Sunday, August 10, 2003
Good-bye
But only temporarily. I'm going on a temporary hiatus so my archives can be moved to my new home!
Please join me there!
Friday, August 08, 2003
Things that make you go....
What was the point of taking, and publicizing, such an odd photo of Bush and Powell?
We haven't gotten to this yet, but I'm sure people I probably shouldn't name (coughAshcroftcough) might like to see it.
Things like this probably warm his little heart, don't they?
Connie M. McKee, a Harris staffer, said ethics laws made it illegal for people to distribute political information during a town hall meeting.Because we don't want to give the impression that any political behavior is taking place at a political gathering between voters and elected officials? There's no excuse for taking a flyer away from someone except pure partisanship.
How odd
It would appear that I have nothing to say today.
Thursday, August 07, 2003
Waiting for dinner
No point in going home. I'd have to turn around and drive most of the way back to the office to meet a friend for dinner. So, I'm blogging.
I'm just saying. I'd vote for Al again. Those misled by the media's demonization of him need to do the sensible thing and check his record. Yes, he's "centrist" on some things, but not on a lot of the ones I care about. His position on things like the environment is very attractive to me. The fact that he knows how to compromise with the less-radical conservatives is not, in my book, a drawback.
Besides, we want a candidate who can win, right? Well, he won once already. How much more proof of his electability do you need?
(I don't blame him for not running again but I'll be interested to see who he eventually endorses.)
For those of you in California, Kevin Drum's vote is up for grabs, but there are terms and conditions. If your plans for the fiscal future of the state involve the Tooth Fairy, don't call Kevin. Presumably anything requiring a tax on the Easter Bunny will also get a thumbs' down.
I got here via Chris Nelson and before I go commit hari kari, I'm begging someone to tell me this is an internet hoax. (Also, before you buy yours, stop and consider that the Sekrit Service is likely going to consider putting it through the garbage disposal to be a "threatening act.")
Fortunately Hesiod and Atrios are already all over the mockery thing. (Links are bloggered, scroll down.)
I was on my lunch break, okay?
He might as well have called the article, "Unemployment Is Hell."
How bad is it? The Economic Policy Institute in Washington reported last week that "since the business cycle expansion began in November 2001, payrolls have contracted by 1 million (1.2 million in the private sector), making this the weakest recovery in terms of employment since the [Bureau of Labor Statistics] began tracking monthly data in 1939."Coincidence? I think not. I think businesses are "expanding" their bottom lines and future plans using the salaries of laid-off workers.
The official jobless rate, now 6.2 percent, does not come close to reflecting how grim the employment situation really is. The official rate refers only to those actively seeking work. It does not count the "discouraged" workers, who have looked for jobs within the last 12 months but have given up because of the lack of offers. Then there are the involuntary part-timers, who would like full-time jobs but cannot find them. And there are people who have had to settle for jobs that pay significantly less than jobs they once held.For the record, this has always been my problem with the "jobless" figures. They only include the relatively recently unemployed and there's no methodology for counting the under-employed.
Right now there is no plan, no strategy for turning this employment crisis around. There is not even a sense of urgency. At the end of July the Bush administration sent its secretaries of commerce, labor and treasury on a bus tour of Wisconsin and Minnesota to tell workers that better days are coming. But they offered no real remedies, and the president himself went on a monthlong vacation.When the going gets tough, Bush goes on vacation.
Don't know much about....
Don't know who or what caused it, but the recent eruption in terrorist acts has me worried.
Or is it a recent eruption? Is there an upsweep in terrorist activity or is it that the USofA media is finally starting to cover international terrorism?
I don't know if Iran is developing nuclear weapons or not. Certainly there are some things that make me suspect they are.
Nuclear experts have questioned the declared need of Iran - a country with vast oil and natural gas reserves - to produce nuclear energy.I do know that when I read about someone from their government defending "one of the pillars of the power of the people,"" I get an odd and unsavory flashback to Nazi Germany. Something about that phrase was very evocative.
Wednesday, August 06, 2003
Medical Malpractice
From Modern Physician (registration required), comes the news that, on the average, less than 40 percent of medical malpractice award money goes to the plaintiff (that's the injured person).
Plaintiffs receive only 38% of the total dollars that flow through the malpractice litigation system, according to a recent study by the Employment Policy Foundation in Washington, D.C.I guess it's not really a surprise. Medical malpractice suits are no longer about restitution for someone damaged by negligence. They're a business, like anything else.
EPF says the bulk of the of the money goes to plaintiff's lawyers, expert witnesses, claims adjustment and investigating and defending claims.
Lunchtime thoughts
Should you find yourself thinking that Bush's scheme to outsource most of the federal government to enrich private corporations might not be such a very bad idea, trot on over to Nathan Newman's site and see why you're wrong.
Or read him on the subject of social security privatization. (For the record, the promise (""They promised to preserve the benefits of all current retirees and those nearing retirement.") is already a lie. They've already added 16 months onto how long I have to work in order to pull full benefits and who knows how much more they'll add between now and my "retirement" age? I'm not a twenty year-old, okay? I've paid into this system since I was 16 because (a) I had to, (b) I was told the money would be there.
Let's make something else very clear while we're at it. The money was there. A lot of it was there. It's just that the Feds couldn't stand all of that surplus waiting to be paid out to the people who paid it in, so they helped themselves. Yep, they took it for other projects and, instead of paying it back, now they're crying that there's not enough money.
This might also explain why the military seems to set on military tribunals instead of civilian trials. But I understand why Jeanne just sighed and moved on after originally reading the article. I, too, expect little else from this Administration.
The entire entry is an object lesson in why we can't go on sighing and looking the other way.
Bits and pieces
Iraq's about to get itself an army of religious fanatics, it seems.
And it's good to see that someone has an eye on the justice system. Especially that part of it that might be tempted to strike down environmental protections to make its own personal investments a little more valuable. (I'm not saying that's what happened. I'm saying there's good reason to be suspicious.)
And we may finally be able to get some fresh news from Afghanistan. No, not from the USofA press. Don't be silly, they've forgotten all about that previous war. No, it seems that Canadian troops are headed into the country and a journalist is going with them. I look forward to reading what Chris Wattie has to report.
Maureen Dowd is pretty rude on the subject of Bush and his (lack of) control of his Administration, but she's always worth reading.
The National Conference of State Legislatures decided to oppose federal legislation on medical malpractice issues, including a bill supported by President Bush that would set a $250,000 cap on noneconomic damages.(Seems that the state governments object to the feds trying to pass legislation that preempts existing state laws.)
Among those bills is a Texas measure setting a $250,000 cap on noneconomic damages. Gov. Rick Perry signed the bill into law in June, but Texas voters will have to vote Sept. 13 on changing the state constitution before it can take effect.Texas and Florida, hmmm?
A proposed $250,000 cap has had less luck in Florida, where Gov. Jeb Bush postponed a third special session on the bill, scheduled for this week, after it became clear that the state Senate would not alter its opposition to the cap.
What Rough Beast?*
Again, I think we have to ask ourselves, is this who we want to be?
Considering the failure of this country to win this place as a free and open society based upon the production of useful, innovative, life-affirming technology, I'd say no. As this column makes clear, we've built our 'hyper-power' status on the ability to deliver death anywhere in the world.
I have one of those insulated holders for bottled water. It's sitting next to me right now and I can see the worlds on the side.
This is not the life I ordered.From the second section of the column on, this is a compelling discussion on the nature of international power and the forces that exist, or arise, to balance it.
Tuesday, August 05, 2003
Fascinating
A view of the Pentagon from the inside.
Maybe the Intelligence sloppiness is less a matter of venality than poor organization?
(Also, I don't know where all of you intelligent commenters came from, but I do appreciate and enjoy the feedback!)
The Media Talks
The media on the media is worth reading. I think I'll put the two books referenced on my list.
Here's an interesting column arguing that newspapers need to pay more attention, on a daily basis, to issues of constitutionality around the country.
Also, I find myself interested by the study showing that liberal publications are critical of Democrats and Republicans, while conservative publications hesitate to criticize their own. I'm not surprised by it, since a casual reading of any national news publication over the last decade, or even the last couple of years, clearly shows it to be true. However, the article comes with some interesting examples of how partisan conservative coverage is. (The study, in pdf format, is here.) I didn't have time to read this as thoroughly as I would like. I'll have to get back to it later, along with the copy of the study I downloaded.
Editor and Publisher continues to argue in support of the importance of weblogs these days. There are some interesting links.
The Rest of the Story
Here's how the infamous, so-called 'Patriot' Act was actually voted into law. (The bottom of the story.) If I were a paranoid, conspiracy theorist, stories like this would give me nightmares.
The war in Iraq went surprisingly quickly, didn't it? I guess that happens when you don't care what kind of carnage you cause.
And Krugman is all over dishonesty in government, specifically when government departments suppress or slant reports to support Administration positions.
Those dissing the USofA for dragging its feet in Liberia might scan the landscape and wonder where Europe is. According to this article, you don't see European troops in Liberia because they don't have an "African policy" but it seems to me that since the fighting in Liberia has been going on for over a decade, they had more than enough time to formulate a policy, if they intended to. (It looks like Peel in the Financial Times has a column on the USofA's lack of interest in Liberia, but it's a subscriber-only deal, so I can't get to the full text. All I can see is, "The country that was founded by liberated American slaves can expect little help from Washington. For the US, there is no national interest at stake.)
And this could break your heart. As could this. Except that reports I've heard about Peace Corps efforts indicate that the long-term impact of this program has been...well...nil. I need to do some research and see if that's true.
Afghans on Edge of Chaos reads the headline. " As opium production and banditry soar, the country is at risk of anarchy, some warn, and could allow a Taliban resurgence."
Another headline reads, " Iran Closes In on Ability to Build a Nuclear Bomb." Nice thought for a sunny, summer day. Here's a column discussing the situation.*
(* Although, let me point out the idiocy of everyone, Left or Right, who speaks piously of "making contact" with a repressive regime and "encouraging" the growth of "democracy." What kind of fool thinks that's going to happen? Democracy In – Regime Out, okay? Regimes change when the people foment rebellion from the ground up.)
There's more I'd like to complain about today (Well, isn't there always?) but I really should be working.
Idiocy
As I've said before, I wasn't that impressed with Ehrenreich's book, Nickel and Dimed. I thought she barely touched the surface of the real problems the poor face on a daily basis in this country. I found her coverage...tepid. Quite frankly, I felt that she was so appalled by the situations she found around herself that she distanced herself emotionally very early in the book.
Which means that I find it surprising, even astounding, that she's the Cheap Labor Party's new pick for North Carolina Anti-Christ.
I know I commented on an earlier story about "student protestors" objecting to the book's liberal bias but this is absurd. The mind continues to boggle as I wonder how you could write such a story with a "conservative" bias. In any case, the book doesn't have a "liberal" bias unless the Right is willing to say that caring about people is a 'liberal thing'.
Honestly. What's wrong with teaching college kids that there are poor people in this country? Really, heartbreakingly poor people? Who can barely afford to eat? Who don't have medical care, dignity, or any hope of a decent future?
Are these parents afraid their kids' tears are going to mess up the leather seats in the Rolls?
On second thought, I'm glad this whole subject came up. I'd like to see someone stand up and publicly defend the position that writing about the lives of the poor is some kind of liberal trick to...I don't know...fool kids into believing that there are a lot of poor people in this country and that with some work we could help most of them to better lives.
Monday, August 04, 2003
Monday. Blech
I'd like to discuss my perception of the importance of Powell not serving in a second Bush Adminstration and, indeed, Bush having to assemble an entirely new foreign policy team, but for one thing, I hate to contemplate getting Bush for another four years and for another, I'm having one of those no time for blogging Mondays.
Sunday, August 03, 2003
Tell me about it
How did I miss this before? (I'm working too much.)
A US department of energy panel of experts which provided independent oversight of the development of the US nuclear arsenal has been quietly disbanded by the Bush administration, it emerged yesterday.Reason tells me that these continued efforts to dissolve the government have some rationale behind them besides a vague and inane belief in "small" government, but I'm having trouble fitting the disbanding of really critical groups like this one into the mix.
The decision to close down the national nuclear security administration advisory committee - required by law to hold public hearings and issue public reports on nuclear weapons issues - has come just days before a closed-door meeting at a US air force base in Nebraska to discuss the development of a new generation of tactical "mini nukes" and "bunker buster" bombs, as well as an eventual resumption of nuclear testing.Is that it? What government they don't intend to erase, they want done secretly?