are being dishonored by the lowest forms of life on Earth.
pH 4.o4.o9
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