tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post326444286472664040..comments2024-03-28T14:07:18.682-07:00Comments on CONTRARY BRIN: Things to watch for in the debate... plus many paranoias!David Brinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14465315130418506525noreply@blogger.comBlogger120125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-1582059245853905412008-10-12T09:29:00.000-07:002008-10-12T09:29:00.000-07:00Renzo: Odd reaction, Tolo, to get defensive about ...<B>Renzo: Odd reaction, Tolo, to get defensive about whose state lures terrorists best. A reflexive internecine antagonism borne, I fear, of our desiccated education system. Jefferson Davis would approve.</B><BR/><BR/>I have to add to your list a significant and valuable California product, Contrary Brin. And I do enjoy SecondLife on occasion, played on my Imac. And my Huy Fong Sriracha hot chili sauce, and Caesar's Fried Chicken, and Val's makes one of the nation's best hamburger and a great steak sandwich, and E&J's BBQ ain't so bad..... <BR/><BR/>Living not too far from Fremont, and sometimes Riverside, for part of the year, I won't disagree with much of what you wrote. But also in Houston/Dallas, Charlotte, Minneapolis, NYC, and Birmingham, and others, and I write this reply from Fairfax, VA. <BR/><BR/>I am merely contrary to the premise (espoused in the quote from David) that somehow there is inherent and direct correlation between the very negative attribute list I quoted ( government dependency, immorality, sexual perversion, dishealth, and unworthy, that our enemies would disdain the reds in favor of the vaunted blue faces of the West/Northern alliance) and the latitude/longitude or even particular political bent of a fellow American.. <BR/><BR/>IMHO, the underpinning of our troubles with our political structure, and the way we are ruled, is, to a great degree, because Americans, for all their we-the people exposition, are, in essence, myopically tribal in their thinking. MY little region is superior and the rest, unclean, unworthy, and beneath we the wonderful. <BR/><BR/>The red/blue divide is not a lot about basic philosophy, and much more about the regional/tribal divide. The essence of our two major parties is more a reflection of this idiopathic split rather than any cognitive dissonance.<BR/><BR/>Beside which, we needed a new main topic thread, this one grown somewhat old, nebulous, and stale, and it got us one! (thanks David..)<BR/><BR/>Rubbing salve on the wounds, jerking on that chain really.....Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15102592062470953915noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-27337429139152877082008-10-11T23:36:00.000-07:002008-10-11T23:36:00.000-07:00David, Tolo, Renzo... Are you all referring to th...David, Tolo, Renzo...<BR/><BR/> Are you all referring to the same terrorist events? Domestic vs. foreign?<BR/><BR/> Considering the frequency (7 and 13 years past), to me it is one of the strangest things to think of places as being actively targeted for terrorist events... If there are any lists of targets, I'd call them wish-lists... instead of thinking about them like a grocery-list.<BR/><BR/> To be frank, the most endangered 'targets' in the country are people and buildings connected to abortion, with seven large incidents over the past three years. In this sense the stereotypes of the right aren't merely sneering at the stereotypes of the left, they are actively trying to kill them.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-84591705126990591892008-10-11T21:58:00.000-07:002008-10-11T21:58:00.000-07:00Odd reaction, Tolo, to get defensive about whose s...Odd reaction, Tolo, to get defensive about whose state <B>lures terrorists best</B>. A reflexive internecine antagonism borne, I fear, of our desiccated education system. Jefferson Davis would approve.<BR/><BR/>The emetic "retort" itself can hardly be addressed without shock and horror. Ignore California's "mere" 10% slice of the country's total population, disregard its "fifth largest economy in the <I>world</I>", woefully misapprehend the scope and indispensability of its agriculture and STILL The Golden State remains <I>a treasury of mouthwatering terrorist-target delights</I>. <BR/><BR/>To recognize them, one needn't Google any deeper than Onizuka AFS, Vandenberg AFB, Edwards AFB -- each of which are DoD Earth Terminals -- JPL, Stanford, UCB, Caltech, CalPoly, Lawrence Livermore, Lockheed Martin, NASA Ames Research Center, Xerox PARC, Almaden Research Center, SRI, Cisco, Google, Intel, every major tech company HQ (without which Chinese manufactories are disarticulated appendages), <I>the list never ends</I>. The state's prodigious culture spawn, characterized by the unobservant as needless cruft, is in fact an <I>essential disseminator</I> of American PR, crucial to our image.<BR/><BR/>The spiteful ignoramus might add, "and HP continues to make a better calculator than TI".<BR/><BR/>But spite prefigures division. Let's acknowledge the burden -- and the danger -- as <I>shared</I>.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-16578493832361894442008-10-11T21:54:00.000-07:002008-10-11T21:54:00.000-07:00Brin said...And sure, the nuanced approach seems c...<I>Brin said...<BR/>And sure, the nuanced approach seems contrary to my present extreme partisanship. But the explanation is really quite simple. I do not support an overwhelming and titanic stomp-victory by the Democratic party because I think they are wonderful. I support an overwhelming and titanic stomp-victory by the Democratic party because their opponents have turned the entire GOP into a nest of vampires, know-nothing harpies and dogmatic nation-rapers. The democrats are the obvious instrument for correcting this historical monstrosity. <BR/></I><BR/><BR/>I don't think that many here disagree with the main principles; Democrats are screwed up and slightly larcenous but the Republicans are have betrayed America and perhaps all of humanity as they've forced us on a road of consumption when the earth may just make us pay for the abuse. History abounds of examples of even primitive man killing himself off by abusing the environment. Usually, this was confined to one or two tribes. I'm just picking only one of the many that I'm angry about with the Republicans for the last 30 years.<BR/><BR/>We have to be above all pragmatic. We cannot have nearly a perfect system but maybe one that works. You must use one group in power to defeat another one. Punishing the Republicans can never happen if you also go after the Democrats -- choose a damn battle and win it. <BR/><BR/>And if you want Universal Healthcare -- which seems like Edwards had the most pragmatic idea of making the Government an insurer and competing them out of business -- then don't try and take on the Oil Industry, Banking, and big Agro. You can easily sell out to all these industries like our current Republicans did -- but you can't take them all on at once.<BR/><BR/>>> Brin, my apologies to the Whig party. I truly think that their ideas were noble but they just had no faith in commoners, they might not have sold us out to a foreign power for their own pockets. LOL...<BR/><BR/>>>I was trying to find a quote about Lincoln and banking -- this was at least interesting if not the target; http://www.xat.org/xat/usury.html<BR/>The speculation crazy, but the historical facts interesting. But it was definitely true that Lincoln feared the banks more than the Confederacy.<BR/><BR/>I don't know if it was Brin or I who first posted here regarding the Bush Presidency explained as a bank heist. It may be one of those rising consciousness memes that many people come to all at once.<BR/><BR/>Occasionally, you need to remind yourself that you really know nothing. Between the planted stories in the press and the poorly reported stories -- and then ones that nobody but the victim and the perpetrator know about -- nobody is going to tell you anything unless it serves their purpose.<BR/><BR/>Does a fractional reserve system, with a privatized fed that can skim profits every time it prints money or passes a treasury note coupled with privatized banks that can factor and charge interest even a workable system? I was listening to a lady who's name escapes me on Thom Hartmann's show -- and she was talking about the history of banking. They seemed to come to the conclusion that our banking system will ALWAYS create a deficit, because to pay off the money CREATED and the interest on a debt -- someone else in the system must take on more credit from a bank. There is a continuos growth of debt that requires the velocity of money to increase to provide enough value to service the ever extended credit. So, our crashes are inevitable. Perhaps pyrrhic victories are something well known by old money folks.<BR/><BR/>I imagine that a privileged few, look on the world with disdain, and wars and wealth are just momentary pockets in the sun. Germany is in control and then it falls, and from the ashes comes America, and then it falls -- and they've moved onto Dubai. One day it will have its equivalent of Reaganomics and worship profits over people and it will be their time for harvest.<BR/><BR/>But the shadow economy of CDS and Derivatives and God knows if even the Central Bank doesn't let offshore Accounts in the Caymans just digitally invent credits to keep the game rolling. Money is relative and the shadow economy is so many times bigger than any value in reality that it can never be cashed out. Maybe so many leaders know the score in this game and that entrance to the Billionaires club is this terrible secret; Wars are necessary because our system doesn't work -- but it maintains order. Our monetary system requires the building of Castles and the rescue of Knights against real or imagined enemies.<BR/><BR/>We think of the ancient Egyptians as quite foolish building their large pyramids to get into heaven. Such a wasteful and grandiose gesture. But the Pharaohs had to do something with the 6 months out of the year that no crops were farmed. So either they grew to adopt a convenient theology or it was invented to be convenient -- but building these structures kept people busy. You took the excess money and buried it in the ground to go on a river boat to heaven -- and someone else dug a hole and made new coins from all that treasure.<BR/><BR/>And all this makes me think of the forgotten story of a mysterious <A HREF="http://goldismoney.info/forums/archive/index.php/t-20524.html" REL="nofollow">$3 Trillion in Federal Notes that showed up in Manilla </A>-- allegedly forgeries. Or was it dug up from a Pyramid to be useful to send more credits to heaven?<BR/><BR/>Everything I think I know may likely be bullshit. I'm sure that more than one glass of thousand dollar scotch has been lifted by rich robber barons who thought themselves so very clever. But I hope at least, one day, that the little guy get back control, from these people who think that God wanted them to be in charge. Who knows if it is the Council on Foreign Relations or Leprechauns. I definitely think though that Bush and Paulson are on the payroll.Fake_William_Shatnerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09027049743048836086noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-5639061846360514202008-10-11T21:19:00.000-07:002008-10-11T21:19:00.000-07:00Guys & Gals, please? Let it rest.Guys & Gals, please? Let it rest.David Brinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14465315130418506525noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-11613782580470738772008-10-11T20:46:00.000-07:002008-10-11T20:46:00.000-07:00How's that karma sandwich tastin', Z?How's that karma sandwich tastin', Z?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-66937552206241337182008-10-11T20:24:00.000-07:002008-10-11T20:24:00.000-07:00Interesting that Bill Moyer is a member of that gr...Interesting that Bill Moyer is a member of that great unwashed group referred to below, hailing as he does from Marshall, Texas. <BR/><BR/>Great BBQ there, BTW.<BR/><BR/>David Brin said elsewhere: "the parts of the country that are net recipients of government largess (net tax-receivers) and who are NOT likely targets of terrorism, and who have the worst marriage/sex/morality statistics, obsessively sneer at the net-taxpayers who raise healthier kids and who live in the terror cross hairs."<BR/><BR/>HA HA HA, Like LA? Chicago?? NYC?? Detroit?? Washington D.C. and dozens of others?? Hmmm, need to get out a little more, don't ya think??<BR/><BR/>Spoken like a, well, true Californian... Ah, wait, there are whole bunch of Californians and New Yorkers in Texas. Actually far more of the people who live in Texas, and most of the other Red States, are from elsewhere and they outnumber the native born by a large percent.<BR/><BR/>US teenage pregnancy statistics: "In general, states with the largest numbers of teenagers also had the greatest number of teenage <BR/>pregnancies. California reported the highest number of adolescent pregnancies (113,000), followed by Texas, New York, Florida and Illinois (with about 37,000–80,000 each)."<BR/><BR/>Terrorists? One of the very fastest ways to reduce the US to third world country status, permanently, is to stop the production of our petrochemical based raw materials. Most are produced South of Houston. And don't forget oil and gas.<BR/><BR/>NPRA Reports 4th Quarter 2006 U.S. Petrochemical Production: "In the fourth <B>quarter</B> of 2006, total production of the 15 petrochemicals surveyed and reportable was <B>48.2 billion pounds.</B>" <BR/><BR/>Most of these are produced 100% South of Houston, and many of the others are 90%+ produced there. And this is only one of the many huge industrial bases in that city including electronics, machinery manufacturing, medical, agriculture, and many, many others.<BR/><BR/>They are even rumored to have a space center there.....<BR/><BR/>lol, lets see, Al Qaeda would rather hit, hmm, lets see, on the one hand, the basic infrastructure that would decimate our country's military and manufacturing sector and on the other, what? The three stooges next movie?? A few of supermarket quality tomatoes? Don't even make computers out there anymore since they outsourced it all to, um, would that be China??<BR/><BR/>Though, I would really miss Val's burgers in Hayward, Ca.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15102592062470953915noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-28470373897866558312008-10-11T19:15:00.000-07:002008-10-11T19:15:00.000-07:00Watched the George Soros interview on Bill Moyers ...Watched the George Soros interview on Bill Moyers Journal today on my TiVo. (Never travel without it...) <BR/><BR/>Did not make me warm and fuzzy. <BR/><BR/>George Soros sees solutions but didn't see a lot of hope that Bush would do what was necessary to avoid a disaster. Too little, too late. He says we need to get the banks flush with cash, but at the expense of the share holders. He also says that the bilked homeowners should not bear the brunt of this refinance. Estimates that 20+ million homes are at risk. He also thinks Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson should be replaced. <BR/><BR/>Am I the only one who noticed that every time Bush or Paulson hits the TV screen that the stock market takes a major hit??<BR/><BR/>Transcript: http://www.pbs.org/moyers/journal/10102008/watch.htmlAnonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15102592062470953915noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-76553979223658062052008-10-11T18:12:00.000-07:002008-10-11T18:12:00.000-07:00Rob, I find a fleck of mud on my "group" less irks...Rob, I find a fleck of mud on my "group" less irksome than vile imagery that drags in my family. Let's drop it and hope Z decides we are worth an apology. If not, good luck to him finding as lively a community.<BR/>davidbrin@sbcglobal.netDavid Brinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14465315130418506525noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-23431839123131415792008-10-11T16:52:00.000-07:002008-10-11T16:52:00.000-07:00If you're logged in, then your own comments come d...If you're logged in, then your own comments come decorated with a small "garbage can" icon which you can use to delete your post. The icon appears on the "leave your comment" page. <BR/><BR/>If you post anonymously or with name/url, you have no such control. <BR/><BR/>I missed the offense-giving completely this round; Z's posts are simply far, far too long for the time I have.<BR/><BR/>Even so, I regret its necessity, too. But Z- gave offense to one of my own factions last round, so I understand it.Rob Perkinshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15618647194288598056noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-27822988172013001552008-10-11T15:56:00.000-07:002008-10-11T15:56:00.000-07:00In some blogmunities, a comment-poster can withdra...In some blogmunities, a comment-poster can withdraw his own posts. As I administer this one, I wasn't sure. So I went ahead and deleted them all myself.<BR/><BR/>This saddens me. Z was a net asset and helped attract some lively people, curious to see which direction the manic brilliance would go next. But anyone who would not recognize and own up to the need to make amends for offensive behavior is someone who is in no position to lecture to us -- no matter how many links he offers -- about morality.David Brinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14465315130418506525noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-6413855573841628162008-10-11T15:39:00.000-07:002008-10-11T15:39:00.000-07:00"As he has refused to withdraw the posting or" I k..."As he has refused to withdraw the posting or" <BR/><BR/>I know how the owner of a blog does it, I just thought that from the above statement, there might be a way for the author of a comment to delete one. Sometimes when commenting from a Blackberry, errors creep in undetected.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15102592062470953915noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-42684849723182264062008-10-11T14:28:00.000-07:002008-10-11T14:28:00.000-07:00First, one writes half-dozen world class short sto...First, one writes half-dozen world class short stories, 9 World-class novels, and whole bunch of other "extremely good" fiction.<BR/><BR/>Then, one writes a bunch of interesting essays.<BR/><BR/>Then, one starts a blog, invites people to comment, and deletes what one feels like ;)<BR/><BR/>Representatives from the IMF are at the G7 summit going on right now, and they're dictating what they believe to be "acceptable policy" and Zorgon had to go be a putz?<BR/><BR/>WHERE THE HELL AM I SUPPOSED TO FIND A LINK - MINE LIKE HE PROVIDES!!!!<BR/><BR/>Grrrrr. BAD ZORGON!!!<BR/><BR/>"The Malevolent" should have been a clue I guess. <BR/><BR/>Damnit.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-6359596439428887142008-10-11T14:09:00.000-07:002008-10-11T14:09:00.000-07:00How does one remove a post?How does one remove a post?Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15102592062470953915noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-82480106358836558642008-10-11T13:39:00.000-07:002008-10-11T13:39:00.000-07:00Doug are you crazy? Why would you ask such a ques...Doug are you crazy? Why would you ask such a question in such a way? The answer is yes. Now you go take a class in tact, too. Or ask any woman.<BR/><BR/>Yeesh, you guys are starting to really bug me.David Brinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14465315130418506525noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-13878950924867616432008-10-11T13:37:00.000-07:002008-10-11T13:37:00.000-07:00This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.Doug S.https://www.blogger.com/profile/11918949543315280580noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-79212438986240926712008-10-11T13:29:00.000-07:002008-10-11T13:29:00.000-07:00All right, I hate to do this, because it means we ...All right, I hate to do this, because it means we all suffer... including Zorgon-plus. But my wife scanned this comment section (I hoped she wouldn't) and was personally insulted and distressed.<BR/><BR/>As he has refused to withdraw the posting or apologize, I have no other recourse than to banish Zorgon, until such time as he is willing to own up that he needs a serious upgrade-intervention in courtesy and tact.David Brinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14465315130418506525noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-41818638705913845072008-10-11T09:39:00.000-07:002008-10-11T09:39:00.000-07:00But what kind of diplomacy would any president hav...But what kind of diplomacy would any president have with Iran. The Iranian regime has made it pretty clear that they consider uranium enrichment and nuclear power a national right. Most of the population agrees. What's the next step?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-4270449001820073942008-10-11T02:51:00.000-07:002008-10-11T02:51:00.000-07:00Khatami is pretty much a shoe-in in 2009 if Obama ...Khatami is pretty much a shoe-in in 2009 if Obama wins this year.<BR/><BR/>Imadinnerjacket is history.<BR/><BR/>I know the Iranian President has about as much power as the House Speaker does here, but getting rid of Mr. "Stinking Corpse" will make Diplomacy much more feasible.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-12986148509049680272008-10-11T02:12:00.000-07:002008-10-11T02:12:00.000-07:00I heard on NPR yesterday someone propose that Obam...I heard on NPR yesterday someone propose that Obama pull a Nixon-in-China in Iran...<BR/><BR/>...Either one of the DNC chiefs has realized the obvious, or someone up there is reading our eponymous blogger...Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15030764857062052822noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-61794869223691060442008-10-10T20:58:00.000-07:002008-10-10T20:58:00.000-07:00David Brin said: A new IMF study examines 124 e...<I>David Brin said:<BR/><BR/> A new IMF study examines 124 episodes of "systemic banking distress" ...... Among the conclusions: crises don't always lead to governmental collapse — but changes in government keep recovery costs down.....<BR/><BR/> The fifth lesson is that centralized asset-recovery regimes have a poor record. <BR/> <BR/> http://www.theglobalist.com/StoryId.aspx?StoryId=7277</I><BR/><BR/><BR/>A similar story focused on one county, Sweden, where they faced the same issues in banking that we face today and explains how they solved the crisis there.<BR/><BR/><BR/> How Sweden Solved Its Bank Crisis - NYTimes.com<BR/><BR/> A banking system in crisis after the collapse of a housing bubble. An economy hemorrhaging jobs. A market-oriented government struggling to stem the panic. Sound familiar?<BR/><BR/> It does to Sweden. The country was so far in the hole in 1992 — after years of imprudent regulation, short-sighted economic policy and the end of its property boom — that its banking system was, for all practical purposes, insolvent.<BR/><BR/> But Sweden took a different course than the one now being proposed by the United States Treasury. And Swedish officials say there are lessons from their own nightmare that Washington may be missing.<BR/><BR/> Sweden did not just bail out its financial institutions by having the government take over the bad debts. It extracted pounds of flesh from bank shareholders before writing checks. Banks had to write down losses and issue warrants to the government.<BR/><BR/> That strategy held banks responsible and turned the government into an owner. When distressed assets were sold, the profits flowed to taxpayers, and the government was able to recoup more money later by selling its shares in the companies as well. <BR/><BR/><B>This article seems to validate the above conclusions.</B>Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15102592062470953915noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-80045776885143310832008-10-10T19:18:00.000-07:002008-10-10T19:18:00.000-07:00A new IMF study examines 124 episodes of “systemic...A new IMF study examines 124 episodes of “systemic banking distress” (defined as situations where all bank capital is wiped out) in 102 countries. Using these data, along with available information on governmental characteristics of these countries, there are some lessons from the experiences of those countries. Among the copnclusions: crises don’t always lead to governmental collapse — but changes in government keep recovery costs down..... <BR/><BR/>Also... On average, countries in which the executive was in the hands of left-wing parties at any time during the crisis suffered an output collapse of 14%, while for non-left governments' output fell 20%.<BR/><BR/>The fifth lesson is that centralized asset-recovery regimes have a poor record. It should be noted that government purchases of bad assets was rare — used only in Mexico, Japan, Bolivia, Czech Republic, Jamaica, Malaysia and Paraguay. Output declines and the gross fiscal cost were approximately twice as large in these countries compared to countries that did not opt for a centralized approach to recovery. Why such a dismal record? First, by removing bad assets from banks, centralized asset-management units (AMUs) do not force institutional “learning” where it is needed most — namely, in the core lending practices of financial institutions.<BR/><BR/>In the Czech Republic, for example, banks continued to make bad loans long after most of their bad debt burdens were removed and placed in a “hospital” bank. Second, AMUs are prone to bureaucratic misuse and corruption and rarely die when their missions have been completed. AMUs, once created, tend to perpetuate themselves, usually through a coalition of bankers and bureaucrats who support their continuation.<BR/><BR/>http://www.theglobalist.com/StoryId.aspx?StoryId=7277David Brinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14465315130418506525noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-66864588255136013352008-10-10T17:37:00.000-07:002008-10-10T17:37:00.000-07:00David Brin said: I support an overwhelming and tit...<I>David Brin said: I support an overwhelming and titanic stomp-victory by the Democratic party because their opponents have turned the entire GOP into a nest of vampires, know-nothing harpies and dogmatic nation-rapers. The democrats are the obvious instrument for correcting this historical monstrosity.</I><BR/><BR/>I don't in any way disagree with this. I plan on voting the same. There is no viable alternative right now. <BR/><BR/>But later, we really need to make changes to insure that our government works for the American people and not the highest bidder. We need a much more representative government. We are lucky that we have soooo many problems today else there might not be anyone at the polls. People in general, and this is an impression I get traveling the country, do not have a feeling that they are in any way represented by the powers that be in Washington. At least, this election is so polarizing (I know not why. The people in power obviously need removal. If I had my way, not one in office today would get an invitation of return trip.) and the prospects so grim that they are going to vote.<BR/><BR/>Interesting to see that I now have something in common with those Muslim terrorists even if by default.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15102592062470953915noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-79298082737528595812008-10-10T16:53:00.000-07:002008-10-10T16:53:00.000-07:00Wow. No one has linked to David Brooks' new column...Wow. No one has linked to David Brooks' new column?<BR/><BR/><A HREF="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/10/opinion/10brooks.html?hp" REL="nofollow">The Class War Before Palin</A><BR/><BR/>"And so, politically, the G.O.P. is squeezed at both ends. The party is losing the working class by sins of omission — because it has not developed policies to address economic anxiety. It has lost the educated class by sins of commission — by telling members of that class to go away."Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-73652053861773707112008-10-10T16:03:00.000-07:002008-10-10T16:03:00.000-07:00Tolo, thanks for appreciating (in both senses of t...Tolo, thanks for appreciating (in both senses of the word) that intense discussion of dimensions and axes in politics, that I posted when I thought someone might get through to the libertarians...<BR/><BR/>And sure, the nuanced approach seems contrary to my present extreme partisanship. But the explanation is really quite simple. I do not support an overwhelming and titanic stomp-victory by the Democratic party because I think they are wonderful.<BR/><BR/>I support an overwhelming and titanic stomp-victory by the Democratic party because their opponents have turned the entire GOP into a nest of vampires, know-nothing harpies and dogmatic nation-rapers. The democrats are the obvious instrument for correcting this historical monstrosity. <BR/><BR/>Any flaws they present - and I am aware of many -are insignificant, by comparison, and fall into the category of "I'll go after you, later." Believe me, as soon as they stomp the GOP, I am hoping the re-forged GOP will "discover" the sin of gerrymandering and start screaming for a national solution. And I will join in.<BR/><BR/>But it is a time of priorities. Democrats believe in transparency and the competence of civil servants. They believe in talking to allies. Their record at economic management is bright noon to the GOP's dark night. If JUST those four things happen, it will be worth making this a true, take-no-prisoners crusade.<BR/><BR/>Oh, last thing. If it is a true stomp, the troglodytes and Fox will not be able to retroactively blame : McCain, the "news media", democratic "lies", or an accidental coincidence of the stock crash. If it is stunning, they may actually decide (some of them) to let go of Culture War.David Brinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14465315130418506525noreply@blogger.com