The Coarse Nature of American Politics

In the aftermath of the assassination attempt on a conservative Arizona Democratic Congresswoman, there has been much hand-wringing and despair within the political chattering classes. As mainstream media figures promise to dial back the vitriol, it will be interesting to see if it has any effect on our political process. I'm betting that it will have little to no effect.

For example, the day after the horror, Sarah Palin's website still included the image of a bullseye placed on the map of the Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords' district. I doubt that there is a direct link between such an incendiary metaphor and the dreadful assault she and others endured, but it does seem insensitive for the 2008 Republican Vice-Presidential candidate to fail to revise the webpage in the wake of the tragedy.

I am looking forward to following the various threads for debate which will surely issue from the sad event: handgun control, the insanity defense, the death penalty, and many more that will ignite partisan debate. It will be interesting to see if the vitriol truly does become lessened.

The best rant of 2010

I meant to include this link in my earlier post. Keith Olberman unloads on the President for his angry remarks about Progressive Democrats.

Mr. Obama attacks his base

What a terrible time for Progressive Democrats, as we watch America's twin Republican Parties seek to protect the interests of the top 2% of Americans. I refer, of course, to the GOP itself, and the Obama wing of the Democratic party. A president who can tolerate all sorts of right wing abuse heaped upon him, his campaign ideals, and even his family, reacts in rage to the criticism sent his way by the very people who elected him. He makes a terrible deal with the GOP, agreeing to save the rich their tax breaks in return for a modest extension of jobless benefits, merely postponing the issue to the depths of his re-election campaign.

This is not the first time I and other Progressives have felt the sting of his words. He must think that he can win re-election in 2012 with a coalition of Moderate Democrats, and Independents. Given that his White House seems to be the epitome of political naivete I wouldn't be surprised if he believes that Moderate Republicans will vote for him too, as he tracks ever right-ward. But I have news for you, Mr. President: there are NO moderate Republicans left in this nation. Even if they existed, they would want you to fail. Doesn't he listen to what the Senate Minority leader had to say in the aftermath of the voter rebuke that was the Mid-Term Election? Mitch McConnell had this to say to his pals at the Heritage Foundation, the right wing think tank that gave us the Bush Administration: "Over the past week, some have said it was indelicate of me to suggest that our top political priority over the next two years should be to deny President Obama a second term in office...But the fact is, if our primary legislative goals are to repeal and replace the health spending bill; to end the bailouts; cut spending; and shrink the size and scope of government, the only way to do all these things it is to put someone in the White House who won't veto any of these things. We can hope the President will start listening to the electorate after Tuesday's election. But we can't plan on it."


Come on, Barry: how about saving some of your invective and scorn for your real enemies? If you don't, you risk a reprise of the inglorious end of the Carter Administration. If someone like Senator Sanders of Vermont decided to challenge you in the primaries you will see disaffected Progressives abandon you in droves. Given the largely-unrealized promise of your campaign rhetoric, that would be a great tragedy for the nation.

I want to hear more Progressives speak out in support of Senator Sanders of Vermont.

picture source: The AtlanticWire; McConnell quote: CNN.com
video source: CSPAN

And I am guilty, too

I was referred to this funny blog via a FB friend. This is too true: guess I better get cracking.

The depressing politics of climate change

If the great Bill McKibben loses hope, is there any chance of the world's leaders coming to grips with the threats facing the planet? The idiocracy that is the climate change deniers has now strengthened its grip on American politics. Next year, the raving lunatics of the right wing will take control of the House. Meanwhile, the Wealth Club, otherwise known as the Senate, will be even more in the thrall of Big Coal and Big Oil.

What can one person do? I invested in highly efficient replacement windows in my house, replaced an aging oil heating system with an efficient gas furnace, replaced every light bulb with compact fluorescents, set the thermostat as low as possible in the winter and as high as possible in the summer. We both drive small cars, and I'll be replacing one next year with a hybrid, perhaps even one made my Ford. I walk to errands rather drive. And all these individual efforts make negligible planetary difference. What can one person do, if even Bill McKibben is losing hope.

a perfect opportunity to take pleasure in the misery of others

The news of the near-bankruptcy of the group that opposed the Cape Wind project brings me joy. How rare it is that one of the plutocrat Koch brothers is on the losing side of a political battle. In this case, joining the late Sen. Kennedy, Bill Koch opposed a much needed technology because it might interfere with his yachting pleasures. Of course, the fact that he makes his billions in the oil business has nothing to do with his opposition to clean energy.

It is comical to listen to the opposition to this project. One of my students told me that he is against it because the electricity to be produced will be more expensive that what coal or nuclear plants can produce. Of course, he (like many of his ilk) are ignorant of the concept of externalities: that is, if polluters had to factor environmental or social costs into the equation, their artificially cheaper electricity would not survive the comparison. But I guess Koch et. al. see that 130 windmills in their ocean pose a threat to their navigation skill, thus imposing a social cost on the rest of us? Hmmm, perhaps he could invest in a nice Garmin GPS unit so that he can chart a course around Nantucket Shoals. As for the rest of us, I hope this project represents a chance to chart a course away from the dangerous 19th Century technologies that have enriched people like Koch while endangering the whole planet.

Pity the rich: they really are different from the rest of us.

Bob Dylan in Lowell, Massachusetts

You have to give the man credit. Nearing 70 years of age, he is still working, writing and performing. As an event, I give it a grade of A+. Dressed like a cross between one of Custer's 7th Cavalry footsoldiers and an Argentinean cowboy, he sure looked the part of consummate stage performer. His band is really strong, and as the set commenced the sound mix toned down the guitars a bit, as the acoustics weren't great the Tsongas Arena. He even spoke to the audience before the encore, as he introduced the band.

Dylan croaks rather than sings, so the concert was more of a celebrity extravaganza than a tour down memory lane. (I don't mind "croakers", as I really like Tom Waits, and I grew up on Louis Armstrong). He took many old favorites and gave them new arrangements, some so outlandish that the band sounded like Canned Heat at Woodstock. Especially odd was the treatment of "Highway 61". I didn't recognize what I was hearing until he bleated "61".

I can understand why the great performer might want some relief from 40+ years of singing what his fans want, but some of the arrangements were extraordinarily self-indulgent. "Stuck Inside of Mobile with the Memphis Blues Again", one his greatest songs ever, was unrecognizable.

However, on two occasions he strode to the microphone with just a harmonica, and the band backed it down a bit so that we could actually understand him. As for his rock-out numbers, I really liked "Tweedle Dee & Tweedle Dum". His arrangement of the great "Tangled Up In Blue" was a major disappointment. And to conclude, he gave us the short, Top 40 radio version of "Like A Rolling Stone". All in all, a solid B grade, Bob.

The set list:

1.	Gonna Change My Way Of Thinking
2.	It Ain't Me, Babe
3.	Stuck Inside Of Mobile With The Memphis Blues Again
4.	Love Sick
5.	Rollin' And Tumblin'
6.	Simple Twist Of Fate
7.	Honest With Me
8.	Visions Of Johanna
9.	Tweedle Dee & Tweedle Dum
10.	Tangled Up In Blue
11.	Highway 61 Revisited
12.	Not Dark Yet
13.	Thunder On The Mountain
14.	Ballad Of A Thin Man
	(encore)
15.	Jolene
16.	Like A Rolling Stone