The America I Know and Love...

I hear that phrase in various forms over and over a lot lately. It's featured most prominently in the ridiculous rant by that Dangerous Moron, Sarah Palin. It comes up in blurts from birthers wanting "their" country back for that Kenyan posing as president.

Here's a simple request for the folks out there who hold that sentiment: please comment below by explaining to me what exactly it is that you mean by holding to any version of the phrase.

Is-ism

Unintentionally I seem to have taken a summer recess in blog posting and though much is in need of comment and discussion, instead I want to start getting to some basic principles which should have been addressed long ago, namely, what do I mean by calling myself a Mighty Liberal? This is the first of what hopefully will be many installments on this point and with luck, some readers will add their thoughts.

The goal of liberalism in modern America is tricky and that is part of what makes it a slippery concept, seemingly unprincipled. But it is the seeming unprincipledness of it all which is the hallmark of liberalism. Focus on seeming because in reality that is the aspect of liberalism which makes it a dynamic force. To contrast, conservatives of all stripes make a fetish out of hewing tightly to their so-called principles to the point that the steamrolling of populations along the way becomes testimony to the lengths of sacrifice they would make to assure consistency. They are certain they know what it is that things are. Note the words I use here. They have a desire to have a world governed by "Is-ism". They know what the meaning of "Is" is. Anything which does not meet their self-definition of just about anything is then, by definition, wrong, and therefore to be scorned and destroyed at all costs by any means.

Contrary to conservatism, Liberalism is flexible. It has to be in order to strike a constant balance between liberty and anything which might threaten liberty. Solutions change. Adjustments must be made on the fly. Nothing is certain except the constant need for trying to understand as many facts, circumstances, and opinions as possible while knowing at the same time that full knowing of anything is impossible. We humans must do the best we can and strive always to do better. In the moment, the desire to always be ready to alter one's path can look pretty wishy washy to someone determined to plow ahead at all costs no matter the circumstances. But in most cases, such plowing behavior is good only for an ox.

An ox may be strong but it's not very smart. And it's a herd animal by nature as well. We are humans. We can and should be able to do better. We tell the ox what to do and where to go. And when we're done with the ox, we eat it.

And now, back to our regularly scheduled program...

Dry your eyes and pay attention folks. Michael is apparently NOT staging the greatest comeback but for Jesus. Meantime he knocked a crushed revolution in Iran off the news pages, allowed another in Honduras to simmer unwatched, and Kim Jong Dillweed is still trying to scare us into bombing his pathetic little regime so he can in turn blast Seoul. Al Franken is now officially Senator number 60 in the Democratic roll call. Good luck with that Harry Reid you lousy cat herder you. Only that soon-to-be retired salmon killer Sarah Palin has made a dent in the news cycle since Michael moonwalked off this mortal coil.

Guess what folks, that pissing in the ocean feeling I described a few months ago is about to get a lot warmer. Stimulus One did exactly what it was meant to do - whet the appetite for Stimulus Two: The Real Thing. I suggested when the first one flew in that it wasn't much and was merely intended to allow my friend Barry to get somewhat settled in office. Then he could take a moment to see how reactive the economy might actually be before going whole hog and doing what really needs to be done to bring this country up to date after 30+ years of baby boomer economic masturbation. Yep, it feels real good but boy do we now have a mess of our hands.

Quick review: TARP provided a parachute to a free falling economy. Stimulus One provided a touch of brakes to further downward sliding. But neither provide any improvement in any substantial manner. The toilet has not finished flushing and I'm running out of colorful metaphors. National health care is around the corner, I hope, and that should be followed by Stimulus Two which will really address infrastructure rebuilding. Energy production and distribution. A manufacturing base to supply it. Research and development to constantly upgrade it all. Give us a trillion dollars to pay for the untapped ingenuity in the American psyche and watch what happens.

It was all signaled by that titan of understatement Joe Biden when he admitted they got it wrong about how bad the economy was when they brought out Stimulus One. I don't buy it for a second but politically it was necessary for a rookie president to take two bites on the money apple. Watch the references to additional stimulus start to pile up. Then get back to me to ask what's next.

Sarah Palin Is A Dangerous Moron

It's about two hours since I first saw the headline that Sarah Palin is resigning as governor of Alaska and I have yet to read, watch, or listen to any commentary about it so I thought I'd lay out some quick thoughts untainted by the punditocracy.

In her released statement she suggested she is quitting because she had already decided she wasn't running for reelection. Additionally, as a lame duck she would be subject to "politics as usual" which I guess means no one would agree to do what she says automatically.

I don't know much about the goings-on in the Alaska state legislature but I suspect the pioneer mavericky spirit she represents oh so well doesn't stop at her office door. That means the folks in the legislature probably don't have trouble telling her to heave ho when she starts spouting her usual inanities. I have a feeling that her incessant campaigning outside her state has made it likely that she would not be reelected if she ran since she has neglected whatever duties she has had for the past year. Finally, fearing the "politics as usual" conundrum of self-imposed lame duck status tells me she doesn't really have the chops to get things done when the going gets tough.

I admit I thought Obama was pretty brazen to run for president this last cycle. But I saw it sort of as a test run for 2012 or 2016, presuming like everyone else that Hillary had it in the bag. Regardless, he has the intellectual chops to engage in the actual issues and whether you agree with what he's done so far as president or not, he has at least demonstrated that he has actual ideas to put in place and a program for doing it.

Like George W. Bush before, Palin just wants to be president. I don't know why. She has never said a thing of actual policy substance since she first winked her skirted way onto the national scene last year. She simply wants to give voice to some mythological "real America" embodied by such imitation spokesmen like Joe the Plumber which doesn't really represent anyone who has to live a real life in the real world among real people who are really hurting and nervous right now. She panders to the worst in what for lack of another demographic descripter I'll cite as white America. It is exclusionary and divisive at best and potentially dangerous fear mongering at worst.

Sarah Palin looks great on TV and can deliver a line. She can talk within a very narrow band of superficial beliefs that do not stand up to the mildest serious scrutiny. The media indulges her existence because she looks good and makes a great story with most of the absurdities that spill from her lipsticked piehole. The GOP is having all sorts of problems trying to find its way in a new world created by its own generation of national political and economic destruction. I would support Newt Gingrich a thousand times before I would give a shred of value to anything sourced from the Godzilla from Wasilla. I need this particular show to end. Hopefully soon some other voices from the right will be more attractive in real terms but my optimism is waning at the moment.

Republicans please, don't do this. To yourselves and certainly not to the rest of us. Learn the lesson of George W. Bush. We can disagree about policy and how to go about governing, but please already, find someone to represent the opposition who is actually interested in governing under the US Constitution instead of not at all or through some bastardized flag waving pseudo-patriotic swill passing as geunine Americanism. Don't support someone who wants to be president just because it's the next step in her job development.

Sarah Palin is a dangerous moron. She is suited for nothing more than to be a breed mare. A capacity she has fulfilled competently and has clearly passed along to the next generation. I hope her resignation is the last official political act she ever takes. Return to the tundra and don't come back. You betcha!

Welcome to the Party, Al

Al Franken is the junior senator from Minnesota. I can't wait to see O'Reilly tonight.

With a theoretically filibuster-proof majority of 60 the democrats could steamroll any program they wish through congress now. Dems being dems, of course, this won't happen. Accordingly, the repubes have one last chance to play nice with Barry and have a hand in how the country moves forward for at least the next few years. If they don't, the only hope they have is for the country to spin further down the toilet towards final ruin. Their past behavior suggests this is precisely what they'll do. Either way they are screwed. Hopefully not the rest of us with them.

Now we have to insist that the unherded cats that are our Democratic representatives in congress can pull it together long enough to do the job we collectively sent them to DC to do.

It's the Al Franken Congress now.

Michael Jackson: I'm Sick of This Too

Among the most talented entertainers ever, sure. Horribly abused and damaged psychologically, absolutely. Did naughty things with little boys, probably. Dead one way or the other by virtue of his own weirdness, more than likely. In context, more important beyond the entertainment channels than the immediacy of Iran being violently taken over by its military, Norks shipping nukes, healthcare for me and my kids and you and your kids, keeping an eye on whether there is an economic future for anyone, and cleaning up the mess we humans have made of our home while breaking free as Americans of the noose of foreign oil, no.

Sorry Michael. You're gone. Now Beat It.

Mark Sanford: I’m Already Sick of This

The governor of a small but noisy state disappeared from his job and family for a few days. Turns out he popped off to Buenos Aires to cry between his mistresses boobs. It’s an interesting spin on what’s become an all too common story, especially for some reason among Republicans (though Democrats are surely not immune, right Gov. Spitzer?).

My funny bone gets a kick out of bible spouting moralists falling on the stick upon which they had hoisted their petard. And from a partisan politics perspective I am loving how the GOP is publicly destroying itself before our very eyes after having eight years of near total dominance of American government. But in times like these, I end up regressing back to my opinion when Bill Clinton’s shenanigans ended with a cigar trick in the Oval Office.

Beyond the disappearance while on public duty, and possibly using taxpayer funds to do the disappearing in this case, the act of infidelity is absolutely none of our business. It is a family tragedy that all too many of us have felt either ourselves or through the pain of someone we care about. Forgiveness is not ours to be asked for or given. Humans screw up, literally and figuratively, in all sorts of ways. It generally doesn’t mean they can’t do their jobs and do them well — even in public life. It would be nice if more on the right of the political spectrum would recognize that so they could espouse a policy which they could defend instead of a morality which they cannot represent themselves.

I don’t believe morality has much place in politics. It’s a dirty business. Morality is the precinct of the clergy who have followers or of the individuals who follow themselves. Society should dictate to the politicians and the politicians should find a way to balance leading and following. Matters of the flesh among adults do not belong in our public discourse and beyond force or violence should not be legislatively controlled.

We have bigger things going on in the world which need political attention. Ongoing economic issues (not the moral aspects of them though); healthcare and environmental degradation; lunatics from North Korea possibly transporting nuclear technology across the globe just to thumb their noses at the world; people getting hacked apart in the name of democracy in Iran; and so many other matters more important than a strange man from a strange state with a strange history doing strange things with a strange woman from a country with nothing in common with Appalachia other than first and last letters. We have business to take care of which matters. What Mark Sanford does with his pants is none of our business.

Labels

Caught a blurb on Morning Joe this morning about a Gallup poll and how Americans perceive their political philosophies (and by the way, how is it that of all the meatheads associated with the GOP it’s starting to look like Pensacola Joe is the one who may be successfully reorienting the Republican Party?). So surprise!!! The largest block of Americans see themselves as conservative more than Moderate or Liberal. On the other hand, if Moderates and Liberals are combined, they come out as a larger block than Conservatives.

I think this is a bunch of crap for the most part and is intended to act as a means for bolstering the Republicans by, as usual, focusing on labels rather than on anything of substance. I do not believe this is a right-of-center nation as the punditocracy is fond of saying. I believe we talk a certain way but when it comes down to it, we are an eminently practical nation, interested in doing what is necessary to achieve a particular goal rather than imposing it from a predetermined template of “how it ought to be”. This is a definition of pragmatism, the one truly American philosophy.

Pragmatism is the philosophy espoused by the current administration and it is a hallmark of Liberal political behavior. It can come off as wishy washy because it doesn’t always say “this is what must be done and how we must do it”. It asks the questions “what should we try and how should we attempt to go about it?” It’s a tightrope walk between more apparently solid principles as so-called conservatives on the right or socialists on the left might prefer. Essentially if both sides are pissed, then the balance is struck. The extremes make the noise and the goal is assure that none of them are completely happy. It sounds like a mushy middle but it requires a true strength of character and willingness to adjust as necessary to maintain such a position. I believe if we look at the demeanor of my friend Barry, we will see the embodiment of a Liberal attitude.

As long as the GOP continues to worry about labels, they will fail to grow and adjust and will become the Whigs of the current era. I’m ok with that. I’d be pleased to be left with wing-nuts on the right and an ongoing conversation between Liberals and other further on the left until you get to the wing-nuts on that end as well.

And finally, if you break down the poll above and get issue-specific, I believe we would find that the VAST majority of Americans would suddenly appear rather more Liberal in the sentiments and desires for the nation and what part the government should play in it. Maybe some dear reader can find that kind of poll out there.

Putting My Money Where My Mouth Is

My car needed servicing. Regular servicing to be sure, overdo for an oil change, replacement of air filters, windshield wipers worn out when it's been raining pretty consistently for the past two weeks (we really needed it and I have no problem with it continuing as long as we get some sun time to let the steam rise on the weekends). The thing that nagged at me was the squeaking noise that seemed to be emanating from the wheels and was telling me I had a brake issue developing. Some things I will let go for a while, like a general washing of the vehicle, or changing oil somewhat beyond 5000 miles instead of at 3000. But tires and brakes have to be right or they become dangerous very quickly.

So as soon as I had more than an hour to spare, I went to my dealer (who does oil changes as cheaply and quickly as any quick change specialist and allows me the chance to gaze longingly at the Ferraris next door) and told them what to look for and then call me before starting any work. I was gonna wander. By the way, in addition to the necessary servicing, my car is on a lease which is up in 4 months, and I was also already on the verge of crossing my yearly mileage allowance, which I knew would happen the day I got the car not quite two years ago. The gas tank was on fumes. Ok so maybe I had some ideas when I got there.

Instead of going to the Ferrari side of the shop, I went to the regular side and immediately saw my salesman Husein, from whom I have bought every new car I've ever bought, and who came right up and greeted me by name. This means I've seen the guy once every year and a half or so for six years, exactly 4 times, today being the fourth. I would like to think I am just that memorable a guy, but honestly, I think Husein is just a talented salesman and has learned the art of memory. At that moment the call came from the service department that the brakes were weirdly shot and everything altogether was going to run between $400 and $500.

My intent was to essentially do a straight swap and exchange the '07 Honda Civic I was driving and extremely pleased with, with a new one and keep the same payment, extended terms, more mileage and no cash out. Apparently my return customer status granted me a little juice since my credit score though excellent in normal times, was just under the current ridiculous line for top-rated credit. They gave me the top rating anyway. Sure maybe that was a car sales hose job, but I came in with an idea of what I wanted anyway so they could puff my ego all they wanted. I retained the power of no which is the key to any bargain oriented negotiation. As long as "that one" isn't "the only one" or the stuff that dreams are made of, you can walk away and go anywhere else and get another version of the same thing, or maybe even the exact same thing, especially if it's a car you're talking about. Yes my current car wasn't going anywhere without the servicing, but Husein didn't know that.

So Husein had me hooked up pretty quickly and assured that it would be a smooth transition from one Civic to another. I was hoping that the 2010s were in because I expect that I may wish to get out of this car before the new lease expires because I hope that the economy will improve, bringing my fortunes with it, and my kids are growing and hopefully inspiring me to make roadtrips like I did with my family as a kid. So I was thinking ahead to my best trade out value and having a 2010 will be better than a 2009. No luck there, the 2010 Civics weren't out yet. Oh well.

We went to go look at the cars in the lot and choose a color. I was leaning towards a sharp looking silver, although there was an interesting red one as well. For a variety of reasons though I can't say I will ever allow myself to buy a red car. Can't have black where I live because the heat makes it truly hot enough to sear flesh, and then there was the same blue I already had, which seemed boring now. But there was one that was such a dark blue it was nearly purple; pimpin for sho' and my kids would love it, but it had a black interior, which is even worse to have around here than a black exterior.

So I was about to say ok on the silver when as an aside I asked about a hybrid. Was there anything comparable in my price range? "Well," says Husein, "there's the Insight, which is about the same with a smaller rear than the Civic but besides that, more or less the same for your purposes. But it's a more expensive car because of the demand and limited production." So I asked him to see what he could do, and he comes back with a price $70 a month more than my current payment. So he figured it was out of the question because I'm really tight right now as a real estate guy in this economy.

But I thought about it a moment. Gas is already popping $2.50/gal again and slowly drifting higher. I'm of the opinion that the current crash in oil prices is temporary as the notion of peak oil is real as is increasing Chinese and Indian oil demands. I think we'll be looking at $4.00/gallon again for good sometime in 2010. I'm also unusual in that probably 90% of my driving is not on the highway. I'm basically the prime driver for a hybrid. At 40 mpg in the city, it almost doubles what the Civic gets. I will be cutting my gas consumption in half. That savings will essentially make up the difference in the monthly car payment, shifting from the oil company to the car manufacturer. If I get any break at all on my insurance for whatever reason, I'm ahead of the game. And my kids can say their daddy is cool 'cause he reduced his carbon footprint (if that's how they would describe it at kindergarten and pre-k). And I can give a little room to stretch my hippie proclivities while being a Mighty Liberal, all at once. As long as the speakers sound good, basically, I'm good. The deal is done.

San Fran Gran Says Spies Lie, Makes Them Cry

Let's be clear here (again). Our government is not allowed to torture. That is the law. Waterboarding is torture. If members of our government wish to authorize torture then they must be prepared to accept the consequences of breaking the law. Whether the technique is effective or not is irrelevant. If they do not wish to take the consequences for authorizing torture then they either refuse to authorize the illegal act, or they get the law changed so that it is no longer illegal.

If I want to drive across the country quickly, doing it at 200 mph in an Indy car would be the best way to do that. But it's illegal so if I do it, I better expect to get pulled over at some point (probably by a helicopter or after I crash). And if I tell Nancy Pelosi I'm going to do it, whether she says it's ok or not, or whether or not she remembers that I told her doesn't matter either. I make the decision and I engage in the act, I'm the one who broke the law, not her.

So stop the whining and get on with the prosecutions.