Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Chalk one up for the good guys
http://www.truthout.org/obama-signs-sweeping-student-loan-reform-bill-into-law58162
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Us vs. Them
I'll admit that I'm deriving a guilty pleasure from the media firestorm over the evening out at the West Hollywood "Voyeur Club" where bondage and such were featured for the high-ranking members of the RNC in the aftermath of their tough strategy meetings in Honolulu. The pleasure is only partly due to the media's conviction that the $2,000 tab is a story that trumps the $36 million it costs to fire a Predator Drone at a suspected al-Qaeda terrorist in Afghanistan or Pakistan unless we get on of the estimated hundred such bad guys left in that vicinity these days.
No, the irony in all this is that Republicans for a while now have been practicing a politics of "the other" that stigmatizes non-white, non-heterosexual, non-overtly-religious, and non-military folks as somehow failing the "true American" test. This is a party that has not had an African American in Congress since J.C. Watts retired some ten years ago. This is the party that eggs on birthers, tea-baggers, and boneheads who doubt that the President is an American citizen, who last week referred to Barney Frank as a faggot and John Lewis as a n***er. This is the party that carefully put Gay Marriage Iniatives on the ballots of eleven key states in the 2004 election. The same party that went ballistic when George W. Bush sought to introduce decent legislation to deal with the immigration problem in his second term because it would accelerate the process of the demise of the caucasians as the dominant race in the U.S.
Not all Republicans are intolerant, and not all Democrats are. But it's hardly rocket science to figure out why Latinos went so heavily for Obama in '08, and why the photos of Obama as the Joker or with a Hitler mustache show up at anti-healthcare rallies. When Sean Hannity has an Oliver North or another uniformed member of the Armed Services as a guest on his show when accompanied by a liberal, it's pathetic to watch Mr. Hannity fall all over himself referring to the uniformed guest as a "fine American" while the non-Republican guest is hardly treated hospitably.
To be sure, there are differences among us--some of us are sports fans, others are music fans, some are outdoors folks, some are homebodies, some like to hunt with rifles, others like to read for pleasure. But since when in America should it matter whether you're straight or gay, black, brown or white, a Christian evangelical or an atheist? And since when were we unself-conscious about referring to some as "true Americans" and others as seeking to destroy what America stands for?
If we're not better than that or if we're not willing to insist that there's no place for this form of us vs. them in this country, then we will surely pay the inevitable price for failing to heed Elie Wiesel's advice when he said, "All that it takes for evil to triumph in the world is for good people to say or do nothing in the face of those who perpetrate evil."
Surely, all "true Americans" are better than that--no matter their race, religion, sexual orientation, party identification, or positions on issues on which we are bound to reach,in good faith and on grounds of varied yet honorable values, differing positions. In the end, there is a place where the "us vs. them" dichotomy does nothing to enhance our identity as humans who happen to be Americans as well.
And all this from a story about a stupid visit to a strip club in Hollywood by the paid staffers of the party of moral values. Is this a great country or what?!
No, the irony in all this is that Republicans for a while now have been practicing a politics of "the other" that stigmatizes non-white, non-heterosexual, non-overtly-religious, and non-military folks as somehow failing the "true American" test. This is a party that has not had an African American in Congress since J.C. Watts retired some ten years ago. This is the party that eggs on birthers, tea-baggers, and boneheads who doubt that the President is an American citizen, who last week referred to Barney Frank as a faggot and John Lewis as a n***er. This is the party that carefully put Gay Marriage Iniatives on the ballots of eleven key states in the 2004 election. The same party that went ballistic when George W. Bush sought to introduce decent legislation to deal with the immigration problem in his second term because it would accelerate the process of the demise of the caucasians as the dominant race in the U.S.
Not all Republicans are intolerant, and not all Democrats are. But it's hardly rocket science to figure out why Latinos went so heavily for Obama in '08, and why the photos of Obama as the Joker or with a Hitler mustache show up at anti-healthcare rallies. When Sean Hannity has an Oliver North or another uniformed member of the Armed Services as a guest on his show when accompanied by a liberal, it's pathetic to watch Mr. Hannity fall all over himself referring to the uniformed guest as a "fine American" while the non-Republican guest is hardly treated hospitably.
To be sure, there are differences among us--some of us are sports fans, others are music fans, some are outdoors folks, some are homebodies, some like to hunt with rifles, others like to read for pleasure. But since when in America should it matter whether you're straight or gay, black, brown or white, a Christian evangelical or an atheist? And since when were we unself-conscious about referring to some as "true Americans" and others as seeking to destroy what America stands for?
If we're not better than that or if we're not willing to insist that there's no place for this form of us vs. them in this country, then we will surely pay the inevitable price for failing to heed Elie Wiesel's advice when he said, "All that it takes for evil to triumph in the world is for good people to say or do nothing in the face of those who perpetrate evil."
Surely, all "true Americans" are better than that--no matter their race, religion, sexual orientation, party identification, or positions on issues on which we are bound to reach,in good faith and on grounds of varied yet honorable values, differing positions. In the end, there is a place where the "us vs. them" dichotomy does nothing to enhance our identity as humans who happen to be Americans as well.
And all this from a story about a stupid visit to a strip club in Hollywood by the paid staffers of the party of moral values. Is this a great country or what?!
Monday, March 29, 2010
a musical snack for you.
Just thought i'd share this youtube video i ran across.
enjoy!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RpOUctySD68
enjoy!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RpOUctySD68
California Republicanism vs Texas Republicanism
David Frum wrote an interesting column today where he compared GOP politics from WW II to 1988, where Republicans won the presidency 6 times with a Californian on the ticket. Since then, a Texan has been on the ticket 3 times.
Frum finds that a Californian on the ticket produced 100 more electoral votes on average than a Texan and suggests that "Californian" GOP was much appealing to a wide variety of individuals. He also writes about potential candiates Meg Whitman and Tom Campbell who may be able to win statewide offices in the 2010 elections. He cautions though, that the current primary state of the GOP makes it difficult for quality candidates to win elections without resorting to a far right platform.
Frum's message is that California GOP leaders could lead a comeback for the GOP, because they are forced to discuss common sense ideas rather than rhetoric in campaign stops. Whether his message will resonate with GOP primary voters is unclear. California GOPers recognize that their candidates have to have a strong independent push to win elections.
Pretty much the point I would make here is that maybe the way to solve the governing crisis is to eliminate the primary system. How about an open primary system where Republicans and Democrats run together and then a run-off between the top two candidates?? Maybe that would promote centrism and some bipartisan thinking.
Frum finds that a Californian on the ticket produced 100 more electoral votes on average than a Texan and suggests that "Californian" GOP was much appealing to a wide variety of individuals. He also writes about potential candiates Meg Whitman and Tom Campbell who may be able to win statewide offices in the 2010 elections. He cautions though, that the current primary state of the GOP makes it difficult for quality candidates to win elections without resorting to a far right platform.
Frum's message is that California GOP leaders could lead a comeback for the GOP, because they are forced to discuss common sense ideas rather than rhetoric in campaign stops. Whether his message will resonate with GOP primary voters is unclear. California GOPers recognize that their candidates have to have a strong independent push to win elections.
Pretty much the point I would make here is that maybe the way to solve the governing crisis is to eliminate the primary system. How about an open primary system where Republicans and Democrats run together and then a run-off between the top two candidates?? Maybe that would promote centrism and some bipartisan thinking.
Sunday, March 28, 2010
Health Care Reform, Really?
Folk,
For those of you convinced that the unanimous No votes of the GOP, shouts of "Armageddon" from John Boehner, and declarations from many on the Right that last week's effort to reform our health care system -- No. 1 in the world in cost, No. 37 in terms of quality -- are truly the biggest threat to freedom in this country in more than half a century, take a look at the interview between Bill Moyers and Bill Winship:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/bill-moyers/the-unbearable-lightness_b_515642.html
Benson, if you've not completed the statements protesting the policy, you'll find some atypical, yet persuave ones there.
Looking forward to doing some Q sorts tomorrow night, while spending a moment or two looking back at the craziness that has ensued this vote. If you haven't read Frank Rich's piece in the Sunday NYT, "It's not about healtcare," he's got a provocative piece that says, in effect, it's about race. My view (no. 135 among the readers' comments, is a bit more complex; and so far, it must be confusing the heck of the lefties and the righties, cuz it has almost no recommends). It's my opinion, though, and I'm sticking to it. I'm looking forward to what the rest of you think on what's motivating the outcry. Benson, for one, is doing a Q sort on it, so you will have a chance to weigh in that way. But it's a big story and we may have some time to discuss its historic and hysterical significance.
Cheers,
DT
For those of you convinced that the unanimous No votes of the GOP, shouts of "Armageddon" from John Boehner, and declarations from many on the Right that last week's effort to reform our health care system -- No. 1 in the world in cost, No. 37 in terms of quality -- are truly the biggest threat to freedom in this country in more than half a century, take a look at the interview between Bill Moyers and Bill Winship:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/bill-moyers/the-unbearable-lightness_b_515642.html
Benson, if you've not completed the statements protesting the policy, you'll find some atypical, yet persuave ones there.
Looking forward to doing some Q sorts tomorrow night, while spending a moment or two looking back at the craziness that has ensued this vote. If you haven't read Frank Rich's piece in the Sunday NYT, "It's not about healtcare," he's got a provocative piece that says, in effect, it's about race. My view (no. 135 among the readers' comments, is a bit more complex; and so far, it must be confusing the heck of the lefties and the righties, cuz it has almost no recommends). It's my opinion, though, and I'm sticking to it. I'm looking forward to what the rest of you think on what's motivating the outcry. Benson, for one, is doing a Q sort on it, so you will have a chance to weigh in that way. But it's a big story and we may have some time to discuss its historic and hysterical significance.
Cheers,
DT
Friday, March 26, 2010
Why Fox News Gets all the conservative journalists
http://www.juliansanchez.com/2008/10/14/slave-to-the-cocktail-circuit/
This blog discusses the recent fallout over David Frum's resignation (or forced removal) from AEI and the subsequent suggestion from one conservative that Frum attacked current conservatism as a way to be "invited to all the liberal social Georgetown parties." The article then goes on to say that opportunities for moderate conservatives (David Brooks, David Frum, etc.) at mainstream publications such as the New York Times are limited.
So what do aspiring conservative journalists do? According to this guy, they became right-wing ideologues, knowing such a mindset will land them a contract at conservative magazines or news programs. To me, it suggests that individuals like Limbaugh are not the true believers in their show, but understand it's the best to make money.
So, I raise the question (as Abhay and I did in our Limbaugh research): Are Rush Limbaugh, Glenn Beck and others the true believers they claim to be or just raking it in on an act?
This blog discusses the recent fallout over David Frum's resignation (or forced removal) from AEI and the subsequent suggestion from one conservative that Frum attacked current conservatism as a way to be "invited to all the liberal social Georgetown parties." The article then goes on to say that opportunities for moderate conservatives (David Brooks, David Frum, etc.) at mainstream publications such as the New York Times are limited.
So what do aspiring conservative journalists do? According to this guy, they became right-wing ideologues, knowing such a mindset will land them a contract at conservative magazines or news programs. To me, it suggests that individuals like Limbaugh are not the true believers in their show, but understand it's the best to make money.
So, I raise the question (as Abhay and I did in our Limbaugh research): Are Rush Limbaugh, Glenn Beck and others the true believers they claim to be or just raking it in on an act?
Saturday, March 20, 2010
Good news--from Tom Friedman
This is from Tom Friedman's column for Sunday, March 21st. It's an interesting follow-on to Zirra's piece and to the whole volume. Here it is:
America’s Real Dream Team
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CloseLinkedinDiggFacebookMixxMySpaceYahoo! BuzzPermalink By THOMAS L. FRIEDMAN
Published: March 20, 2010
Went to a big Washington dinner last week. You know the kind: Large hall; black ties; long dresses. But this was no ordinary dinner. There were 40 guests of honor. So here’s my Sunday news quiz: I’ll give you the names of most of the honorees, and you tell me what dinner I was at. Ready?
Skip to next paragraph
Fred R. Conrad/The New York Times
Thomas L. Friedman
Go to Columnist Page »Linda Zhou, Alice Wei Zhao, Lori Ying, Angela Yu-Yun Yeung, Lynnelle Lin Ye, Kevin Young Xu, Benjamin Chang Sun, Jane Yoonhae Suh, Katheryn Cheng Shi, Sunanda Sharma, Sarine Gayaneh Shahmirian, Arjun Ranganath Puranik, Raman Venkat Nelakant, Akhil Mathew, Paul Masih Das, David Chienyun Liu, Elisa Bisi Lin, Yifan Li, Lanair Amaad Lett, Ruoyi Jiang, Otana Agape Jakpor, Peter Danming Hu, Yale Wang Fan, Yuval Yaacov Calev, Levent Alpoge, John Vincenzo Capodilupo and Namrata Anand.
No, sorry, it was not a dinner of the China-India Friendship League. Give up?
O.K. All these kids are American high school students. They were the majority of the 40 finalists in the 2010 Intel Science Talent Search, which, through a national contest, identifies and honors the top math and science high school students in America, based on their solutions to scientific problems. The awards dinner was Tuesday, and, as you can see from the above list, most finalists hailed from immigrant families, largely from Asia.
Indeed, if you need any more convincing about the virtues of immigration, just come to the Intel science finals. I am a pro-immigration fanatic. I think keeping a constant flow of legal immigrants into our country — whether they wear blue collars or lab coats — is the key to keeping us ahead of China. Because when you mix all of these energetic, high-aspiring people with a democratic system and free markets, magic happens. If we hope to keep that magic, we need immigration reform that guarantees that we will always attract and retain, in an orderly fashion, the world’s first-round aspirational and intellectual draft choices.
This isn’t complicated. In today’s wired world, the most important economic competition is no longer between countries or companies. The most important economic competition is actually between you and your own imagination. Because what your kids imagine, they can now act on farther, faster, cheaper than ever before — as individuals. Today, just about everything is becoming a commodity, except imagination, except the ability to spark new ideas.
If I just have the spark of an idea now, I can get a designer in Taiwan to design it. I can get a factory in China to produce a prototype. I can get a factory in Vietnam to mass manufacture it. I can use Amazon.com to handle fulfillment. I can use freelancer.com to find someone to do my logo and manage by backroom. And I can do all this at incredibly low prices. The one thing that is not a commodity and never will be is that spark of an idea. And this Intel dinner was all about our best sparklers.
Before the dinner started, each contestant stood by a storyboard explaining their specific project. Namrata Anand, a 17-year-old from the Harker School in California, patiently explained to me her research, which used spectral analysis and other data to expose information about the chemical enrichment history of “Andromeda Galaxy.” I did not understand a word she said, but I sure caught the gleam in her eye.
My favorite chat, though, was with Amanda Alonzo, a 30-year-old biology teacher at Lynbrook High School in San Jose, Calif. She had taught two of the finalists. When I asked her the secret, she said it was the resources provided by her school, extremely “supportive parents” and a grant from Intel that let her spend part of each day inspiring and preparing students to enter this contest. Then she told me this: Local San Jose realtors are running ads in newspapers in China and India telling potential immigrants to “buy a home” in her Lynbrook school district because it produced “two Intel science winners.”
Seriously, ESPN or MTV should broadcast the Intel finals live. All of the 40 finalist are introduced, with little stories about their lives and aspirations. Then the winners of the nine best projects are announced. And finally, with great drama, the overall winner of the $100,000 award for the best project of the 40 is identified. This year it was Erika Alden DeBenedictis of New Mexico for developing a software navigation system that would enable spacecraft to more efficiently “travel through the solar system.” After her name was called, she was swarmed by her fellow competitor-geeks.
Gotta say, it was the most inspiring evening I’ve had in D.C. in 20 years. It left me thinking, “If we can just get a few things right — immigration, education standards, bandwidth, fiscal policy — maybe we’ll be O.K.” It left me feeling that maybe Alice Wei Zhao of North High School in Sheboygan, Wis., chosen by her fellow finalists to be their spokeswoman, was right when she told the audience: “Don’t sweat about the problems our generation will have to deal with. Believe me, our future is in good hands.”
As long as we don’t shut our doors.
America’s Real Dream Team
Send To Phone
Share
CloseLinkedinDiggFacebookMixxMySpaceYahoo! BuzzPermalink By THOMAS L. FRIEDMAN
Published: March 20, 2010
Went to a big Washington dinner last week. You know the kind: Large hall; black ties; long dresses. But this was no ordinary dinner. There were 40 guests of honor. So here’s my Sunday news quiz: I’ll give you the names of most of the honorees, and you tell me what dinner I was at. Ready?
Skip to next paragraph
Fred R. Conrad/The New York Times
Thomas L. Friedman
Go to Columnist Page »Linda Zhou, Alice Wei Zhao, Lori Ying, Angela Yu-Yun Yeung, Lynnelle Lin Ye, Kevin Young Xu, Benjamin Chang Sun, Jane Yoonhae Suh, Katheryn Cheng Shi, Sunanda Sharma, Sarine Gayaneh Shahmirian, Arjun Ranganath Puranik, Raman Venkat Nelakant, Akhil Mathew, Paul Masih Das, David Chienyun Liu, Elisa Bisi Lin, Yifan Li, Lanair Amaad Lett, Ruoyi Jiang, Otana Agape Jakpor, Peter Danming Hu, Yale Wang Fan, Yuval Yaacov Calev, Levent Alpoge, John Vincenzo Capodilupo and Namrata Anand.
No, sorry, it was not a dinner of the China-India Friendship League. Give up?
O.K. All these kids are American high school students. They were the majority of the 40 finalists in the 2010 Intel Science Talent Search, which, through a national contest, identifies and honors the top math and science high school students in America, based on their solutions to scientific problems. The awards dinner was Tuesday, and, as you can see from the above list, most finalists hailed from immigrant families, largely from Asia.
Indeed, if you need any more convincing about the virtues of immigration, just come to the Intel science finals. I am a pro-immigration fanatic. I think keeping a constant flow of legal immigrants into our country — whether they wear blue collars or lab coats — is the key to keeping us ahead of China. Because when you mix all of these energetic, high-aspiring people with a democratic system and free markets, magic happens. If we hope to keep that magic, we need immigration reform that guarantees that we will always attract and retain, in an orderly fashion, the world’s first-round aspirational and intellectual draft choices.
This isn’t complicated. In today’s wired world, the most important economic competition is no longer between countries or companies. The most important economic competition is actually between you and your own imagination. Because what your kids imagine, they can now act on farther, faster, cheaper than ever before — as individuals. Today, just about everything is becoming a commodity, except imagination, except the ability to spark new ideas.
If I just have the spark of an idea now, I can get a designer in Taiwan to design it. I can get a factory in China to produce a prototype. I can get a factory in Vietnam to mass manufacture it. I can use Amazon.com to handle fulfillment. I can use freelancer.com to find someone to do my logo and manage by backroom. And I can do all this at incredibly low prices. The one thing that is not a commodity and never will be is that spark of an idea. And this Intel dinner was all about our best sparklers.
Before the dinner started, each contestant stood by a storyboard explaining their specific project. Namrata Anand, a 17-year-old from the Harker School in California, patiently explained to me her research, which used spectral analysis and other data to expose information about the chemical enrichment history of “Andromeda Galaxy.” I did not understand a word she said, but I sure caught the gleam in her eye.
My favorite chat, though, was with Amanda Alonzo, a 30-year-old biology teacher at Lynbrook High School in San Jose, Calif. She had taught two of the finalists. When I asked her the secret, she said it was the resources provided by her school, extremely “supportive parents” and a grant from Intel that let her spend part of each day inspiring and preparing students to enter this contest. Then she told me this: Local San Jose realtors are running ads in newspapers in China and India telling potential immigrants to “buy a home” in her Lynbrook school district because it produced “two Intel science winners.”
Seriously, ESPN or MTV should broadcast the Intel finals live. All of the 40 finalist are introduced, with little stories about their lives and aspirations. Then the winners of the nine best projects are announced. And finally, with great drama, the overall winner of the $100,000 award for the best project of the 40 is identified. This year it was Erika Alden DeBenedictis of New Mexico for developing a software navigation system that would enable spacecraft to more efficiently “travel through the solar system.” After her name was called, she was swarmed by her fellow competitor-geeks.
Gotta say, it was the most inspiring evening I’ve had in D.C. in 20 years. It left me thinking, “If we can just get a few things right — immigration, education standards, bandwidth, fiscal policy — maybe we’ll be O.K.” It left me feeling that maybe Alice Wei Zhao of North High School in Sheboygan, Wis., chosen by her fellow finalists to be their spokeswoman, was right when she told the audience: “Don’t sweat about the problems our generation will have to deal with. Believe me, our future is in good hands.”
As long as we don’t shut our doors.
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