Thursday, August 24, 2006

Bush's New Iraq Argument: It Could Be Worse:

"If the only thing you can say is 'Yes, it's bad, but it could be worse,' that really is a last-ditch argument.'"

The next phrase to be used will be "Credibility Gap." Hopefully before November so the GOP can get pounded on it.

Wednesday, August 23, 2006

Allen Calls Webb Aide, Apologizes For Slurs

These guys are such turkeys.

"It's great to have the president in Virginia, raising substantial amounts of money so we can fight off the scurrilous attacks by our opponent and his leftist allies," campaign manager Dick Wadhams said in an interview.

I just read a Wadhams profile in Washington Monthly and he sounds like a real piece of work. I hope Webb is able to hang this guy around his Allen's neck like a piece of rotting meat. Unfortunately this is probably not going to happen. Cross your fingers.
This Year's Southern Prodigy

I hope he's right. Meyerson misses the other thing though that LBJ, Long, and Clinton had was a the mean streak. If Ford can not only get the policy, but also get the politics he might have a chance. The key is that he needs to follow the old Clinton saw of if someone comes at you with a knife, cut their arm off. That kind of ruthlessness will get you places when playing with the GOP. The Dems have a lack of guts on this dark side of the politics and leads to candidates like Kerry, Gore, Carter, McGovern, Mondale, etc.

Monday, August 21, 2006

The School-Lunch Test - New York Times

the problem with the studies is that it's for a lifetime of eating better and when the kids become adults to be able to make better choices. The short-term statistics don't matter too much. It can't be good to eat that many calories and that much fat. It's not healthy.

The thing I didn't like is that whole Berkeley, Alice Waters is a food god thing. She has the right idea, but the thing is that how are you going to have organics farms and sald in Minnesota in January? It's not practical. Few people in the world live within 50 miles of lettuce for more than 4 months a year. If you want to go back to the old days, my mom used to Napa cabbage for 6 months a year. There were no other fresh vegtables that would store that long. If that heppened in the midwest, people would be living on cabbage and spending all Septemebr canning foods. Do you think things are better?

Saturday, August 19, 2006

Allen Flap May Give A Boost To Webb

Allen's insincerity is rising to all time high. Add on to that the "Macaca" statement that surely someone of French African heritage and Confederate emblem stuff buff knows is a racist statement. The Mohwk statement is a dog that won't hunt. This racist grouping of things is what giving these statements legs.

Thursday, August 17, 2006

President Joins in G.O.P. Attacks on Democrats About Terrorism - New York Times

There has got to be a pithy counter-argument to this idiocy. The current parrying of these ridiculous GOP attacks is not working. Most Americans know that something is wrong in Iraq and with the President's policies in general, but can't put their finger on it. While the GOP basically calls Democrats pussies. There has got to be a better smarter argument.

Tuesday, August 15, 2006

A Growing Separation of Press and State

It seems the Bush and LBJ are becoming more and more alike. The fact that they presided over losing, unpopular wars is one parallel. The other is the massive shift on the Domestic front (One that tried to make America richer and the other making the rich richer.). Now the fact that neither could make a public speech unless they were at a government facility (or in Bush's case a government pre-screened audience). As my old college professor would say, "So What?" The disconnect is sad and makes it difficult for the media and then the people to hold their leadership acoountable.

Friday, August 11, 2006

Who's Guilty of 'Petty Partisanship'?

I mentioned this yesterday, but the GOP is basically calling the Democrats wusses and communists. Does that motivate their base? Does that motivate the dem base? The only thing that it does is change the subject from what's wrong in Iraq, Lebanon, North Korea, Iran, Medicare, Gas Prices etc. In the long-term it'll do little but lay the ground work for 2008. The gall of these guys though really gets my goat.

Thursday, August 10, 2006

'Baby, Give Me a Kiss' - Los Angeles Times

I saw this on the Chicagoist and it's a brilliant article. Kind of long and all encompasing, but at the same time very personal. It is odd this new generation of peope that are always on or ready for the camera. It's just plain creepy this guy who parties all the time, allegdly rapes women, and has serious other issues. At the same time there seems to be a little fatigue in his lifestyle. I guess it's like working at McDonald's, while great, you probably won't eat at McDonald's for a really long time wihtout throwing up. It's also an interesting look at the writer. She puts herself in the middle of the story and has such an odd take on the situation. It's probably for trying to follow good journalistic standards.

Tuesday, August 08, 2006

Public Pension Plans Face Billions in Shortages - New York Times

Not sexy, but something to think about when your local government decides to take a pension holiday. This could bankrupt more tha a few communities. The complete lack of oversight is terrible. The feds should at least setup a board to monitor the information and come up with some sort of minimal standards.

Thursday, August 03, 2006

Doubling Two Bad Bets?

I know that Bush is a huge fan of teaching evolution both ways (the theory of evolution and the myth of intelligent design), but he's got realize the importance of change in the world. The gift of our large brains is that we are able to adapt quickly to an ever changing landscape. Politically in the US, his aides are very astute at that. They have revolutionized GOP politics and gone against decade old trends.

Unfortunately, they have not been able to convert this to foreign policy. They seem in a death lock/spiral of policy. Once they make a decision, they feel they're done. Kind of a fire and forget foreign policy. Iraq, we're there and we're going to make it a democracy (Oh yeah, and the same goes for Afghanistan too!). North Korea is bad and we don't deal with them (Or Syria, Iran or any one else we don't like). While this has not been working out too well, Bush and his cronies keep a steady hand in all this. There's no sense that any adaptation is needed. If things are going bad, we just need to do things harder. To use another appalling football analogy, he's not making any halftime adjustments.

So what do we as patriotic Americans do about that? I'm not too sure there's much we can do other than write letters and call your representatives in the House and Senate. The President needs to hear from you too. Maybe the evolving nature of US foreign policy needs some intelligent design :)
G.M. Hopes a Line of Pickups Will Lead Back to Prosperity - New York Times

Not the best timing. Then again this is what's in the pipeline and that's what they have to sell. It looks like GM is going to end up consuming Ford (at least its market share). All the while. the Japanese, especially Toyota, are eating US car makers lunch. The heavy trucks are under seige now with the rise of Ridgeline, Tacoma, etc. The US car makers have got to start selling cars again. These are the last time margins are going to be so high on trucks. With the new competition margins are about to shrink a ton.

One thing though is the recent stats. On the Today show this morning they mentioned how far US car maker sales had dropped off from a year ago, from about 60 percent to under 50 percent this year. That's a bad statistics becasue last year GM, Ford and Chrysler were all offering "employee pricing" and the Japanese were a little reticent to pile on the US car makers. If you look at last years stats, the story is that last summers US sales were a blip. The overall trend is a continuing shrinking of US automakers in the US market.

Wednesday, August 02, 2006

Marine Names Murtha in Defamation Suit

Smells of another swiftboating.

Tuesday, August 01, 2006

That Meddlin' Town? Some Chafe at Council's Reach.

Amen to that. It's sad that our home town is becoming a national joke. The purpose of government is to interfere with our rights? Shouldn't they be worried about things like public safety, lowering taxes, public corruption, low birth weights, murders, than Foie Gras or cigarettes? The excuse that those problems are hard and difficult so we won't touch them is lame. Most importantly the Alderman are seen as a bunch of do nothing (except any crazy pet causes - See Natarus) meddlers. If reform really took over it would require a lot of work. Cut the number of Alderman in half. Reform the hiring and procurement process to work for the citizens and not the Alderman. It's disgraceful that it takes so long to get a contract through City Hall.