Here and There

You know what’s un-American? Torture.

You know what’s socialistic? Medicare.

You know what’s shameful? When the government does nothing.

You know what’s pathetic? Incompetence.

You know what’s Soviet-like? Gulags, indefinite detention*, extraordinary rendition.

* To be fair, the guy I voted for in 2008 recently endorsed this shitty policy. For shame.

On some of my bike rides to and from work recently, I’ve been thinking about how seemingly difficult it’s been for Barack Obama to enact parts of his agenda — health care, tax hike on the wealthy, ending corporate-tax loopholes, drawing down in Iraq, funding the closing of Guantánamo Bay, to name a few.

Then I thought back to how George W. Bush really did seem to just show up and start kicking ass, cutting off funding for overseas family-planning clinics who advocate abortion (which, to be fair, Obama has since restored), cutting taxes almost to the point of eliminating them, and (ahem) getting us mired in this whole Iraq mess in the first place.
Read the rest of this entry »

Alabama Senator Richard Shelby (R) this weekend brought up, once again, the question dead issue of President Barack Obama’s citizenship.

Just a few fun figures to mull over while Shelby gets to the bottom of the real problems plaguing this nation:

• Alabama’s overall poverty rate is 16.6 percent, ranking it 10th nationwide
• The state’s child poverty rate is 23 percent, ranking it 9th in the nation
• Its senior poverty rate is 12.6 percent, ranking it 7th
• Alabama’s unemployment rate rose 3 percent, nearly doubling, to 6.7 from Dec. 2007 to Dec. 2008

Shelby is up for re-election next year. It’s never too early.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, U.S. Department of Labor

Perhaps it’s lost on them, but they’re unhappy with a bill that’s close to 50 percent tax cuts (something approaching or slightly more than $400 billion). And that’s for starters.

Another complaint I keep hearing is that all the spending will cause the national debt to increase. Well, geniuses, where was that concern when tax cuts and wasteful defense spending sent the surplus into the red over the course of the last eight years? You know, the years that coincided with your “greatist presidunt in the histry of the US.”

Shut up until you know what you’re talking about. Which I suspect won’t be for a while. I know it won’t for me. I know jack about economics.

Meantime, we’ve got a true, prolonged crisis on our hands. Whether this stimulus is the right thing to do, only time will tell. It’s nowhere near perfect, but at least they tried.

I was struck last night, yet again, by Barack Obama’s command of the issues. He really did seem to be cleaning up a proverbial mess made of the presidency, without having to really tout that fact.

It came up during last night’s press conference, and today, I see that Iran is meeting Obama’s tone and call for talks. This is what happens when we have adults in charge.

Barack Obama was the Manchruian Candidate, an IRS mole.

Opened my browser to find that Tom Daschle has withdrawn from being considered for Health and Human Services secretary. Good. Cheats and crooks don’t deserve such high governmental positions (hear that, Geithner?).

A little further down the page on Huffington Post, though, my mental question, Who it should it be then? was answered by this headline: Elizabeth Edwards’ New Book to Address John’s Affair (proper punctuation mine).

As far as I know, she’d be an amazing pick. Thoughts?

Okay, this is meant to be a serious question: Why is it that the Republicans in Congress have any ability or right to hold up stimulus legislation? I mean, they’re the minority, right? And while they beat back a filibuster-proof Senate with the 2008 elections, Democrats are only two votes short of that.

I just don’t understand how or why the GOP can retain so much power. Explain me, please.

As if we needed proof as to why Bush left office with dismal approval ratings, we now have reports of critiques of Obama’s Inaugural Address, claiming that it took unfair shots at the outgoing administration.

They just don’t get the severity of their errors. Maybe time will reveal the truth to their blind eyes.

And yes, Obama closed Gitmo just a little while ago.

Obama redoes the oath of office. Fox News subsequently files for bankruptcy.

Finally, “our president” is not an idiot. That takes some getting used to.

Thanks to Scott for pointing out my inebriated copy error.

Watching it live, I and most of the people in the room thought Obama stumbled. But when I went back to watch it, it was Roberts who fumbled. Score one for the new Executive Branch.

So I don’t have access to it at the moment, but I’d like to go on record as being totally inspired by Obama’s inaugural address. It was one for the ages.

It set out from Philadelphia today, picking up the Bidens in Delaware, and making various stops for speeches along the way.

America, fuck yeah!

*Chills*