Chuck for ...

Arlen?

2009-07-10T00:43:00.000-07:00

Rep Sestak is challenging (D?) Specter. I've spent some time trying to figure out how much of a loss to the Democratic Party Arlen going away would be. The GOP has a loon to run against one of the (D)s and I can't see Arlen having the incumbent edge in such a Primary. I'm trying to figure out what value he's been to the Democrats, anyhow.

I suppose this is PA's business but I'd encourage them to give Sestak a close look.

Random Musings

2009-07-09T00:58:00.000-07:00

It seems Leon Panetta said in closed hearings that the CIA had misled the Congress, the CIA says it isn't their policy - OK, but did you do it?

Palin quit out of ALTRUISM. Huh? It seems there were only 3 ethics complaints active.

Ensign and Sanford were both "C Street" devotees, seems all that old time religion missed fire - makes you wonder about the rest of them... (C Street House is a secretive religious house and organization for electeds) The aggrieved hubby released a letter from Ensign that is a real winner - these pricks pretended to tell this nation about the sanctity of marriage, you betcha, the gays are a real threat to their marriages ... but they didn't do men...

Depending on which Republican is doing the talking; Sarah Palin either committed political suicide or the most brilliant piece of political strategy. I actually hope she's around for a good long time but I'm real sure brilliant is the wrong adjective.

Sen Inhofe says Sen Franken looks like a clown - in quite a few circles people who espouse the kinds of things Inhofe does are regarded as clowns despite their looks. There is a difference here, Franken made jokes in a previous employment, Inhofe makes a joke of being a Senator - one is funny the other is dangerous. That OK keeps electing this ... person ... makes some of the stereotypes of Okies seem reasonable. Too bad.

Sarah said Hillary whined too much, but then she also didn't quit when she quit and she was just pointing out how mean people were to her, not whining. Pitbull my ass, whining puking mewling amateur who'd cut your bowels out and hang them on her wall for political benefit.

Michael's dead, memorialized, and we haven't heard the end of it until hell freezes the networks solid. This dysfunctional bunch are going to be a staple of cable for...ever.

Sen Kyl on Obama/Russian nukes agreement: "I’m very concerned that the administration is more anxious to make a deal than it is to ensure the protection of the United States." Today's GOP - Palin and this, well there's always Cheney and Rush...

Rep Patrick Murphy, Iraq vet, is shepherding a repeal of "Don't Ask Don't Tell through Congress - just think of all the marriages this will destroy. Wingnut heads will explode, the 101st Keyboard Brigade will assault DC ... if they can find enough bags of Cheetos and Mom will let them out of the basement.

Michael Jackson is still dead.

At 70 mph Harley Davidsons can get real serious about bug killing, I'm beginning to look like a car wash stalker.

The cell phone camera is a convenient sized package for biking but it isn't much as a camera and I don't know how much I like it as a phone. I guess I'll have to start trying to figure out a way for the Fuji to ride where I can get to it. I've never wanted a 'bagger' but there is something to be said for having places to put things...

Construction workers need to work steady or they get out of shape - just ask me when I've had to pack shingles up a ladder. This afternoon I had a ready answer.

Boehner and that bunch are back to going on about tax cuts again, with tax rates at historic lows (minus SS/FICA). These are the asshats that couldn't cut rich taxes fast enough or spend money we didn't have to blow people up fast enough ... or in about a dozen ways drive the economy in a ditch. They hope that with GW Bush safely out of office everybody will forget that he didn't drive that car all by himself.

Sounds like Harry Reid is starting to push his Caucus around a little bit on health care. Try to wrap your head around Jay Rockefeller putting out a report trashing the Health Insurance Industry for reaming the public ... and comparing them to Enron and AIG. Where'd that come from? Somebody forget to send a contribution?

Not too long ago I asked a US Senator if the American public should think investment banks and health insurers ran the Senate or not. The Senator was not amused, and I wasn't making a joke. No, I don't think this Senator is owned by them but I'm not exactly sure about a hell of a lot of our government. I'm not nearly stupid enough to think that wealth won't always carry power and influence no matter who is making laws and regulations but there comes a point where it is so damn blatant and so obviously counter to the public interest that torches and pitchforks start to seem reasonable. We had some damn bad driving going on clear back into the Clinton era but some institutions put the pedal to the metal to make sure this wreck was spectacular and you will note that those most responsible not only got rich but are doing just fine right now. Wouldn't the GOP just howl if they were made to take personal responsibility for their crappy performance? Not like you could get enough out of them to fix anything, but it might be an object lesson. If I screwed your roof up that bad I'd have to fix it, but I don't play with big enough numbers to get the "free pass card." Now GOP (Cheney) pals Halliburton through KBR can electrocute soldiers in showers and the money just keeps rolling in.

Proof that abject stupidity is not a bar to employment at FauxNews:

Kilmeade and two colleagues were discussing a study that, based on research done in Finland and Sweden, showed people who stay married are less likely to suffer from Alzheimer's. Kilmeade questioned the results, though, saying, "We are -- we keep marrying other species and other ethnics and other ..."

At this point, his co-host tried to -- in that jokey morning show way -- tell Kilmeade he needed to shut up, and quick, for his own sake. But he didn't get the message, adding, "See, the problem is the Swedes have pure genes. Because they marry other Swedes .... Finns marry other Finns, so they have a pure society."

The video is even more ludicrous...imagine that.

So, Would You Blog Or Do This

2009-07-07T01:26:00.000-07:00

C'mon, 4th of July weekend and a motorcycle rally or stay home and amuse 5 readers not out for the weekend? High Desert Motorcycle Rally in Ontario, Oregon.

as always click pic for full size

Now for other fireworks you could look to High Desert Harley Davidson for the Harley Girls at a Meridain, Idaho barbecue for bike builder Chica. Thunderstorm cells produced cross winds from hell on the ride over, up to 60mph which allowed the Screaming Eagle to demonstrate its superior stability, admirably.

The Poker Run was up one side of the OR/ID border and down the other, this shot is of one side of the street and half the bikes at this location. Since the phone camera doesn't allow data entry I can't tell you which town.

Another town and less than half the bikes there, you'd think a mess composed of no more than 3 in a suit and A,2,3,5,7 might be a winner for low hand - hah. Around 100 miles of riding with cool motor scooters and a drink waiting at every stop - seven total. One thing about being a sober person is that many iced-teas won't generate poor behavior or tickets.

A Governor can resign and the President take trips and a blog get neglected when it comes to this kind of fun. Three bands played, Witch Burn, 57 Heavy, and the Pat Travers Band, fire works, lotteries, food stands, bike and car show, and lots of riders.

Update Breaking News - Michael Jackson Still Dead

2009-07-07T01:18:00.000-07:00

In fact deader, but still very much a factor in News circles - unlike important shit. It has given Rep King NY-R a chance to make a fool of himself, so all is not lost - though he needs little opportunity to manage to educate us as to why voting Republican is particularly stupid at this time.

If a sad stupid mess has to be the news focus couldn't they take a look at what makes the GOP tick?

When Quitting Ain't Quitting...Or Something

2009-07-06T23:35:00.000-07:00

I'll admit I've sat on the Palin resignation for awhile, partly because I was at a motorcycle rally and missed the news when it happened and since then...well I've wasted time trying to figure out what she was talking about.

When I've heard "a higher calling" referred to it generally had something to do with god or simple unrecompensed service. Given the "desecration" term applied to Momma Palin and baby modified Trig there may be some Ascension in the works, but I'm doubtful. As far as I've been able to tell, Palin very much cares about being compensated monetarily, soooo.... I think there will be money. Lots.

Now I don't usually play grammar police or dictionary detective but the word quit or quitter don't seem to have many contradictory meanings. She has said pretty plainly (given that it was Palin speech) that quitters suck. (there seemed to be an implication that the left or libruls were it) Now I've had a problem working out how this works; not walking away from an elected position would be quitting and quitting is making the good fight. The easy way would be to spend the next year and a half doing the grunt work of running a state and trying to get along with a recalcitrant legislature and, rather than squabbling with critics, showing the critics why they are wrong. Actually that sounds like a tough job, especially with people being soooo mean.

I hear/read people talking about how crass and mean modern politics is, and I laugh my ass off. In the world of 24/7 news things get around faster and get farther around, but even the cretinous stupidity of Fox News is light weight blather. Maybe historical ignorance is a badge of honor or something in certain circles, but an easy question for these folks is just exactly what was it that Burr shot Hamilton for? Political speech - hey, you betcha. If I had a ten spot for every time the accusation of "palling around with terrorists" passed her lips I could take some serious Harley rides on the soon to be ex-Governor's ticket.

(parenthetically I've wondered for a while how it is that these tough talking kick ass Republicans manage to be such victims of practically everything in the world. Apparently being a personally responsible hard guy Republican means being able to crotch kick at will but folding into a whining tear stained pile over being bitch slapped.)

The post script to the quitter not quitting speech was pure gold, a threat of legal action against any reporting of rumors about her Ladyship and misbehavior. It seems the legal talent these Alaskan nimrods employ is equal in talent to Palin and unable to grasp the meaning of "public figure." As long as she wishes to put herself in front of the public I am free to mock her, satirize her, and report on any scurrilous rumor that is bruited about - entirely free of legal consequences. It is not only correct but also legally permissible for me to note that Sarah Palin is a lying ten pounds in a five pound sack of Republican dog-pile. I breathlessly await her legal beagle taking me on...

David Letterman may have told a stupid joke about her daughter, but Sarah made a stupid joke of herself with her own mouth and tactics. No one in the MSM or Blogosphere had to do spit other than pay attention and quote her. That does mean quote her, not only accurately but also in context. Some people wishfully prognosticate that she's done for politically, not so. She will be given a platform to purvey stupidity and meanness to the American public and be well paid for it. It has nothing to do with earning anything, beyond mockery, but with notoriety achieved at the hands of a deluded McPOW campaign. She takes herself entirely too seriously for it to be the Comedy Central Network so it about has to be the comedy of FoxNews, which takes jokes quite seriously.

It is a common right wing meme to assert that the left is scared of her and hates her, I may have been worried that a purported centrist like McCain could carry her into office with himself, but I have no fear that as a ticket leader she poses the least threat to any fairly credible Democratic Presidential candidate. I could care less if she stayed Governor or got a FoxNews time slot to gibber from, she is her own worst political enemy and a great example of why Republicans should be avoided at the ballot box. The thinking that in low turnout off-year elections she could be a factor by turning out the base ignores the reaction of the middle and the left to her politics and her in general and especially to the appearance of her rallies.

All I can say is "Go Girl"

Breaking News, Jackson Still Dead

2009-06-28T13:17:00.000-07:00

What the heck is the deal with the media and Michael Jackson? I suppose I could understand one day of mania on their part, two began to stretch credibility, now we're reached lunacy.

I have a news flash for the scheduling managers, if you care about this at all, you already know all about Michael. The world didn't stop when he crapped out, things are still going on that have one heck of a lot more impact than either his career, strange life, or death. Put it to bed already.

Eye Candy

2009-06-27T23:03:00.000-07:00

Maybe you wonder why people want to live where unemployment is always higher and wages lower.

This is about 10 miles NE outside Baker City, OR on the state highway to Medical Springs and the background to the east are the Eagle Caps of the Wallowa Mountains which top out just above 10,000 feet. The Elkhorns which are just west of Baker City at 3,500 feet top out just under 10,000 feet. Both ranges are still snow capped.

Here in the picture the ground cover is cheat grass and sage brush, just over the crest ahead of the Harley are a series of valleys with creeks in the bottoms surrounded by fields of grass.

Blue Senator, Blue Bike

2009-06-27T22:08:00.001-07:00

Ron Wyden promised to visit every County each year and hold town halls, this weekend was Baker County's turn. I thought it might be interesting to have Oregon's Senior Senator and one of two Democratic Senators give pose for fun.

Senator Wyden gracefully climbed aboard the Harley for your amusement.

I'm not a fanboy of politicians, but that doesn't stop me from recognizing that Ron Wyden is one of the most astute and capable of all the Senators. He also has the ability to remain a down to earth Oregonian despite Washington, DC. He'll even sit on a Harley for a political pal.

Palin Desecration

2009-06-26T23:29:00.000-07:00

I'm sure you recognize the lady holding the funny looking baby, who I'm pretty sure you don't know, one Eddie Burke. He's a radio talk show host ... conservative - some surprise there. Blogger Linda Kellen Biegel is in the middle of trying to raise money to pay for the State of Alaska records of emails between Palin and Burke, some extra coziness is surmised.

Now Alaskan politics and particularly Palin politics is a circus, but you've got to love Palin spokesperson Mehgan Stapleton:

Recently we learned of a malicious desecration of a photo of the Governor and baby Trig that has become an iconic representation of a mother's love for a special needs child.

"Malicious desecration" is pretty, well, strong. Who exactly is worshiping at this temple or the feet of this idol? Is Palin and Trig the new incarnation of Mary and Baby Jesus - wow and I said mean things about her...

The mere idea of someone doctoring the photo of a special needs baby is appalling. To learn that two Alaskans did it is absolutely sickening. Linda Kellen Biegel, the official Democrat Party blogger for Alaska, should be ashamed of herself and the Democratic National Committee should be ashamed for promoting this website and encouraging this atrocious behavior.

Babies and children are off limits. It is past time to restore decency in politics and real tolerance for all Americans. The Obama Administration sets the moral compass for its party. We ask that special needs children be loved, respected and accepted and that this type of degeneracy be condemned.

Ouch, the stupid, it burns. So it's no longer permitted to mock your political propaganda? You people put that child up on the stage for photo opportunities and his widdle face can't go away? Aren't these the same people that paraded their knocked up poster child for the failure of abstinence education and her shotgun fiancee for our amusement? Sorry Mehgan, I see a baby with the face of a fat bigot not a special needs child, unless you're referring to that bigot.

Juxtapose this picture with scenes from Palin rallies as she whipped the crowds into slobbering fury and tell me about off-limits. I like this kind of a fight, the Governor of a state in a pissing match with a blogger. I'm sure there are some real pissed off Palin supporters - good. Stirring up that ant's nest damn near guarantees an explosion of stupidity for our further amusement.

What they take seriously is a measure of your opponents, in this case a very small container is required for measuring. Minds that operate on this level require mockery, it's the only civilized thing to do.

Gone Hiking...Or Something

2009-06-24T14:12:00.000-07:00

If I were the staffer/s put in the position of lying for Gov Sanford, I'd quit. If I were the American Taliban I might start to get the idea that trying to be moral arbiters to the nation is a losing proposition. It is strange how the guys who tell gays striving to have monogamous relationships recognized that they're destroying the institution of marriage are busy destroying the institution of their own marriages. Since Mark was diddling a female it seems it wasn't 'teh gay' that cracked up his marriage. Joe and Sam or Leslie and Tina wanting to get married don't make me want to chase guys or women other than my wife - maybe I'm not sufficiently developed in the moral arena to be so tempted???

I've been told that since I don't subscribe to any religion that I can't have a moral compass and I've been told by Republicans that since I don't belong to their Party that anything goes. The funny thing is that I haven't run business scams or cheated on my wife or...well there are a lot of things I haven't done.

I've been a part of a rather heated discussion about whether to kick ole Hiker around about screwing around on his wife. I have to be honest with you all, I was embarrassed for him when some of his love letters were read aloud on the media and I really didn't care about them. I also didn't care if his paramour was male, female, married or not and really don't care who was on top or whatever. I only care about the SEX part of it because that is the issue Hiker Boy has made over and over - well there is lying and irresponsibility. You see, I have no intention of telling you who to screw - I do think cheating on your spouse stinks (open marriages are not cheating) and I figure it's just fine if that spouse makes you pay real hard for it. If you propose to make laws and public pronouncements about morality I will hold you to it and I'll mock you unmercifully for doing otherwise. Once you push your version of relationships down my throat I'll puke it up on you for coming up short yourself.

I've heard a lot about the things Sanford didn't do in his "presser," like drag his wife up with him and blah blah blah. As though he had some choice in those matters. He was flat out of dodges. So he gets kudos for honesty? WTF over? He still managed to drag god into it and that trumps wifey who probably was quite happy to watch him twist in the wind from a distance. If you're willing to cheat your wife (and kids) and the other woman's husband and have your staff lie (get caught telling your lies) it isn't a real reach to see how citizens might have some doubts about your representation of them. How does this not play into being Obama's most fierce opponent on the Stimulus, vetoing the Lege, and finally losing a Court case over it in the search to be poster boy for the Republican Conservatives? His State is in the economic toilet and he proposes that doing something to help rescue the losers in his system is socialism? (and evil)

Both actions scream "ME, ME. ME," and "TOO BAD FOR YOU." I just do not understand how these people call themselves Christians and regularly violate the exact quotes of their god. Instead they grab quotes from every latecomer and ancient predecessor to back their meanness and selfishness and outright murderousness. Nailing Hiker to his cross only seems just. He stood that cross up in the public business and just as publicly spit on it. You have got to realize what a disaster South Carolina is to appreciate the aptness of a rich secure asshole sticking a knife in their back in relationship to Christ.

He has been big on this personal responsibility thing the Republicans have. It breaks down like this, that rule only counts if you're suffering under their method of doing things. When something like this blows up you're to respect their privacy and their family - as though they had. When you're rich paying something in taxes is stealing if any of it goes anywhere other than your no-bid contract. Universal single payer health care is socialism as if the current method isn't socialized plutocracy of the most clapped out sort. Somehow, if you're not a mover and shaker getting your head shit on is the natural order of things - including wife and kids.

The Right will now point and call this an aberration and it damned well isn't - it is a feature of their culture of selfish mean spirited ideology - it is screw you 'cause I've got mine and they sell it to their deluded followers as fair and just. Take apart the Right's ideology into its component parts and you'll find its matches all over Mark "Hiker" Sanford's problems. Yes, we are all imperfect beings and cutting each other some slack for it is reasonable - tell his adherents that.

I really don't want Sanford to resign, I want to see him right there in the public eyes so anytime the American Taliban sticks up its Theocratic head I can point and say, "So you're another Sanford?" (Ensign, Craig, Gingrich, ...) Oh sure, The Party Of Family Values ... ask Sanford's kids, or some of the others. It is a foot on your neck while they do whatever they please when it pleases them.

(a note to Democrats - if you play this Theocratic game there are some names that could be pointed out)

I don't portray myself as a better man than these, I've done things I'm ashamed of in my life, but I've never made a career out of being theocratic, either. I suppose it really sucks to be Mark Sanford right now, public ridicule and all that - I bet it sucks a lot more to wonder if you can feed the kids and have a roof in South Carolina - right now. He's got two rich women in his life, current wife and current other, do you suppose that'll work out? That could be called an embarrassment of riches....

Health Care, Or What

2009-06-23T00:15:00.000-07:00

If you've followed this blog at all you know that I'm a supporter of the concept of single payer health care. I have no doubt that big health care insurance companies would take a hit but it would scarcely be fatal. Single payer would not be a 'gold plated' offering, it would no doubt have some limits on what would be covered and for how long.

This piece of limits would cause some serious hand wringing from the Right, as though no such things exist today. We have really stupid costs built into the system now, we spend incredible amounts on end of life measures, not creating comfort at that point but fighting futilely against death. A tiny minority of doctors are responsible for the vast majority of malpractice claims. The uninsured and under insured drive medical costs for everyone up drastically. Emergency rooms get used as doctor's offices and simple procedures get avoided until they are major. Insurance companies deny treatments until they fall onto the public dime.

Democrats and Republicans have completely different views of health care and who should survive - ie people or insurance companies' profits. Well, a bit more accurately most Democrats and some Democrats and Republicans have different views. You can certainly understand that campaign contributions from insurance companies (surrogates) go to those sympathetic to insurance companies and that doesn't quite reach bribery, but expecting something different is silly. The question that occurs is exactly why some Democrats are so damned sympathetic to insurance companies. It is important to realize that your premiums don't go to pay claims, they go to ... wait for it ... investment in investment banks. Remember the villains in the crash? Add them to this crapfest.

Real frankly what you'll get for your trouble in electing these folks is squat. There are some Democrats working real hard to look out for the public and they deserve kudos and support but if all Democrats were there - the deal would be done already. The Republicans have already shown where they stand - you're on your own - and considering them in the debate is simply childish approval seeking.

I don't have a lot of hope that Pres Obama would veto a junk bill since it is what he could get on his biggest issue. I wonder how I'll find myself dealing with how health care shakes out, I may lose my sense of humor. I'm closing in on the end of my leash, and my friends I break leashes.

Messy and Messier in Iran

2009-06-22T00:45:00.000-07:00

Iran's Supreme Leader warned demonstrators that such behavior was to stop and they didn't, not in the face of police and militia. Tear gas, beatings, and bullets didn't dissuade them so people got hurt and some died, and this was Iranians versus Iranians. No foreigners were involved, no ancient or recent enemies took hand in it and worse - those who did are their fellow Muslims. This shows no signs of letting up.

There will, quite naturally, be those in Iran who are not troubled by this. That isn't an Iranian thing; it is the nature of societies in general. There will always be those whose differences of opinion make their opponents lesser beings, but it is not ever a large percentage. This will not please most Iranians, how their discontent will play out is unclear. Who gets most of the blame from most people will largely determine future outcomes. Government controlled media is making real efforts to portray demonstrators as tools of outside agitators and violators of Iranian morals. The success of that effort will largely depend on Iranian's access to information that counters it. It would seem to be difficult to miss what is going on if you live in Tehran but it is unclear how much information is available outside that area or how much disturbance is going on in how many other places.

Perhaps the real crux of this is that in such a theocracy people hold position on the basis of their supposed holiness. Islam must justify their behavior and they are assumed to be in compliance by virtue of their position. The very top of the governmental apparatus is being challenged over a pretty basic question, political lying and cheating. How far this challenge to authority goes may depend on how widespread and how long term this opposition is active. The problem a theocracy faces is the very severe limit a religion ordinarily lays on political behavior and its ordinary junk much less real lying and cheating which are now being rubbed on Iranian noses. This is really touchy stuff, people get real iffy when they get poked at regarding religion. Quite a few folks are taking the pretty nasty position that some powerful holy men are corrupt and that means a serious clash over serious business in that area.

In our society we don't have something to measure this against. We cannot draw comparisons (despite Republican Tweets)((idjits)) with anything that exists in our politics or religions. That society is widely homogeneous in religion, well beyond any such in any area in the US short possibly nationalism. We neither understand theocracy nor such religious fervor. I am becoming unsure that the "leadership" in Iran really understands, either the establishment or the opposition. Things have been set in motion that I'm not sure anyone really understands.

US World Leadership Role

2009-06-21T14:28:00.000-07:00

I doubt that one could successfully argue that the world's most powerful military and economy don't bear some regard in the world. In both spheres second place is so far behind as to be pretty meaningless as a position. What happens to the US and what we do matters a great deal to the world. I recently heard a highly regarded commentator remark on the US world leadership role and was suddenly stopped in my tracks. I've heard this type of statement repeatedly for many many years and it honestly took until that moment for its stupidity to sink in. There is a vast gulf between being consequential and leading.

What our military is capable of makes us an extremely dangerous and lethal opponent, something to consider in international policy framing by such folks. The extraordinary scale of our economy is something to bear in mind if one is considering economic policies. Both things matter a great deal but do not qualify as leadership beyond a certain level of coercion. Leadership is something else, it requires a willingness to be led and an authority to lead from.

If one were to simply take our established concepts of the relationship between the governed and the government it would seem that we have has something to show much of the world for quite some time, like since the Declaration of Independence. Most of our founding documents and much of our law since has hewed to an astonishingly high standard, but...

For nearly half our history we engaged in slavery, we have engaged in wars of extermination against Native Americans, we have abrogated Treaties at drop of the hat convenience, we have overthrown representative governments and supported abhorrently repressive ones. We have used our economic heft to strip countries of resources and we have engaged in reckless wars. Our government has lied to its own people and to the world and engaged in legal behavior that is abhorrent in many modern societies. To be sure there is a balance in the actions we have taken that have benefited the world at large and it is not the point of this article to diminish them.

It is the point of this article to scoff at the notion that we are international leaders on the basis of anything concrete at this point beyond our physical clout. Whatever repair President Obama is doing to our international reputation it will require a lot more than some months of pretty rhetoric to undo generations worth of misbehavior. The presentation of the US as arbiters of ethical behavior to the rest of the world ignores and in fact denies our actual international and domestic behavior for generations. It is simple jingoism to present to our own citizens such a concept. It also asks the rest of the world to engage in the same blatant eye covering and ear plugging. They aren't going to do it, they don't have blind patriotism to the US as a background.

We certainly could earn such respect, it isn't all that far fetched to insist that our government live up to its own founding law, the Constitution and Bill of Rights in its treatment of its own citizens and extend that to our international behavior. It is also quite apparent that it isn't the case currently and shows no sign of being the case for some time to come. It is the case that the Constitution lays out how we engage in Treaties and that they become the law of the land. It is also the case that if our form of governance is superior we should extend it to our dealings with anyone, government or individual. That we do not is a serious and apparent problem with asserting our ethical leadership. One can lead or one can coerce, they are not the same and they do not involve the same actions or ethics, we need to learn that lesson.

What Happened To "If You Don't Have Anything To Hide"?

2009-06-20T03:38:00.000-07:00

Michelle Bachman:

The mother lode of all data information will be from the Census. … Unfortunately, the Census data has become very intricate, very personal, a lot of the questions that are asked. I know for my family, the only question we will be answering is how many people are in our home. We won’t be answering any information beyond that, because the Constitution doesn’t require any information beyond that

It is also a good thing that the Constitution doesn't have any requirements barring stupidity in Representatives. Yes, this is the newest of the Right's stupid attacks. The Constitution does have some requirements that this bunch ignored, right there in the Bill of Rights and in the clause regarding Habeas Corpus. But consistency and sensibility are not only not requirements for membership in that group, they appear to be bars. There is some form of consistency, it is "Ooooh, I'm soooo scared and you should be, too."

To call fear mongering a symptom of the Right would be a bit of minimization, it is more a feature of the Right. To call it a symptom you'd have to assume that there was a mental deficiency involved with people like Bachman and that would mean that over 20% of the population is mentally ill. I'd rather not believe that. I'd much rather believe that they are desperate to have their way - the alternative is too scary. It is scary enough to reflect that they'd deliberately behave this stupidly.

Iranian Green?

2009-06-17T19:07:00.000-07:00

Not a political statement, a statement in sympathy for those willing to take real risks; despite the political realities of Iran I respect that. Is it meaningless to change the color? I don't know, probably, but the 'net keeps track of strange things and maybe it means something to a reader I don't know about. Iranians and Persians have read this blog and even linked it before.

My intimate knowledge of Iranian politics died with the Shah, my room-mate in college was a son of a General in the Shah's Army and I knew well others. They were the children of the elite, the Shah's elite, and I also knew well Arab children of Hussein's Iraqi elite. I gathered insights into their societies and social institutions that have endured. The depths of their religious convictions and their racial divides were known to me. Despite their levels of education and religion their ability to bow to authority without question struck me deeply.

Despite our cultural and religious divides I got to be quite fond of most of them and I've grieved for the bad things that must have happened to them through the years. The Iranians are our fellow humans and they are taking great personal risks defying authority in their protests. The green is my wishing them well being and safety.

Teabaggery?

2009-06-17T10:36:00.000-07:00

If you don't like concentrated ugly and rather pointless fury give this a miss.

(HT Balloon Juice)

It was a stupid and tasteless joke about the postergirl for the failure of abstinence only education paraded by the Governor. Holy S**t Batman, if these people put all that fury energy into constructive action this country would be seriously improved. I'm not sure about the contradiction involved in protesting the joke with statements on film about slut wife and bastard child, maybe someone will explain that to me...

I'm pretty unclear what ranting at people about "socialism is evil" has to do with Letterman or why these particular people ranted at think they are "sooo smaaaart." I could understand a point of view that socialism is a mistake but the evilness of it sort of misses me - I can understand that, say slavery is evil, but what moral standard is so violated by socialism that evil applies?

This is the Republican base (Movement) in operation; policy disagreements aren't wrong-headed or mistaken; they are evil. Torture is evil, calling Iran part of the Axis of Evil is stupid, or wrong-headed. Letting the plutocrats run wild is bad for the economy and particularly bad for the common citizen, it is a serious mistake and if one takes Christ's words seriously as God's, you might make the case that it is evil - I simply call it a mistake since I'm not God. If I don't agree with you about economics I may call you stupid if you ignore facts - more likely I'll call you wrong. If, as a Federal official, you violate the Constitution, the First Law of the nation, I may well consider you a traitor depending on the level of violation; but evil is another thing.

This is the fury that the right stokes and it is senseless fury and senseless to provoke it. There isn't a chance in the world that these folks will vote for a liberal so poking their bee's nest is pointless. The middle voter watching this nonsense will recoil with WTF? Amping up the fury quotient does't reach the majority of voters, it spooks them.

I am sooooo glaaaad I don't have any role in trying to win elections for Republicans...

Republican Base or Movement?

2009-06-16T20:56:00.000-07:00

Dr Leo Strauss has an interesting article up about the "Movement" which is commonly referred to as the Republican base by the media. He finds this inappropriate.

Because Krugman et al. fail to grasp the fundamental difference between the Movement, the former Republican Party and the Democratic Party, talking heads refer to the Movement as the ‘Republican base’. As if somehow the Movement and its Manichean zero-sum nihilism is the same as the Democratic base. Say the the Sierra Club or unions. How one can be a professional political analyst and assume a base is a base is a base. Well, we live in truly decadent (technically defined) times.

In a political sense of winning elections by appealing to enough people with policies, he is right. To use his word, the Movement is quite willing to sacrifice an election in the spirit of purity. If you see politics as the art of achieving the possible then they are not political, they are nihilist. "All or nothing" is a recipe for getting nothing unless you are willing to step outside the realm of politics into despotism. I am not sold on the idea that the Movement in general terms is that type of entity. The question that occurs to me is one regarding their belief in their numbers, whether they actually believe that sufficient purity will attract enough voters to win or whether they simply don't care. If they are not deluded enough to think they actually have the numbers somehow obscured by outside forces, then they are that dangerous despotism in waiting.

I certainly accept his arguments that ignoring the Constitution and even the Magna Charta are symptomatic of their point of view regarding the over-arching rightness of their cause. That "the ends justify the means" exists is scarcely surprising considering that Machiavelli is accused of codifying it. (not quite accurately) That its adherents have taken over a major national political party is scary. That politicians elected to national office find themselves in the position of kowtowing to them is really unfortunate for our political process.

Now the basis of my objection to scoffing at the media for calling these folks the Republican base is that since they run the party now they are the base, whether they need consistent stroking or not. No, they're not the Sierra Club or anything resembling it, maybe they are ELF, but that doesn't mean they aren't the voters the GOP has if it plays to them. While the left wing of the Democratic Party seems to be able to get along with the scraps it gets, they don't, anymore. They did for a long time, they took empty rhetoric and still voted, those days have passed.

Following the Civil War the Republican Party became the establishment party which carried with it the followers-on interested only in the levers of power in regard to their economic interest. This is the conservative root of Republicanism, economic power desires a steady state with them dominating, an adoption of status quo with only incremental adjustments made to their benefit. Those powers are not in the least interested in ideology, only in controlling it and keeping its arguments in their favor. That has recently led to a blind alley, they made their bed with the Christianistas, the racists, the nativists, and the Luddites who have not only taken control but been rejected. They hadn't recognized who they were playing with, the table scraps didn't satisfy them, only increased their appetite and once the dependency was established it turned to bite the hand.

Drawing congruences between the bases of the two parties is dangerous business due to the very factors Strauss emphasizes in regard to the Movement. It is very much a faith based, tribal and emotional content based ideology. The left is generally more fact driven and need oriented than tribal or faith based, they are not happy with incrementalism but live with it. Time in the political wilderness concentrates their thoughts and pushes them into "reasonable" compromise with the middle. The Movement is quite different so far, they retreat into purity drives and anger. They were always a poor fit with the Party of Business and now are demonstrating why. Business is necessarily adaptive to situations, that or it is broken, it is on that basis pretty pragmatic. There is developing a schism between the plutocratic arm and the business arm, the plutocrats can afford the craziness of the Movement if it will allow them to hold onto or increase their advantages, business can't afford to be associated with "all or nothing."

The plutocrats can afford to subsidize the craziness of "teabagging" because it holds forth the idea that they are victims rather than rapists. They will busily try to find ways to co-opt the Democrats while playing with the Movement, they are such a tiny minority with so many means that they fly under the general radar. Some businesses will default into allegiance with the Movement because they find themselves under assault - health insurance providers for instance. Even while they play in the Movement's arena of fear and anger they are looking for ways to find some edge of advantage within the group they find so basically threatening and they do have traction there.

The Movement is the Republican Party despite some outliers and for the foreseeable future they will run the show. In some places Republicans will necessarily present a more modest face and that will last as long as there is some idea in the voting public that Republican doesn't mean Movement. It will depend on the media how long Republicans can preserve the fiction that there is a difference between Movement and Republican; and in fact it will depend to some extent on how long people like Strauss fight the idea the base is what the Movement is.

I believe Strauss' problem with the term base is that he looks at political parties as parties that practice politics, it doesn't matter that one Party is exercising politics and the other isn't, they both make their offerings to the public - voters and in that context they are political and have bases. In essence the Republicans have become so stupid as to confound political thinkers as accomplished as Strauss. (c'mon you knew I could turn this into an insult)

Family Values, Eh?

2009-06-16T16:01:00.000-07:00

The WaPo has an updated story regarding Sen Ensign (R-NV).

UPDATE, 5:55 p.m.: Sen. John Ensign (R-Nev.) has acknowledged an extramarital affair with a campaign staffer in a statement released by his office. "I deeply regret and am very sorry for my actions," said Ensign. He is expected to announce the affair at a press conference at 6:30 pm tonight. The affair, which was with a woman who worked for both Ensign's re-election campaign and his Battle Born leadership political action committee, began in December 2007 and ended in August 2008. Ensign's wife, Darlene, said that the couple's "marriage has become stronger" and added: "I love my husband."

So this guy's inability to protect the sanctity of his own marriage really wouldn't be my business, except for his ability to stick his feet into that of everybody else. I don't like his politics and I particularly don't like his desire to enforce his morality on others in this country. This might just point up the danger of letting such people try it. Your mileage may vary...

Ari, This Week's Biggest Ass

2009-06-15T22:38:00.000-07:00

The WaPobrings you Ari Fleisher:

No one yet knew the final outcome, he wrote in an e-mail to our colleague Glenn Kessler, but "one of the reasons there is a substantial reform movement in Iran -- particularly among its young people -- is because of George W. Bush's tough policies." He noted that Bush's policies in Lebanon also helped in the recent elections there.

"A big push for reform is because of the desire of Iranians to get out from sanctions, to put an end to the country's international ostracism," Fleischer wrote and, most interestingly, "because Shiites in particular see Shiites in Iraq having more freedoms than they do. Bush's tough policies have helped give rise to the reformists and I think we're witnessing that today."

This qualifies Ari for the biggest dumbass of the week, certainly not the year but c'mon Ari. Let's see how this works out, Ahmadinejad was elected at least in part in reaction to your previous boss and his overheated rhetoric - Axis of Evil and all that crap like we need to bomb Iran...which then solidified his position. Loons don't take a lot of encouragement and your bunch provided it in spades.

You didn't provide one bit of Western encouragement to reform in Iran, you scared everybody stupid with your Iraq adventure. You bet they wanted what Iraq got, bloodshed and near anarchy coupled with corruption from hell - a Crusade. Speaking of reform, you and your ilk were scoffing at the election a few weeks ago, made no difference who won. Really it didn't make a lot of difference, though some, but you scoffed. Now you want to claim it?

Iranian society has long had western leanings and you did more damage to that credibility than anyone since the Shah. They certainly don't want your Iraq model and the mess you've left this economy in isn't real attractive as one of your selling points either. George W Bush my ass, you are a complete and total tool, Ari.

The Real Import Of Iranian Election

2009-06-15T21:45:00.000-07:00

People have spent large numbers of bytes regarding the election and the presence of the Reform Party and its large number of votes. There is a certain amount of hogwash involved in that analysis, the Mullahs approved the candidates so this is really a figleaf of democracy laid over theocracy. The number of protesters is impressive and they do actually face some risks for that behavior. Even that only really has meaning in the context of illuminating the extent of vote fraud. The vote fraud has a meaning and that meaning in the long run may be the most influential happening in Iran since 1979.

It has just been demonstrated to Iranians in general, not just the losers, that the Mullahs lie. They tell and support blatant lies to support political ends. The Iranian spokesmen for god are liars as well as dictators. We assume politicians mangle the truth and we suspect them of lying fairly often. We're never very happy to find out that we've been lied to but we seem to forgive a bit of it. There is a caveate, except in very rare circumstances our politicians don't claim to be god's messengers, they don't pretend to be holy. This is the line the Mullahs crossed in Iran, holy lies is a bit of a problem. This is going to eat at the system and it isn't as though only the losers cans see it.

I don't mind a bit when the theocrats get hoisted, I find them offensive whether Iranian or American Taliban.

DeMint Bucks The Establishment

2009-06-15T20:16:00.000-07:00

Senate Republican Leaders took the measure of Florida Governor Charlie Christ and decided that in Florida he had the best chance of holding the Senate seat. Charlie Christ is an anathema to Conservatives though he is scarcely a liberal, or even liberal Republican. Enter Marco Rubio who claims Conservative credentials as a "longshot" challenger in the Republican Primary. I question the longshot appellation because this is an off-year election - no Presidents.

Sen Jim DeMint (R-SC) finds the lack of a real Conservative in that seat less than appealing and has backed Rubio. DeMint leads the Republican Senate conservative Steering Committee which is also backing Pat Toomey in PA and Tom Coburn in OK, who you might also refer to as wingnuts. Toomey would have trouble beating a cheap drum in a General Election and the chances for Mr Rubio don't seem much better if the Democrats were to run someone alive and sane. Maybe Democrats in PA could manage that as well, someone who isn't named Arlen.

I suppose I should support DeMint for standing up for his principles and from a strategic point of view as a Democrat I am jumping for joy. I'd very much like to see Rubio get crushed in a General Election, but this is politically stupid and the cost to that Party in its policies is great. Despite some pundit's statements on the chances of Rubio to win in the Primary being small, I would expect his percentage to surprise them and even possibly wind up a majority. Given a reason these folks vote and Charlie Christ is plenty of reason particularly if Rush and company can get enough of them stirred up.

Bike Shows

2009-06-15T15:19:00.000-07:00

Below is the Sober Riders MC rally at High Desert Harley Davidson bike show. My bike has the leather riding jacket on the handle bars. This is part of a line of over 30 bikes. The bike was entered in Stock Domestic and won First. This meet was late May. Taken with phone camera thanks to lack of saddle bags for a short day ride (120 miles each way).

***Click for full size***

Below is a picture from the just completed 10th Annual Hell's Canyon Motorcycle Rally in Baker City. The entire downtown Main Street was shut down Saturday for the rally. Both curbs were parked solid as well as a double line down the center line for five city blocks. This is Miss Oregon holding the First Place trophy for Best Harley, since Saturday was my birthday I found that a pretty cool confluence. I was somewhat surprised to win that since there were many very cool bikes.

The weather was uniformly rainy which cut the participation some and made for some uncomfortable riding with only some breaks of unpredictable length. Danielle was a real good sport ducking in and out of an umbrella for pictures and other appearance functions. She is a dental hygienist from Tigard, Oregon.

The last picture was necessarily taken with the phone camera due to the rain and my reluctance to expose the SRL to it. I will admit to a bit of dissatisfaction with the phone camera since it decided to crap out while the High Desert Harley Girls were posing with the bike, especially considering their extensive lack of clothing and willingness to brave the weather for the shot. While those shots may have been fairly family friendly I'm not convinced they'd have been wife friendly...

High Desert Harley brought some bikes to display as well as some accessories to shop for and their mobile shop which got pretty heavy use. There were bikes from most of the western tier of states and such rides can take a toll. This kind of event brings in quite a bit of business for the town, which is good and we do have a lot of good roads for beautiful rides. Apparently the second weekend in June will be the schedule so if you ride you might want to put it into your list of things to do.

Iranian Election Oddities

2009-06-13T14:13:00.000-07:00

At some point after its institution theocracy damn near guarantees stupid results. Because in recent history theocracies have been established as a reaction to bad government, there may be an intellectual component to them, a reaction by the curious and self-actuated to repression. That component may for awhile ensure a level of good decision making and somewhat blunt the effects of religious rigidity. When religion is the ruling component of thought a certain ossification of thought occurs, the answers to all situations are contained within the relevant holy book which seriously undermines creative thought turning it to the aim of sophistry.

The idea that a holy book contains all the answers to a society's issues is based on the belief that the words are divinely inspired and that divinity will have foreseen all possible developments. Most of these holy books are many centuries old and have been previously mutilated by the political concerns of other power structures and their own power structures. I will not argue about belief system's moral structures, these are matters of faith to their adherents and not subject to such but that holds the seeds of their governmental failure. There is a rigidity of thought involved in the blind adherence to ancient thought.

Problem solving starts with the assumption that something new and out of the ordinary has occurred, a thing not covered by the previous systems for dealing with issues. If the systems existed there would be no problem, it would have been dealt with. This means the solution lies in modifying, restructuring, or abandoning previous models - creativity. Thinking "outside the box" is not encouraged by the religious establishment, the box is the definition of a religious establishment.

Iran's social and economic and diplomatic situation has been changing ever since the 1979 Revolution. The situations that pertained in 1979 do not exist or have modified radically and yet the same thought runs the show. Decision and the decision process continues to operate on the basis of old information and is proving to be incapable of dealing with changed situations. Iran is not longer threatened by Iraq or the United States, its economy is in tatters, and its society is showing dissatisfaction with its narrow structure. The regime is forced to attempt to maintain the status quo by increasingly transparent subterfuges which only inflame the proponents of improvement. This collision means that reason as solution will be less and less likely requiring violence from both sides. This is bad for all participants.

I have no crystal ball or deep insight into Iranian society or leadership and no way of predicting the levels of violence or outcomes. Societies are bound together by general agreement about their foundations and when those agreements are broken or violated the divisions are broadened. If the divisions are sufficient a point is reached where there is no chance of reconciliation and someone has to go. I don't know if the outcome of the Iranian election represents one of those points or not, but it is clearly a symptom of failure.

Proud To Be Right-Wing Extremist Today?

2009-06-11T14:07:00.000-07:00

"I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot… So then, because you are lukewarm, I will vomit you out of My mouth." Revelation 3:15-16.

You might be a rightwing extremist if…You think killing unborn babies is wrong…You believe that the right to bear arms is actually in the Constitution…You think that people should not be rewarded for coming to America illegally…You dare to prepare for the global famine and other calamities predicted in the Bible…You believe that local and state solutions are superior to enlarging the federal bureaucracy or…You are a veteran who served your country.

So (with apologies to Jeff Foxworthy) that is my synopsis of a recent U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s recent report. Americans can appreciate a good joke, but this is no laughing matter. Our own government is calling biblical and conservative beliefs dangerously extreme and radical!

The Department of Homeland Security recently issued a report warning law enforcement officials nationwide about the dangers of ''right-wing extremism.'' The most jaw-dropping aspect of this report is that its definition of “right-wing extremist” applies to any conservative or value-centered person!

Actually, no that's not what it says. It does say that people like Dr Tiller's murderer and guard Johns' murderer exist and come from a lunatic fringe of right-wing extremism. You are certainly free to be whatever form of winger you choose right up until you advocate or use violence to further your ends. There are some Constitutional bars to things like Establishing A Religion. If you'd like to wear the mantle of those who advocate violence or commit it in the name of your view - so be it.

These folks love to point at Islam and particularly Islamic Extremists as modern day devils and don't seem to see their own claims as equivalent. The institution of Religious Law and extreme means to accomplish it are the goals of the group they demonize and it is different, how, from their own? It isn't even a matter of rhetorical lunacy, it only depends on which of the current versions you read or listen to. Oh to be sure, the deities are different and that piece is exactly as meaningless to this question as is the weather.

I'm a member of the left and while I could build imaginary scenarios requiring violent action in regards to the government but that includes the extinguishing of our form of government. I can't work up to extremism in rhetoric or even in philosophy. The right offers up entirely too many opportunities for criticism and mockery for me to need to go to extremism. They are easy.

It seems sad to have to point out to anyone that there is such a thing as dangerous extremism and mocking it will lead to juxtapositions like this one, Holocaust Museum murder and a Right-Wing Extremist membership card. Are you surprised that in the spirit of the preceding post I'll call you idiots? Shoot, that doesn't sound mean enough - assholes is better.

Me And Republicans

2009-06-11T11:55:00.000-07:00

I live in an area where Democrats are the minority party, I may find that rather silly considering the economic situation that is the norm here, but I have to get along with it. If you toss into the mixture the fact that a lot of my activities, like shooting, drag racing, and construction, seem to attract more Republicans than Democrats I am friends with a lot of Republicans. I don't mind that because while it makes for interesting and lively political discussions few of them live their personal lives on the basis of that Party's publicly ennunciated standards. I don't understand why their politics don't reflect their personal behavior and since I'm not required to I let that go.

Members of that tribe may find my postings partisanly intolerant and there is an element of intolerance in my posts. I am not particularly a fan of stupidity, lies, hate, or unequal treatment of my fellows and I let that come through clearly. I do not make up facts, I do not use quotes that contradict the spirit of the statement they're taken from, and I do not tar people with a brush they have not clearly earned. I am a partisan because the Democrats very much more reflect my philosophies than the Republicans. I am not partisan enough to let Democrats freely insult my political philosophies or to minimize any Republican policy that more closely hews to them. You may notice a serious lack of Republican boosting here, but that has to be earned.

I'm afraid the mindset of the voices of Republicanism doesn't manage to reflect historical expectations of the Republican Party. At one time it was somewhat ordinary to expect strong support of the Bill of Rights from them; the Party of Torture and spying on citizens and ditching Habeas Corpus can't claim that mantle. An expectation that they'd support the health of business in general is disappointed by their favoritism for plutocracy versus actual small business which is the majority of business in this country. I won't get into the idea of the Party of Lincoln resolutely pushing away minorities since that is scarcely a new phenomenon. I don't mind that people bring their religious morality to politics - it would be ridiculous to expect otherwise - but that is a different concept than enforcing their morality on their fellows and the Republican element of religiosity seems determined to be the American Taliban. It would be ordinary to expect Republicans to be strong on economic policy, instead we get a mantra of tax cuts for the rich and drowning their mismanaged version of big government in a bathtub and policies that perpetuate a system that broadens the gap between the rich and poor.

Look; Republicans, teabaggers, wingers, Christianists, et al if you don't like what I've got to say, you've got several choices :
Don't read this site
State your grievances - but expect blowback
Quit being demonstrable assholes

Short of those alternatives you're SOL. I won't ease up on you and I can think of no reason to do so. I am fair about this, it isn't my fault you offer up such a target rich environment. Change your damn game into something responsible and I'll cheer you on and you don't have to be Democrat-lite to get there.