Haiti

If you didn't see this report on 60 Minutes, watch it now:




Now let's have a round of applause for Rush Limbaugh and Pat Robertson.

Financial Reform

Congress's Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission held its first hearing yesterday. NPR reported that so many Senators and Congressmen are on the take, um, I mean receive large donations from the financial industry, that most of them are hoping it will just fade away.

The heads of the four largest banks – or maybe "financial conglomerates" would be a more accurate description – testified yesterday. These are the "best talent" that's attracted by the obscene bonuses. Krugman says they're clueless, and we should ignore whatever they have to say.

I have a better idea.

Airport Security

Chicago Ted sent along this interesting article from the Toronto Star about the difference in the approach taken on airport security in Israel to that in North America. It's well worth your time.

One quibble, though. I'm not sure if the reporter or the security expert is fudging this up, but fudging it is.

Officers are looking for nervousness or other signs of "distress" — behavioural profiling. Sela rejects the argument that profiling is discriminatory.

"The word 'profiling' is a political invention by people who don't want to do security," he said. "To us, it doesn't matter if he's black, white, young or old. It's just his behaviour. So what kind of privacy am I really stepping on when I'm doing this?"

There may be some issue about behavioral profiling I'm not familiar with, but as far as I know, it's racial profiling that gets people upset. Handling the issue in such an off-hand way doesn't raise my confidence level. The notion that it's a "political invention" adds suspicion.

It's like the phrase "politically correct." We are encouraged to sneer at political correctness. But wherever it's used, you can substitute the phrase "respectful of people who aren't like me."

Addendum: Chicago Kris had a great comment on the article.

Way back in 1990, when we went to Israel, it struck me that the security guys in Tel Aviv were asking very basic questions, then staring intently at me while I answered. Contrast that with the American airport official reading the scripted question, never taking his/her eyes off the computer screen. In American airports, the only person who looks you in the eye is the Starbucks barista.

Miep Gies

Miep Gies died yesterday at the age of 100.

A good friend, who is Jewish, once asked/assured me, "If we were living in the Nazi era, you would have hidden us, wouldn't you?"

The long pause before I answered was disconcerting, I'm sure.

The glib, easy answer is "Yes, of course I would." The difference between right and wrong is not usually so easy to discern.

But sometimes doing what is right takes incredible courage. Giving a glib, easy answer does not consider the sad fact that during the Holocaust, the number of people whose courage failed them vastly exceeded the number of people who, like Miep Gies, did what was right. To be honest, my courage has sometimes failed me for lesser things.

Consider how, when 9/11 had us so scared, we went so crazy. I had an employee who trembled with fear because she thought some pocket lint might be anthrax.

Politicians became cowards. They'd say things like "9/11 changed everything," and "My opponent has a pre-9/11 mindset." Interpretation: "I'm so scared I have lost my ability to do anything but react in fear."

Now consider the fear level with Nazi troops marching through our neighborhoods.

Giving the glib answer does not sufficiently honor those who said "Yes, of course I will hide you," when it was not a glib, easy answer at all.

Our Future is Bleak

Steve Benen over at Political Animal is really on a roll.

If it feels like, rhetorically, the entire political establishment is spinning its wheels, it's because that's true. For a year, the nation has confronted incredible challenge[s] that demanded serious, credible debates. And for a year, we've ended up listening to -- and responding to -- total nonsense.

Instead of debating the stimulus package, Republicans wanted to explore a five-year spending freeze. Instead of debating health care reform, Republicans wanted to talk about death panels. Instead of debating cap-and-trade policy, Republicans wanted to talk about "Climategate." Instead of debating national security policy, Republicans want to pretend the president doesn't use a word [terrorism] he uses all the time.

And he concludes: "Our political system has to mature quickly or our collective future is bleak."

And now we have the Tea Party "movement", the spawn of Republican rhetoric and its detachment from reality. Our political system is regressing, not maturing. And we see ourselves as the leaders of the Free World. Nobody's going to follow us there.

Benen has two additional great posts here and here.

Are There Any Real Reporters on TV News Anymore?

Steve Benen at Political Animal had the same reaction I did to an ABC News story this evening about Democratic retirements. Which was, basically, "Is this reporting? Or is somebody writing a story from a Republican news release?"

Sen. Byron Dorgan (D-N.D.) is retiring. So is Sen. Chris Dodd (D-Conn.). And before anyone could catch their breath, Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter (D) announced he's not seeking re-election, either.

It led ABC News to report that "Democrats are dropping like flies."

It is not shaping up to be a pretty week for the Democrats. [...]

You will certainly hear a lot of talk from Republicans that Democrats are beginning to face the reality of just how tough the current political landscape looks for them and they are running for the hills.

Does saying there's "a lot of talk from Republicans" (when isn't there?) qualify as reporting? How about actually doing some counting?

In the House, 14 GOP incumbents have decided not to seek re-election, while 10 Democratic incumbents have made the same announcement. Does this mean Republicans are "dropping like flies"?

In the Senate, six Republican incumbents have decided not to seek re-election, while two Democratic incumbents have made the same announcement. Is this evidence of a mass Democratic exodus?

Among governors, several incumbents in both parties are term-limited and prevented from running again, but only three Democrats who can seek re-election -- Parkinson in Kansas, Doyle in Wisconsin, and Ritter in Colorado -- have chosen not to. For Republicans, the number is four -- Douglas in Vermont, Rell in Connecticut, Crist in Florida, and Pawlenty in Minnesota. (Update: the GOP number is five if we include Palin in Alaska.)

Sigh.

Good work, ABC.

Update: Talking Points Memo has a rundown on the mid-term elections as they look right now.

The New York Times gets into the act. Gee, where do they get the idea for these unique articles?

Meanwhile, Gail Collins nails it.

Just Can't Get Enough of that Dudamel

Watch, especially, the section between 1:40 and 2:40. Can't think of another conductor who leads with his eyebrows.

Everybody's Picking on Brit Hume

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Some called him unprofessional. But he's just ignorant. Nothin' new here.

From the Ridiculous to the Deadly

I found two stories this morning that make it hard to make a case for organized religion:

This one and this one.

Good thing I wasn't planning on trying to make a case for organized religion.

Something for a Long Weekend

Talking Points Memo serves up the Ten Top Political Comedy Videos of 2009.

Don't miss the birther video.

Happy New Year

I am very disappointed about a number of things: even though the Fox Tea Bagger movement is more popular than the Republicans, nobody has yet put a stake through the GOP's heart.

The Supreme Court appears poised to give corporations the same rights as people. You think things are bad now!

Health Reform is a mess, but apparently the best we can get.

Afghanistan. Oh, Afghanistan.

As usual, Gail Collins sums up the year pretty well.

Despite it all, I believe as strongly as ever that Obama is the right man for the job right now. Bullied Pulpit had a good post last week that explains why.

Happy New Year. Here's hoping 2010 is the start of a long run of outstanding years for you!

The Self-Regulating Food Industry

The GOP's 30-year campaign to "get government off our backs" – because as Saint Ronnie said: "the government IS the problem" – is really starting to pay off.

Let's see, we had the housing bubble, followed by the financial meltdown, followed by the worst recession since the Great Depression. A startling success.

Now we're starting to find out what a government that didn't believe in government let people put in our food. I dare you to read the first five paragraphs of this story, then go have a hamburger at McDonald's.

Merry Christmas!

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The Worst of 2009

Time to start our list of The Worst of 2009. Pretty quickly I can come up with:

1) Anheuser-Busch, for it's adolescent Bud Lite advertisements, shown during football games, that ask "How can you tailgate without any tail?" and complain about "putting on a condiment". Ha-ha. Get it? Condom-ent. Ha-ha. How did things get so vulgar? Who are they really selling beer to?

2) The pharmaceutical industry, for Viagra/Cialis ads. Obama once said he'd like to be able to enjoy a football game with his daughters without having to explain to them what erectile dysfunction is. Indeed.

3) The banking industry, those "best and brightest" "masters of the universe" whose stupidity and larcenous behavior destroyed the economy. And who are at it again.

4) Fox News, for its fraudulent reporting, including fabricated news film. Goebbels would have been so proud.

5) The pharmaceutical industry, for campaigning against health insurance reform.

6) The Republican Party, for always appealing to worst instincts of the least informed in order to protect the most materially blessed, and for making sure America misses the boat on the emerging energy economy. We'll be buying our windmills from China.

7) The Chicago Bears.

8) Joseph Lieberman. What a tangled psyche.

9) Those television ads for lawyer referral companies, trolling for medical malpractice and personal injury cases, promising "We can get you money!" Talk about your ambulance chasers and bottom feeders! You can make a lot of money in this world if you have no shame.

I don't think Palin, McCain, or Cheney rate an honorable mention. They're just weird. Okay, Cheney is evil, but out of office he's mostly just entertainment. But we gotta have ten, because these lists always have ten.

Who have we missed?

Christmas Cheer – Not!

Tom Friedman bemoans America's inability to do anything important.

Maureen Dowd retaliates for being taken off McCain's Christmas card list. Not that what she says isn't true.

Looks like the prison at Guantánamo is going to be operating until at least 2011. Cowardice seems to be the main reason.

Speaking of Guantánamo, don't miss this story about a former prisoner there.

Lieberman

Gail Collins apologizes to John Kerry, and takes back an apology to Joe Lieberman. More about this later.

Usage and Use Are Not Interchangable

Thanks to Suellen for spotting this amusing little review of the reprint edition of Fowler's original A Dictionary of Modern English Usage, a book which holds an honored place in our house.

The writer is a little critical, so at the end of the essay covers his back in a clever way.

When We Were Crazy

I can't tell you how depressing it is to have memories that are half a century old, but here it is:

When he was in high school, my older brother, Ted, was something of a science geek. Between building models of missiles, I remember that he built a Geiger counter and performed an experiment that measured the amount of radioactivity that made its way to Bergenfield, New Jersey, when the Chinese began testing their nuclear bombs (which, as Tom Lehrer pointed out, we called "a nuclear device"). As I recall, and Ted correct me if I'm wrong, the increase in radioactivity was quite measurable.

Imagine that.

The madeleine that set off that memory was this little walk down history lane by Josh Marshall, who reminds me – if I ever knew – that in 1962 alone the U.S. conducted 105 nuclear tests (two every week). And we put some of them on the tips of missiles, one of which veered out of control!

I'll have to hold on to this factoid. Sometime when I get really discouraged about the rate of progress the world is making, when the Fox News morons and Ayn Rand cultists seem to be in the ascendancy, I'll pull that out and feel a little better.

Endnote: In fact-checking this post, I realize it must have been a Russian or American nuclear test Ted was monitoring, since the Chinese didn't start testing until 1964. But I left the story the way it was because 1) memory plays tricks on you, and 2) I like the Tom Lehrer quote so much I just had to leave it in.

And because I love you:

Nobel Laureate

I watched Obama's Nobel speech on streaming video this morning. I'm glad I did. It will be criticized by some as "professorial," which it certainly was. You can read the text of it here. But this professor is Commander-in-Chief of the most powerful military force in history.

What kept going through my mind was how grateful I am to have this guy representing this country on the world stage. What an improvement.

He was speaking, I think, more to the European audience than an American audience. He provided his rationale for being a Nobel Peace Price laureate at the same time he has ordered American troops into battle. He spoke to his audience as though they were intelligent people who might, after the Iraq War, have their doubts about whether American leadership would generate anything but an endless succession of wars.

I repeat: it treats his audience as intelligent people who can handle thinking about complex ideas.

Compare and contrast:

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Update: The NY Times editorial about the speech is worth a read.

Health Insurance Reform

Where have I been? Well, one morning a couple of weeks ago I was doing my customary morning reading when I noticed I was really, really angry about what I was reading. So I took my blood pressure, and saw a number I'd never seen before.

"This ain't good," thought I.

So I've been working on anger management, which in a world with Republicans in it is a real challenge.

Gail Collins manages to laugh at it all.