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Wednesday, November 2. 2011

I thought sexual harassment was no big deal

The American Progressive’s Monopoly on the Seven Deadly Sins

The Decline of Gratitude:

American life, as journalist Sebastian Junger observed in 1999, "has become staggeringly easy," even "vaguely unfulfilling." The context of Junger's remarks was an exploration into why some people deliberately seek danger nowadays, whether it's bungee-jumping from a high bridge or teasing grizzly bears in the (ultimately fatal) manner of Timothy Treadwell.

The political parallel to Junger's thesis is the oft-cited "solution in search of a problem," of which the Our Children's Trust lawsuit is but one example. (For others, I need only refer you to any Democratic Party political platform.) While it is certainly true that our water and air are not 100% pure (whatever that may be), the fact is that the goal posts keep getting moved back with every improvement in observation that we achieve.

Mayor Mike said this morning that if there is anyone to blame for the mortgage crisis that led the collapse of the financial industry, it's not the "big banks," but Congress.

Are credit default swaps a meaningful hedge? No, says Zero Hedge

Gelinas: Occupy Europe - Free markets, not China, could help the eurozone.

Don't Mind the Gap - What matters is income mobility, not income inequality.

CA Rail Cost Soars to $98.5B Under New Plan

Ending the Postal Monopoly: Lessons from Europe; Germany Has Sold 99.9% of Its Post Office Buildings

Assessing the Compensation of Public-School Teachers

The rule of the IQ elite

Ruth Marcus: Forget hope and change. President Obama's re-election campaign is going to be based on fear and loathing: fear of what a Republican takeover would mean, and loathing of whomever the Republican nominee turns out to be.

Tyson: Get off Romney's Back

Slight problem: Cain is surely likeable, but he doesn't know too much

He is an amateur. That's part of why people like him, but not a reason that people will decide to vote for him. Obama is still surprisingly popular.

Israel: A true ally in the Middle East - Israeli contributions to U.S. national interests, underappreciated by many, include enhanced counter-terrorism, intelligence and technology useful in urban warfare.

And Yet Another Green Energy Firm Awarded Stimulus Funds in Trouble!

It's called a government boondoggle - on my nickel

Posted by Bird Dog in Hot News & Misc. Short Subjects at 05:05 | Comments (14) | Trackbacks (0)

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"Tyson: Get off Romney's Back"

That was one of the better articles I've read in a fair while. I particularly liked this part, which I preached in my very first election post:

QUOTE:

We want to win. My guess is Romney will say whatever he needs to get elected. Good. More power to him. Let's win first, and then decide on a course of action.

And yet almost everything you've seen spewing out of both the bloggers' and commenters' mouths has been negative crap because this or that candidate held some position that the writer didn't exactly 1000% agree with, all of it in direct contravention to Reagan's 11th Commandment.

And while I usually don't comment on bad writing and typos (who's got that kind of time?), I thought this was kinda cute:

"...so he never really understood the passion that existed on the other side of the isle."

Although, granted, I suppose by strict definition continents actually are islands.

"He [Cain] is an amateur. That's part of why people like him, but not a reason that people will decide to vote for him."

Nicely put. He's a helluva likeable guy, and the crowds at the debates love him, but the future of a country goes far beyond 'likeable'.

Speaking of debates, have you heard about the Gingrich/Cain debate this Saturday? I'll blog on it later in the week. Although the subject matter is (yawn!) economics, it should be a kick watching just the two of them after all of the 'diluted' debates we've seen.

#1 Dr. Mercury (Link) on 2011-11-02 09:22 (Reply)

Cain's likeability certainly is strong. The future of the Country might do well with a high likeability quotient rather than someone with preconceived ideas of HOW things get 'done' in DC.

We're had more than enough of governance in lockstep muddling and meddling.

#1.1 Peccable (Link) on 2011-11-02 09:49 (Reply)

Cain is surely likeable, but he doesn't know too much

If there is one problem with Ace it is that he likes to pretend that he's not part of the political elite but a mere observer of the political scene from a conservative perspective. Nothing could be further from the truth. He is part of the Elite Conservative Chattering Class and this idiocy pretty much proves it.

Why? Read that quote again. The main thrust of Cain's argument about the huge difference between economic capability between China and the US goes completely unrecognized but it is the absolute truth. The whole nuclear capability thing is a side show - if he didn't know China had nuclear capability, so what? I doubt that, without looking it up, most of the Maggie's Field Hands couldn't name all of the nuclear capable powers running around in the world. I doubt that President Obama, of most of the Republican field for that matter, could name them all.

Cain's appeal is exactly what could very conceivably launch him into the White House - he's likable, has a good message, gaffs a little from time-to-time but he is an amateur politician. He's a smart guy who can adapt to circumstances with a huge practical resume and has demonstrated supreme leadership ability.

Bachelor’s degree in Mathematics, Master’s degree in Computer Science, Mathematician for the Navy, where he worked on missile ballistics (making him a rocket scientist), Computer systems analyst for Coca-Cola, VP of Corporate Data Systems and Services for Pillsbury, took 400 money losing Burger King restaurants in Philadelphia and made them profitable, did the same for Godfather's Pizza, bought Godfather's Pizza from Pillsbury, Adviser to the Federal Reserve System, Chairman of the Kansas City Federal Reserve Bank (one step below Bernacke), successful author, motivational speaker and radio show host.

What's not to like? However in Ace's reality, he's a dumbass who doesn't deserve to be in the game at all because he didn't know that China was nuclear capable. Others have pointed out that he could have confused operational aircraft carriers, didn't state the difference between capable and operational capacity - whatever. It's a minor blip on the huge screen of national politics.

The Conservative Elite, of which Ace is one n, don't like Cain because he has maverick potential and populist appeal. He's not part of the "Club". And that is what is really sad. We have standing right in front of us the complete anti-Obama, a true African American from humble roots who has demonstrated what he's all about and commentators like Ace are pissing on Cain's shoes because he doesn't know something about China.

It's disgusting.

#2 Tom Francis on 2011-11-02 09:47 (Reply)

I like Cain a lot. I like his style and as everybody has said, he is very likable. He's not a skilled politician - which could even be a plus. To put it mildly though, if he were to win, there would be a lot of OJT for him.

I think the reason he is doing so well is that he's not Romney. The Pubbie establishment wants Romney, it seems, but most of the rest of us are looking for somebody else. Cain is benefiting from Bachmann's and Perry's flame-outs. If Cain falls to earth and Perry doesn't catch fire again, I think it would be Newty who would challenge. Smart guy with a lot of baggage...

My 2 cents.

#2.1 mudbug on 2011-11-02 11:45 (Reply)

I actually think Romney would make a good President - not a great one, but a good one.

I think Cain has the potential to be a great one - a Republican Truman or an Eisenhower. It is just a question of whether he can learn as he goes and demonstrate that he can pick up and run with the ball. He's getting there.

I just can't accept Gingrich as a President candidate. Its a personal thing with me - I value integrity and he has never demonstrated personal integrity.

#2.1.1 Tom Francis on 2011-11-02 12:12 (Reply)

The narrative is that this is the first time Cain ever thought about politics. It isn’t: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herman_Cain#Political_activities

Reading Ace’s blockquote, I hear Cain saying China is developing nuclear capability, not tied to either context of warheads or carriers. But in the general sense that they are not afraid to use the atom to further their foreign ambitions.

It’s implausible that a kid who grew up in the Cold War and worked for the Navy would not know that China was in the nuclear club.

#2.2 foxmarks (Link) on 2011-11-02 12:25 (Reply)

So because you don't know the definition of the word "develop" Cain is unfit to be president?

?

de·vel·op [dih-vel-uhp]
verb (used with object)
1.
to bring out the capabilities or possibilities of; bring to a more advanced or effective state: to develop natural resources; to develop one's musical talent.
2.
to cause to grow or expand: to develop one's muscles.
3.
to elaborate or expand in detail: to develop a theory.
4.
to bring into being or activity; generate; evolve.
5.
Drafting. to transfer the details of (a more or less two-dimensional design, pattern, or the like) from one surface, especially one that is prismatic or cylindrical, onto another, usually planar, in such a way that the distances between points remain the same.

#3 notquiteunBuckley on 2011-11-02 12:16 (Reply)

Herman Cain is no novice to the political arena. He's been running for various political offices for about 10 years now. In that time he has had ample time to educate himself on domestic and foreign policy but doesn't seem to have bothered. The average online political junkie knows more about both these areas than this man who wants to be POTUS. I'm really tired of Conservatives making excuses for and giving this man, who is no more a Conservative than Mitt Romney is, a pass everytime he screws up--which is pretty much every day--but had the vapors when Rick Perry hurt their feelings by saying they were heartless.

#4 Kathryn of Wyoming on 2011-11-02 12:42 (Reply)

Yes, I kinda thought that all readers of Maggie's would be more on the ball and informed than he seems to be, at times.

Sorry to say that, to our Cain fans.

#4.1 BD on 2011-11-02 13:13 (Reply)

I'm a little put-off by his naïveté on several topics, but not turned off completely. I was also disappointed in his response to the Israeli prisoner swap (hundreds of terrorists for one soldier). I chalk up his poor handling of this sexual harassment deal to lack of political skills...

I like him. He's not my ideal candidate. I think he'd be A LOT better than what we have now.

#4.2 mudbug on 2011-11-02 13:16 (Reply)

Ok, I'll bite. What other political offices has Herman Cain run for? And where?

#4.3 Tom Francis on 2011-11-02 14:21 (Reply)

I thought I had heard that he ran for Governor of Georgia.Wikipedia says he ran for US Senate from Georgia in 2004.

#4.3.1 mudbug on 2011-11-02 15:19 (Reply)

With regard to the housing crisis and who to blame, read the book "Reckless Endangerment" before deciding. The wanton greed and corruption spread across Fannie and Freddie, the banks, Congress, legislatures, Wall Street, financial rating services, ACORN, other social groups, and local politicians is astounding, even to a cynic like me. The book shows that when you hear the term "public/private partnership" prepare to be looted.

#5 Juan Paxety (Link) on 2011-11-02 13:59 (Reply)

These are my personal opinions, so forgive the liberal use of "I":

I think it's rather early to get too hot under the bonnet over the Republican candidates; much can happen over the next months thanks to the putting-foot-in-mouth syndrome and the Axelrod-led storm troopers. Having worked with state and national campaigns since 1960, I can assure you there is more c$$p taking place that you don't see than what finally get to the MSM or the Internet. May I suggest rewatching the movie "The Candidate" to get a now-old perspective on the machinations going on in the various camps.

I don't like elitest-organized, pre-determined "winners" as Romney seems to be. All the other candidates bring something to the table that increases our knowledge and opens discussion; i.e. Ryan/Gingrich/Cain/Perry on our tax system. Or the difference in logistics and location regarding the immigration solution. I'm going to forget about "ideal" and look at a good package to put into leadership.

Re Juan's comment on"Reckless Endangerment," I'm impressed with the discussion it offers. Might be a good holiday/birthday gift for friends and family who enjoy a view into the intrigues of politics woven into private interests -- which, if you have enough money or control thereof, are one and the same. And when I say money, I mean the top .20%.

#6 jma on 2011-11-02 15:49 (Reply)

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Wednesday, November 2. 2011

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