Wikileaks must not be stopped

It's served its function of keeping governments a bit more honest than they'd prefer. Contra some of its detractors (see here for a description of one), I hope to see the site continue to shine light in dark places. A friend, Arthur Silber, has much more to say on Wikileaks that is far more coherent than anything I could hope to offer up while I am in transit.

Embarrassed

It's interesting to read conservatives who are profoundly embarrassed by the sorry state of what has become of movement conservatism. Although I seriously doubt I'd agree with Professor Bainbridge on most political questions, we do share a disdain for the anti-intellectualism and anti-science stance that characterizes the current movers and shakers in the the GOP (or should we just go ahead and start calling it GOTea?). Really, in any civilized nation in reasonable health politically and economically, most folks would consider these loons little more than a fringe movement and would not be giving them the airtime, column space, and paid blog space that they currently get (let alone be serious contenders for public office).

I'd add to this simply that I'd love to see more civil, literate discourse than is currently the case. That would require a paradigm shift (for lack of a better term right now) in our country to transpire. What I see as crucial to debating and solving the problems that face us as a nation, and face us globally, is an openness to a variety of perspectives outside one's own pet perspective, a willingness to engage in reflective thinking (i.e., critical thinking, tolerance for ambiguity, etc.), a healthy respect for intellect (science, literature, the arts). In such an environment, demagoguery, appeals to authority, uncritical acceptance of urban myths, conspiracy theorizing, and so on would simply not be accepted. I'm not especially hopeful that we'd see such a transformation, but I do know this much: as an individual consumer of news and opinion I can and do refuse to support those media outlets and commentators who fail to rationally make whatever point they wish to make.

What would happen if the Bush tax cuts really expired?

It looks like that for the vast majority of us, we either won't notice a difference or will notice a slightly lighter tax obligation. Besides, the tax cuts are not a benefit for the economy (which wasn't that great before the crash of 2008) and if anything are a drag on the economy. Our fetish with trickle-down economics is the only powerful motivator for keeping the cuts in place. Really, when it gets down to brass tacks, our tax burden has been at a historical low. I'd prefer a focus on stimulating the economy short-term, and then focus on a sustainable economic policy as we transition from a cheap energy to a more expensive energy reality.

Seems like a good idea to me

Australia's Green Party leadership advocates a steady-state economy, rather than the standard one that assumes infinite growth.Given our environmental and energy realities, we're going to head that way eventually. We can still have reasonably comfortable lives - just those lives will have to be led within the confines of what nature makes available. Forget about single-use products, owning your own Hummer, taking a flight from Los Angeles to Las Vegas, or keeping every light in the house on while blasting the AC at arctic levels. Those days are over, and will be replaced eventually by something more sustainable. That aside, the upshot is that the Greens are poised to become a major force in Australia this year.

As an aside, I recall about two or three years ago reading about how over the next decade the big debate among Australian politicos would be over how green to be. I'll try to see if I can dig up the link at some point. Australia may be a harbinger.

Mosque madness

Newt and the ADL seem to have their share of it these days.Fortunately, there are groups that understand that the way to oppose bigotry is by - dig this - opposing bigotry (h/t FDL).As has been noted by others elsewhere, if a Christian church or Jewish temple were being constructed on that same piece of Manhattan land, we'd hear the sound of crickets chirping. However, since it's a mosque that's proposed for construction, anyone with an axe to grind is crawling out of the woodwork. Before playing the terrorist card, just recall that there are plenty of Christians who have no problem with acts of terror, assassination, etc. To state the bloody obvious, any religion is going to have its fanatics (I'll say the same thing about ideologies and political parties). To tar the practitioners of Islam because of a relative handful of jerks strikes me as not only repugnant but also short-sighted.

Of all the stupid....

While the US government is mired in two wars, and the economy is still faring poorly, the US Senate has found plenty of time to vote to double the fines and jail time for....wait for it.....wait for it.....marijuana brownies. Seriously? This is yet another time when I can cast a pox on both major US political parties - the authoritarianism espoused by both of them to one degree or another is beyond old.

Ever wonder what half a depression looks like?

Here's an idea of what we're dealing with. It is far from pretty. Suffice it to say, there is plenty of blame to spread around - just look for politicians who have embraced neoliberal economic theory (Most Republicans, many Democrats). Yes, it could have been worse, and from the looks of things, we're in for a very rough ride over the next several years. This was an economic disaster that could be seen a mile away - and not just in hindsight. It's just that those who were sounding the alarm were the proverbial voices in the wilderness. Is anyone in power taking heed now? Seems highly questionable at best.

Video: Endgame in Afghanistan

H/t The Newshoggers

Worth a read

Beyond the limits to growth (h/t The Oil Drum) which riffs of a 1970s book called Limits to Growth, is worth taking a look at and pondering. The basic gist remains the same: at some point (sooner probably rather than later) economic growth as we know it will become physically impossible. We simply won't have the resources. The tasks that will face us as a species will be nothing short of enormous. Somehow, we'll have to simultaneously deal with a rapid weaning off of fossil fuels, drastically rethink our economies, support in a humane fashion the 7+ billion people dwelling on the planet (and implement humane means of stabilizing and reducing that population long-term), AND deal with the effects of burning all that oil and coal over the last couple centuries. The difference between now and the 1970s is time: we have less of it now.

Your latest dose of rapture-ready stupidity

Tim Lahaye is at it again, claiming that The Pope of Hope is bringing us closer to the much ballyhooed Apocalypse. Whatever one might say about Obama (I'll hold my fire for another time), I think it's safe to say that his presidency alone hardly merits more "the end is near" talk.

As an aside, a friend of mine was telling me about a book he read about the three thousand year history of predictions of the world's end in the Judeo-Christian traditions. Hopefully when time and finances permit, I'll track it down and give it a read. I've already been warned that it is very heavy on the jargon as it was not written for a lay audience.