I have so far stayed out of this "Weiner Twitter," thing but I cannot resist commenting on one small aspect of it, that being his unwillingness to answer the question as to whether or not the picture is of him. I would suggest that his non-answer is at least a partial answer.
If someone were to show me such a picture and ask if it is me I would have no reason to hesitate before saying that it was not. I can tell you for certain that no photograph of that portion of my anatomy has ever been taken by camera, cell phone or any other means. I do not engage in pastimes in the form that would lead to taking such a picture.
Apparently Mr. Weiner does engage in such pastimes and/or has had such photos taken. That has nothing actually wrong with that, and it has nothing to do with his qualifications as a public servant, but it might reflect something about his intelligence that he would combine such activity with a career in public service.
Saturday, June 4, 2011
Friday, June 3, 2011
Honorable Response
Ryan’s budget plan is unacceptable. I do not dispute that for a moment. But in the process of arguing against it, let’s be honest about what it is and is not. When Debbie Wasserman-Shultz says that seniors would “have to go out on the open market and search for a plan” and that “they would not be able to find a plan that would cover them” she either has not read what Paul Ryan is proposing, or she is lying.
Do seniors signing up for Medicare Part D have to “have to go out on the open market and search” for a drug plan? No, they do not. They are offered a set of plans from which they may select the one which suits them best. For each plan the individual pays part of the premium and the government pays the rest. These plans are offered by the private sector, they may not decline anyone, and they must offer the plans on a “one price fits all” basis. That is precisely the type of plan that Paul Ryan is proposing for Medicare.
What makes Ryan’s proposal unacceptable is in part that the portion of the premium paid by the government is too small, and even more in that it does not increase based on the rate of increase of health care costs, but rather at the lower rate of overall inflation. Thus it is shifting the cost of health care onto the individual rather than making any real attempt to lower that cost.
Paul Ryan had a valid point when he said that his plan had been "mis-described" and asked the president to ease up on the "demagoguery" regarding the plan. Obama also had a valid point when he replied that he is, “the death-panel-supporting, socialist, may-not-have-been-born-here president," and got a good laugh with that line.
Democrats do not, however, do themselves any favor by dragging themselves down into the mud with their opponents. Obama ran a campaign in 2008 that was resolved to remain above the fray of slander, distortion and mudslinging, and it got him elected. He, and the rest of his party, should be drawing on that experience today. Responding to distortions uttered by your opponent with distortions of your own does not constitute honorable response.
Do seniors signing up for Medicare Part D have to “have to go out on the open market and search” for a drug plan? No, they do not. They are offered a set of plans from which they may select the one which suits them best. For each plan the individual pays part of the premium and the government pays the rest. These plans are offered by the private sector, they may not decline anyone, and they must offer the plans on a “one price fits all” basis. That is precisely the type of plan that Paul Ryan is proposing for Medicare.
What makes Ryan’s proposal unacceptable is in part that the portion of the premium paid by the government is too small, and even more in that it does not increase based on the rate of increase of health care costs, but rather at the lower rate of overall inflation. Thus it is shifting the cost of health care onto the individual rather than making any real attempt to lower that cost.
Paul Ryan had a valid point when he said that his plan had been "mis-described" and asked the president to ease up on the "demagoguery" regarding the plan. Obama also had a valid point when he replied that he is, “the death-panel-supporting, socialist, may-not-have-been-born-here president," and got a good laugh with that line.
Democrats do not, however, do themselves any favor by dragging themselves down into the mud with their opponents. Obama ran a campaign in 2008 that was resolved to remain above the fray of slander, distortion and mudslinging, and it got him elected. He, and the rest of his party, should be drawing on that experience today. Responding to distortions uttered by your opponent with distortions of your own does not constitute honorable response.
Thursday, June 2, 2011
The Libyan Debacle
The war in Libya has been a debacle on the ground, for sure. Originally declared to be for the purpose of protecting civilians, it is now working to the detriment of civilians as NATO refuses all offers of cease fire and vows that fighting, bombing and killing will continue until it achieves its real purpose of defeating Ghadaffi. It's original purpose of protecting lives would, of course, be best served by agreeing to a cease fire which has repeatedly been offered by Ghadaffi.
It now is becoming an even bigger debacle politically here at home. Daniel Larison writes scathingly today on that subject, and on the moves in Congress to compel Obama to bring this country’s illegal participation in that war to an end. He speculates that it might not change anything since, what with the war being illegal already, that Obama might simply ignore Congress and continue despite its direction to withdraw. He has a somewhat lower opinion of Obama than I do, because while I agree that Obama has begun the war illegally, I don’t think he would go that far in disregarding the constitution and the will of Congress. I must confess that I’m not altogether certain of that.
I do find the statement from the Pentagon to be hilarious, that Congress taking action to demand an end to our participation would “send an unhelpful message of disunity,” since they were against the intervention before it began. A commenter sent me into out-loud laughter with the comment that “Because members [of Congress] are irked, they find themselves now against what they were for, and the Pentagon discovers that it is for what it was against.” Our government in action.
It now is becoming an even bigger debacle politically here at home. Daniel Larison writes scathingly today on that subject, and on the moves in Congress to compel Obama to bring this country’s illegal participation in that war to an end. He speculates that it might not change anything since, what with the war being illegal already, that Obama might simply ignore Congress and continue despite its direction to withdraw. He has a somewhat lower opinion of Obama than I do, because while I agree that Obama has begun the war illegally, I don’t think he would go that far in disregarding the constitution and the will of Congress. I must confess that I’m not altogether certain of that.
I do find the statement from the Pentagon to be hilarious, that Congress taking action to demand an end to our participation would “send an unhelpful message of disunity,” since they were against the intervention before it began. A commenter sent me into out-loud laughter with the comment that “Because members [of Congress] are irked, they find themselves now against what they were for, and the Pentagon discovers that it is for what it was against.” Our government in action.
Doing The Smart Thing
Paul Krugman posted on Monday four things that President Obama is doing “wrong,” and in each case stated the reason that Obama is doing what he is doing. In no case is the reason that he gave one that Obama has stated, so he apparently claims the ability to read minds, a trait which he shares with most political writers. Typically, the motives he assigns are those of basic political maneuvering, which is certainly possible.
Briefly, the first three things he criticizes are Obama’s unwillingness to take short term political risks to achieve long term economic goals (stimulus spending primarily), using half measures (stimulus spending again), and “adopting the positions of the opponents” (tax cuts). In his critique he implies that Obama knows that he, Krugman, is correct on all of the policies that he, Obama, should be implementing, but simply lacks the willpower, or courage, or something, necessary to carry them out.
It never seems to occur to him that Obama might not agree with him entirely. Maybe Obama thinks that the measures he is implementing actually are the correct size. He did not, after all, name Paul Krugman to his cabinet, and maybe there was a reason for that. Maybe Barack Obama thinks, as I do, that Paul Krugman’s ideas carried out fully would be the equivalent of taking a huge pile of cash and setting fire to it.
Maybe Barack Obama believes that there realistically is very little that the government can accomplish toward creating long term real jobs, sees nothing to be gained by creating additional deficit in a futile attempt to do so, and thinks the government should go about doing what it can reasonably and effectively actually do.
I don’t know of anyone who has claimed that Barack Obama is stupid. Evil has been asserted, certainly, and Paul Krugman has implied occasionally that he is stupid, but most people seem to think, as I certainly do, that Barack Obama is about the smartest president that we have had in many years. So maybe what he’s doing is smart, or at least what he thinks is smart. I’m not saying that is the case, but it’s certainly as possible as Paul Krugman’s theory.
Briefly, the first three things he criticizes are Obama’s unwillingness to take short term political risks to achieve long term economic goals (stimulus spending primarily), using half measures (stimulus spending again), and “adopting the positions of the opponents” (tax cuts). In his critique he implies that Obama knows that he, Krugman, is correct on all of the policies that he, Obama, should be implementing, but simply lacks the willpower, or courage, or something, necessary to carry them out.
It never seems to occur to him that Obama might not agree with him entirely. Maybe Obama thinks that the measures he is implementing actually are the correct size. He did not, after all, name Paul Krugman to his cabinet, and maybe there was a reason for that. Maybe Barack Obama thinks, as I do, that Paul Krugman’s ideas carried out fully would be the equivalent of taking a huge pile of cash and setting fire to it.
Maybe Barack Obama believes that there realistically is very little that the government can accomplish toward creating long term real jobs, sees nothing to be gained by creating additional deficit in a futile attempt to do so, and thinks the government should go about doing what it can reasonably and effectively actually do.
I don’t know of anyone who has claimed that Barack Obama is stupid. Evil has been asserted, certainly, and Paul Krugman has implied occasionally that he is stupid, but most people seem to think, as I certainly do, that Barack Obama is about the smartest president that we have had in many years. So maybe what he’s doing is smart, or at least what he thinks is smart. I’m not saying that is the case, but it’s certainly as possible as Paul Krugman’s theory.
Wednesday, June 1, 2011
Jello Cake
A friend of mine gave me this recipe. It's really good and super easy! Feel free to save this image and print it off.
Just be forewarned it's very addictive.
Well, This Is Just Silly
The "Weather Channel's Rick Knabb, a hurricane expert," is saying that
five US cities are "long overdue" for a hurricane hit, and one of those cities is San Diego. Gasp! Run for the hills!
The man is an idiot. One hurricane has hit us in all of recorded history, so we are "long overdue" to have another one. Your average sixth grader knows more about hurricanes than this Weather Channel "hurricane expert" does.
There's a very good reason why San Diego has only experienced one single hurricane. In fact, it's a little bit weird that we even got hit by that one.
Hurricanes are created and fed by warm ocean water, and the average water temp off San Diego is about 62 degrees, some 20 degrees too cold to sustain a hurricane. Hurricanes breed in the warm waters well to the South of us, and they almost always move West due to the Trade Winds. If they move North at all, which very few of them do, they die down to give us nothing more than some moderately heavy rain at worst. What an idiot.
Trust me, there won't be a run on hurricane shutters here.
Update: Salt Lake City is obviously seriously overdue for a hurricane, since it has not been hit by one in an even longer time than San Diego.
five US cities are "long overdue" for a hurricane hit, and one of those cities is San Diego. Gasp! Run for the hills!
The sole hurricane found to have hit California happened on Oct. 2, 1858, when powerful winds damaged large swaths of property, Knabb reports.
The man is an idiot. One hurricane has hit us in all of recorded history, so we are "long overdue" to have another one. Your average sixth grader knows more about hurricanes than this Weather Channel "hurricane expert" does.
There's a very good reason why San Diego has only experienced one single hurricane. In fact, it's a little bit weird that we even got hit by that one.
Hurricanes are created and fed by warm ocean water, and the average water temp off San Diego is about 62 degrees, some 20 degrees too cold to sustain a hurricane. Hurricanes breed in the warm waters well to the South of us, and they almost always move West due to the Trade Winds. If they move North at all, which very few of them do, they die down to give us nothing more than some moderately heavy rain at worst. What an idiot.
Trust me, there won't be a run on hurricane shutters here.
Update: Salt Lake City is obviously seriously overdue for a hurricane, since it has not been hit by one in an even longer time than San Diego.
Our Usual Response
When I was in high school I was one of the biggest kids in my class, but I had been taught something by my father about the use of force. Bullying, he told me, was not something that a “man” did. It was not an act of courage, but was the opposite, it was the behavior of a coward. He was adamant that my size and strength was never to be used to my own personal advantage. To do that was dishonorable.
That’s why I have a sinking feeling when the president or high officials of my nation stand at a podium and talk about what other nations “must” do. That’s why I so strongly object to my country starting wars of aggression, and talking about, implementing, “regime change” in smaller nations. That’s why the talk of America “kicking ass” and the chants of “USA, USA. USA” bother me.
And now we even say that we will respond with military action to a computer hack, that “everything is on the table” if anyone messes with our computers. Armed force has become our all encompassing answer. America has become the world’s ultimate bully.
I remember happy years growing up on bases of Strategic Air Command, with its motto, “Peace Is Our Profession.” My father served his nation in uniform for 47 years and raised two sons to shun the bully’s role, and I’m not sure he would be very proud of what his nation has become.
That’s why I have a sinking feeling when the president or high officials of my nation stand at a podium and talk about what other nations “must” do. That’s why I so strongly object to my country starting wars of aggression, and talking about, implementing, “regime change” in smaller nations. That’s why the talk of America “kicking ass” and the chants of “USA, USA. USA” bother me.
And now we even say that we will respond with military action to a computer hack, that “everything is on the table” if anyone messes with our computers. Armed force has become our all encompassing answer. America has become the world’s ultimate bully.
I remember happy years growing up on bases of Strategic Air Command, with its motto, “Peace Is Our Profession.” My father served his nation in uniform for 47 years and raised two sons to shun the bully’s role, and I’m not sure he would be very proud of what his nation has become.
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