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Wednesday, May 07, 2008
Sing Hillary, sing
By VictorM:You know the saying: " It ain't over till the fat lady sings." Well, Hillary, the time has come to belt out a tune. The math is not in your favor.
I'm not thrilled with Obama's message of hope and "let's all play nice" nonsense, but he has won the Democratic nomination fair and square. Delaying the inevitable just plays into McCain's hands.
Tuesday, May 06, 2008
The danger with conservatism
By VictorM:In an article in the Weekly Standard, a conservative magazine, I ran into this sentence:
Liberals love victims and want them to stay helpless, so they can help them, with government programs; while conservatives love those who refuse to be victims, and get up off the canvas and fight.I can understand conservatives thinking that liberal policies continue to leave people helpless as an unintended consequences. I don't agree with that assessment, but I can understand it. But to say that liberals want people to stay helpless, well, that's just sheer nonsense.
That attitude shows that conservatives can't just disagree with others; they must demonize them. As long as conservatives are in power, there will be no peace and no compromise. Their nature won't allow it. Those who disagree with them are traitors, anti-America, terrorists, appeasers, weak, macacas, etc.
This explains why there isn't much difference between George Bush and John McCain on the issues that matter.
Friday, May 02, 2008
Gasoline holiday tax
By VictorM:Both John McCain and Hillary Clinton made similar proposals to suspend the federal gas tax during peak driving months this summer. This holiday tax really is a rotten idea and here's why why:
Economists... say the oil companies may end up the biggest beneficiaries, while the aid to families wouldn't be enough to buy a $35 backpack.
The trouble with the plan, they say, is that oil prices are rising because of low supplies, and companies will continue to charge the average $3.60 a gallon and just pocket the money that would have gone to federal taxes...
Where supplies are fixed -- and oil/gas supplies, for all intents and purposes, are -- it is the demand that determines price. One oil company could cut its gas prices, but it can't sell anymore gas than it already is (because it already sells all the gas it has), so purchasers would have no choice but to get the rest of their gas from someone else. This leaves oil companies with no incentive for lowering prices. If I'm already selling out all my inventory, and I can't make any more, lower prices cannot boost sales or take sales from someone else. All they can do is cut my profits.
Your model posits suppliers bidding against each other to sell gas. But with supplies fixed and limited, in effect what is happening is that buyers bid against each other to purchase gas.
This sounds like a campaigning good idea that would be a failure if implemented. Sorta like George Bush's tax cuts.
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
Bush is lying again
By VictorM:President Bush is now using a new tactic to justify the drilling at ANWR trying to link the current costs of gasoline with the need for more oil from Alaska. Why is this a blatant lie?
In 2004, the EIA released a report saying that if Congress were to allow drilling in ANWR that year, the oil would not actually begin flowing until 2013 and peak production would not be reached until 2025.The truth is even if we went ahead with the drilling, it would not have any impact on oil prices for many years to come.
Let's face it: Bush was instrumental in fucking up the economy. No amount of lies is going to fool the American people about that fact.
Monday, April 28, 2008
Obama on stinking Fox
By VictorM:As the Democratic primary goes on, I continue to lose faith in both Democratic candidates. In their desire to win, both candidates have engaged in bonehead moves that worry me. The latest move comes from Barack Obama who, after months of avoiding Fox News and even claiming he would take them on, decides to give credibility to that fake organization.
I have to do along with Kos:
So Obama showed weakness by caving to right-wing bullying taunts (thrilling our political foes), disrespected his base, gave Fox a propaganda victory, exposed his campaign as a bunch of liars who promised something their candidate was clearly incapable of delivering, and defended the Democratic spinelessness that gave us the most ridiculous Supreme Court in generations.At least Hillary's bonehead moves have shown strength; by going on Fox, Obama just behaved like the weakling I worry he might be.
Friday, April 25, 2008
A badge of honor, really
By VictorM:The daddy party really views its politicians differently. By that I mean, they think their politicians are above the law. Take for example, Senator Domenici:
In Republican circles, that letter is a badge of honor, and really, will not be seen as a negative. The senator's reaction proves that:Retiring Sen. Pete Domenici, R-N.M., created an appearance of impropriety when he called a federal prosecutor in New Mexico to inquire about the timing of corruption indictments, the Senate ethics committee said Thursday.
The committee criticized Domenici in a letter to the senator, but it recommended no punishment.
...Now that this matter has concluded favorably, I am anxious to focus all of my time and attention on the business of the people of New Mexico."There you go. "Concluded favorably."
I bet that when these people see the movie "History of the World Part 1" and Mel Brooks, as the king, delivers the line "It's good to be the king", Republicans don't laugh, they just nod in agreement.
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
It's OK if they don't love it
By VictorM:John Feinstein takes a stroll down memory lane to the days when he was covering the now defunct North American Soccer League (NASL), which for a few years in the late 70's seemed to be on the verge of making it in the US.
There are many lessons to learn from those days, some of which the current Major League Soccer (MLS) seems keenly aware, but there is one thing in the article that I hope today's soccer fans learn.
Remembering Gordon Bradley, who made his name as a coach in the league, and Johan Cryuff, one of the greatest players of all times who finished his career in the USA, we have this:
What made Bradley and Cruyff great to deal with is that neither ever acted as if you had to love soccer. They both loved it, had grown up with it -- Gordon in England; Johan in Holland -- but they knew it was going to be an acquired taste in the U.S.That's right! No one has to love the sport and soccer fans secure enough about the game should be able to accept that.
For those who grew up without it and have enjoyed other sports, becoming a soccer lover isn't likely to be in the cards. And that's fine. The empty seats around me at some games are better company than those who sit there asking why a goal isn't worth 7 points and offering suggestions to "fix" the world's most popular and loved sport even when this is their first ever soccer game.
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
The creeps are coming, the creeps are coming
By VictorM:With the Republicans in danger of losing the White House and further losses in the House and Senate, the fighting will get nastier than ever as the Republican party has sold it's soul (a term I use loosely) to the devil. So this bit of news about a plan to attack Barack Obama comes as no surprise:
Starting Tuesday, a group of conservative activists led by Floyd Brown, author of the famous Willie Horton ad used so effectively against Michael Dukakis in 1988, will begin a campaign to tar Obama as weak on crime and terrorism, a strategy that aims to upend Obama's relatively strong reputation among Republican voters.
I saw their first video against Obama and must say that they have to do much better if they plan to tar the Senator from Illinois, but I have no doubt that they will continue to try.
When few words are enough
By VictorM:There's no need to use lots of words to explain why any decent American should vote for a Democrat and not John McCain. Howard Dean delivered those few words in an email:
Seriously, you have to be a rotten creep, a bitter jackass, or a right wing conservative to think of voting for John McCain.Unemployment is up. Gas and food prices are up. Inflation is on the rise. The housing market is in a slump. The pundits are saying we're in the worst economic mess in decades. But John McCain keeps defending his friend George Bush, saying everything is just fine.
Providing tax cuts for the wealthy, allowing oil and gas companies to make huge windfall profits and turning a blind eye to the problems in the home lending market -- these are John McCain's solutions. American families can't afford four more years of failed Bush economic policies.
Monday, April 21, 2008
My fear of Obama as a candidate
By VictorM:I'm nervous of a Barack Obama campaign against John McCain because Obama is bound to repeat these types of verbal mistakes:
“You have a real choice in this election. Either Democrat would be better than John McCain – and all three of us would be better than George Bush,” Mr. Obama said. “But what you have to ask yourself is, who has the chance to actually, really change things in a fundamental way?”McCain better than Bush? After the Democratic party has gone to great extents to paint McCain as George Bus's third term?
Obama later said: “We can’t afford to have four more years of George Bush policies under the guise of John McCain.” Clearly he was trying to back paddle from his earlier mistake.
Can Obama just give prepared speeches? Because when he's allowed to improvise the results haven't been all that good.
My main worry still is that Obama doesn't have the killer instinct for national politics and his "let's get along" tendency is going to let him down against the Republican machine.
Friday, April 18, 2008
Stupid people
By VictorM:Some people are saying Barack Obama was giving Hillary Clinton the finger when he was scratching his face. I wish we could shoot such stupid people. See it for yourself:
