Be Right Back

Seems sometimes life takes off and you lose time into a black-hole. I say a black-hole because it all of a sudden disappears, it goes no where and you do not realize it is missing, but without a doubt it is gone. I will try and stay vigilant and make post on a regular, irregular basis.

The election has passed us, looks like the Tea Party will spin this as a victory, but when the facade falls it will go back to business as usual. I think this will be an Epic Failure for the Tea Party, first they have no idea how our government works, second they are getting exactly what they voted for, the Republican establishment. I will go out on a limb and say this mid-term is not the disaster made out by many. This election will insure Obama gets a second term, now Republicans and also Tea Party members are owning part of the government and need to make it work for those who elected them.

Once it is reveled how the sausage is made, the Tea Party will quickly grow tired of it and move on to a new reason to rage. Nothing will change and this is a good thing IMHO, change is good, but radical change leads to bad changes. Sometimes change is just a bad thing and the jury on the Tea Party.

Connectivity the new Social Status

I think today I will go in a completely different direction than some sort of political rant.

Today I read a profound statement and made me draw a hypothesis; Social Status is slowly becoming determined by connectivity, access to communication technology, rather than material wealth. When I speak of social status I mean the honor or prestige attached to one’s position in society. My thought has raised questions, such as why is connectivity influencing social status? What is so unique about connectivity that it can influence one’s social status?

One of the things I see as unique about connectivity is the ability to access information as well as disseminate it. Often information has been described as power, those who posses it have power over those who do not. Those who control access to information have the greatest amount of power, the gate-keepers can allow and deny anyone access to knowledge. In this respect connectivity has a profound impact on society as a whole, and gives the control a great deal of prestige in society. Simply having access to connectivity is not enough to change your social status, one must be able to utilize it, and if you are unable to utilize it you might as well not have access to it.

Why is connectivity becoming so important? I see it as becoming important because our world is becoming smaller with respect to the speed information travels. 71 days ago in Chile miners were trapped underground, yesterday and today we watched live as they were pulled out of the ground. I was so connected in such a way I could chose what language I heard as the miners were rescued. What in the not so distant past I would have had to wait at least a day to see the recorded images, today very little stops me from seeing actions as they occur on the other side of the world. I was only the receiving side of this access, I can also be on the giving side, If I am able to access and use communication I can send to you my reader my ideas. Ideas that I hope you go forth and discuss with your friends and turn some of ideas into a meme.

If social status is being determined by connectivity do we risk another Victorian Era, where connectivity is concentrated in the hands of a few and the rest must fight for what is left? Or do you think I am off my mark, do you think that connectivity is never going to influence social status; connectivity is not a part of social stratification? Tell me what you think, talk with your friends, your spouse your kids and your co-workers lets communicate and see what the world thinks?

Pandemic of Stupid

In just a few days America will get to carry out a bloodless coup, and then we will see how bad this pandemic will be. It feels to me this year in particular has more than its fair share of stupid people running for office, including some not running for office but saying stupid things. What seems to appeal to the Republican base, more specifically to the Tea Party, is this whole anti-intellectual, anti-elitism strain of politician. The base of the GOP is nominating people who are simply stupid, and this year it is a bumper crop of stupid. It seems to me that if a political party relies on a base composed of anti-intellectuals, is seems to track that soon those same people will try their hand at governance. Sarah Palin, Christine O’Donnell and Michelle Bachman have tried to corner the market with their stupid anti-intellectual gibberish, O’Donnell trying hard to shed her witch image by making commercials saying she is one of the voters. The Republican party is soon to find itself in a no win situation, with the way their primaries are going lately the only people able to run through the Republican gantlet are Tea Party members who try and out stupid each other in order to Identify with the lowest common denominator. Soon we will see how easy it is to win in the Republican primary, but how hard it is to win in a general election. I do not think that most of the Tea Party candidates will lose because of their conservative stance. Everyone is entitled to their own ideology, rather I think they will lose because deep down inside most voters realize being a politician is not an easy job, and it is not one that should be so casually given to anyone who is stupid and demonstrates their stupidity time and time again. So let’s hope that the smart people prevail in November so we can move past this Tea Party with no hangovers and next morning regrets.

Send in the Clowns

Brazil went to the polls on Sunday and elected a clown, Tiriricia, to congress with 1.3million votes. He won with the most votes of any candidate with the slogan “it cannot get any worse.” Tiriricia admitted that he does not know what a congress man does, but promised to report back what they do. Maybe Brazil’s electorate chose to reward honesty, which politicians are often derided for not possessing, by voting for Tiriticia. The question is could Brazilians have done worse? I think they could have, had they embraced the American style of Political Clown.

The American Political Clown is today embodied by the Tea Party candidates. Christen O’Donnell is such an easy target from her position on masturbation, to the latest ad where she tells her viewers she is not a witch. Sarah Palin is also another easy target for all of her clown like statements like Death Panels. Also Joe Miller, one of Palin’s minions. Miller believes that every bill must cite where in the Constitution grants the federal government the right to make that statue. Miller’s political philosophy is the one that everything the federal government undertakes is somehow unconstitutional, like the Health Care reform. Miller chose to ignore the parts of the Constitution, the clause that calls for congress to insure the general welfare of the people, and the necessary and proper clause. Miller must think each is independent and works in a vacuum from each other. Like Tiriricia, Miller really has no idea how congress works or what a congressman does, but he does believe he should be the benefit of its welfare in the form of farm subsidies and a congressional paycheck.

The group of politicos currently in office is not much better, and still seem to know less about what is going on in congress than any other ordinary citizen. The Republicans in congress have made a Pledge to America, that is nothing more than a rehash of the Contract with America that sweep Republicans into office in 1994. This time short on specifics, but long on denouncements, the pledge bashes deficits but wants to extend the Bush taxes. Extending the tax cuts would drive up the deficit another 4 trillion dollars over the ten year period, and would have nothing to show for it, no roads, no bridges, even the ones to nowhere, nothing but a whole in the budget. This crew panders to those who somehow think that you can increase revenues by cutting off your source of income and starve the rest of the government to death.

So yes Tiriricia, it could get worse, Brazil could be saddled with Americas Clowns and that would be much worse for everyone. By the way Tiriricia, if you are reading this, I have a friend who can help you with your illiteracy all you have to do is send him five US dollars and he will write you back on how to beat illiteracy. But do not worry, must members of congress do not read the proposed Legislation here anyway, given more than a year and they cannot finish a 1000 page doubled spaced printed in a font for the hard of seeing, and still manage to claim it was shoved down our throats.

The Paris Hilton Tax Break

I shocked someone recently with my answer for why I thought the Bush era tax breaks should end. I do not hide the fact that I am a liberal to anyone, and when asked a question, sometimes my answers get stereotyped. When I said I think the tax breaks should end, the other person said, “I am sure it is because you think the rich should pay more.” I answered “no, increasing taxes by 3% is such a small amount I cannot understand why anyone would chose to fight over it.” I find it hard for anyone to defend extending the Bush era tax cuts, especially considering how small the actually increase will be. Those who advocate leaving the tax cuts in place ignore evidence that they are the cause of the budget deficits. David Stockman, the legendary Reagan budget chief who presided over the Gipper's supply-side tax cuts, announced that the "debt explosion has resulted not from big spending by the Democrats, but instead the Republican Party's embrace, about three decades ago, of the insidious doctrine that deficits don't matter if they result from tax cuts." Former Fed chairman Alan Greenspan, who famously helped sell the 2001 Bush tax cuts to Congress, declared them simply "disastrous." Even Republican experts can see that ending the tax cuts can only be beneficial, but there is still a strong vocal minority in Congress that believes the cuts should continue.

For me the most incredible tax almost all right wing nuts are against is the dreaded ESTATE TAX. I find it incredible hard to believe anyone can be against a tax they will never be penalized by and can only benefit from. The group of people that are against the estate tax are the group of people that have little to no hope of ever making it into the class that will pay this tax. The fact that only 2 out of 1000 estates will own any tax, why would the other 998 fight to free them of the burden, only to inevitable have their income tax or some other tax increased to make up the short-fall of no estate tax. This is where my answer to my friend baffles him and forces him to agree with me. First the mega wealthy have ways of passing on their wealth to the next generation and rarely have the whole estate tied up and taxed. Second, I cannot see how anyone can complain about inheriting one billion verses two billion dollars, while that is a lot of money; keep in mind that the heir did not earn it. Rather they were lucky enough to have the misfortune of being born into a rich family and fortune smiled on them.

Again it simply does not make sense to me to be so up in arms over a tax that will not affect the vast majority of people. I think we have better issues to take and complain about, especially the sales tax and other crazy taxes the state gets away with assessing to us. My final word and food for thought, why should people that go out and work and sweat pay more in taxes than those who have it fall into their laps.

…but who is the Brain?

I think I shall jump off of one band wagon and on to another one, by beating up on America’s favorite punching bag of this election season, Christine O’Donnell. Of the crazy things said by Christine O’Donnell has said this is pretty funny.

"American scientific companies are cross-breeding humans and animals and coming up with mice with fully functioning human brains." - Fox News's The O'Reilly Factor, 2007.

I find it hard to believe she thought “Pinky and the Brain” was a documentary on the lives of mice with fully functioning human brains. I mean who could believe two mice with British accents could have such straight teeth?

I can see O’Donnell being mistaken for Pinky especially in that nice dress, but the real question is who is the Brain of the Tea Party? Can it be Sarah Palin? Maybe, but I think she may refudiate that label, even though she may think she is smart enough to take over the world.

How about Mike Huckabee? I, think that is impossible, after all Brain is a scientist, and Mike still believes in the Theory of Harry Potter, the talking snake and the spirit in the Sky. So Mike is not the Brain of this operation.

Newt Gingrich seems like more of a credible candidate; both are short, fat, white guys. The only problem is Brain seems to be more loyal than Newt, I mean Brain is still with Pinky after all these years, and Newt is working on wife number three. I suppose this would be that same disqualifier to Rush being the Brain.

So reader who took time from your busy day to glance at my Blog, who do you think is the Brain if O’Donnell is Pinky? Leave me a comment and why they could or could not be the brain in the comments below.

I seem to have disappointed some

A good friend today said he was shocked by my posted. Shocked that they are not outrages or crazy. He can recall a time when I would just say and do outrages things in order to drive people crazy. He called me the original troll.

Maybe I am slipping in my old age, but I think I will have to come-up with some thing nuts just to satisfy my good friend.

Folksy Fascism

I have decided that I too will jump on the bandwagon of comparing people whose political Ideology I do not like with Fascism. I was inspired after reading about Dr. Seuss; we need to bring back “folksy fascism” to describe what Sarah Palin, Tea Party people and now Christen O’Donnell. I can think of no better term to use to describe this group of people. They are determined to force the rest of us to accept and live by their “higher” standards, as if they possess the right higher moral code. These folks want us to believe they have all the right answers, even answers to questions that never existed.

Christen O’Donnell has exploded on to the political scene after many failed attempts, failed attempts at the hands of more rational people. She, like other religious fascist, thinks that all aspect of human sexuality needs to be controlled. Sex to them seems to be an area they have not issue allowing the government to intrude into our lives. Not Health Care though, that place the sanctity of the Doctor-Patient-Health Insurance is more sacred than the Home or Bedroom. They believe that the proper place for the government is to regulate what we do with our bodies or what we put in it, but not to regulate what corporations do with our environment or put in it. It is nothing more than a brand of control, a selling of ourselves so they can feel good about something.

This is folksy fascism, this “oh gosh darn, how is that hopey changy thing working for ya?” This is what the Tea Party ultimately wants to bring to us. They think we need to be saved from something, and they know what it is and how to save us. I hope that we continue to push back and point out the crazies and call them what they are “Folksy Fascists”

Palin the Accidental Politician

Maghan McCaine describes in her new book "Dirty Sexy Politics" her reaction to hearing her father's choice for Vice-President, "Who the hell is Sarah Palin?" Her reaction is probably the same one most of us had when we heard Sarah Palin's name for the first time. From that moment forward Palin cemented her legacy in the political mind of America.

Her name is now synonymous with Tea Party and no one can deny she has political adeptness that seems to defy logic. The question though is does she deserve this position in Americas political pantheon? I believe she does not, I truly think she is, in the most literal sense, an accidental politician. Palin is adept at the use of wedge issues to gain support. In her first run at political office, city council, she campaigned on opposing closing Wasilla's bars two hours earlier. An issue that defies logic for her considering she is a member of a church that opposes drinking. When she ran for Mayor of Wasilla she introduced national or at the minimal state issues regarding abortion, gun rights and term limits. Issues that are divisive and almost rarely issues at local levels she used to divide and win. Her campainge was so effective making these issues front and center she was called Wasilla's first "Christian mayor."

This was the beginning of the Political career and campaign style of Sarah Palin. This style carried her through a republican primary, knocking off an incumbent Governor, and a few years later helping to knock out that same governor's daughter from a Senate seat. She did not even complete her first term before she was tapped to run for Vice-President, but these style stayed with her through the national spot light. This type of wedge issue is Palin's bread and butter, and it servers her well as she emerges as one of the Tea Party darlings.

What makes her the accidental politician is that she has no fresh ideas, she does not bring anything to the table but division and diversion of the real issues. The only thing Palin has going for her, and a consequence is what keeps her in the political spot light is her looks. If it was not for the fact she is sexually desirable by the masses of GOP men, she would have long ago been relegated to the dust bin of political history. She would have found her place next to all other failed Vice-Presidential nominees, never to be heard from again or to have been a faint memory to all but historians.

What will happen with Palin and her brand of politics? In my opinion this is nothing more than a form of negative campaign ads, and like negative campaign ads they are slightly effective at turning out the voters, but they are more effective at turning off your target audience and turning out your opposition. The Tea Party is doomed to fail, as I have blogged about in the past, the average Tea Party member cannot come to terms with how this country has changed and how it will continue to change. Palin and Beck will capitalize on it for the short term, but they, like the Tea Party will soon pass.

Fable of the Bees

I was inspired from the Blog The Big Picture to read the "Fable of the Bees" and how it relates to what is currently going on in the US economy versus Germany. More to the point it deals with the paradox of thrift, the idea that the more an individual saves, the less the whole group saves overall. Broadly the increase in savings will harm the over all economy. To me it is a no brainer, as long as people are out buying stuff, what ever that stuff may be, then in turn it keeps people making, shipping and selling that stuff. But during a recession, people panic and business lay-off as consumption slows. And here is where the paradox sets in, as people try and save more, they naturally spend less, and as the spend less more businesses panic and lay off more workers. While saving for the future, we are in turn killing that future.

Saving is not a bad thing, to me overspending is the problem. Buying with credit is not a bad thing, it becomes a bad thing when we use credit to buy disposable things. Buying a house is good, buying food is bad. But I get off my point, saving is not a bad thing, and by nature we should save when times get tough. That is why I am with Keynesians on this one, in recessions the government must step in and start consuming. Governments need to invest in infrastructure, be the ones who buy roads and bridges. I am all for the stimulus bill, I think this is an opportune time for the government to start investing. There is much complaining about the deficit running up, but when is a better time to borrow money than when the cost of borrowing money is at its lowest? With people still working, tax revenue is still being generated.

If the government gets involved and applies a slow steady hand then as a whole the economy will merely slow down and not stop. This will keep people working and will allow consumption to continue. This will also keep our infrastructure in good shape or improving what we already have. With Keynes solutions many problems can be avoided, the biggest is the paradox of thrift

Beckapaloza

I think this picture pretty much express how I feel about the Tea Party movement. There is some dissatisfaction with the way the government is handling some of the "problems" we are facing, to me they are more of challenges than problems, but it seems to me the tea party has a common thread to it, this irrational dislike of the president. I can remember the days when Clinton was in office and there was also this dislike of him, but this time around it is absolutely irrational. There is a grasping at anything to make a rational reason to an irrational dislike, Obamacare, how can you dislike the idea that more people will be give an opportunity to receive medical care? The only rational reason would be if it make the country go deep into debt, and the only way for that to be a rational reason would be to have always cared about going into debt. The Bush years showed us this is not a big deal, so this cannot be the rational reason. Digging deeper it is inevitable the real reason for the dislike is racial sentiment. Glen Greenwald wrote in Salon on Friday 27 August,"It requires extreme blindness or extreme dishonesty to deny that our politics is more racially and ethnically polarized than it has been in a long time." This is the heart of the disagreement, this is what is at the heart of all the vocal opposition to the president and his policies, not a true political ideological, thought that has some to due with it. Rather a dislike that a black person, or a Bi-racial person occupies the White House. This dislike runs deeper, one in which the War on Poverty has become not a war to eliminate poverty in American, but rather a war on the poor of American. A war to prevent the poor from being give any sort of help, because someone else feels it is undeserved or unearned.

I will share with you an anecdote from my life. For me both of these stories demonstrate the feeling of privilege some people have and how they feel it is being taken away from them. I was sitting at my cubical at work, when one of the ladies I work with came by me. Our conversation turned to the health care debate, at this time the legislation had not yet passed. As our conversation unfolded she complained about the idea that she heard that with the health care reform she would be forced to wait longer to visit her doctor. The reason she felt she would have to wait longer is because more people would now be able to see a doctor, and she implied it to be more poor people. As I pulled back I ridiculed her as I said loudly, she does not seem to be bothered that some people cannot afford to see a doctor, but it would bother her that she may have to wait a little longer to see a doctor. Her reaction lacked any sort of shame or embarrassment, rather she felt she has a privilege that she must preserve even at the expense of her fellow man. This coupled with her stories of why she voted for Regan, because of the welfare queens driving around in there Cadillacs living off welfare, paints a picture of who she thinks will benefit from the health care reform. This to me is the essence of a Tea Party member.

Deep down inside there is a racist element to the Tea Party, and I know Glen Beck has found a way to expose and exploit that very element. This movement though is dead and in it last gasps, the demographics of this country are shifting. Tea Party members want to take America back to the ideals that no longer exist, that the majority no longer believe in. The 1950s are long gone and soon Mad Men will be off the air and that decade will be gone from our collective memories.

Primary Results not Suprised

No big surprise, I think though this anti-incumbency fever is only affecting those on the right. Murkowski seems to have lost her position, but I also think that it has a lot to do with how easily Alaskans are manipulated by the politicians. Alaskans, like most red state people, seem to live in a world of white noise about themselves. They hate the Federal Government and all the Federal Welfare that flows from it to someone else. They see it as though someone else is taking there tax dollars and buying fur coats and nice cars. What they seem to fail to see is they are the ones who are on the receiving end of this money. They fail to see as they send their kids to elementary school, they are suckling on the teat of government. They drive on the roads, more government milk, and when their kids go on to higher education, it is also on the back of the Tax Payer. The ultimate problem for all the Tea Party people is an absolute lack of any sort of knowledge or understanding of what the function of the Government is, what "provide for the general welfare" means, and a complete lack of awareness that they too are Welfare Queens.

My Two Cents on Koch Connection

One thing I find strange about some of the comments about the Koch brothers is the way commentators have seemed "stunned" by there right wing tea party connects and the philanthropic giving. To me I see nothing contradictory in what they are doing. Exam where they are giving there money, opera houses and private hospitals, thing that will benefit them or their wealthy friends. Their giving does not seem to include to charities that help alleviate the suffering of the poor or disadvantaged. I could be wrong, and I will continue to look into it, but it seems to me there philanthropy is consistent with there right wing views.

Political Cognitive Dissonance.

Can anyone understand why Lynne Cheney is still even a credible Sunday morning guest? Having her in a Sunday morning talk show discussing political matters would be the same as having Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity or Keith Olberman. She does not bring any sort of intelligence to the discussion, only an ideology. When discussing about the health care debate she introduces Obama's speed of speaking about the underwear bomber, and cannot rectify Bushes 6 days to address the shoe bomber.

Continuing in on cognitive dissonance; Harry Reid's comments do not rise to any sort of racial slur. The man is from the Depression area childhood, and using the world Negro does not rise to the same level of calling a comment "honest in'jun." What Steele said, from anyones lips, would be racial slur, it takes a stereotype to describe someone or something. Steele is a bumbling fool and is incapable of understanding who he is or who he should be. He is trying to be cool and hip, instead of a leader of a political party. Maybe now all the criticism will force him to realize the path he needs to take and be a leader. The witting is still on the wall, the Democratic Party will remain in control for years to come, until the Republican Party can get its house in order and change the parties trajectory.