Friday, May 16, 2008

Tacit approval of dishonesty leads to loss of moral authority

I'm going to take the bold step of characterizing a whole bunch of people.

Based on the evidence provided in this article found in the Washington Post, its pretty much irrefutable that the Bush administration is full of bald-faced liars.

Now here's where the characterization comes in: If you can read this evidence, and can manage to support those who purvey this kind of deceit. AND if you can do it without having to twist yourself into knots blaming the press or some other right wing bogey, then you are in essence advocating lying and deceit.

Furthermore, you are, by your refusal to decry such blatant dishonesty, giving tacit approval of lying, deceit, and dishonesty from our leaders.

The whole point of my characterization is this: You have sacrificed any moral authority to criticize politicians for dishonesty, deceit, and lying.

Harsh words, but sometimes truth hurts.

Let the jingoism begin: Tennessee GOP showing its stupidity again

The Tennessee GOP has unveiled an ad attempting to paint Michelle Obama as somehow un-American.

Now this comes from the same GOP who cried foul whenever anyone said a derogatory word about the WIFE of a Republican candidate, alleging that family was somehow off limits.

I suppose the rule only applies when their guys are being attacked. What a bunch of cowards.

Anyway, CNN.com has the story.

What I want to know: Is the Tennessee GOP is proud to be an American whenever their elected candidates lie to the American people to start a war? Are they proud to be American when their candidates run our economy into the ground?

Michelle Obama is entitled to her opinion. She has every right to say what she does and the Republicans, if they had any spine, would be standing up to defend Mrs. Obama's right to say whatever she wants because THAT is what being an American is all about.

But then, I guess that wouldn't allow them to attack the wife of a candidate.

Boy, that's a bunch of spineless weasels if you ask me.

Thursday, May 15, 2008

Foreclosures take a dramatic toll far beyond economics

Usatoday.com puts a more human face on the foreclosure/mortgage mess affecting many Americans.

It's a sad state of affairs and the untold medical and emotional costs are frequently ignored when we use only numbers to describe the situation.


Bush guilty of projection in Israel

Bush has stepped over the line with his Holocaust comparison.

I remember accusing the Bush administration of being like Nazis a number of years ago, but I was accused of "going over the line" then. So, if I was over the line, then Bush is over the line.

Here are the facts though: Bush has pushed hard for a blending of corporations and government function via outsourcing those government functions to private companies.

This folks is by definition Corporativism. Using corporations to perform government functions by blending the two into one.

If you check your history, Corporativism became the dominant ideology in Fascist Italy under Mussolini.

So again, I ask you, "Who's the real Nazi?"

Look at history, look at the constituents who support Bush and his kind, look at the results of the Bush presidency.

If you do, then you'll find that Bush is exhibiting the classic defense mechanism called: Projection.

Projection is where you accuse others of the actions you, yourself, are guilty of.

I suppose Bush has so few positive accomplishments that he can do nothing more than level horrific comparisons against those who will make him look bad by comparison when they clean up his mess.

Military lawyers Defending Constitution from the Executive Branch

Slate.com offers up a story about the military lawyers who are sabotaging the "military tribunals" of the Guantanimo detainees.

This story is what makes me proud to be a lawyer. When I see lawyers standing up to the man I well up inside.

You see, these military lawyers took an oath to "defend the Constitution". They are doing that despite what their Commander-in-chief orders.

Refusal to participate in a blatant power-grab by the Executive is the kind of chutzpah our founding fathers used when the revolted against the other George (King George that is). Now, the current George is getting his comeuppance.

Go Bar.


As goes California, so goes the rest of the country in 10-20 years.

The California Supreme Court struck down the same-sex marriage ban as unconstitutional.

Regardless of how you feel about this issue, it's going to be the norm. The Constitution does not allow the government to discriminate against people based on their lifestyle

This may not be spelled out in the Constitution, but it can be implied from it like other rights, like privacy.

Marriage is a fundamental right, so strict scrutiny applies. Restricting marriage to different sex couples violates the fundamental right to marry of those who are gay.

The mistake people make with this issue revolves around the "Gay" aspect. That issue is really a non-issue. The real issue is marriage and the rights to it.

The right to marry is fundamental, so restricting the right based on sexual orientation is per se a violation.

Wednesday, May 14, 2008

Money woes a vicious cycle.

Inflation is creating many problems for Americans. When prices rise dramatically, the economy slows dramatically because the dollar loses purchasing power.

When wages are stagnant, like they have been for years now, people buy less and less, worsening the economic situation further.

Oil prices are just one factor in this complex network. When oil prices go up, people cannot afford trips to the store to make purchases, that in turn keep the economy buoyed.

It's a vicious cycle. There's plenty of blame to go around too. Instead of wasting time blaming, our leaders must take dramatic steps. Some that I recommend:

Spend on infrastructure - we need it and the benefits would flow through the economy.

Lower taxes & Higher taxes - reduce or eliminate taxes on the those at the lower ends and raise taxes on those at the higher end. This will encourage spending at the lower end and offset the cost from the higher end.

Make health care available to all - this will eliminate the excess health care costs by allowing the system to spread the costs throughout the economy and it will allow those who suffer the most expensive health care crises to participate in the economy since they won't be on the losing end of health emergencies.

Seek energy alternatives - our dependence on oil is cutting our throats. We must take this off the table as a option and become energy self-sufficient.


Exercise reduces breast cancer risk

Exercise results in lower breast cancer rates in women.

Yet another study to show what everyone knows: Exercise works!

There are no good excuses for avoiding exercise. It makes you feel better; it makes you look better; and it helps you live longer and healthier.

CNN.com

Stress leads to overeating --- Well no shit.

Science Daily leads with a story about how psychological stress leads to overeating.

After 3 years of law school and about 20 pounds of beer weight later, I could have given you the same results without having to disturb all those poor macaques.

Apparently, someone managed to get a grant to tell them the same thing every graduate student already knows first hand.

Procrastination higher in Japanese than Americans

Slate.com has an article about cross-cultural comparisons of procrastination.

The headline sounds good, if I could ever get around to reading it....

Tuesday, May 13, 2008

Einstein NOT a faithful follower of God

Well, so much for those posters and buttons of Einstein implying his belief in God.

Breitbart.com has a story about a letter Einstein wrote in the 1950s.

Electric cars will hit Europe soon

The Economist offers a story about the coming electrification of vehicles in Europe.

Europe appears to be ahead of the U.S. in adopting new technologies.

Unfortunately, Americans are rather slow to come around to the idea of electric vehicles. People like their on-demand power, but a company in California has an electric car that does 0-60 in 3 seconds. So that won't work.

The Europeans are working on a delivery system for charging the vehicles too.

Tomorrow is closer than we could imagine.

Monday, May 12, 2008

Hairpiece on a man signals deceit

I had an opportunity to watch a local church pastor on the evening news. He was speaking about a tragic death. He even wiped away a crocodile tear for effect.

Unfortunately, the story took a backseat to his vanity and foolish pride. He was one of those men who thinks he can fool everyone with his cheap and really obvious hairpiece.

Now this may be shallow of me, but men with enough vanity to seek out and actually wear a rug that obvious shouldn't be allowed to preach. However, that would probably exclude the vast majority of men from the ministry, since it seems that only the bald ones attempting a scalp fake-out also manage to gain the pulpit.

Why is it that men fall for such a load of car salesman bull when their vanity is involved? I read a story the other day that said 98% of all women surveyed found hair pieces on men unattractive, while 40% of the men surveyed said they would get one if bald. The numbers don't add up.

When I see a hair piece, I automatically suspect its wearer of dishonesty. Why? because if he's trying to lie about the state of something as inconsequential as his lack of hair, then what whoppers are in store when the stakes are higher?

Race is an issue in West Virginia

Cnn.com leads with a story about Clinton being ahead by 40 points in West Virginia.

The author of the story quotes Kennie Bass, a local political reporter in West Virginia as saying, "
This state is really Hillary Clinton's wheelhouse. It's an older population, socially conservative, blue-collar workers." [emphasis mine]

If you can look at that fact and reasonably say that race is not a factor, then you're an idiot.

On reflection, the same type of demographic kept the KKK alive well beyond its years too.

Reptile brain beats Spock brain in most

Slate.com has a review of a new book about the stupid choices people make and the dire consequences that arise therefrom.

Apparently, research shows that people mostly make automatic decisions. You know, decisions based on how they're feeling instead on decisions based on what is best for them.

After the bad decisions are made, then vast energy is spent trying to rationalize the bad choice instead of correcting it.

This is important research.

Emotions are rarely, if ever, a good indicator of what's best for us in the long run.