County Fairs are always interesting events. Carol and I worked at the Democratic Party booth at the fair one evening. Mainly, it’s an information sharing event. People come by and we try to provide them with information they seem to need or want. Some people just want a visible symbol of their chosen preference—a sticker, maybe a yard sign, or a bumper sticker.
A few people came by and needed to register to vote. We were able to accommodate them by providing them with a registration form. Mostly, the people who stopped at the booth seemed both worried and enthusiastic about the campaign—worried about the possibility of the “Drill Baby Drill” forces once again overwhelming the voices of reason. Neither McCain nor Palin seem able to grasp the significance of the energy problem. Perhaps they are both that captive to the oil and gas lobby, clearly a favorite for Republicans. Palin likes to pretend to be one of the forces for change, but she seems simply a person caught in the web of the oil and gas enterprises that have dominated republicans, and even now threaten the entire management of the Department of the Interior. The scandals there fairly reek of crony capitalism of the kind pursued with such vigor by VEEP Cheney.
Whether our concerned voters will see a fresh breeze blow through the land is too soon to tell, but their enthusiasm was refreshing to see.
Friday, September 12, 2008
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
Lying Liars
Lying. Why do the American people seem to like being lied to?
For eight years now, we have been subjected to a torrent of lies from the Bush Administration about the war in Iraq, about our relative fiscal solvency (not), about the environment and global warming, about the relative need for greater regulation of our financial institutions (remember the S&L collapse under daddy Bush?), about public education, and about just about every aspect of our foreign policy and international relations. Now, in the midst of the silly season, the McCain team is gearing up for more lies about their record. McCain the “maverick” now embraces almost every element of the Bush-Republican legacy, but he says he espouses change, borrowing from the Obama campaign shamelessly. He is in favor of more tax cuts that will enlarge the national debt by more than a trillion dollars more than Obama’s tax policies. He favors staying in Iraq for a century if necessary, despite the fact that we should never have been there to begin with. He wants us to endorse him because he is a former POW.
And we are now subjected to an amazing display of chutzpah regarding the pit bull. She was against the Bridge to Nowhere, except she was for it until it became a political liability. Then she opposed it, but she took the money anyway. We know little about her record, because mainly it is so barren, and we are not allowed to ask questions, because it would be sexist to do so. She apparently gets her directions for policy directly from God (sounds familiar somehow) and we are not allowed to question her 12th century mindset.
But the American public seems poised to accept the fact that the Republicans will shamelessly lie to them, even perhaps to insisting on the lies. We seem to have grown used to the lies and now demand more. Tell us what we want to hear. Let’s make believe we are still a great nation. As we march back to the age of unenlightenment, let us remember where we are all headed anyway.
Will the Obama campaign be able to counter this patent nonsense from the Republicans? We’ll know in only eight weeks.
For eight years now, we have been subjected to a torrent of lies from the Bush Administration about the war in Iraq, about our relative fiscal solvency (not), about the environment and global warming, about the relative need for greater regulation of our financial institutions (remember the S&L collapse under daddy Bush?), about public education, and about just about every aspect of our foreign policy and international relations. Now, in the midst of the silly season, the McCain team is gearing up for more lies about their record. McCain the “maverick” now embraces almost every element of the Bush-Republican legacy, but he says he espouses change, borrowing from the Obama campaign shamelessly. He is in favor of more tax cuts that will enlarge the national debt by more than a trillion dollars more than Obama’s tax policies. He favors staying in Iraq for a century if necessary, despite the fact that we should never have been there to begin with. He wants us to endorse him because he is a former POW.
And we are now subjected to an amazing display of chutzpah regarding the pit bull. She was against the Bridge to Nowhere, except she was for it until it became a political liability. Then she opposed it, but she took the money anyway. We know little about her record, because mainly it is so barren, and we are not allowed to ask questions, because it would be sexist to do so. She apparently gets her directions for policy directly from God (sounds familiar somehow) and we are not allowed to question her 12th century mindset.
But the American public seems poised to accept the fact that the Republicans will shamelessly lie to them, even perhaps to insisting on the lies. We seem to have grown used to the lies and now demand more. Tell us what we want to hear. Let’s make believe we are still a great nation. As we march back to the age of unenlightenment, let us remember where we are all headed anyway.
Will the Obama campaign be able to counter this patent nonsense from the Republicans? We’ll know in only eight weeks.
Sunday, September 7, 2008
A Shift in the Center of the Science Universe
CERN (European Organization for Nuclear Research) has been getting considerable play in the European press, and other enlightened places around the globe. With the recent conclusion of tests on its new Large Hadron Collider, the facility is poised to begin tests that may rock the world of physics.
The Large Hadron Collider (LHC) is a gigantic scientific instrument near Geneva, where it spans the border between Switzerland and France about 100 m underground. It is a particle accelerator used by physicists to study the smallest known particles – the fundamental building blocks of all things. It will revolutionize our understanding, from the minuscule world deep within atoms to the vastness of the Universe.
Two beams of subatomic particles called 'hadrons' – either protons or lead ions – will travel in opposite directions inside the circular accelerator, gaining energy with every lap. Physicists will use the LHC to recreate the conditions just after the Big Bang, by colliding the two beams head-on at very high energy. Teams of physicists from around the world will analyze the particles created in the collisions using special detectors in a number of experiments dedicated to the LHC.
This new particle accelerator promises to bring new insights into the formation of the universe, unless you subscribe to Intelligent Design, which holds that God wagged his forefinger and everything was just “created.”
Up until the 1990s, the United States was in the forefront of science in this field. Then, apparently, we decided that this whole field was just too expensive and we had other priorities. As a result, the world of physics transferred to Europe. It is of course, our loss, although we clearly have other things to do, such as stamp out the fires being created daily by the Neo-Cons. To be fair, it probably was not Shrub who dumped the field. After all, he can’t even pronounce nuclear; how could he possibly understand its importance? But it is too bad, nonetheless. It is one more sign that we are losing our edge in science.
I keep hoping for some sign of a turnaround. Clearly a McCain-Palin Administration won’t provide one. They want to return us to the dark ages. I remain cautiously optimistic: enlightenment is possible, folks. Just grab the gold ring as the carousel turns. Eight years of the stupid people is enough, thank you. Let’s try some smart people for a change.
The Large Hadron Collider (LHC) is a gigantic scientific instrument near Geneva, where it spans the border between Switzerland and France about 100 m underground. It is a particle accelerator used by physicists to study the smallest known particles – the fundamental building blocks of all things. It will revolutionize our understanding, from the minuscule world deep within atoms to the vastness of the Universe.
Two beams of subatomic particles called 'hadrons' – either protons or lead ions – will travel in opposite directions inside the circular accelerator, gaining energy with every lap. Physicists will use the LHC to recreate the conditions just after the Big Bang, by colliding the two beams head-on at very high energy. Teams of physicists from around the world will analyze the particles created in the collisions using special detectors in a number of experiments dedicated to the LHC.
This new particle accelerator promises to bring new insights into the formation of the universe, unless you subscribe to Intelligent Design, which holds that God wagged his forefinger and everything was just “created.”
Up until the 1990s, the United States was in the forefront of science in this field. Then, apparently, we decided that this whole field was just too expensive and we had other priorities. As a result, the world of physics transferred to Europe. It is of course, our loss, although we clearly have other things to do, such as stamp out the fires being created daily by the Neo-Cons. To be fair, it probably was not Shrub who dumped the field. After all, he can’t even pronounce nuclear; how could he possibly understand its importance? But it is too bad, nonetheless. It is one more sign that we are losing our edge in science.
I keep hoping for some sign of a turnaround. Clearly a McCain-Palin Administration won’t provide one. They want to return us to the dark ages. I remain cautiously optimistic: enlightenment is possible, folks. Just grab the gold ring as the carousel turns. Eight years of the stupid people is enough, thank you. Let’s try some smart people for a change.
Saturday, September 6, 2008
It Just Keeps Getting Better
It would seem the more we learn about Mayor Palin, also Commander in Chief of the Alaska National Guard, the more interesting she becomes. It is now reported that as Mayor, she asked the local librarian whether she would be ok with book censorship, implying of course, that the Mayor would be the chief censor. The librarian said, "Hmmm, well no, I would not be ok with that." No librarian worthy of the title is ok with book censorship. They select books according to national standards, and they naturally resist the darker impulses of local pols to inject their own standards.
So, the Mayor decided to fire the librarian . . . for not showing the proper loyalty. She also decided to fire other career people.
Now, how does that play out on the national level? The Feds have something called the Hatch Act, intended to separate the employees who have been hired as career people on the basis of actual qualifications, from the political appointees who are hired on the basis of loyalty to the politicos. Mayor Palin apparently doesn't understand this concept, much as she apparently doesn't understand this thing about separation of church and state.
We know that the Bushies didn't get these concepts either, so Mayor Palin would probably fit right into the Republican machine.
I wonder what other little nasties we might expect as more information is published about the soccer mom/pit bull with lipstick picked by our fearless POW Big MAC?
Wonder what she thinks about book burnings?
Stay tuned.
So, the Mayor decided to fire the librarian . . . for not showing the proper loyalty. She also decided to fire other career people.
Now, how does that play out on the national level? The Feds have something called the Hatch Act, intended to separate the employees who have been hired as career people on the basis of actual qualifications, from the political appointees who are hired on the basis of loyalty to the politicos. Mayor Palin apparently doesn't understand this concept, much as she apparently doesn't understand this thing about separation of church and state.
We know that the Bushies didn't get these concepts either, so Mayor Palin would probably fit right into the Republican machine.
I wonder what other little nasties we might expect as more information is published about the soccer mom/pit bull with lipstick picked by our fearless POW Big MAC?
Wonder what she thinks about book burnings?
Stay tuned.
Friday, September 5, 2008
The Circus Ends With a Dull Thud
Finally, the political circus is over. And an awful one it was. It makes me wonder just who gets to go to these conventions. That chanting , “drill now, drill now” all seemed a bit crazed, perhaps in keeping with the lipstick-wearing pit bull hockey mom who seemed to so thrill the assembled conventioneers. A scary bunch indeed.
And Big Mac has now embraced virtually everything he had so firmly rejected in his last outing as a candidate. The “Agents of Intolerance” have been transmogrified, and seem even scarier than I always thought they were originally. The "maverick" now supports creationism, deficits ad nauseum, and oil drilling everywhere-- drill, drill, drill, regardless of the effects on either the environment, or the actual eventual supply of fuel. Maybe prayer will deliver us all from the Arab grip on "our" oil.
It made me wonder how we had come to this pass. How could we embrace such clearly wrong-headed solutions? What ever happened to American ingenuity, that sense that we would always devise some real solution to our problems? Now, we seem stuck in some time warp, unable to examine anything from scratch. Maybe that’s what happened to that pathetic bunch in Detroit. While the Japanese and the Europeans were out and about creating cars for the 21st century, Detroit has been rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic. Seems entirely suitable for this republican governance.
A McCain-Palin presidency scares me greatly, she perhaps even more than Big MAC. But apparently, any criticism of her is considered by the rabid Reps off limits. That she has managed to leapfrog all the other potential women candidates with actual experience is not to be mentioned. Everyone has leaped on her lack of foreign policy experience. As scary as that is (I ignore the terminally stupid assertions that because Alaska is near Russia, she has experience), I find that she really has no experience at anything that resembles what we might want in a potential President. Shooting moose, or shooting wolves from an airplane are not high on my set of criteria for president. She seems a fairly typical small-town Alaska product, where she made, no doubt, a nice mayor. That she wants to teach “Intelligent Design” in our school systems is one her scarier ideas. But it goes along with her whole image—a retrograde mind set in a frontier body mold. She might have been great were this 1867.
What was he thinking?
And Big Mac has now embraced virtually everything he had so firmly rejected in his last outing as a candidate. The “Agents of Intolerance” have been transmogrified, and seem even scarier than I always thought they were originally. The "maverick" now supports creationism, deficits ad nauseum, and oil drilling everywhere-- drill, drill, drill, regardless of the effects on either the environment, or the actual eventual supply of fuel. Maybe prayer will deliver us all from the Arab grip on "our" oil.
It made me wonder how we had come to this pass. How could we embrace such clearly wrong-headed solutions? What ever happened to American ingenuity, that sense that we would always devise some real solution to our problems? Now, we seem stuck in some time warp, unable to examine anything from scratch. Maybe that’s what happened to that pathetic bunch in Detroit. While the Japanese and the Europeans were out and about creating cars for the 21st century, Detroit has been rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic. Seems entirely suitable for this republican governance.
A McCain-Palin presidency scares me greatly, she perhaps even more than Big MAC. But apparently, any criticism of her is considered by the rabid Reps off limits. That she has managed to leapfrog all the other potential women candidates with actual experience is not to be mentioned. Everyone has leaped on her lack of foreign policy experience. As scary as that is (I ignore the terminally stupid assertions that because Alaska is near Russia, she has experience), I find that she really has no experience at anything that resembles what we might want in a potential President. Shooting moose, or shooting wolves from an airplane are not high on my set of criteria for president. She seems a fairly typical small-town Alaska product, where she made, no doubt, a nice mayor. That she wants to teach “Intelligent Design” in our school systems is one her scarier ideas. But it goes along with her whole image—a retrograde mind set in a frontier body mold. She might have been great were this 1867.
What was he thinking?
Wednesday, September 3, 2008
Bottomless Barrel Theory
For a while, I actually expected Big Mac to burst out of some closet on stage at the Reps convention, laughing hysterically, and saying, “hahahahaha, I gotcha. You all really thought I had designated Sarah Palin as my VEEP pick. Hahahahahahahahaha.”
But no such luck. Then I was hoping for someone at least firmly rooted in the 21st century, since Big Mac’s brain is firmly rooted somewhere in 1973, still trying to figure out how to win the Vietnam War. People criticize him for not being Internet-savvy. But there was no Internet in 1973, and he hasn’t yet re-emerged.
So, some 21st century person, man or woman, would have been expected. But to reach back to a solid 12th century gal. Hmmm. That is really surprising. I mean, I know that the First Barbie understands 21st century pork. She certainly got the hang of that as mayor and then governor. But she wants to see our public schools teach Intelligent design, aka Biology 101 for the Stupid People. That really scares me. I know that the Reps have been busily trying to dismantle most of the middle class infrastructure over the past eight years. It now seems clear that the designers of that effort extend beyond just Shrub and his entourage of camp followers.
So, I expect to see an effort by Big Mac and the First Barbie to either scrap our public schools altogether, in favor of public vouchers aimed at Christian madrassas, or that they intend to eliminate Federal public funding altogether. Intelligent design. Wow.
And then there’s the issue of political appointees. If Big Mac was as cavalier about his VEEP selection as he was apparently, we should expect more of the same from him for the Federal cabinet posts and, lest we forget, his Supreme Court nominees (think Harriet Myers). It’s fast headed down from here, and we thought it couldn’t get any worse.
When I worked briefly in the Federal Government under Carter and Reagan, my colleague and I developed a theory about the political life of our Government. We called it “The Bottomless Barrel” theory. The theory goes like this. If you observe the political appointees of one administration, you will begin to imagine that they couldn’t possibly get any worse. Then in comes the next administration to prove you wrong. They create a whole new bottom level to the barrel. We decided that the primary job of every incoming political administration was to make the last one look good. Shrub really redefined that theory, as he did in every aspect of his presidency. Even some of his hacks couldn’t take it any longer and jumped ship. Big Mac is poised to take over and run everything further down hill.
Is this a great country or what??
138 days remaining.
But no such luck. Then I was hoping for someone at least firmly rooted in the 21st century, since Big Mac’s brain is firmly rooted somewhere in 1973, still trying to figure out how to win the Vietnam War. People criticize him for not being Internet-savvy. But there was no Internet in 1973, and he hasn’t yet re-emerged.
So, some 21st century person, man or woman, would have been expected. But to reach back to a solid 12th century gal. Hmmm. That is really surprising. I mean, I know that the First Barbie understands 21st century pork. She certainly got the hang of that as mayor and then governor. But she wants to see our public schools teach Intelligent design, aka Biology 101 for the Stupid People. That really scares me. I know that the Reps have been busily trying to dismantle most of the middle class infrastructure over the past eight years. It now seems clear that the designers of that effort extend beyond just Shrub and his entourage of camp followers.
So, I expect to see an effort by Big Mac and the First Barbie to either scrap our public schools altogether, in favor of public vouchers aimed at Christian madrassas, or that they intend to eliminate Federal public funding altogether. Intelligent design. Wow.
And then there’s the issue of political appointees. If Big Mac was as cavalier about his VEEP selection as he was apparently, we should expect more of the same from him for the Federal cabinet posts and, lest we forget, his Supreme Court nominees (think Harriet Myers). It’s fast headed down from here, and we thought it couldn’t get any worse.
When I worked briefly in the Federal Government under Carter and Reagan, my colleague and I developed a theory about the political life of our Government. We called it “The Bottomless Barrel” theory. The theory goes like this. If you observe the political appointees of one administration, you will begin to imagine that they couldn’t possibly get any worse. Then in comes the next administration to prove you wrong. They create a whole new bottom level to the barrel. We decided that the primary job of every incoming political administration was to make the last one look good. Shrub really redefined that theory, as he did in every aspect of his presidency. Even some of his hacks couldn’t take it any longer and jumped ship. Big Mac is poised to take over and run everything further down hill.
Is this a great country or what??
138 days remaining.
Monday, September 1, 2008
First Storm Chasers
So, Big Mac and his First Barbie lost not a moment, zooming down to Mississippi to let his adoring fans know that he is up the job of First Storm-Chaser. The actual Prez and his snarling watch dog VP have cancelled their trip to the Twin Cities, and Big Mac is assuring everyone that things will be ok now that he and the Prez are on the job (think, “heckuva job Brownie”).
Leaves me wondering about where Big Mac will deliver his acceptance speech. I’m thinking a battleship anchored off the coast in the Gulf, with a big banner, saying something inspired like, oh I don’t know, “MISSION ACCOMPLISHED”. I mean, I can see it now. Those great big guns pointing skyward, protecting us all, a huge American flag flying, and Big Mac standing underneath the gun turrets accepting with humility his party’s nomination. “Take that Obama and your big stadium speech.”
Now, I don’t know what is more annoying, the sheer chutzpah of Big Mac uttering his somber assessment that, “it’s in God’s hands now”, or the yapping, slightly crazed press people, the media camp followers, who seem to be actively urging the candidates to go to New Orleans, as though they had something to do with rescuing or evacuating people. That’s the job of our idiot president guys. Remember him .. . the one who played while Katrina roared??
I think Obama got it right—“we will stay out of the way, so as not to interfere.”
I’m thinking too that this is a huge break for the Neo-Cons. Now, they can get on with their Big Mac parade and not have to pretend to be looking elsewhere when the White House idiots showed up. They must have been frantic about how best to hide during any speeches or even appearances by Bush and Cheney. Now they can relax and let their small-minded god punish New Orleans yet again. I’m thinking here, of course, about that malenfant Falwell who managed to create God in his own image, when he said that 9/11 and Katrina were God’s way of punishing homos and other (Liberal) evil-doers. . That’s the ultimate way for a little man to create a God who looks and acts like him. He’s saying, “see I’m a petty minded little creep, and my God would act just like me.” What a way to trivialize God.
Let the games begin, and bring on those storms.
Leaves me wondering about where Big Mac will deliver his acceptance speech. I’m thinking a battleship anchored off the coast in the Gulf, with a big banner, saying something inspired like, oh I don’t know, “MISSION ACCOMPLISHED”. I mean, I can see it now. Those great big guns pointing skyward, protecting us all, a huge American flag flying, and Big Mac standing underneath the gun turrets accepting with humility his party’s nomination. “Take that Obama and your big stadium speech.”
Now, I don’t know what is more annoying, the sheer chutzpah of Big Mac uttering his somber assessment that, “it’s in God’s hands now”, or the yapping, slightly crazed press people, the media camp followers, who seem to be actively urging the candidates to go to New Orleans, as though they had something to do with rescuing or evacuating people. That’s the job of our idiot president guys. Remember him .. . the one who played while Katrina roared??
I think Obama got it right—“we will stay out of the way, so as not to interfere.”
I’m thinking too that this is a huge break for the Neo-Cons. Now, they can get on with their Big Mac parade and not have to pretend to be looking elsewhere when the White House idiots showed up. They must have been frantic about how best to hide during any speeches or even appearances by Bush and Cheney. Now they can relax and let their small-minded god punish New Orleans yet again. I’m thinking here, of course, about that malenfant Falwell who managed to create God in his own image, when he said that 9/11 and Katrina were God’s way of punishing homos and other (Liberal) evil-doers. . That’s the ultimate way for a little man to create a God who looks and acts like him. He’s saying, “see I’m a petty minded little creep, and my God would act just like me.” What a way to trivialize God.
Let the games begin, and bring on those storms.
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