UN-Necessary

Zvi Rav-Ner is correct, one UN member has just called, unapologetically, for genocide against another UN member. An organization that has already lowered the bar for bureaucratic uselessness (a Herculean feat in itself) with its failures in Rwanda, Sudan, North Korea, et.al., and raised the bar for Mafia-style deceit and corruption via the oil-for-food program, now faces a profound moral choice. That's right, a moral choice, the one thing that the UN is perfectly unsuited for. In a world in which the accidental killing of civilians (by Israel) is equated with targeted killing of civilians (by Palestinians) can any of us have any doubt as to the type of solution that will be coming from the halls of the UN? I wouldn't go out on a limb far enough to predict an actual slap on the wrist. I'm not even sure I see a threatened slap on the horizon. The absolute pointlessness of this pathetic organization will be on display through this entire process, and in the end the UN will be revelealed for what it is - unnecessary. My bet is that Iran will be punished, much like the despicable Sudan, with a seat on the Commission for Human Rights. Please let me be wrong.

Everything You Say is Correct

This is a Ford Cortina.

No, I'm sorry, NOW its dead

Standing in Jackson Square last night Bush signaled the rebirth of New Orleans, and the death of Goldwater/Reagan conservatism. Key quote: "It is now clear that a challenge on this scale requires greater federal authority and a broader role for the armed forces -- the institution of our government most capable of massive logistical operations on a moment's notice." So here's the President saying that we need to get used to more Federal authority, and as an added bonus here comes the military. So the "war on drugs" required that we give up the 4th Amendment, the "war on terror" requires that we allow the government unfettered access to our lives, and confiscate toe-nail clippers from air travelers, and the "war on natural disasters" requires that the Federal Government take an even larger role in local issues, and that it brings the military with it. The Founding Father's would be so proud. How do Reaganites stick with this guy? Hurricanes Camille, Andrew, and Charlie didn't require that the feds take over everything, nor did the San Francisco earthquake, the Chicago fire, the LA riots, or the last time my car didn't start. Not only that but the fix is "hey free money everyone." No Democrat could get away with this, why the long leash for Bush? No cap on spending? Well you can trust Congress to be frugal. But, just in case you're a cynic check here, and here. There is an argument, made famously by Cheney, that deficits don't matter. Now, I totally disagree. But for those that don't, just look at it this way. The deficit is the measure of government intrusion in our lives. That money's going somewhere and the first "here" link shows the programs. If you're at all a small government type, then rising spending should bother you because it signals a larger government. Its sad, but Reagan was betrayed by his own party.

Reagan's GOP officially dies

Tom Delay proudly claims that federal spending can't be cut anymore, in a must read article. I have a good friend who claims to be an independent but always votes Republican because he feels that he has the best chance of seeing a shrinkage of government with the GOP. Since House leader Delay believes there is no fat in the federal budget, and that all that spending is crucial to the economy (including, I imagine, the $231mm bridge to a small island in Alaska named after SITTING Senator Don Young). At what point does the illusion that there is any better chance for fiscal responsibility under the GOP give way. Over the last 11 years the budget has exploded, and we've added $2 trillion in debt since 2000. Reagan once vetoed a bill with 167 "pork" items, and the last budget had over 6000. In true Orwellian fashion, the GOP has taken the Reagan dream of less government, promoted it endlessly during campaigns, but has acted in exactly the opposite manner at every opportunity. The country has had six years of total GOP control, and has not moved one inch closer to Reagan's vision for the country. Reagan has been characterized as a "tax cuts only" visionary, but that's only part of the story. He wanted less government, and saw tax cuts as a method to that end. The current GOP makes FDR look like Scrooge. It keeps the tax cuts (good) but endlessly ramps up spending (bad). I just don't see how long GOP loyalists can continue to buy into the illusion that the GOP is for fiscal restraint and less government. The proof is in their actions, and the actions are very, very clear. Now that the head of the GOP congress says that there is no fat in the budget, all GOP voters have to confront that real statement with the election cycle hype.

It's a gas, gas, gas

I will never cease to be amazed by the level of economic ignorance that is sustainable in a great economy. I have yet to hear the man on the street (or the woman in the next cubicle over) say anything even close to realistic while attempting to explain the short term fuel crunch we are now experiencing. Supply and demand are lost on people. Market-pricing is a concept they have never heard discussed on The View. What's really sad is that these people have 16 plus years of education and yet remain utterly ignorant of the simplest economic concepts. While struggling to explain our current situation I actually heard someone say, "It's all in The Movie." Which is a reference to the Michael Moore fantasy piece of the last election cycle. It's no wonder that we have people who follow religions started by science fiction authors. I'm guessing that critical thinking has never been a strong suit of humanity and that I'm probably falling into the short-sighted "this is really bad so it must be the worst ever" camp by even acting surprised. If education has the ability to improve the thought processes of the masses as some argue, I say let's have some.

GOP Trouble Continued

Just to continue my thread about why the GOP shuould be concerned about holding onto power. The overtly liberal Foxnews.com ran this article about how the GOP has changed. The article does a very good job of illustrating the points I've fumbled to make. Granted, for Republican voters, where can they go? But they can allways stay home and, in the face of a motivated Dem base, that alone can spell disaster for the GOP. At some point voters will realize that the party that they sent to power is not at all like the party in power. While not a historical first, it is, none-the-less, reality.

Something about history repeating itslelf

CNN/Money has an article under a tab called "Power Packed Muscle Cars Come Roaring Back" which takes you to this article. What I love about this is somewhere some executive at Ford said, "SUV sales are declining, gas is pushing $3 a barrel, everyone's clamoring about the need to rely less on foreign oil, and people aren't buying cars. What should we do?" And some genius yelled, "MUSCLE CARS!!!"

Amazing. Didn't this happen in the 70's? Japan focused on mileage and utility, and Detroit kept producing bigger gas guzzlers. Does Detroit not study history? Do they ignore market trends? SUV sales are falling, and Detroit throws up even less useful gas hogs. At least SUV's hold lots of people and things. But muscle cars? Just what every family needs, a low-milage, low-utility vehicle. Normally, I would just note the raw stupidity of these execs, but I also remember the taxpayer funded bail-outs that came afterwards. Its one thing to let businesses make bad decisions and suffer the consequences, but its another when businesses make bad decisions and taxpayers have to suffer. And thats the other part of history that seems doomed to repeat itself.

Spamalicious

Hey we have spam! So we're not popular enough to get actual comments, but the spammers have found us. Eventhough any comment makes me feel special, I put an end to the spammers (I hope) by enabling a varification window for comments. I hope it doesn't hurt our popularity.

Robertson, "US should date Chavez"

Pat Roberton becomes the latest person who, despite actual video evidence, says I didn't say what I said on TV. At some point, people need to realize that TV is recorded. I just don't get how you can say something on TV and then think you can get away with saying "never said it, nope, not me." At least review the tape and formulate a good story. But to just out right lie, amazing.

So he says he didn't call for Chavez's assassination. "If he thinks we're trying to assassinate him, I think we really ought to go ahead and do it," said Robertson Monday. "It's a whole lot cheaper than starting a war."

What he says he meant was, "I didn't say 'assassination.' I said our special forces should 'take him out.' And 'take him out' can be a number of things, including kidnapping; there are a number of ways to take out a dictator from power besides killing him." "Or our special forces could "take him out," like on a date. Bring him some flowers and candy, you know, take him on a nice date. If the special forces are feeling the right vibe they could kiss him on the cheek, but not the lips, it is after all a first date. Sometimes just showing someone you care is all it takes to bring them around. And lets face it, no matter how much lobster he eats, its cheaper than the bill for a war."

The GOP Conundrum

Recent Polls show Bush's flagging approval ratings on most major issues. What's striking is that 80% of Dems dissaprove, while 90% of Republicans approve. The only thing worse than Bush's ratings are those of Congress, and that is the problem for the GOP. That core group of Republicans that approve of Bush do so out or personal loyalty. Key quote, "I may not approve of every single thing he does," McAllister said, "but he's a true leader because he's not leading by the polls." This quote, and other's like these, are rattling the rest of the GOP. Personal approval of Bush, even while disagreeing with his policies, does not translate to other candidates. I think this is why we're starting to see cracks in the GOP wall. Leading Republicans are aware that they are not Bush, and cannont rely on high personal approval. The concern must be that the blame for bad policy, because it is not sticking to Bush, will land on them. This will lead to more objections/defections, which could lead to lost opportunity for the GOP, and dissatisfaction of the base. Everyman for himself is a dangerous plan for the GOP, but this is the result of Bush's numbers. He must figure out a way to balance his numbers, and the rest of the GOP must figure out a way to garner some of his love with the base. GOP Presidential hopefuls (especially) must decide if they want to follow lock-step with a "war time" President who's numbers are below 50%, or do they want to risk the ire of a GOP base that is proping those numbers up?

Unless McCain gets the bid, the GOP may be in real trouble in 2008.

Once Bush is gone, however, the Dems would be wise to hit his policies while leaving him alone. But looking for wise strategy out of the Dems is in itself bad strategy.

Novakain

Bill Novak writes a long article bashing Frist. I'm not a huge fan of Frist, and he's done a host of laughable things, but Novak hits him, in part, because, "A month earlier, Frist missed the counting of Electoral College votes (including the Ohio challenge) to leave on a medical mission to the Indian Ocean following the tsunami. This was a decision by a doctor, not a politician."
How dare Frist do such a thing! Helping out in the tsunami relief instead of sitting there watching a foregone conclusioin in the EC? Why I never. This just shows why the beltway is its own twisted universe. Only in DC is this even an issue. Seeing the known conclusion to the Electoral Votes over helping in a disaster, where's the conundrum. It would be like a fireman saying, "hold on, I'll get there, I just want to catch the end of this Star Trek rerun, maybe Kirk dies this time?"
My favorite is the last part. I don't love Frist, but the more any politician thinks like anything other than a politician the better. I would love to see more Congressfolks making decisions like an accountant, banker, store clerk, mechanic, whatever than a politician. I mean, "thinking like a politician" isn't that an insult?

Gas Woes Just Got Worse

Since Congressfolks are not required to take Econ 101, we get this. Apparantly Congress is flummoxed by the concept of supply and demand. Next they's tackle such brain busters as "why do people need to eat?" And, "where do clouds come from." I think my favorite statement comes in the third paragraph, " Lawmakers admit there is no short-term fix to pain at the pump, but are nervous about political fall-out. " Just kind of says it all. I just hope, and this is a long-shot, that they don't put in some kind of cap, or some other useless command economy tool.

FANtastic

This Will Save Lives

Barbaro Rosseland, 5, of Norway, undergoes explosives detection screening at Palm Beach International Airport. Inside the "Puffer", a burst of air pushes dust particles from your clothing to be analyzed for bomb material.

"It was no trouble at all," Ingvild Mo--Barbaro's mother-- said with a shrug following her screening. "I like fresh air."

Yes, They Called It "The Streak"

August approaches, and unless the Bill Murray movie comes to town, I--for the first time in at least 25 years--likely will end the summer without having gone to the movies.

Sure, I'm cheap and a churl when it comes to me paying to go see slop I spent years watching on the clock ushering. But check out my Netflix queue and about all that's out this summer that I'm even mildly interested in seeing even at home other than Broken Flowers is Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Bewitched, and The Brothers Grimm.

So, with the streak all but at an end, but a legacy left to tarnish, is it time to say, "Enough"?

The Race Is On...

Quick review of the "Profile Views" for Hydrablog reveals that Stalin Malone is the clear winner.
Stalin Malone: 90 views. Great Job Stalin, almost six times the nearest rival. Clearly in a class by himself. Legend of the blogosphere.
Mike3000: 16 views. Just added a fancy picture...looking to make a move.
McLieberman: 16 views. McLieberman better do something, Mike3000's picture could break this tie.
Unknown Blogger: 8 Views. Clearly the Cincinnati Bengals of this blog.

90 views, seriously...90? I mean people aren't even checking out the other bloggers just to see. How's that? The rest of us need to take a long look in the mirror and ask if we have what it takes to hang with the likes of Stalin Malone.

Subsidze Me!

Quick note to those that argue that renewable energy is overly subsidized against carbon fuels. Notice that Tom Delay, GOP budget minded, fiscally responsible House Majority leader is fighting hard for: “A Senate-passed requirement for an inventory of offshore oil and gas resources and a House-approved measure, pushed by Majority Leader Tom DeLay of Texas, to provide $2 billion in subsidies for research into oil exploration in the deepest parts of the Gulf of Mexico.” Notice, this is $2 billion for RESEARCH into EXPLORATION. Its not even money to recover known quantities. Its taxpayer money to find out if we can look for something. Not to mention that at oil companies are doing great right now and are flush with cash to do this all by their lonesome. Here Bush has it right, “With oil at more than $50 a barrel, energy companies do not need taxpayer-funded incentives to explore for oil and gas." But the GOP controlled congress has other thoughts: The energy bill under consideration on the Senate floor would reduce royalty payments for oil and gas producers drilling in federal waters -- a break worth almost $100 million over 10 years, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office.

I am not using this to justify "green" subsidies. This is to point out that everyone eats at the federal trough. I wonder who would survive if everyone had to fend for themselves? About the only given there is that the Nuclear boondoggle would be exposed.

Permanent Patriot.

Question: If war time measures become permanent, are we permanently at war?

Light-Wing Propaganda

Should Congress fail, Daylight-Savings activist Jim Ahmed vows to set this clock forward again and again until Washington gets it, and gets some sun!

"DON'T COME TO ME WITH A PROBLEM, COME TO ME WITH THE SUN!"

Granted, It's Art

Click on the link above and scroll down for The Big Local Story, "Total Eclipse of the Art." Here's how it ends. Here's how it began.

(And here's us.)