Friday, November 30, 2012

Something to Know - 1 December

<a href="http://www.latimes.com/news/politics/topoftheticket/la-na-tt-norquist-gop-ayatollah-20121128,0,7052403.story"><span style="color:#2262CC">See full story&raquo;</span style></a>
1.   Being a Liberal these days....what does that mean?   If you've seen the movie "Lincoln" you see Republicans working hard to free slaves and lay the ground work for enfranchisement (voting).  At the same time, the Democrats are acting like the Republicans we know of today.  Somewhere around the vintage of Presidents Teddy Roosevelt and William Howard Taft things reversed, and we have the ideologies for each party that we are familiar with today.  Timothy Egan would like to lay it out for you what it means to be a Liberal today:

2.  Tell me we are not seeing the same horror story again.  Sub-prime mortgage investments were what got us into the Wall Street mess the last time.   What is it with Goldman Sachs - the same abettor of the previous financial rupture - doing by pushing the same risky investments again?   Do they want to do the dirty deed before the Democrats put Elizabeth Warren on the Senate Banking Committee, or does Lloyd Bankfein want to see just how stupid we are?:

3.  Here is one piece of action to watch as it develops.  In the State of Georgia, Senator Saxby Chambliss has indicated that he no longer feels bound by the Grover Norquist pledge.   Well, hissy fits abound now on his side of the conservative politicians.  They are lining up to pile up on him.  I really don't give a rats as about Chambliss, since he really trashed former Senator Max Cleland as a traitor to get elected.  Max Cleland, in service in the military, had both legs and one arm blown off, and Chambliss went and accused him as not being a real hero and not helpful to his country.   Chambliss will get whatever his party dishes out.  However, I want to see how the Georgia Republicans deal with this, and see if it floats them any political power, or if they just wind up eating themselves to a pulp:

4.  With the help of Matt Taibbi, we have an opportunity to see how the very wealthy are the "job creators" that we hear so much about.  They must work very had at what they do to amass so much money so that they can create so many potential jobs.   Are you kidding me?  This so called "job creator" Mr. Steve Cohen, is nothing more than a sleazy scumbag on Wall Street who just capitalizes on insider trading.  In the eyes of some, he's nothing less than guilty of a felony:
http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/blogs/taibblog/the-i-don-t-remember-files-part-ii-hedge-fund-chief-stevie-cohen-20121130

5.  George Will.  I visit his column now and then to see what he is up to.  Sometimes it's pretty good, and sometimes its rubbish.   This column of his is perplexing.   He's complaining about the fuzzy standard of political correction in dealing with slanderous racial statements on college and university campuses, in particular the "liberal one".   I am not sure where he gets the list of who is liberal, but his choices are strange.  I think George just wanted to shake his fist at Liberals in general, and this is the best he could come up with.  Rubbish:

6.  Gail Collins recaps Mitt Romney's final political and public appearance (gassing up his many cars does not count).  His final act as mooching a free meal from the 44th President, paid for by the tax payers of the USA.   Let's just check it off as a gift to the dearly departed:

 
--
Juan

"With or without religion, you would have good people doing good things and evil people doing evil things. But for good people to do evil things, that takes religion." 
       -- Steven Weinberg
"No man ever listened himself out of a job." 
       -- Calvin Coolidge
"In this business you either sink or swim or you don't." 
       -- David Smith
"It is amazing what you can accomplish if you do not care who gets the credit." 
       -- Harry S Truman


Wednesday, November 28, 2012

Something to Know - November 29

Stuart Carlson

1.  Charitable giving.  Did you know that those who have less give more than those who have more?:

2.  The two Senators from my former state of Georgia are making surprise moves.   First, Saxby Chambliss tells Grover Norquist and his little pledge book to take a hike, and now Johnny Isakson actually praises the competency of UN Ambassador Susan Rice.  As the Republican Party splits itself into polarized sects, it is interesting to see how and who is making the moves counter to the normal course of GOP behavior:

3.  If you missed it, here is Rachel Maddow's conspiracy theory on why crazy old John McCain is busy shooting down Susan Rice for Secretary of State, even before anyone has been nominated for the post:

4.  EJ Dionne would like to see the Democrats just ignore Grover Norquist, and develop their own litmus test for Liberal purity, and state all what is off the table for the upcoming/pending negotiations.   Concessions now reduce your credible bargaining power:

5.  Recent catastrophic events have now brought to light that events, in our changing climate, are due to repeat themselves more often than not.  To that end, government provided flood insurance (because no sane insurance company would offer them up at a reasonable price) are subject to repeated recurring claims.  It makes no sense that the federal government back up rebuilding homes that are recidivist victimization cases.   Same goes for people living in areas prone to fires in wooded areas.   People can go ahead and live there, I guess, but just don't ask the taxpayer to rebuild your place if your house has already been declared to exist in a disaster risk zone:

6.  Criticism abounds any time the government (at any level) promotes programs that seriously encourage, or even legislate, nutrition guidelines on what and how much we eat or drink of certain foods.  Nanny Socialism, and denial of freedom to choose!  Well, it ain't all that nonsensical when you consider the consequences of obesity and poor diet on the public coffers.   Casualties of poor nutrition, diabetes, obesity, etc....they all crowd our medical facilities and a lot of it has to be paid by public funds.   We owe it to ourselves and others to eat and drink sensibly.   Steve Lopez speaks here in a more personal level:

7.  This afternoon, I went and saw "Lincoln" (retired people can do that on any afternoon of any day of the week).  Like everyone else I have talked to or read from, it is an excellent production.  Here is a column by Doyle McManus where he takes the political style of Lincoln and applies it to Obama:

--
Juan

"Roses are red, violets are blue, I'm schizophrenic, and so am I." 
       -- Oscar Levant
"Lies are like children. If you don't nurture them, they'll never be useful later." 
       -- Randy K. Milholland
"Household tasks are easier and quicker when they are done by somebody else." 
       -- James Thorpe
"The avoidance of taxes is the only intellectual pursuit that carries any reward." 
       -- John Maynard Keynes
"What we call 'Progress' is the exchange of one nuisance for another nuisance." 
       -- Havelock Ellis


Sunday, November 25, 2012

Something to Know - 26 November

Mitt Romney fills his tank
1.  The Bill O'Reilly crowd is in deep angst on their perception of what has "been lost" and the tradition of America that is no longer there for them to enjoy.   This little cartoon says it all:

Beaver.jpg Beaver.jpg
267K   View   Share   Download  

2.  If we are going to allow ourselves to think far into the future, and really get serious about the potential ravages of climate change, let's start by reading this piece, and click on the "what could disappear" maps of the article.   Are we going to rebuild and patch after each catastrophic event, or should we better adjust and spend to the apparent reality of the future.  Short term, we rebuild for the here and now.  It could be billions and trillions down the drain with the dawn of the reality that is facing us.  This could be the bid debate of the future:

3.  Here is the perfect example of how the government gets involved in the big infrastructure projects that move big economies and challenges in the future.   Private enterprise can only go so far in making things happen, but when the infrastructure of roads, essential service to support and maintain new working communities that one expects, we are talking big money that private capital does not want to get saddled with.   Only federal and state backing can support and provide the resources to make big things happen.  All that is evidenced by the talking points in this article.  Those who despise "big government" and want to strangle it into bath tub sized chunks not only kid themselves, but are the biggest obstacles to the adaptation to the new realities:

4.   Robert Reich, in this older piece (16 November), offers up the strategies and goals for the Republicans and Democrats as they approach the "fiscal cliff".   This game of chicken is played out, and the options available for each side:

5.   Warren Buffett puts his mouth where he says he puts his money, and follows the example of Professor, and Secretary Reich:

6.  As the climate changes, and we try and figure out the cost to rebuild versus the accepting the enevitable rise of habitat destroying oceans, here's another problem.   The the trash and waste we create - where do we put it.   For most of us, we flush it down the toilet, or put it in several bins out on the sidewalk or street each week - and away it goes.    New York puts it on barges and dumps it way out at sea.   Los Angeles and other cities.....well, they send it across county lines to some rural dump sites.   It is starting to catch up with us, and it is a BIG problem, and the elephant in the room:
--
Juan

"Do not fear to be eccentric in opinion, for every opinion now accepted was once eccentric." 
       -- Bertrand Russell
"The only way to get rid of a temptation is to yield to it." 
       -- Oscar Wilde
"Where facts are few, experts are many." 
       -- Donald R. Gannon
"You probably wouldn't worry about what people think of you if you could know how seldom they do." 
       -- Olin Miller


Saturday, November 24, 2012

Something to Know - 25 November

                                             Rob Rogers


1.   Turkey Day is over.  So is Gray Thursday and Black Friday.   Still, the coconut wireless and the political junkies are still talking about the election results, and what the Republicans need to do to get back in the game.  Here's something else that is starting to catch attention  -  in the Deep South, and the populated coastal cities, the Democrats did better this time around than since the days of Jimmy Carter.   The total power hold that the GOP had before is slipping, and that is another concern for the GOP, and I am not sure they know how to deal with that, as well:

2.  At what point is the the long term forecast take hold, and we begin preparing.  For example, there is a lot of speculation that the rising tides will overtake New York City, in 50, 100, or 200 years.  When do those affected start planning for it.   Maybe they are not born yet, so it does not affect us, and does not matter:  

3.  The time has now come for the crazy old senator from Arizona to just shut up and give up on his war on Susan Rice.  The more we/I read about McCain's ill-founded vendetta against her, the more I think he needs to leave the US Senate for lack of relevancy:
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/editorials/la-ed-benghazi-20121120,0,4277295,print.story

--
Juan

"To do just the opposite is also a form of imitation." 
       -- Georg Christoph Lichtenberg
"We are confronted with insurmountable opportunities." 
       -- Walt Kelly
"The man who says he is willing to meet you halfway is usually a poor judge of distance." 
       -- Laurence J. Peter
"The most overlooked advantage to owning a computer is that if they foul up there's no law against wacking them around a little." 
       -- Joe Martin

Wednesday, November 21, 2012

Something to Know - Turkey Day 2012

112212-toon-luckovich-ed

1.  As has been mentioned before, the County of Shelby, Alabama does not think the Voters' Rights Act is necessary any more.  Not so.  Voters in this country are still finding it difficult or impossible to vote.  As demonstrated, various Republican states have thrown obstacles and barriers to make the process more difficult for Democrats to participate.  Here is an article that should be taken to Congress for implementation of a reformed Voters' Rights Act:

2.  Walmart is really doing its workers a bad deal, and they need to be smacked upside the head and reform.   Lowering hours worked by a full-time position into a part-time positions so that they don't have to pay benefits, paying only $8.81/hour is not in good.   There are plenty of other stores out there, so shop accordingly:

3.  Turkey Day question and answer session.  Read this before you decide for your 2nd helping of whatever you are eating:

--
Juan

"He may be mad, but there's method in his madness. There nearly always is method in madness. It's what drives men mad, being methodical." 
       -- G. K. Chesterton
"What is the use of a house if you haven't got a tolerable planet to put it on?" 
       -- Henry David Thoreau
"Time is that quality of nature which keeps events from happening all at once. Lately it doesn'


Something to Know - Turkey Day 2012

112212-toon-luckovich-ed

1.  As has been mentioned before, the County of Shelby, Alabama does not think the Voters' Rights Act is necessary any more.  Not so.  Voters in this country are still finding it difficult or impossible to vote.  As demonstrated, various Republican states have thrown obstacles and barriers to make the process more difficult for Democrats to participate.  Here is an article that should be taken to Congress for implementation of a reformed Voters' Rights Act:

2.  Walmart is really doing its workers a bad deal, and they need to be smacked upside the head and reform.   Lowering hours worked by a full-time position into a part-time positions so that they don't have to pay benefits, paying only $8.81/hour is not in good.   There are plenty of other stores out there, so shop accordingly:

3.  Turkey Day question and answer session.  Read this before you decide for your 2nd helping of whatever you are eating:

--
Juan

"He may be mad, but there's method in his madness. There nearly always is method in madness. It's what drives men mad, being methodical." 
       -- G. K. Chesterton
"What is the use of a house if you haven't got a tolerable planet to put it on?" 
       -- Henry David Thoreau
"Time is that quality of nature which keeps events from happening all at once. Lately it doesn'


Monday, November 19, 2012

The Cartoon with the missing Caption

Due to lack of bandwidth, this was the leading cartoon left off my last email:




--


Something to Know - 20 November

8d3644c.jpg

Not sure what caption this should have - maybe you can come up with one.  I just think it it proves that this guy should remain in doors at all times.

1.  To some Republican governors, the sour grapes and failure to accept the election results is offering them a path to continue to subvert the Affordable Care Act.  Hoping that Romney was going to win, they delayed setting up the infrastructure for the health exchanges the states need to comply with the Act.  So, some are getting with the program, and others are not.  Read here on what is happening.  In those states where the Red Guv is not doing his job, perhaps a law suit against him for denial of lawfully entitled benefits might stir the pots:

2.  Here's were we depart from the gloriously salacious and boring, but contentious election campaign noise, and embark on the tedious task of understanding (something to know) stuff like the Affordable Care Act.  Folks, this is kind boring stuff, but we need to at least get some type of knowledge on what problems we are going to encounter in rolling out Obama Care:

3.  Continuing on with today's theme, here is an article on how the state of California (and Southern California specifically) is meeting the task of being ready for the rollout of the Affordable Care Act.   This is not one of those things that just happens and everyone is covered.  It takes each and every applicable individual to sign up to be covered:

4.  I'm not a political scientist, man, but this guy Rubio is waffling his response like a typical hack politician.   It is so obvious that it is silly:

5.  There is evidence gathered that Karl Rove may have been/be involved in some pretty nasty fraudulent activity regarding manipulations of voting results in the past election.  If this does work its way through the taste and smell test, it could be very damaging to him, and to the Republican Party.  This is all the more reason to at begin the process to have elections administered and supervised by an independent agency of the Federal Government.  This state's right crap is not cutting it:

6.  Here's a peek at the unelected Grover Norquist (the guy who holds Republican pledges not to raise taxes).   If there is to be any change in the Republican Party, it will start with this guy exploding in hissy fits as his pledge signers bail out on him:

7.  David Brooks weighs in with his column about the future of the Conservative movement.  Not sure if this translates to a readily available GOP win.   He's basically profiling different writers of different publications from the Conservative side who attempt to give definition to political ideology.  It does not put forth the spokesperson or political leaders necessary to carry out the program.  Right now, the GOP has no leader.  Romney was not the leader, and any idea that he might have been is about as true as his relevancy two weeks after his defeat and stamped forever by a most ungracious and crappy departure from the political scene:
--
Juan

"Exercise relieves stress. Nothing relieves exercise." 
       -- Takayuki Ikkaku, Arisa Hosaka and Toshihiro Kawabata
"Works of art, in my opinion, are the only objects in the material universe to possess internal order, and that is why, though I don't believe that only art matters, I do believe in Art for Art's sake." 
       -- E. M. Forster
"You don't have to suffer to be a poet; adolescence is enough suffering for anyone." 
       -- John Ciardi
"It is by the goodness of God that in our country we have those three unspeakably precious things: freedom of speech, freedom of conscience, and the prudence never to practice either of them." 
       -- Mark Twain


Saturday, November 17, 2012

Something to Know - 18 November

Clay Bennett
1.  Petraeus came in, testified like a good soldier should.  Kind of cleared the air and deflated the cranky old guy from Arizona.   It is a shame that John McCain has to go out like this.  Is it part of the "normal aging process", or has he really lost it?:

2.  Should Willard the Mitt ever decide to poke his face back into the national picture, is there any chance of him revisiting his "moocher and taker" theory and revise his statement, or is he totally under the influence of Bain Kool Aid for the duration.  Perhaps he should consider buying out the Wonder Bread Company, and resume the production of Twinkies and Ding Dongs, and only market them to be bought by the Food Stamp program.  Crap food from a Crap kind of guy:

3.  Here is an op-ed piece that looks at the character flaws of Petraeus, and really lets them all hang out.  It is not very complimentary to the former General, and I think it opens up a healthy view as to how we regard the military leadership in the highest places:

4.  Ross Douthat has view that perhaps the Democrats should not gloat so much, and that the unbridled optimism can obscure reality and come back to bite.  Perhaps there is a grain of truth there, but I think he misses the point.   He seems to regard single women, Hispanics, gays and others as blocs of voters that can be courted each time there is an election.   I would counter that by saying that people who voted Democrat this time will tend to vote the same next time, just because they have seen the difference between the two parties this time.  I am not sure what the Republicans mean when they say they have to "court Hispanics, women, etc".  Courting is a lot different than changing your basic way of political beliefs - and that is what the Republicans have to do.  Change first, and then  come courting:
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/18/opinion/sunday/douthat-The-Liberal-Gloat.html?ref=opinion&pagewanted=print

5.  Steve Lopez writes about the new toll lanes (actually the former HOV lanes) on the freeway (the 110 or Harbor Freeway).   The purpose is to manage faster travel times for those who want to pay for it, while the less affluent do not have to pay.   Ride along with Steve as he details his experience:
--
Juan

"Skepticism, like chastity, should not be relinquished too readily." 
       -- George Santayana
"You're never too old to become younger." 
       -- Mae West
"One of the most obvious facts about grownups to a child is that they have forgotten what it is like to be a child." 
       -- Randall Jarrell
"My theology, briefly, is that the universe was dictated but not signed." 
       -- Christopher Morley