tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post115751149097398102..comments2024-03-28T10:56:52.861-07:00Comments on CONTRARY BRIN: No help from Newt...David Brinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14465315130418506525noreply@blogger.comBlogger48125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-1157759141417880062006-09-08T16:45:00.000-07:002006-09-08T16:45:00.000-07:00Nicholas,I'm saying Newt was damaged politically, ...Nicholas,<BR/><BR/>I'm saying Newt <I>was</I> damaged politically, but he could have easily stayed on as Speaker of the House (arguably the most powerful position in the world during peacetime) if he had wanted to.<BR/><BR/>But, it would have cost him millions of dollars a year in income to do so...this probably played an important part in his decision to leave Congress.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-1157755104206791602006-09-08T15:38:00.000-07:002006-09-08T15:38:00.000-07:00Monkeyboy,I'm not sure what you're getting at. Co...Monkeyboy,<BR/><BR/>I'm not sure what you're getting at. Congressional salaries apply to both parties, but it's the GOP that's up to their eyeballs in graft. Even in the 80s, one or two Dems got busted, but Washington has never seen anything compared to Abramoff/DeLay/Cunningham/et al.<BR/><BR/>Besides, they (Congressmen) get $$ in speaking fees, book deals, TV talking head stuff, and frequently end up spending their post-Congressional career on the board of some large company or group.<BR/><BR/>We have to look deeper than just salaries.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-1157748480322594962006-09-08T13:48:00.000-07:002006-09-08T13:48:00.000-07:00Nicholas,Current annual Congressional pay: Sen...Nicholas,<BR/><BR/>Current annual Congressional pay:<BR/><BR/> Senate Leadership<BR/><BR/>Majority Leader - $183,500 <BR/>Minority Leader - $183,500 <BR/><BR/> House Leadership<BR/> <BR/>Speaker of the House - $212,100<BR/>Majority Leader - $183,500<BR/>Minority Leader - $183,500<BR/><BR/>Rank-and-File Members' Salary - $165,200<BR/><BR/>I remember Newt, while he was Speaker, had to turn down a $5 million book deal because it looked shady.<BR/><BR/>It must gnaw at these guys...they pass laws allocating hundreds of billions of dollars to their patrons...yet they earn about the same money as a dentist.<BR/><BR/>If you enter Congress fairly poor, the desire to "cash in" (become a lobbyist, etc.) while your party is still in power (and your connections have maximum value) must be tremendous...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-1157746271345124612006-09-08T13:11:00.000-07:002006-09-08T13:11:00.000-07:00Don,You forgot signing the Defense of Marriage Act...Don,<BR/><BR/>You forgot signing the Defense of Marriage Act, which is a piece of red meat for knuckle-dragging Culture Warriors.<BR/><BR/>Dr. Brin,<BR/><BR/>Clinton is also a charter member of the DLC, which was founded on corporate money with an interest in pulling Democrats away from populist roots. Without a real populism, Democrats really are Republicans Light with only their position in the Culture War to set them apart.<BR/><BR/>Now, the guy was a grown-up, and it's worth mentioning that he is better than any Republican that filled his job in the last thirty years. He also saw that to be free to do anything (whether "left" or "right"), he had to set the government's financial affairs in order to enable it to make strategic moves with its money. Of course, Dubya has gone and kneecapped this effort by giving all this money away to fellow kleptos.<BR/><BR/>But, on the spectrum of the party, Bill definitely hues toward the conservative. And his wife has definitely learned that you don't mess with Big Pharma (who have done their best to own her).Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-1157722915524678462006-09-08T06:41:00.000-07:002006-09-08T06:41:00.000-07:00David,Please do correct me, but Gingrich wasn't ab...David,<BR/><BR/>Please do correct me, but Gingrich wasn't abandoned, he follwed American political precedent. <BR/><BR/>In an off-year election, the President's party always loses seats. If I remember correctly, there have been three exceptions - 1934 (or 1938, I'm not sure), 1998, and 2002. In 1998, Gingrich resigned as a result of that loss. Gephardt did the same in 2002. I can only assume for the moment that something similar happened in 1934. <BR/><BR/>If I'm missing something regarding GOP abandonment of Newt, let me know.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-1157719009733592182006-09-08T05:36:00.000-07:002006-09-08T05:36:00.000-07:00Oh, and I forgot the Sonny Bono Copyright Term Ext...Oh, and I forgot the <A HREF="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sonny_Bono_Copyright_Term_Extension_Act" REL="nofollow">Sonny Bono Copyright Term Extension Act</A>, another fine perl from the Clinton Administration.Don Quijotehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03355584994080980478noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-1157715208404090642006-09-08T04:33:00.000-07:002006-09-08T04:33:00.000-07:00As for calling Clinton and Carter "conservative".....<I>As for calling Clinton and Carter "conservative"... well, it's all a matter of compared-to-what.</I><BR/><BR/>How about FDR, Truman, JFK or LBJ?<BR/><BR/>Are you telling me that NAFTA, WTO, Welfare Reform or the Telecommunications Act of 1996 were not conservative ideas, and that Clinton did not support them?Don Quijotehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03355584994080980478noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-1157709150029532312006-09-08T02:52:00.000-07:002006-09-08T02:52:00.000-07:00I think you're going too easy on Newt.Did you see ...I think you're going too easy on Newt.<BR/><BR/>Did you see his latest in the Wally Street? Jame's Wolcott rightly calls it <I>Newt Gingrich's expectorated gob of newsprint.</I><BR/><BR/>http://tinyurl.com/grua8<BR/><BR/>Has there been a bigger failure from Newt's playbook than the "privatization" of government services?<BR/><BR/>His latest vision is to let a thousand Halliburtons bloom so they can lead us, pants falling down to their ankles from all the loot stuffed in the pockets, into WWIII!<BR/><BR/>Wow...turns out he was the Sith Lord all along.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-1157690669134038992006-09-07T21:44:00.000-07:002006-09-07T21:44:00.000-07:00I am willing to disagree about Newt in a cordial w...I am willing to disagree about Newt in a cordial way. Certainly many people I respect feel as you do. I base my more forgiving attitude toward him upon:<BR/><BR/>1. the positive planks of the contract<BR/>2. his sci fi-ness<BR/>3. the fact that the real klepto-feudalists and fanatics ejected him, post haste<BR/>4. welfare reform showed the "Dr. Jekyll" side at work. If he had taken that attitude of working with Clinton, instead of biting the hand BC offered ("Mr. Hyde") Newt would have stayed in business and we wouldn't have got in this mess. So in a way it's all his schizoid fault.<BR/><BR/>As for calling Clinton and Carter "conservative"... well, it's all a matter of compared-to-what. When the NAACP and nearly every African American leader called Bill Clinton "the first Black President of the United States," it kind of makes the lefty whiners who bitched at him look REALLY effete and dogmatic.<BR/><BR/>Thing is, they were unable to get very specific. What the $%#*! did they want? He damn near ruined his presidency trying for a vastly too-ambitious health care bill, instead of incrementally starting with all children.<BR/><BR/>Some people are never satisfied, again, personality.David Brinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14465315130418506525noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-1157685304031162622006-09-07T20:15:00.000-07:002006-09-07T20:15:00.000-07:00Since 1968, you have 12 years of Conservative Demo...<I>Since 1968, you have 12 years of Conservative Democrats and 26 years of repugs in power.</I><BR/><BR/>I disagree, in that we still have a handful of Rockefeller Republicans; they're still purging. Nor was Nixon, whose proposed national healthcare plan made Clinton's look positively Libertarian by comparison, the same strain of conservative as the current crop of kleptocrats. <BR/><BR/>Hearkening to David's essay on memes, where he describes Oriental, Macho, Enlightenment, and one other worldview which escapes me, we tend to elect "macho" presidents (Carter being the sole exception since '68, but then he was up against Ford!). <BR/><BR/>I still say '94 because the GOP in '68 bears no resemblance to the GOP now. <BR/><BR/>On a side note, why the hell are they the GOP? The Dems are either 25 or 65 years older than the Republicans, depending on whether one considers the Dems founded by Jefferson in 1792, or Jackson in 1828. Grand Old Party. Bah.<BR/><BR/>And David (if I may call you David!), despite Gingrich having a few agreeable planks in his Contract with America, I disagree that he's ever really been an "honest" conservative. His tactics, like Rove's, destroyed any possibility of rational debate. No compromise was possible, until literally forced into government shutdown, a face-off that Clinton won, and the GOP lost by over-reach. Other than that, the Atwater/Rove tactic of demonization coupled with an echo chamber of complicit mass-media outlets has contributed, indeed I would say provided the foundation for the situation today, where 30% of Americans are apparently all too willing to let Bush play at being Caesar if he so chooses.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-1157675724459959352006-09-07T17:35:00.000-07:002006-09-07T17:35:00.000-07:00The GOP took power in most respects in '94. One co...<I>The GOP took power in most respects in '94. One could make a case for '80, but we'll stick with '94. The GOP still hasn't "purged" all the Chuck Hagels and Linc Chafees from the party yet.</I><BR/><BR/>Actually 1968!<BR/><BR/>Nixon R( crooked but Sane),<BR/>Ford R (Sane),<BR/>Carter D (Conservative),<BR/>Reagan R,<BR/>Bush Sr R,<BR/>Clinton D (Conservative),<BR/>Bush R (Insane)<BR/><BR/>Since 1968, you have 12 years of Conservative Democrats and 26 years of repugs in power.<BR/><BR/>All the sane republicans have long been purged out of the party, or rendered powerless.Don Quijotehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03355584994080980478noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-1157673304296150722006-09-07T16:55:00.000-07:002006-09-07T16:55:00.000-07:00I'm keeping low in this post since local politics ...I'm keeping low in this post since local politics is not something I can add to.<BR/><BR/>Still, a bit of trivia I've just read seems relevant to the woes we face: this year marks the 300th anniversary of Ben Franklin's birth.<BR/><BR/>Comforting numerology it may be, but it should count for something.Tony Fiskhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14578160528746657971noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-1157672507704811152006-09-07T16:41:00.000-07:002006-09-07T16:41:00.000-07:00Dr. Brin,Despite robust economic growth last year,...Dr. Brin,<BR/><BR/><I>Despite robust economic growth last year, 1.1 million more Americans slipped into poverty in 2004, while household incomes stagnated and earnings fell, the Census Bureau reported yesterday. The number of Americans without health insurance rose by 800,000, to 45.8 million.</I><BR/><BR/>http://tinyurl.com/d8vqc<BR/><BR/>How will we ever get our model right when we can't even agree on the facts?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-1157671398864916342006-09-07T16:23:00.000-07:002006-09-07T16:23:00.000-07:00Um, Monkyboy, again, you just don’t seem to have a...Um, Monkyboy, again, you just don’t seem to have a clue.<BR/><BR/>Um... the same “lefty” labor unions that performed the Miracle of 1947, declaring war on Communism and propelling aggressive containment?<BR/><BR/>Um... you mean the same university?GIBill arrangement as we have today, only sending a QUARTER as many people to college as we do now?<BR/><BR/>In fact, the terrifying restoration of the class system is not happening as much at the bottom as at the top. Poverty is not rising, but the middle class is being spat on and their pensions robbed in order to finance a skyrocketing of privilege and unearned wealth on the part of a new (an unaccountable) oligarchy. THAT is where the wealth disparity is taking place.<BR/><BR/>It is even more true worldwide. Poverty per capita is plummetting worldwide as new middle classes form in many lands. The danger is from oligarchs grabbing power and becoming old fashioned feudal parasites.<BR/><BR/>Your model is just plain wrong.<BR/><BR/>---<BR/><BR/>Folks if you face anybody who believes the lying pack of drivel airing on ABC, remind them about the Balkans/Iraq comparison at: http://www.davidbrin.com/neocons.html<BR/><BR/>The list is staggering. Perfect. Un-debatable. Overwhelming.David Brinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14465315130418506525noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-1157669479324798762006-09-07T15:51:00.000-07:002006-09-07T15:51:00.000-07:00Nicholas,I don't find the Republicans and the Demo...Nicholas,<BR/><BR/>I don't find the Republicans and the Democrats distasteful, I see quite a few admirable people in both parties.<BR/><BR/>Life ain't bad in most of the former challengers for world domination like Germany, Japan, Britain, France, Italy and Spain.<BR/><BR/>I see America as an old man, struggling against the effort of rising powers like China and India to put us in that world domination retirement home.<BR/><BR/>I think that , rather than struggle against our inevitable fall from the top with impotent military gestures...we should survey our fellow former world powers and take from them what is working...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-1157668157128584282006-09-07T15:29:00.000-07:002006-09-07T15:29:00.000-07:00"I'm not saying it's impossible to start America m..."I'm not saying it's impossible to start America moving back towards a diamond-shaped economy...I just don't see the Republicans or the Democrats coming up with a way to do it."<BR/><BR/>Monkeboy, you almost have a point here but I think it requires clarification.<BR/><BR/>The GOP took power in most respects in '94. One could make a case for '80, but we'll stick with '94. The GOP still hasn't "purged" all the Chuck Hagels and Linc Chafees from the party yet. Give the Dems power *first* and then worry about getting rid of unsavory elements, if that's what floats your boat. Certainly, any modernist worth his/her salt is skeptical of ANYONE holding the reins in Washington (or Albany, Austin, Sacramento, etc) and if the Dems win I fully intend to keeep an eye and do what I can to see that they don't screw it up. They eventually will, that's reality. <BR/><BR/>The Greens aren't going to get elected. Frankly I don't think they want to based on my experience with them in 2001 - as Dr. Brin points out in numerous essays, they're too busy being "pure." <BR/><BR/>I guess what I'm wondering is, if both parties are so distasteful to you, what is your solution?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-1157667628858791192006-09-07T15:20:00.001-07:002006-09-07T15:20:00.001-07:00Not to go off of a tangent, but I miss ol' Bill......Not to go off of a tangent, but I miss ol' Bill... <BR/><BR/>Now "They" are trying to smear his legacy and pin Osama on him in ABC/Disney's goofy "Path to 9/11".<BR/><BR/>http://www.cnn.com/2006/SHOWBIZ/TV/09/07/911.film.clinton.offic.ap/index.htmlAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-1157667614681626722006-09-07T15:20:00.000-07:002006-09-07T15:20:00.000-07:00Dr. Brin,The short, happy life of your diamond-sha...Dr. Brin,<BR/><BR/>The short, happy life of your diamond-shaped society, roughly 1945-1970, had many unique ingedients, and I'm not sure we'll ever have that recipe again:<BR/><BR/>All of our major economic competitors bombed back to the stone age.<BR/><BR/>Worker friendly tech that helped workers, but didn't replace them.<BR/><BR/>Strong "lefty" labor unions.<BR/><BR/>China under the control of a crazy leader.<BR/><BR/>The G.I. bill, that gave many workers a shot at college that they wouldn't ordinarily have.<BR/><BR/>The fresh memory of the Great Depression spurring everybody to work hard and save, save, save! (Americans are actually spending more than they earn now...for the first time since 1933).<BR/><BR/>I'm not saying it's impossible to start America moving back towards a diamond-shaped economy...I just don't see the Republicans <I>or</I> the Democrats coming up with a way to do it.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-1157655651405384242006-09-07T12:00:00.000-07:002006-09-07T12:00:00.000-07:00Again, personality. Sorry. But the diamond was B...Again, personality. <BR/><BR/>Sorry. But the diamond was BUILT! Instead of calling the slump toward pyramid shape "systemic" you might ponder HOW it was built, and notice that millions of modernist/progressives want it rebuilt.<BR/><BR/>But alas, sorry. Marxism is utterly and overwhelmingly DISproved, along with all of its incantation cousins.<BR/><BR/>How hilariously ironic! The dyspeptic lefties ahrug at Bush, say he's just a symptom, out in a few years anyway. What's to get lathered about?<BR/><BR/>It is we moderate modernist reformers and pragmatic progressives who are furious, fired up, filled with fear and utter loathing, knowing that the very republic -- the whole experiment -- may be teetering in the balance!<BR/><BR/>There is an underlying reason for this, I think.<BR/><BR/>To the left, there is a silver lining to all that the neocons do. Radicalization and a return to genuine class warfare. Yummy!<BR/><BR/>They never did know what to do with a guy like Clinton. They hated (and betrayed) him almost as much as Limbaugh did.David Brinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14465315130418506525noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-1157651815788600442006-09-07T10:56:00.000-07:002006-09-07T10:56:00.000-07:00Dr. Brin,I agree with everything you say about Bus...Dr. Brin,<BR/><BR/>I agree with everything you say about Bushie and his pals, but they will be out of our hair in a few years.<BR/><BR/>I see America's problems as systemic, not created by specific individuals, no matter how corrupt and evil they may be.<BR/><BR/>My biggest concern is your famous diamond-shaped society has be reverting back to a triangle-shaped society for the past 30 years under both Democratic and Republican contol of our government.<BR/><BR/>The Republicans aren't the only ones who have been hiding behind the issue of terrorism for the last 5 years...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-1157650423733808352006-09-07T10:33:00.000-07:002006-09-07T10:33:00.000-07:00Monkeyboy, Democrats have been criticizing the va...Monkeyboy, Democrats have been criticizing the various unconstitutional measures long before Bush publicly admitted to them. Admitting them is his attempt at damage control. <BR/><BR/>Don't forget that the Dems ould scream about it from the rooftops, but the newspapers and TV news aren't interested in those issues. They're not as sexy as Natalee Holloway.<BR/><BR/>As far as screaming to the party faithful about such matters, I get email from all the assorted Dem groups (DNC, DSCC, DCCC) about that stuff every couple days. They're using it to fire up the base, since it's not playing well on the news.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-1157650019262652872006-09-07T10:26:00.000-07:002006-09-07T10:26:00.000-07:00Again, this is a matter of personality. If a pers...Again, this is a matter of personality. If a person is so inclined, he can establish a litmus test designed to reach a foregone conclusion. One could just as easily set THIS bar and ask if the Democrats would:<BR/><BR/>re-establish committee hearings that issue subpoenas concerning felonious malfeasance in office...<BR/><BR/>re-establish Congressional scientific advisory boards<BR/><BR/>block all further radical neocon nominations to federal courts<BR/><BR/>Restore lawful contract processes and end the flood of billions pouring from our fiscal veins into the gaping maws of parasites<BR/><BR/>reverse the shroud of secrecy, worse than we ever saw in the Cold war<BR/><BR/>bring home the Guard and Reserves and force the President to justify using up the regular army in a debatable war of "elective surgery"<BR/><BR/>and so on...<BR/><BR/>I could go on and on, But M does not pose any of those issues as his litmus test, because the PRE-determined conclusion that he has already set out to reach is "they're alll worthless; leave me to my indignant fury; I hate em all."<BR/><BR/>(My words, but did I paraphrase pretty well?)<BR/><BR/>Tell you what, Monkyboy. Let's swap votes. In this district, we have a dumb-ass Santa Monica liberal ranting all the stuff you like, incapable of saying just twenty words that might swing decent conservatives, in an overwhelmingly gerry'd conservative district, to vote against Duke's awful replacement.<BR/><BR/>Tell you what. Let's swap. I'll vote for her if you'll swear to back the Dem in that hot race (and stop bitching). Or else, I'll sit this race out FOR you while you spend MY vote in your district. Satisfying enough?David Brinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14465315130418506525noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-1157644678438851372006-09-07T08:57:00.000-07:002006-09-07T08:57:00.000-07:00I don't remember seeing any Democrats speaking out...I don't remember seeing any Democrats speaking out against the CIA's secret prisons after Bush revealed their existence.<BR/><BR/>Don't they have to earn our votes?<BR/><BR/>Just a little?<BR/><BR/>If the Democrats help pass the "Super Duper Patriot Bill That Only A Terrorist Would Vote Against" which is actually just a bill that absolves anyone who has been involved in torture and illegal detention these past 5 years...and lets Bush continue operating with the same methods...<BR/><BR/>I just may not vote at all this November...and I live in one of the "hotly contested" House districts.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-1157638233337938862006-09-07T07:10:00.000-07:002006-09-07T07:10:00.000-07:00On the subject of Newt, I noticed a comment today ...On the subject of Newt, I noticed a comment today on the CATO blog, http://www.cato-at-liberty.org/2006/09/07/gingrichs-big-government-manifesto/<BR/><BR/>"Much of the proposal is simple pandering to various base groups. Confronted with the many serious problems facing this country, Newt proposes that Republicans base their campaign on such crucial issues as declaring English to be the national language, forbidding the courts from considering cases involving the words “under God” in the pledge of allegiance, and creating a national voter ID card. Many other proposals would explicitly increase the size of government. For example, Gingrich would expand No Child Left Behind to create national teacher competency standards."<BR/><BR/>(Yes, I'm quite aware of the, I believe justified, criticism of some CATO positions that seem to effectively had the keys of the kingdom over to a bunch of corporate cronies as bad or worse then the theocratic regime currently in power all in the name of "free markets", BUT I still find the vast majority of thier opinions, particularly on the civil liberties side to be expeceptionally good. So I refuse throw that baby out with the bath water. ;))Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-1157633329259723532006-09-07T05:48:00.000-07:002006-09-07T05:48:00.000-07:00I've been lurking here for a while.Bryan, that was...I've been lurking here for a while.<BR/><BR/>Bryan, that was a terrific post. Thanks a lot for a beautiful summary.<BR/><BR/>We had our staunch Republican neighbors over for lunch on Labor day. Now, we never ever ever discuss politics or religion in the US, right? (A tragic shame BTW especially compared to how the rest of the world lives.) However, and thanks to this site, I mentioned that Goldwater would have a fit with the current bunch of thugs running things. After first registering astonishment at my faux pas, my neighbor reluctantly agreed. We did not return to the topic though.NoOnehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08685249095572192084noreply@blogger.com